The game is set in Tokyo of the near-future, in which a covert war is being waged between the National Security Force, a public force under control of the Prime Minister, and JINRAI, a powerful branch of the Japanese military (which had previously and unsuccessfully attempted a coup). NSF has sworn to protect the Japanese constitution, which does not allow military action outisde Japan. JINRAI sees such actions as the solution to Japan’s geo-political problems.

The gameplay consists of single-life rounds, and after you die you are forced to watch in spectate mode for the rest of the round. This is similar to many popular multiplayer games: Counter-Strike, Call of Duty 4′s Search and Destroy mode, and TF2′s own Arena mode all share similar round styles.

Also like Tf2, NT allows players to pick from three classes- the Scout/Spy-like “recon,” the well-rounded “assault,” and the slow but powerful “support.” Each has it’s own myriad of abilities…

The Recon has the least health (called “integrity” in-game), is the fastest, has night vision, remote detonators, and can sprint indefinitely. The recon can fit into areas that are too small for the other classes, and can jump extra-far a few times before tiring. It also has the longest cloak (aka “therm-optic camo”). Therm optic camo’s cloak is not as complete as the Spy’s in TF2, but is visible against simple backgrounds. In addition, you can shoot while cloaked (with a visible flash that silencers remove. Look here for a good example of the cloak). The recon also has access only to lightweight weapons, but can also aquire sniper rifles (more on the weapon system in a bit).

The Assault is the most balanced class- allowed a limited sprint and a good walking speed, a medium amount of health, frag grenades, and a short-duration cloak while able to access heavier weapons than the recon. The assault also has “motion vision” which lights up any moving player, even those who are cloaked. As such, the assault is the best choice for a balanced player who wants to get into direct action but be able to use Recon-like abilities when needed.

The Support is the tank of the game. Slow and strong, the support can neither dash nor cloak, but makes up for it with an enormous amount of health, heavy-duty weapons, and smoke grenades that only its thermo vision can see through (though thermo does make it harder to navigate and see cloaked enemies). Often my class of chioce, the support is probably the easiest to learn- no cloak or dashing to worry about, and you’re equal or better than everyone else in a one-on-one fight.

The only game mode available in NT (at least when I played) is called “ctg” for Capture the Ghost. The Ghost is the game’s “flag,” and wither team can win by taking it to one of their designated drop points, or by eliminating the other team.

To pick up the Ghost a player must abandon their main weapon and use only their pistol, and their position also becomes clearly marked to every player. However, when holding the Ghost (with the pistol holstered) they can see the direction and distance away of every close enemy player, making teamwork invaluble- one player can give enemy directions while his teammate takes them out.

The weapons available to a player at any given time are restricted by two things: thier class and their rank. Every player starts off ranked as a “private” when they join a server or a new map, with only the basic weapons available to them. As they gain points by staying alive, picking up and capturing the ghost, or (obviously) killing people, the weapon lists expands three more times, to a max rank of “lieutenant,” at which high-powered sniper rifles and machine guns with 100-round clips become available. This makes later rounds on any map more enjoyable (if you’ve done well) because you get to use rare and fun weapons that arent normally there.

This large discussion of the gameplay leaves out perhaps the most important aspect: the atmosphere. Neotokyo feels like real city with a real culture- strange vending machines abound, selling things ranging from beetle toys to erotic pictures, glowing billboards advertise strange brand names in English and Japanese, and public announcements that sound like airport safety warnings can be heard in many maps. The technology also looks and seems plausible in the near future; dropships strongly resemble Smart Cars with jets, and Tachikoma can be found in throughout the maps (these themes take much from Ghost in the Shell and Akira).

Overall, the feeling of a super-saturated, technologically advanced city in the midst of a covert war pervades the game. For those who played Half-Life 2, remember that moment when you first walk into the streest of City 17 and are bombarded by the sights and sounds of a city under alien control? It feels a HELL of a lot like that.

The game still needs some polish, in my opinion; too often a support will win a fight against a recon simply because of the health difference, and some of the medium unlock weapons are not always satisfying (one unlock is simply a silenced version of its predecessor, but for a class that has no need for silencers). Nevertheless, a game worth getting (ESPECIALLY since it’s FREE) and playing a few rounds in, just for the atmostphere.

For those wanting more of a taste, here’s the extremely impressive trailer, and the helpful Noob Hints (one of which shows up in game at the begenning of each round). Oh, and here’s the download mirror page for those who want to get right in.

Two things before I’m done: first, dont forget to re-start Steam after you install it (I sure did!), and second, you walk faster with your knife out (or your pistol as support, since you cant take your knife out for some reason). It’s really helpful at the begenning of the round.

Now get shooting people!

For those of you that haven’t heard of this total conversion mod, please follow through this link for a rather atmospheric trailer. Neotokyo, which has been in development for a few years, will be available free of charge. After viewing the trailer, you probably won’t have any reasons not to try it out when it gets released.