5th Cell's Shooter


5th Cell is a company not all too known for action-based games. In fact, it's most popular titles include the Scribblenauts and Drawn to Life games. So, when they announced last year that they were working on a 3D shooter game for the Xbox Live Arcade, many took notice.

This year, 5th Cell has released a new gameplay trailer for their fast-paced run-n-gun online shooter, Hybrid, and it looks to be a lot of fun.

The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic world that is the result of a new Hadron Supercollider imploding and taking out Australia. Since the event in 2032, our reality merged with a parallel one and a new race known as the Variant has emerged. Hybrid is all about the fight between the Variants and the group of human rebels that call themselves the Paladins.

Not only does the game feature 10 different maps and at least 6 different gameplay modes, but there is a persistent online world that shows what the balance of power is in each major country on the planet. In the world view, you will be able to see just how much each country belongs to which faction with a simple visual overlay of blue and red covering the country. There also seem to be hotspots where you can gain extra XP by fighting in the battles.

As for the matches themselves, Hybrid features 3v3 air and ground combat. I didn't see anything that led me to believe the air part of that equation meant vehicles. Instead, I'm pretty sure that alludes to the characters' limited flight capabilities. 5th Cell also claims to have a quick and easy armory menu that lets you change your loadout without any complications, but what I can vouch for is the game's extensive variety in armor and weapons.

Expect to see Hybrid as an XBLA exclusive title ready for download this Summer.