(continued from previous page) ...candidates. Sprint is a race to an exit without being timed, but whilst Running the Gauntlet you’re on a clock. In Time Attack, you must complete laps and earn extra time from shooting time markers and killing enemies. The only dissimilarity from the other two modes in gameplay style here is that shooting the time markers gives you an extra three seconds and you’re running the same path more than once. This isn’t what we’d call a diverse lineup of modes. As regrettably, you must keep to one gameplay style lest you wish to fail. Due to the fact that even in Sprint, you’re obligated to rush due to your ever-decreasing Kill Bar, you’re forced to play the same in each of these modes, making all three feel nearly identical. Even worse, due to the fact that there’s never time to slow down, the environments begin to blend together whilst playing any of these three modes. Bluntly, besides for the aesthetic variations, they all play alike.

The last two offline modes, while the best of the bunch, are honest to God a single mode. After completing the Tournament, we still fail to see a difference between Siege and Survivor. Honestly, Siege is described by the manual as “defend your ground against waves of enemies until the timer winds down,” while Survivor is expressed as “stay alive in the survivor arena until the timer winds down.” There’s no difference as far as we know. Luckily, both of these modes rock. You’re confined to a small area where you must survive while dozens of baddies attempt to push forward and eliminate you. The combo system works naturally here – if you play the mode, excuse us, “modes” well, the points sort themselves out. You don’t have to think about rushing and finding another enemy to keep your combo alive, everything just happens naturally. The environment also plays a much greater role here, as you’ll remain relatively stationary throughout the event and must use the area to your advantage.

The Tournament takes a grand total of about three to four hours to complete, and you’ll be glad it’s over with. Once you’re done slogging through the Tournament, it is a bit more enjoyable to go back and play Gunplay mode. This lets you play The Club without the rigid rules of the Tournament. It’s better to pick and choose your favorites than to be required to play everything. Play an individual level or create a personalized playlist of any level on any mode. For example, if you’re a Siege fanatic, create a playlist of every arena’s Siege level. With a game based around score, it’s expected but still pleasant that The Club features heavy stat tracking and leaderboard implementation.

The Club’s multiplayer efforts are entertaining, but quite bizarre for a few reasons. Play offline with up to four player splitscreen, or take the fight online for up to eight players. Online play provides plenty of modes to satiate your every whim (eight to be exact), from standard modes like Kill Match (Death Match) and Hunter/Hunted (King of the Hill) to more unique modes such as Team Skullshots and Team Siege. Online play is a little more slower-paced than the frantic single player, but the eight excellent maps help keep the game up to speed. What we can’t understand is why Bizarre would provide us with a plethora of cool team games and then give us no way to communicate with our teammates at all. That’s right, there’s no headset support. In addition to that, there is no stat tracking for online play that we are aware of. It’s frustrating; The Club’s multiplayer was never destined to be on par with Gears of War or Call of Duty 4, but it could have been close with the addition of these two sorely missing elements.

As far as presentation goes, this is the area where The Club shines. It may not be Uncharted, but the game still looks brilliant. The framerate is always rock solid when the action gets intense, the animation is spot on and the texture work is great. All the subtle effects from reflections in a puddle to soft lighting to the cinematic camera bounce while sprinting ... (continued on next page)