Recently in First-person shooter Category

Gotham City Imposters, a downloadable FPS in which players play as characters pretending to be characters from the Batman universe, has been delayed from a January release to a February release.

The game is set to be available for PC download, PlayStation Network and XBox Live.

Warner Bros. Games announced the postponement today. The game looks nothing like the publishers popular "Arkham" series of Batman games. Instead, it looks a bit like the vigilantes who Christian Bale's Batman mocked in "The Dark Knight" for fighting crime while wearing hockey pads got a bunch of guns and started shooting at people dressed like the Joker, who also have a bunch of guns.

In other words, the game's aesthetic looks more like a Team Fortress-style wackiness instead of Call of Duty-style this-is-so-hardcore-ness.

As far as whether the game turns out to be any good, I guess we'll find out in February.

id Software isn't known for strong, single player storytelling. They usually leave that to others such as Raven Software. Anyone that has played their games knows that they're more about eye candy and blistered trigger fingers replacing favorite fictional moments with tales of narrowly avoiding your best friend's missile punch.

But Rage is different. At the very least, it's very different for id.

Playing the BF3 beta was a little confusing. The game is due out in a few weeks, so putting it into beta this close to release seemed bizarre.

It covers only one multiplayer map, Metro, which takes place in a subway tunnel in France along with a little above-ground action for plenty of close quarters shooting. It's also objective based meaning players will be switching roles between defense and offense. It also means that it's a map with no vehicles which can be a bit disappointing to some.

Technically, beta tests are handled a few months in advance of finalizing the code for release so that if anything critical crops up, it can be fixed before hitting retail. At least that's how it's ideally supposed to go. Though in today's world of "0-day" patches and broadband speeds, that probably doesn't mean a hell of a lot.

Likely, the "beta" for BF3 was to test multiplayer stress on the network to better prepare for when it goes prime time on October 25th. On that count, it seems to be doing okay even with the occasional  128-player hack floating around in PC Land.

I also hope that some of the other issues won't show up in the final game such as prone clipping, or falling through the map and getting stuck leaving suicide the only escape. I was killed on one map by someone trapped this way because they were able to shoot me from below the objective I was attacking.

One thing that stuck with me was how familiar it felt. Coming off of Bad Company 2, BF3's beta felt like I was heading back for more of the same with a new set of maps. That's not entirely a bad thing, especially if you couldn't get enough of the game. And I'll admit that I had some fun while shooting through Metro's wrecked venue.

The demo also cuts loose with a large number of unlocks and, from what I could see, no level ceiling, so if anything, it's a nice, free multiplayer shooter. Some players have also really taken to it - I've seen a few leveled into their twenties and thirties already though I doubt any of that will carry over into the full game.

If I weren't a fan of the series before I doubt this would have convinced me as much as the trailers had worked so well to, but I'm sure that the full game - with actual vehicles - will be a lot more exciting when everything comes together near the end of this month.

Today's a big day for new releases, as Rage, Dark Souls and NBA 2K12 hit stores, while former PC exclusive Crysis becomes available for XBox Live and PlayStation Network.

Rage, from id Software and Bethesda Softworks, is an FPS set in a post-apocalyptic earth. The people at id Software gave the world bloody FPS games like Castle Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake back when the FPS genre was dominated by PC titles and gamers actually played the single-player campaigns. Rage is released for PC, PlayStation 3 and XBox 360.

Dark Souls, developed by From Software and published by Namco Bandai, is the "spiritual sequel" to PlayStation 3 exclusive Demon's Souls. That game earned a reputation for extreme difficulty, and Namco Bandai is banking on that reputation to promote the sequel. Dark Souls is a PlayStation 3 and XBox 360 release.

NBA 2K12 is 2K Sports' latest iteration of its basketball franchise. The developers are trying to build on last year's well-received Jordan Challenge mode with the new "End the Debate" feature, in which players can play as all-time greats like Jordan, Magic and Dr. J to settle who deserves to be known as the GOAT. NBA 2K12 is out for Nintendo Woo, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Sony PSP and XBox 360.

Console gamers probably missed Crysis, Crytek's futuristic FPS that is probably known more for its high system requirements than its gameplay. But after releasing Crysis 2 for PC and consoles earlier this year, the original game is now available for console players via PlayStation Network or XBox Live download.

So big that it's going to require a little disc swapping on the Xbox 360 to see it all. The PS3 version comes on one blu-ray, but both versions allow installation of content on the consoles given that you have enough space to pack all of it down.

The PS3 version, for example, is an 8GB installation that will have players doing something else for the several minutes it will take to complete. And as an aside for the PC "Master Race", installations are just par for the course other than in waiting for a service like Steam to unlock the game for its official debut on October 4th.

According to id's own Tim Willits in an interview with Eurogamer, however, Xbox 360 players won't have to install everything. They can get away with installing one of the discs (such as multiplayer which is on its own) and then uninstalling it to install another if they're pressed on space though that sounds like more of a chore than in simply getting up and switching the disc.

We've come far since the days of installing multiple floppies and CDs on PCs even though the dreaded disc swap is still with us. Developers have also been getting a lot better in organizing the data to make sure that its as one-way as possible.

RPGs have been doing that with titles such as Lost Odyssey and FF13, though some players are still irritated at having to physically change the media regardless of whatever technical advances are made. For me, I see these as small breaks to do something else before diving back into the action - such as loading up on snacks before the next action packed run.

Would you like to go to Paris and shoot at people?

Of course you would, but you probably don't have the authority to initiate military actions against France. That being the case, you may be interested in learning that the open beta for Battlefield 3 is scheduled to be open to PC, PlayStation 3 and XBox 360 players on Sept. 29.

The beta takes place in a multiplayer map set in Paris. See for yourself:

Bodycount carries itself as arcade-styled FPS that generically pits you against an enemy known only as 'the Target' in two major areas: a fictional country in West Africa and a city on the Chinese coast. Apparently, 'the Target' is supporting conflict throughout the world for some unknown reason and as a part of 'the Network', you are guided to stop them by a mysterious voice.