Inversion Message Board

Gunning gravity-shifter Inversion has shifted its official release window to "early 2012." Publisher Namco Bandai informed us of the change after we asked it about retailers changing the launch date to March 27.

"The launch of Inversion has been moved to early 2012, and more details will follow in an upcoming announcement," a Namco Bandai spokesperson told Joystiq. "This additional development time will allow the team to polish several key aspects of the game ensuring Inversion is of the highest quality."

For those who had their hearts set on a game for Inversion's original release date of February 7, there's always the "enemy-pounding funfest" of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.

Inversion has had an official launch date of February 7, 2012, for over a year now, but retail listings are shifting to note otherwise. Both GameFly, which lists launch info based on publisher data, and GameStop now present a release date of March 27.

Originally announced back in 2009, Inversion was supposed to hit shelves sometime in 2010, back when Namco was still trying out new IP. We've contacted Namco Bandai for official confirmation of the delay.

Inception called and it totally wants its BWAAAAAHM back.

#inversion I'm the kind of guy who'll always give games that muck with the core precepts of spacetime at least a gander. Rewinding and freezing time, opening up wormholes and otherwise bending the forces of the universe spices up otherwise ordinary gameplay. That's the thinking behind Namco Bandai's upcoming shooter Inversion, which lets you reverse gravity to flip enemies out of cover and create absurd grenade throws. Until then, let's hope all that gravity tomfoolery doesn't have the same effects as it does in Slapstick, or Lonesome No More!, the novel by late literary great Kurt Vonnegut: More »

Sometimes an otherwise-uninteresting looking game has a few tricks up its sleeve. Just about all of Inversion smacks of mediocrity -- its generic storyline (aliens invade Earth!), derivative gameplay (maybe you've played Gears of War?) and unoriginal multiplayer modes (two different kinds of deathmatch!) are all a big turn-off at first glance. But Inversion has one thing going for it: the Gravlink.

It's a device that enables the core mechanic of the game, gravity manipulation. By firing off a red or blue beam, you can increase or decrease the gravity of an area or object. It's one-time use, however you can pick up little energy boosters around the environment that allow you to use it more than once. When I became comfortable with the Gravlink, I found myself having some fun with Inversion.

Inversion's main mechanic is the ability to manipulate pockets of gravity. We've touched on Inversion's story, but my latest look focuses on multiplayer. Utilizing its gravity mechanic, Inversion's multiplayer tries to shake up standard game types...

Inversion's grav link allows you to inflict low gravity around enemies, lifting those meatsacks for easy targeting, and then high gravity to smush 'em with environmental objects. But the real stomach drop happens with the perspective-altering "vector shifts." Wait at least 30 minutes after eating before play.

#inversion All right class, what is the first rule of shooters? Stay behind those low walls? Namco Bandai explains why that strategy may not work anymore. More »

My buddy. My buddy. Wherever I go, he goes. I'll teach him to flip gravity like I know. My buddy and me like to climb up a tree. My buddy and me, we're the best friends we could be. My buddy and meee!

The gimmick in Saber Interactive's Inversion -- combat across multiple planes -- isn't quite enough to carry the lackluster shooting. Like Dark Void, Fracture, and Timeshift before it, Inversion relies heavily on its unique twist to set it apart from other shooters, while leaving the central mechanic unpolished.

As the perspective flipped repeatedly throughout the demo, I was distracted how similar the game's set of flimsy guns felt. Sure, baddies stick to walls in completely separate gravity planes (turning firefights into more than just what's directly in front of you), but shouldn't shooting at them be more fun?

#watchthis Y, yes, Namco's February 2012 game Inversion will let you raise and lower the gravity of enemies and objects, letting you toss them and crush them. Plus the game includes zero-gravity combat and neat sequences that have enemies (or you!) running around on the walls and ceilings, as if up was down or right was down, etc. More »

Saber Interactive uses big ideas to affect familiar genres. 2007's TimeShift cleverly used control of time to reimagine tactical FPS combat. Saber's new title, Inversion, looks like an appropriate follow-up. It melds a big idea to a familiar genre in a way that will force players to think about spac...

Inversion turns third-person shooting upside down... literally.

Catch some gameplay of Inversion straight from the floor of E3 2011!

#gravityofwar Inversion might look like other cover-based shooter, but it's attempting to turn the subgenre on its ear. Literally. The game is Gears of War meets gravity. More »

Is it possible to break the laws of nature? The team behind Inversion says yes! Get the basics and more in this interview!

Check out this CG setup for Namco's gravity-bending third-person shooter.

Following in the footsteps of the host of gravity manipulating games that came before it (most notably Half Life 2), Inversion seeks to make its own mark on the genre. A third-person, cover-based shooter developed by Saber Interactive, Inversion puts players behind the reticle of law enforcement officer Davis Russel...

The invasion is upon us! Take an exclusive look at the story of Inversion!

#video Remember Inversion? If not, it's the gravity flipping shooter that Namco Bandai first announced way back in 2009. We last saw the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game in action at last year's Gamescom. Now we have a new look at Saber Interactive's third-person shooter... sort of. More »

The world turns upside down in this partly live-action trailer.

A third-person shooter that aims to turn shooters upside-down.

Use the gravity system to pull guys up out of cover and more in this three-dimensional shooter.

In late 2009, Namco Bandai announced a gravity-manipulation FPS from TimeShift developer Saber Interactive. It was to be called Inversion, and it went completely MIA following the announcement. So imagine my surprise when the publisher premiered the first footage of the game this week at its Ignite 2011 event, and then topped that with a hands-on demo.

Inversion's premise remains unchanged all these mysterious months later (even if you don't remember it -- I sure didn't): Ex-cop Davis Russel fights an invading army of aliens -- the "Lutadores" -- with an awesome, gravity-altering gizmo called the Gravlink. In its most powerful state, this device allows players to manipulate objects and enemies as if they were in zero-gravity space: Shoot a car with the Gravlink and it'll float up into the air, at which point the player can lasso the vehicle (still using the Gravlink) and employ it as mobile cover, or simply toss it as an offensive projectile. The shortcoming of the short demo I played, though, is that it didn't feature access to the full capabilities of the Gravlink, as I'd seen in the pre-demo footage.

In the demo, I was only able to toy with smaller objects, like traffic cones and random boxes. Without full access to the Gravlink, the game mostly plays like a straight-up cover-based shooter -- a competent albeit uninspired experience that's highly reminiscent of Gears of War.

Gravity...how does that work?

Saber Interactive's sci-fi shooter, Inversion, was announced back in 2009 and was scheduled to arrive in late 2010 -- and it's still in development. Publisher Namco Bandai has announced today that the game is currently pegged for a February 7, 2012 launch on Xbox 360 and PS3.

Inversion allows you to create isolated zero-gravity fields, forcing objects caught inside to defy nature's laws and provide some cover against enemy fire. You can read our preview of the game later today -- in the meantime, you can check out a new teaser trailer just above below the break.

Get a taste of Inversion in this cryptic teaser trailer!

The spiritual successor to TimeShift under the spotlight.

#gamescom2010 Saber Interactive created 2007's TimeShift, a first-person shooter with a time-twisting gimmick that wasn't particularly well received. Now they're back with Inversion, a third-person shooter with a gravity-twisting gimmick. Will history repeat itself? More »