Immortals of Aveum feels old-fashioned, but not in the way "boomer shooters" feel old-fashioned. Those games revere the speed and simplicity of '90s shooters, whose plots are usually some variation of "moon's haunted," whereas Immortals brings a distinct Xbox 360 vibe. Clusters of baddies spill out of dropships like Halo 3 grunts, and the path through each linear level is dotted with cutscenes featuring scheming villains and earnest heroes who just want to make a difference, dammit. We appear to be reenacting the transition from corridors and keycards to the Hollywood storytelling ambitions of the 2000s.
I'm not opposed to it: Although today's fascination with old-school arena shooters suggests a kind of contemporary FPS fan who rejects all post-Quake values, I think most of us are also suckers for the immersive simmy abilities of 2000s shooters like BioShock and The Darkness. Immortals is a fantasy game with spells rather than guns, which gives it a good excuse to stuff your keyboard with magic powers. By the end of the few hours I spent previewing it at EA's offices recently, I could:
