The Club is one of those games that I heard about here and there, but I never actually bothered to read up on it. I saw some of the art from the game, a couple screen grabs, and the logo. I immediately thought that this was not a game that would appeal to me which is why I chose not to learn anything about it. Well, a demo of the game hit both Xbox Live and PSN this week, so while downloading the Devil May Cry 4 demo, I decided to throw this into the download list as well. It sat there, ready to be installed, until this morning when I finally got around to checking it out.

This game is like someone has answered one of my small gaming prayers. I am a huge fan of the Mercenaries mini-game included in Resident Evil 4, and I always thought Capcom was foolish not to expand on this game (side note: I guess Mercenaries is actually is an expansion of PN03 in a way). There is just something about racing against the clock and trying to get as many chains, multipliers and bonuses that make for completely addicting gameplay. I guess I wasn’t the only fan of this mode, because Bizarre Creations (the Geometry Wars dudes) have essentially created an entire game that shares a lot in common with Mercenaries.

The Club, is a fast paced third person shooter where the goal is to kill people as quickly as you can while running to the goal of the stage. Along the way you’re able to pick up bonuses, which add points to your score, like “skull shots” that extend your combo meter. The combo meter begins the moment you shoot someone, from that moment it ticks down (just like Mercenaries) until you shoot the next target, which in turn fills the meter back up. For each kill you get a multiplier, so the goal is to consistently shoot people to keep your chain up. If you can’t find someone to kill in time, your combo meter will “bleed” and you’ll slowly lose your multipliers. You score more points by where you shoot targets (like in the head) or if you make a stylish kill (like diving into a roll, popping out, and shooting a baddie down).

I hate to make this comparison again, but I guess Gears of War really did set standards as the point of view and sprinting feels just like it. Unlike Gears, you will not be looking for cover, but the shaky cam for sprinting and the “aim” mode feels like it was ripping right out of the game. Then again, oddly enough Resident Evil 4 inspired Gears, and this game seems to be inspired by both, so I guess it is just the natural progression of the way those types of games work. That said I found myself fumbling around the control pad, hitting many of the wrong buttons by mistake. I’m sure after several runs through the demo I’ll be shooting like a pro.

The game looks to include a huge set of online multiplayer modes and a ton of challenges in its final retail release. The demo has one stage with two different challenges, one being a simple score attack, and the other being a race against the clock. There is also split screen multiplayer in the demo which I won’t be able to check out.

Anyway, this game has gone from being totally off my radar to one of my most wanted. This is one of those “one more time” games, and players will spend hours creating the perfect route through a challenge. I’m really looking forward to the final product.