In a way, FUSE is probably Insomniac’s most important game to date. The veteran games studio is well know worldwide among critics and PlayStation fans (and anyone else who happens to be console agnostic) who knows everything the developer has done has been of the highest quality. Sit down with any Insomniac title and you’ll find plenty of outstanding design, excellent visuals, and games that are just pure fun to play. Much of that work has held up over time (yes, even Disruptor) and as their first multi-platform release, the game looks to the carry those traditions to both the PS3 and Xbox 360. EA had a new demo of the game up and running at their spring press event a few weeks back and it was one of those cases where I walked up to the demo setup with a huge grin and left holding the top of my head so it wouldn’t fall off because that grin got a wee bit too wide. The co-op focused shooter formerly known as Overstrike looks spectacular, controls like a dream and more importantly, is certainly geared towards expert players.

Fuse refers to an alien organism that each member of Overstrike 9 (which consists of Dalton Brooks, Izzy Sinclair, Jacob Kimble and Naya Deveraux, in case you were wondering) uses to augment their already formidable combat skills. It’s also integral to game’s story as it’s something a lot of not so nice people want for their own nefarious plans (as you’ll see when you play the game).  Teamwork was the primary key to success in the demo maps, as trying to go in guns blazing as a one man or woman army was only good for getting laid out fast and often. Each of the four team members needs to use their Fuse-enhanced talents throughout missions where there’s more than one way of tackling a problem. Granted, you’re still mowing down plenty of enemy troops and some excellently designed aliens and bosses that will do their best to send as much ordinance your way in rather distracting amounts. But the game looks spectacular, runs smooth as silk and true to Insomniac form, is guaranteed to get gamers talking once they get their own hands-on time.

Where the first demo from last year was a pretty standard (but tough) intro to the characters and their abilities, the latest build was set up for co-op play and focused even more on teamwork. As noted above, trying to run in and be the hero leads to a quick and messy demise from all angles, so communication is KEY in order to succeed. Amusingly enough, the headset I used was picking up chatter from the other busy games going on, so it was hard to keep track of what my co-op buddy (one of the dev team) was up to unless I kept an eyeball on him on my screen. Still, following a good player’s lead can lead to victory, but I tried a few fancy moves with my character’s ability to cloak and get behind baddies which worked well… until a new wave of well-armed guards came down a set of stairs behind me as that Fuse power ran out. Oops.

A few more attempts using a new strategy (and a few more less than glorious demises later) helped win that map, then it was off to a boss battle against a relentless, beefy mech type and way too many guards. That cloaking came in handy for getting to a small room with two doorways near the boss and some fast shooting and grenade action to some weak points took him down within a short time. Downed teammates can drag themselves about for a bit, but need to be revived by a fellow Fuse-mate or the mission is failed. While the game has undergone some drastic changes since that initial CG video that showed much more humor and a very different art style. Insomniac has reworked the visuals to be more realistic, yet you can clearly see the team’s expert animation skills at work as well as their creatively intriguing alien weapons and powers that look quite amazing in motion.

I got to try one of the incredibly brutal (but fun and quite amusing in its current state) multiplayer modes, which is a survival-based experience against waves of enemies while trying to complete assorted goals from grabbing loot to defending a Fuse generator and more. The game randomizes goals on the maps you play, so no two games will be exactly the same. Both single and multiplayer feature a leveling system that allows crossover stats for each mode. So if you play solo for however long before hopping online or vice versa, all your characters will bring acquired skills with them. Drop-in/drop-out play, the ability to leap from character to character on the fly during single player sessions (which comes HIGHLY recommended) and an overall solid feel to the combat should keep FUSE close to the hearts of Insomniac’s loyal PS3 base while Xbox 360-only owners will finally get to see what the fuss is all about when it comes to Ted Price and his merry crew of hard-working artists, animators, programmers, musicians and so forth and so on.

Speaking of Ted-o, as I was VERY wiped out from my many hours at Toy Fair 2013 (it was a looong weekend plus, trust me). I actually didn’t know he was IN the big demo room (oops), thus missing the opportunity to do a quickie interview and tell him how much a fan of Insomniac’s work I am. Oh well. I’m sure I’ll get the chance to see the man himself again at some point. For an old gamer dog like me, I’m just happy as hell to see the new game coming along so well and set to be a big hit if the more jaded gamers decide to give it a proper chance when it ships out on April 30, 2013…