In response to fan questions posed during a recent livestream demo, Insomniac Games has published an FAQ to answer common queries about upcoming co-op shooter Fuse.

The FAQ tells us that the game was built from the ground up for cooperative play, but is fully enjoyable for lone players thanks to helpful AI teammate bots and a LEAP mechanic that allows one gamer to seamlessly swap between the four playable characters. Specifically for co-op, Fuse will allow up to four players to game together online or two players locally in split-screen, with the option to have two other online players join the split-screeners along with support for drop-in/drop-out functionality.

Insomniac also says that the game will not require an online pass, nor will it beg for extra dollars through microtransactions. In addition to the campaign, a wave-based Echelon mode will be available with a total of six maps. A demo will be released on both consoles closer to the recently confirmed May 28 launch date.

And to those who continue to ask why Insomniac won’t make a new Spyro game, it’s because the loveable purple dragon has no hands. So stop asking already. (Of course the real answer is the fact that Activision owns the franchise rights to Spyro.)

Fuse FAQ [Insomniac Games]

Around the Web:

• Insomniac’s CEO talks about why co-op games like ‘Fuse’ prefer four players (digitaltrends.com)
• Insomniac Lights the Fuse, Launch Date Goes Boom on May 28 (vgblogger.com)
• Ted Price on how Insomniac Games’ Fuse isn’t going to be a bomb (interview) (venturebeat.com)

Insomniac Games, backed by EA, is nearly ready to launch its latest original franchise IP and the company’s first multi-platform game. The four-player co-op shooter Fuse, first announced to the world as Overstrike once upon a time, will ship May 28th in North America (May 31st in Europe) for PS3 and Xbox 360.

The masterminds behind Ratchet & Clank, Resistance and Spyro the Dragon are bringing their love of explosions and bad-ass weapons to the sci-fi world of Fuse, putting players in command of a squad of four covert agents on a mission to protect mankind from a lethal source of alien energy. Armed with advanced Xenotech weaponry and unique skills, players will team up for online co-op or play in single player mode, using the game’s LEAP mechanic to seamlessly switch control between the four playable characters on the fly.

Fuse pre-orders are currently open for business, with GameStop and Amazon.com both offering a Fusion Pack containing these in-game extras:

– Four Hyperion Prototype Agent Armor Skins — Upgrade your agents’ look with four special, state-of-the-art armor skins discovered inside the top-secret Hyperion Base.

– Four Hyperion Prototype Weapon Skins — Customize your Fuse weapons with four skins based on each of the original prototypes developed inside Hyperion Base.

– Quickdraw Team Perk — Increase your damage with this team perk adding powerful Fuse elements to all one-handed weapons for all four characters in your squad.

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