Standing watching the enemy bombing a bridge with a fleet of tanks, it becomes clear how gorgeously detailed the landscape is; waterfalls cascade, the sun hangs heavy in a sky filled with smoggy clouds and the view is rustic to say the least. Based on the Unreal engine, Damnation looks stunning but, of course, you’ll have little time to appreciate the view as there are bad guys to kill. Yet the environments themselves feel oddly static – except when being bombed that is – and it’s almost as if your presence is at odds with the world you inhabit.

We were thrown into the action as a chap named Rourke (although there was no cut-scene to explain more about who he is and what exactly he’s supposed to be doing bar shooting people), and with his hat and pistols it’s hard not to think of him as some kind of futuristic cowboy. Indeed, that was the first thing that popped into our heads upon seeing the artwork stamped onto the preview disc. Either way, he’s one badass and, together with sidekick NPCs Winslow and Yakecan, we were guided through the tutorial level of Arrowtree. Yes, a tutorial, which while boring and a little bit predictable (shoot, run, jump, look around; that kind of thing) put us in good stead for the trials to come.

While Damnation might be based on the Unreal engine this isn’t an FPS. Throughout you get to look over Rourke’s shoulder as he shoots his way through an unpleasant world. Thankfully, you are not without technology, even if the game itself feels right out of the Old West: pistols are augmented to feel more like Uzis spitting out several dozen bullets a second, bridges are made out of corrugated metal, steps from stone and the game is filled with ruins of Spanish-style churches that give it that once colonised, now forgotten feel. There are plenty of vehicles to try including bikes and the more traditional four-wheeled variety. Damnation isn’t just a shooter though, it also has moments when it thinks it’s a platformer; Rourke can also do all the standard moves like using zip lines, diving in windows, vaulting, climbing walls and dangling off ledges.

The good thing is that the controls actually feel natural, with aiming and shooting really making it feel that bit more fun to play. Yes, a fun shooter. While it would be good to have more of the storyline available, the premise is intriguing enough and that’s reflected in the environment. Wood and metal make a welcome change from all the tech-heavy sci-fi shooters that we’ve had over the last year. Fortunately there’s not an alien in sight and the semi-natural environments give the game an almost back-to-nature feel.

Bits of the storyline are divulged as you run, jump and shoot your way through hostile territory. A loudspeaker beseeches the people to join their cause, but unfortunately we couldn’t find out more due to the overly loud background music. There are also cut-scenes peppered throughout, but frankly we were far more interested in the Spirit Vision ability. Yep, it sounds like it's ripped straight out of Prey but it's genuinely handy for making sure you know the layout of new areas or how many bad guys are hiding round the corner.

We got to have a mosey around three levels; Arrowtree, Boomtown Mines and Boomtown Skies. Each is a frantic firefight where the HUDfree view really makes a difference. There’s one small section in the upper left hand corner which lets you know about important stuff like guns and ammo but that’s it. Health, or lack of it, is determined by the colour of the screen. So at full health the game looks just as you seen in the screenshots – colourful and detailed – but as we took damage the screen began to take on a greyish tone, eventually becoming completely foggy then going blood red, prompting a reload from the last check point.

Perhaps one of Damnation’s defining features is the variation in how you play each level – we’re not just talking two or three routes either, more like quadruple that. Some routes are obvious, others hidden, and it’s often thanks to subtle hints from your buddies or by following twists and turns in the landscape that you get to really explore – once you’ve killed everything that might end up killing you first, of course. It’s this kind of detail which will help to elevate Damnation from just some new shooter to one you actually should play, particularly when you factor in the setting and the hybrid gameplay.

Granted, it’s still early days and the code we played reflected this, but it certainly gave us a taste of what Damnation has in store, and left us pining for more.