Zeno Clash is the debut project of the Chilean studio ACE Team, and honestly, I can't imagine a a better way to set sail into the videogame industry than with a game like this. Combining beautiful imagery with a plot that would pique the curiosity of any gamer, the 'thrill ride' Zeno Clash has to offer can only peak with a masterful realisation of gameplay ideas which were put on paper. But are ACE Team capable of pulling off something that every fresh game studio dreams of or was Zeno Clash destined for false hope from the beginning?

To begin, we'll take a look at the plot. Zeno Clash's storyline is like something out of a David Lynch movie - bizarre and hugely atmospheric. Players play Ghat, one of many children that the hermaphrodite man-bird Father-Mother raised, who wants to run away from his family, the largest and most powerful clan in the city of Halstedom. His friend and love interest Deadra will aid him on his journey through the lush, colourful and distinct lands of Zenozoik as Ghat's family and Father-Mother's lackies chase them through desert, wilderness and a number of memorable creepy places.

The impact of the storyline is undoubtedly enhanced by its characters. The air of mystery around them, their oddball outfits, goals and motives (or lack thereof) build not only the storyline but also a sense of belonging in Zeno Clash's mostly-barren worlds as a lot of the supporting characters recur throughout the game. As a protagonist, it's more or less disappointing that Ghat isn't one of the fleshed out characters - his motives, while clear at first, become only more and more questionable with every bit of history the occasional flashback mission reveals. Ghat ultimately becomes a blank slate and it's up to the player to see him as either a good or evil character. It's something that bookworms and roleplayers will enjoy, but the average gamer will lend it no more than a deaf ear.

Gameplay is without a doubt Zeno Clash's main selling point. To the untrained eye, it's the best of what Mirror's Edge's fighting system had to offer but with a couple of new tricks up its sleeve. Three punch combos, strong attacks, knee-bashing attacks and throws are all in the mix, but certain enemies will take certain measures to defeat them. Zeno Clash's 'monsters' are easily divided into two categories - light and heavy adversaries. Light adversaries are skinny humanoids that can be taken down easily with hand-to-hand combat while some even use weapons to gain the upper hand. Heavy adversaries are the exact opposite. These 'hulks' are relatively slow and rely solely on charge attacks and sluggish melee attacks if you're in their vicinity. They can only be the defeated by the use of bashing weapons such as the hammer or the bone club.

Apart from close-combat, Zeno Clash also offers a variety of ranged weapons like the musket, the dual fish-guns and many more. They are good for picking off wounded enemies and enemies at a distance, but otherwise don't serve any other purpose except for the occasional rifle-butt attack you'll land. In the end, considering these guns have an infinite amount of ammunition, with a limited clip size and slow reload times it quickly becomes clear that ACE Team don't want you to play Zeno Clash as the next Call of Duty, they want you to play the game for what it is and enjoy it. It's a smart way to streamline gamers and gameplay, and should definitely be commended.

The lands of Zenozoik are simply jaw-dropping. Especially when taking into account that all of this is running on Valve's 'Source' engine. Zeno Clash is just so awe-inspiring that its beauty is hard to put into words. Characters are meticulously modelled and detailed; and whole worlds wonderfully coloured and unique - even at first glance it's obvious that ACE Team put a lot of time and hard work into the game. The weapons also deserve a mention as their DIY design was translated well from concept art to the 3D world. Animating the character models properly is a critical step in the development of any fighter and ACE Team realised that. Enemies will dodge, rush and attack quite masterfully, and the same goes for the first-person perspective even if the swaying of the camera might make one feel a bit seasick, but that effect soon passes as the game gains in pace. But nothing is perfect as the animation feels pretty weak weapon-wise. While the melee weapons are as great as the rest, the rifles and guns suffer from a total lack of recoil. Another grudge to hold against Zeno Clash is the game's sound effects, but only in the weapon department. Again, the bone club and hammer all sound great even if a bit cartoony at times, but the ranged weapons sound weaker than a BB gun. Couple that with the wonky animation and you'll have a gun that looks like it couldn't take down a toddler with a water pistol - even if it does pack a punch in the game if used correctly.

End-game content-wise, Zeno Clash offers 19 achievements and a 'challenge mode'. The 'challenge mode' comprises five tower levels, each having a number of stages for you to beat before moving onto another level. The levels are filled with 'situations' where you have to fight a certaint amount of enemies, with or without a weapon, etc. It's a fun way to practice and the tower level difficulties are just about right. The 'challenge mode' also offers a scoreboard where you can land yourself a spot either by the time it took you to complete a tower level or by the amount of health you lost. You can compare your scores with your friends and group members, but leaving out the possibility to check out a 'global' scoreboard will make the 'challenge mode' seem a bit unappealing to most gamers.

In the end, despite its ups and downs Zeno Clash's originality is what makes it stand out from the rest of the pack. Beautiful and jaw-dropping visuals, a storyline with curious characters and a deeper meaning (for those who care to dig deep) and gameplay which rases the bar on games to follow. This is what makes Zeno Clash worth every penny, every second, every drop of sweat and anguished shout. This is what makes Zeno Clash a strong candidate for a timeless new cult classic.

This is what makes ACE Team's Zeno Clash truly great.