Set in an alternate universe where the American Civil War has lasted for decades and steam-power has ousted electricity, Damnation tries admirably to be a good steampunk shooter but is hindered by below-par graphics and a near-disastrous opening level.
Your first taste of main character Captain Rourke is surely one of the most cack-handed tutorial lessons in a very long time. The problems largely stem from not being able to read the miniature writing telling you what button to push (a problem that other new games are guilty of too) and wishy-washy graphics that make it hard to tell a brick from a tree.
The good news is that the first proper level after this is a huge improvement. Rourke and his 'Peacekeeper' buddies are members of a small resistance force trying to stop a rich industrialist from killing everyone with his steam-powered army.
Once you've mastered the art of climbing walls Prince of Persia-style and using your cowboy telepathy (?!) to pinpoint enemies, you're sent to rescue Professor Winslow and Rourke's girlfriend from naughty Lord Prescott. (A villain called Prescott trying to ruin the country? We didn't say a word).
Now Rourke is in the desert with mining towns and rusting factories around him the game's presentation is much better. You move through the town picking off enemies who may be hiding in buildings and do some fancy gymnastics to clamber up the outside of buildings. Your Seer powers will help highlight people Predator-style (your friends show up as blue and the bad guys as red).
Damnation will no doubt remind you a lot of sci-fi westerns like The Dark Tower, Serenity and, um, Wild Wild West, and like those titles Damnation has good ideas and bad ideas. The good ideas are the Seer powers, the ability to dive though windows like a stuntman and the Dark Knight-style jet bike you get to ride across the desert on. The bad ones are the silly steampunk robots and the costumes (particularly the women's).
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