Judging a game like The Club is a bit of a challenge at an event like E3. While lines were nonexistent and it was readily available for play at Sega's Barker Hangar booth—that is, when Sega reps weren't chatting about traffic routes in front of kiosks or dominating the game themselves—The Club impresses that it's going to require a hearty time investment to fully appreciate. The demo level was short, mind you, but as the game is largely a third-person shooter Time Attack mode that requires steady aim and intimate knowledge of each level, it's not something that can be wholly grasped in 15 minute bites.

In fact, my first play through of the game on normal difficulty, I scored a meager 218,000 points in a below ten minute period. That's just shy of the 220,000 point target score. The Sega employee sitting on his ass instead of helping attendees demo the game, however, really knew his stuff. He finished the round with a score of 4 million, clearly illustrating his focus on playing during E3, not his skill at PR.

The Bizarre Creations developed shooter draws on the best of the Project Gotham Racing series, Gears of War, Smash TV and Manhunt. The thrill kill shooter won't put up much of a fight in the way of AI or powerful enemies, but based on my impressions, it will challenge your speed, level familiarity and aim.

In addition to taking out scores of enemies in the fastest time possible, there are a number of bonuses one can nab throughout each level. Extra credit is given for things like headshots, weapon pickups and shooting elective targets called Skull Shots. Stringing together multiple kills and avoiding "combo bleed" is key to score improvement.

So how's it look? Hard to say, as I didn't have a second to blink, let alone survey the texturing, modeling and lighting work. The Club, from what I can remember between kills, looks serviceable, even good, possibly gorgeous—but graphics aren't really the focus. The official screenshots look pretty solid, but they're not indicative of what you'll see when actually playing. I do remember that the frame rate was solid, something that should be expected given Bizarre's racing game prowess and the frenetic nature of the game.

The combo-based gameplay is a welcome mechanic in the overcrowded shooter genre, but we'll need more time with The Club to get a better impression of how it plays as a whole.