While E3 is long over, there is still a bunch of press releases popping up here and there in its aftermath. One such release concerns Damnation from Codemasters which promises to 'evolve the shooter genre'.

"How can that be done?", you might muse... apparently 'going vertical' (and perhaps not having a WW2 setting) might be the way. We've got all the information from E3 regarding Damnation, including a fact sheet and some new screenshots.


With a 'revolutionary blend of movement and combat in all three dimensions', Damnation promises to offer a continuous test of reflexes. Centred upon post-industrial battles between humanity and a ubiquitous corporation in wastelands known as Damnation, the game places players in the shoes of Captain Hamilton Rourke, a member of a guerrilla resistance force known as the Peacekeepers where they can expect to be entertained by the follow features.

Huge Scale - With vast, streaming environments, Damnation's levels are truly organic 3D spaces that cover miles of horizontal distance and thousands of vertical feet. Players choose from multiple paths and tactics in gigantic landscapes that unfold in all three dimensions. Using exhilarating combinations of swift, flowing movement and combat, players will be faced with frenetic all-action attacks that can come from any direction.

Player Choice and Freedom - It could take up to three hours in real-time travel to get from one end to the other and another three hours to climb to the top. But with acrobatics and vehicles, players are able to get their own routes, as they look at the massive map ahead, above and below them.

"Spirit Vision" - Players can activate the hero's "Spirit Vision" power to see through walls and anticipate the enemy's movements.

Daredevil Stunts – Players perform stunning moves at the limits of human ability to jump between ledges, swing on ropes and chains, and traverse vertical surfaces. Zip, slide, vault, shinny, swing and jump through the environment with intelligent AI attacking from all sides, above and below.

Multiplayer – Play through the entire singleplayer campaign in co-op or take it to the next level online with multiplayer. Experience action and tactics in vertical environments with fully enabled "Spirit Vision."

Not sure about what others would think, but Spirit Vision sounds suspiciously like a built in wall-hack for the game. Hopefully, the actual game doesn't focus too much on that particular aspect, but we'll have to wait and see.


Damnation will release in 'Autumn 2008' (so, Spring here) for the PC, Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360. I'm sceptical towards the title currently, as I'm unsure how exploiting a 'third' dimension of the first person shooter as a primary gameplay mechanic will pay off... or whether this will be branded 'just another damn shooter' in an already flooded shooter market.