The Xbox's first person shooter category has been crowded for quite some time, but since I'm a fan of the genre, I always welcome the latest blast fest with open arms, so when Namco announced it was joining the party with its sci-fi adventure, Breakdown, I eagerly anticipated what I hoped would be a cool Japanese take on a stale genre. Breakdown sort of lived up to the hype, but playing it is an exercise in frustration because while it tries to innovate, it's almost ruined by the same boring conventions that plague the average fps, making it a niche title and little else.

In Breakdown you play as amnesiac Derrick Cole, a man who wakes up in a research lab with no idea who he is or why he's there. After performing some routine tests for the scientists watching him from his room, they invite him to have lunch, but the drugged food leaves him flat on his back and at the wrong time. Just as he passes out, enemy soldiers raid the Carter Science Center and kill most of the scientists, but before they can assassinate Cole, a mysterious woman named Alex saves him. After she forces you to vomit the food (Truly a classic gaming sequence.), you escape and wander the facility (And beyond.) in the attempt to uncover your past as well as figure out why the veins on your fists mysteriously glow. It's not a horrible story by any means, but much of what happens is very cliché. You won't know that in the beginning because Namco doesn't divulge too much of it at one time, so there's a strong desire to keep going just to figure out what the hell's going on, but don't expect to be amazed by what transpires.

In order to be successful, a game needs to have a gimmick (Or several.) that makes it stand out, and in Breakdown's case it has two: The camera, and its first person fighting system. Unlike other shooters, Breakdown's camera is fixed on Derrick's head, so as you walk, his head bobs like ours do, and when he interacts with objects such as guns on the ground and doorknobs, it looks very realistic. Unfortunately, it can also be quite dizzying. Even this first person shooter veteran had to take periodic breaks to regain his bearings. It doesn't hamper the gameplay except in the areas where Namco took it too far. Walking around translated just fine, but back flipping and rolling didn't. While they can get you out of jams, it just didn't feel right doing flips in a first person shooter, and I very rarely performed them. True, doing moves like that in real life is quite disorientating, but it felt out of place in the game.

Breakdown's second gimmick is its fighting system. While you can use guns they're your standard lot of machine gun, pistol, grenade, and bazooka, and they're fun to shoot, but the combat isn't anything special. In fact, it could've benefited from some more dev time, because it's almost impossible to hit something from far away with the automatic weapon, and the auto-targeting isn't too helpful either. If you can, you should utilize cover and never engage enemy soldiers at close range because they're too good a shot. However, Breakdown's gameplay isn't all about shooting. Rather, it's about using your fists to beat the crap out of everyone. In a cool twist, you can use your hands to fight, and the combat's very enjoyable. In the beginning of the game you should stick to using weapons against the soldiers, but as the game progresses, Derrick becomes aware (Through very slick-looking hallucination sequences.) of his glowing fists and their incredible power. Soon, you'll be able to block bullets for a limited amount of time and get close enough to punch the bad guys into oblivion (Sometimes clear across the room.). It's a very cool system and I was glad to see that Namco pulled it off.

While the combat turned out fine, I was more impressed with the sequences where Derrick couldn't fight back. Though few and far between, these adrenaline-pumping moments mixed up the gameplay and really sent the terror meter soaring. For example, the first of these sequences finds Derrick's path blocked by two T'Lan super warriors, creatures that have similar powers as Derrick, but because the game just started he can't fight them yet, so in order to get them to move away from the exit you have to trick them to chase after you, and if you're lucky, you'll barely have enough time to double back, rush through the door, and hit the lock before they catch up. In another sequence, Derrick gets a surprise visit from Solus, a super being that is unaffected by Derrick's punches. He chases after you through a series of tunnels, and you have to figure out how to open the exit without him catching you. I just found both of these examples and others I haven't mentioned to be some of the game's major high points, and I loved being scared by them.

Visually, Breakdown looks pretty slick. The game mostly draws from a very limited color pallet of grays and whites, so for the most part, the environments are devoid of rich color, but that's acceptable given Derrick's surroundings. The graphics don't tax the hardware, and in return, the action moves at a brisk frame rate and that's definitely a great thing. Enemies are animated well, and Derrick's hallucinations are pretty and fun to watch. However, Derrick is horribly animated. Just looking down at his feet while running exposes just how much Namco goofed, but standing in front of a mirror is even worse.

Aurally, Breakdown's enjoyable to listen to. The voice acting isn't always on target, but the soundtrack has some cool techno and other assorted beats that get the action moving. Other effects, such as punches, growls, guns, and explosions sound just fine, and if you have a sound system, you should crank it up.

As enjoyable as Breakdown is, I'm disappointed at how little time Namco seemingly took crafting much of it. What drives me crazy is how the game's innovation is overshadowed by how generic a first person shooter it is. Back in the day, wandering hallways filled with locked doors was a staple of a good shooter, but by today's standards and how technology's evolved, I expect to actually be able to open more than half of them. Unfortunately, Breakdown's full of places you can't go, and therefore, the game feels horribly linear. I never got lost because there was only one place to go and it's easily found 99% of the time, a design mistake that somewhat lessoned Carter Science Center's mystique. There's also a shortage of action. While most times it created great suspense, there are too many instances where the player is wandering empty hallways for what seems like an eternity, and it's a shame because there's a strong desire to put Derrick's fists to work.

Auto targeting is also very annoying. It targets whatever enemy it feels like latching on to, and when Derrick's fixed on something he can't turn around, so I had to constantly press B to let go. You can the turn auto-targeting off, but if you're using guns to fight you won't hit anything from a distance.

The combat's also a mixed bag. The gunplay works but it's not pushing any envelopes, and when you get knocked down Derrick's vision is so distorted it's becomes impossible to see where you've landed. Often times I'd get back up thinking the enemy was still in front of me only to have them kill me from the back, and while the fist fighting is good, the controls can be rather awkward. When Derrick gains the power to throw energy balls, he can do it when you press the right trigger, but that's also the same trigger he uses to punch with his right fist, so sometimes I threw energy when I wanted to introduce my fist to some poor sap's face.

What also drove me crazy was how Derrick picks up items. Rather than running over them and automatically taking everything, you have to pick up each gun clip, can of juice, and grenade one by one. It's really irritating, and you can forget your life bar if enemy soldiers catch up to you while you're picking stuff up because they'll destroy you.

Lastly, the enemies aren't varied at all, so expect to run into the same ones over and over. Your first types are the standard army guys who are armed to the teeth, but later on you'll encounter the T'Lans, chemically engineered humanoids (That come in both male and female.) that are impervious to bullets and require an ass kicking to finish them off. Then there are the enemies that just don't make any sense, such as the spinning orbs of light and the tiny spider-like creatures that explode upon impact. While they're threatening in their own way, they just look like they don't belong.

In a genre that's plagued by me-too titles, Namco's to be applauded for taking a different approach, but Breakdown's a prime example of a great game trapped in a good game's body, where just a little more thought and dev time could've produced an incredible interactive experience. For now, I accept what Namco's delivered, and I hope they're crafting a much-improved sequel. I recommend it, but since it's such a niche title, renting first is your best option.