The game starts off with your character, Ethan Thomas, an FBI agent, being called to investigate a murder scene that is believed to be the latest by the serial killer "The Matchmaker". Upon investigating this grizzly crime, a disturbance is heard nearby indicating that the suspect is still around! While running to catch him, you are knocked out and have your gun stolen. The killer then uses your weapon to murder two fellow police officers! Since it was your gun, everyone believes you killed them, so it's time to do the responsible thing-RUN! Track down the killer and exonerate yourself before he can kill again.

Now, there is a great deal of suspension of disbelief required in order to believe the basic premise of the plot. As a seasoned FBI agent, Thomas should be able to calmly explain what happened at the scene with the shooting, allowing him to proceed with the investigation unhindered by the police and FBI trying to capture him for the murders. This would also allow for backup agents and access to facilities to properly document clues and evidence. As it is, Thomas does have help on "the inside" in the form of Rosa. Rosa will collect all the evidence you magically scan with your cell phone and give you almost immediate processing. Who knew you could gather a blood sample with a cell phone and transfer it to a lab-all via wireless communications. As I said, lots of suspension of disbelief.

If you can get past some of these story mechanics, however, the story flows at a solid pace with a few twists and turns to keep you on your toes. There are many elements, however, that go unexplained and really only confused me further. As you progress through the game, the supernatural raises its macabre head and that's where I really lost track of what was going on. You can unlock "case reports", accessible from the main menu, which I assumed was meant to provide background on the current case, but they really made no sense even after re-reading them a few times, I still had no idea why they were included. It was almost as if they were written for a completely different game since they had, quite literally, nothing to do with the one I was playing. Perhaps this was because I was confused about the plot, but if it's that confusing, then it's not being told properly. What I did understand, the parts about serial killers and the hunt for the killer, was enjoyable. It was everything else that still has me scratching my head, though.

The game utilizes the first person perspective, but it's not exactly a shooter. In fact, there are very few guns in the game and, due to extremely limited amounts of ammunition, you do not get much of a chance to use them often. Instead, melee is the flavor of this game. The environment is your ally as you can rip pipes off the wall and swing them at bad guys. Rip off a board and use it to smack some justice. You do have a tazer, but it takes time to charge between shots and will only stun the baddies momentarily-usually just enough so smack them with the aforementioned "justice'.

However, the bad guys in the game all end up looking the same. There's really only a handful of models used and they are used liberally throughout the game. Each has their own unique method of movement and AI and once you can identify them from a distance, they are quite easy to defeat. The only challenges are when multiple enemies have firearms and attempt to riddle you with bullets from all directions. A few zaps of the stun-gun and a beaming with a pipe or axe will usually make quick work of them, though.

The mood, though, is set very well and is the one thing that was done absolutely right. The environments are all very unique, from a run-down department store to a run-down school to a subway station. Yes, everything has a run-down or burnt-out look to it, but it doesn't get repetitive somehow. With good use of light and disturbing noises in the darkness, this is a game that will definitely make you want to plug in the old night light.

The voice acting, however, is a major letdown. The actor voicing the main character, Greg Grunberg (Agent Eric Weiss on TV's "Alias"), seems as if he was given lines to read and not told the situation. In times where the character should be stressed or anxious, the readings are calm and dead-pan. It has the effect of removing much of the drama in certain scenes when the adrenaline is flowing and then simply halted by poor delivery.

Graphically, the game looks good. As mentioned above, the texture use is very well done, but it doesn't look quite as good as some of the other launch titles. However, as a launch title, this can be expected since developers have not yet had time to fully tap the power of the new 360 console, but I feel a little more polish could've pushed the hardware a little bit more then it does.

Now, if you've read this far, you've probably gotten the impression that I didn't really like the game all that much. Well, you'd be wrong. Sure, the story was awkward, the graphics aren't fully next-gen and the acting wasn't the greatest. However, the slower paced first person gameplay was actually a lot of fun. The game is a little rough around the edges, but I had fun playing it. It's not something that will leave its mark in my gaming library, but it's definitely good late night fun. Well worth a rental, but with a relatively short and convoluted story, I'd be hard pressed to recommend it as any more then that.