The Club

Platform: 360, also PS3 & PC.
Verdict: I'll not be joining.
Rating: 3½/5
Those that predicted a Running Man style direction for sport after seeing the lycra clad trash The Gladiators, may still be crying in disappointment into their giant foam hands. Luckily for society, blood sports are generally frowned upon, even if they involve opera singers covered in lightbulbs. So, it's up to the underworld to organise such nefarious activities, perhaps in the shape of The Club.
No, this isn't Paul's dream dance game about a nightclub, it's an illegal group that organises death matches between skilled gunmen seeking riches, while the rich enjoy the show. As one of these gunmen you're tasked with surviving a tournament of different battles while racking up a huge score to become top of the table.
Bringing to mind 2000AD's revered Button Man series, The Club is a shallower gunfest with little story and lots of action. With a character select screen and an emphasis on speed runs and high scores, The Club draws from racers and beat-em-ups to add spice to the genre. Created by the team behind Project Gotham Racing this comes as little surprise.
At first the action may not quite click – relying on a string of closely timed kills to keep a bleeding combo meter going means the pace can take a little getting used. Once you grasp that this time the term 'run and gun' literally applies, everything changes for the better. Running full pelt through each environment while pulling off a quick succession of skilled shots certainly gets the adrenaline pumping, If only it had the controls to handle such frenetic action.
Strangely, the shooter made by a company famed for racers is let down by handling. Sluggish aiming, clunky controls and a reload that locks you into an animation is cause for much frustration. The disappointments don't end there either – with ties to beat-em-ups watered down to a single melee attack and the loud announcement of 'Fight!' at the start of each round, The Club feels like a watered down sum of its parts.
Feeling slightly clubbed to death by the glut of shooters on the 360, it's certainly refreshing to see someone try something new. Attempting to fuse aspects of shooters, racers and beat-em-ups into a new whole is admirable, if only the end result met that potential. The Club promised much and delivers some – disappointing, yet still worth a blast for the score hungry adrenalin junkies out there, and fans of pugel sticks maybe.