Plain Sight

Throw in five different game modes and that about sums Plain Sight up. Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch ("Weakest Clink") and Capture the Flag probably need no introduction, but there's also Lighten Up and 'Ninja! Ninja! Robozilla!'

Lighten Up has players attempting to detonate on a small target area with as much energy as possible, and the biggest explosion wins the round. 'Ninja! Ninja! Robozilla!' is probably the weakest of the five, with players taking turns to control a giant, superpowered robot wearing a Godzilla helmet as everybody else tries to whittle them down to size. The mode's welcome for variety's sake, but when the period spent actually searching for the Robozilla player is abruptly followed by them using nothing more than their size and stats to crush you, you're not enjoying Plain Sight at its strongest.

Plain Sight at its strongest is a staggeringly wonderful thing: the drama and animal agility of the aerial combat, the inventive visuals, the gambling and daring that's inherent in any victory as you hoard energy then risk a timely detonation. The only problem is that Plain Sight doesn't always fulfil this potential in the same way that you can rely on, say, a round of Smash Bros. to provide its brand of chaotic, madcap fun with every single match.

For instance, playing Plain Sight online in some of the more cramped or cluttered maps never feels as stylish as it should. This being the internet, players display trademark psychotic aggression and as a result Plain Sight's duelling-samurai aspirations are replaced somewhat by the sense of trying not to get stung in the middle of a swarm of bees.

More pervasive is the disappointing feeling that you're not quite as in control as you'd like to be. Your robot's jumps and charges make up for in enthusiasm what they lack in precision, and because everyone's capable of moving so speedily it's impossible to form a really cohesive mental map of your surroundings. There's a frustration in setting your sights on a particular player, only to find five seconds later that you've ended up locking onto a different player in a bizarre online videogame re-imagining of three-card Monte.

Plain Sight sits simmering on the hob like a pot of genius soup that's lacking something, and I don't think even the developers could figure out what. It's too fast, but the speed is part of the appeal. Locking on is difficult, but if it wasn't you'd get blown up all the time by other players. There's nothing for it but to accept Plain Sight for what it is - a fun, smart, inventive action game that comes with a big grin and a cheap price tag.

I still want to give it 12 because I can't shake this dim belief that Plain Sight is what more multiplayer games should be. Why restrict ourselves to earthly, familiar scenes when we can control extraordinary robots and duel in a gravity playground? Why keep death as such a one-dimensional, sad event? We have a medium where we can do anything, and be anything. Plain Sight is made by people who understand that, I think.