18 cert, Namco Bandai, PS3 (also Xbox 360) ***
Friendship bracelets don’t get much of a look-in these days. Indeed, cop/hero/father/ husband Davis Russel is the only videogame action hero
I know of who wears the accessory. Russel and his partner Leo are fugitives in their own backyard, taking on an invading army of misfits who look like extras from
Mad Max and have enslaved the city. Thankfully, they’ve managed to harness a new, mysterious technology that can manipulate gravity. Inversion is a recognisable game in many ways: the graphics echo Bulletstorm and the third-person combat is very similar to Gears of War. But the gravity gimmick sets it apart. Zap your enemies to make them float into your line of fire, fight while standing on the side of a wall, or levitate objects to make shelter and projectiles. The gameplay isn’t as nuanced as in some similar, bigger-budget shooters, and the graphics could be sharper. But Inversion has plenty to offer: a sombre sci-fi story, a dizzying gimmick and a co-op multiplayer option.