Thomas Jefferson once said that “every generation needs a new revolution.” The fine PR folks over at Codemasters would like you to believe that Damnation is that revolution.  Claims were made that the steam-punk, western title would revolutionize its genre with new “vertical gameplay” and “insane physics”.

Guess what? They lied.

Not only is Damnation not the next big thing in shooters, it’s a step backwards. Everything you do in the title has been done before – and done better. From lackluster visuals and annoying glitches to uninspired gameplay and a laughable story – there’s not much to like in Damnation.

You’ll play as Hamilton Rourke, a former soldier who has become disgraced after a defeat that left his men slaughtered. You’ll take on the evil dictator known as Prescott, who heads up the “New America” movement. You see, Damnation is set in an alternate reality where the civil war never ended – and this Prescott fellow wants to take out both the Union as well as the Confederates and just how does he plan on doing this? Robots.

"...surrounding characters range from baffling eccentrics to borderline offensive stereotypes..."

Therein lays Damnation’s first problem. It’s all kinds of Saturday morning cartoon lame – and not in the cool tongue-in-cheek hipster way – we’re talking lame. Seriously, there’s a rich tycoon plotting to take over the Wild West? Lame. It doesn’t help that your cast of surrounding characters range from baffling eccentrics to borderline offensive stereotypes normally reserved for 1930’s cartoons. Thrill at the flamboyant Spaniard! Amaze yourself and your friends with the English professor and his evil cyborg daughter!
Sadly, the gameplay isn’t much better. Codemasters touted their new “vertical gameplay engine” leading up the game’s release, but everything you’ll do has already been done. Remember Tomb Raider? You’re going to swear you’re playing a stripped down version of the classic as you make your way through Damnation. Seriously – you’ll ping-pong jump between walls, zip down cables, and tip-toe across ledges. Yawn.

To be fair, there are some pretty cool daredevil moments in Damnation, but they’re quickly ruined by a completely asinine control scheme. The game is built on movement – some instances will require large jumps, while others ask you to go slow and methodical. The problem is that the controls are touch-sensitive, in fact they’re too touch sensitive. You’re on a ledge and sometimes it seems that simply moving the stick an inch sends Hamilton lunging towards his death. The camera isn’t your friend either as it’ll constantly get stuck behind an NPC or something in the environment, which always seems to be in the way of your next objective.

"Each of the firearms just feels weak, like it won’t do much damage..."

But this isn’t Prince of Persia – it’s the old west, and Hamilton is packing some heat. You’ll have quite the array of weapons at your disposal, but there’s really not much incentive to experiment with them as each feels the same – bland and unimpressive. Each of the firearms just feels weak, like it won’t do much damage, and there’s no way to upgrade them. It’s clear that the gunplay was little more than an afterthought to the game’s platforming experience – quite sad when you take into account just how disappointing the entire package is.

Then there’s the aesthetics and sound, which are comparable to that of an early original Xbox title. Sure, there’s a pretty decent draw distance, but the characters are blocky, the animations clip and characters pop in and out of objects with no rhyme or reason.  It may not be fair to compare the looks of Damnation with those of Rockstar’s upcoming Red Dead Redemption – but it’s almost sad when you see just how much detail could be put into a western game, and just how much wasn’t put into Damnation. Some games are built on promise – it seems that Damnation was built more on lies than anything else.  While fans of the Tomb Raider series may find something nostalgic in the title, other gamers are urged to stay away. Want a game based on movement and momentum? Try your hand at Mirror’s Edge or Prince of Persia.