CES: Nexuiz Brings FPS Back to its Fast-Paced Roots

The first thing I noticed when I began demoing Illfonic's FPS Nexuiz is just how fast the game is. After spending years playing more "modern" shooters like Halo, Gears of War, and Killzone it's refreshing to dive into a 4v4 Nexuiz match and see everyone leaping wildly around the small stages, shooting anything that moves with twitch reflexes.

Even a faster FPS franchise like Call of Duty still prominently features iron sights, slowing down the action. Nexiuz shares much more in common with Quake or Unreal Tournament - no aiming down the sights, no grenades, no cover system. This makes sense, given that Nexuiz began life as a Quake mod before growing to become a full-fledged standalone product.

Although Nexuiz does feature bots, like its Quake and Unreal Tournament forebears the true focus is online multiplayer. Gamers can compete in up to 4v4 matches across nine maps. At launch Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag will be available, although an Illfonic developer did note that more modes could later be introduced via DLC.

Players begin each round of Nexuiz with a shotgun, and during each match can pick up several FPS-standard weapon options including an assault rifle and, of course, a rocket launcher.

If not the weaponry, it's Nexuiz's elaborate and chaotic system of "dynamic mutators" that truly set the game apart. During a match players will often earn the ability to set off a mutator, temporarily changing the round's dynamic. They're handed out like candy, so any given match will typically have several in effect at once, constantly shifting the dynamic of battle.

Illfonic has promised "over 100" total mutators are already in place, and happily admitted to me in my demo that certain combinations are likely to break the game, at least for the handful of seconds they are active. One example: temporary invincibility + unlimited ammo. This lucky combo of mutators would allow anyone wielding a Rocket Launcher to rocket-jump around a stage at-will. One handy mutator I experienced was Safety Net, allowing me to fall out of a stage without dying.

These mutators come in several flavors, from mundane (damage boosts, power-ups), to powerful (see enemies through walls), to the downright chaotic (your team swaps positions with the enemy team, invert the opposing team's controls). Illfonic has also promised several "WTF" mutators also made their way in, including Colorblind, which literally drains the game of color, and my personal favorite, Kill the Whale. This spawns a giant flying whale in the sky. First team to kill it earns buku bonus points. WTF indeed.

Xbox Live gamers can get their hands on Nexuiz for just 800 points in a few weeks, as part of Microsoft's House Party XBLA promotion. A PSN and Steam release is slated to follow shortly after.

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Justin Davis is the executive editor of IGN Wireless. You can follow him on Twitter.

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