Fuse

Fuse is an action game, which features four-player co-op and a selection of weapons, akin to those which are prominently featured in Insomniac Games' PlayStation-exclusive Ratchet & Clank and Resistance series. Each character has its own powerful unique Fuse-powered weapon than can assist other players in gameplay. For example, Dalton's weapon is a mag shield that can absorb bullets, and its secondary fire can push the bullets back to the enemies, killing them. The first official released screenshots revealed that Fuse is a third-person action game with cover shooting mechanics.

Characters also have a skill tree, which can be upgraded as a player increases his or her level. The game also includes a horde mode, titled Echelon, similar to that in Gears of War.

The game is set in the near future and follows a team of four misfit agents collectively known as Overstrike 9, whose mission is to stop the evil Raven Corporation from gaining an alien substance called Fuse. Using Fuse powered weapons and tech gadgets and lethal teamwork to gain the energy. The members of Overstrike 9 are Dalton Brooks (voiced by Brian Bloom), a reformed and sarcastic mercenary, equipped with a Mag Shield, which is an energy shield, Naya Deveraux (voiced by Jennifer Hale), worked for Raven with her dad, she is equipped with a cloak device and has a gun that creates tiny black holes called the Warp Rifle, Isabelle "Izzy" Sinclair (voiced by Ali Hillis), a gifted, but rebellious young scientist, equipped with a crystallization gun called the Shattergun, and Jacob Kimble (voiced by Khary Payton), a decorated detective with a bit of a temper, equipped with a fire crossbow called the Arcshot. Their government handler is Lyndon Burgess, codenamed Oculus (voiced by David Kaye).

The antagonists include Dalton's ex-lover and boss, Meilin Mao (voiced by Gwendoline Yeo), Naya's estranged father working for Raven, Luther Deveraux (voiced by JB Blanc), Ivan Sovlenko (voiced by Steve Blum), who purposely injects himself with Fuse to grant himself superhuman abilities and Senator William Fable (voiced by David B. Mitchell), who plans to use Fuse to make his weaponry more powerful.

In May 2010, Ted Price said Insomniac Games were at work on a multiplatform game for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. On June 6, 2011, during Electronic Arts' press conference at E3 2011, that game was revealed to be called Overstrike with a trailer and a short appearance and synopsis from Price. On August 31, 2012, the game was revealed to have been reworked and rebranded as Fuse. The game was developed at their main studio in Burbank, California, and was published as part of the EA Partners program for the aforementioned platforms. This marks the first time the developer was to own its own IP, as well as the first time they released a game with a publisher other than Sony Computer Entertainment since Universal Interactive Studios.

Fuse received "mixed" reviews on both platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Most praised its Fuse weapons and co-op action, but criticized its team A.I. and confusing tone. Its change in art style and tone from Overstrike was criticized by some which called its new look generic and uninspired. First week sales in the UK were low, with the game reaching number 37 on the all-format charts.

National Post gave the Xbox 360 version a score of eight out of ten and said it was "a strong foray for Insomniac. It's the Ratchet & Clank/Resistance developer's first game that isn't exclusive to Sony systems, and is a polished piece of software." The Escapist similarly gave it a score of four stars out of five and said, "Some of Fuse's flaws, like the grindy boss fights and a storyline that takes itself a little too seriously at times, can harm the experience, but it's a well built third-person shooter that's fun to play solo or on a team." 3 out of 10 and called it "a bare-boned [sic] co-op shooter.