Gamma World : Alpha Mutation is an odd license for Atari to take on for a number of reasons. It's a classic pen-and-paper RPG, but it was never a franchise that set the world on fire. Moreover, it's setting – a tongue-in-cheek post-nuclear apocalypse where mutants and things like yetis are commonplace – isn't exactly something that resonates with a large number of people the way, say, elves and dwarfs do. Nonetheless Atari's creating Gamma World for XBLA, PSN and PC for later this year, trying to introduce us to a ridiculous universe that few save the die-hard fans will be familiar with.

We+don't+have+screens,+but+here's+some+teaser+art.

Gamma World is a third-person shooter mixed with RPG elements. In classic pen-and-paper fashion you create a custom character, pick from one of six origin stories and select a race from a number of bizarre choices. Want to create a yeti or radioactive man? Go right ahead! If that's not enough, why not just go ahead and mix them into a hybrid race that looks like something out of a cheesy horror flick -- stranger is better in Gamma World, apparently.Once your character's all figured out, you get to play through Gamma World's campaign. It's largely a dungeon crawler, where slaying hordes of enemies just to get a little bit of loot is commonplace. Your goal is to collect a bunch of items, get super powerful, and prevent the world from experiencing another catastrophic event. At this early stage there weren't very many varied enemies to fight, and even the pig/human hybrids (called Porkers) that the character blasted into bits were really dumb. I'm assured that the A.I. is all placeholder for now, but it didn't exactly make Gamma World's combat look very fun.We live in a time when third-person shooters are abundant, so Gamma World is really going to need to play up its RPG roots to stand out. I'm told the crafting system will be significant, and players will constantly be collecting "treasure" to use later. I say "treasure" because prized items in Gamma World include things we'd consider trash. It is after the apocalypse, after all.Just like the table-top Gamma World, Alpha Mutation isn't meant to be played alone. The campaign supports up to two player local coop, and online may support up to four (technical limitations might cut it down to three). This wasn't operational in the brief demo I saw, but being able to explore the absurdities of Gamma World with my friends makes it a much more enticing prospect.Gamma World: Alpha Mutation is in a such a state that it's too early to make heads or tails of the final experience. The premise is kooky enough to make it stand out, but the combat and enemies are currently unremarkable. Introducing a new universe and all its backstory is difficult work, and it seems like this is clearly a focus for Gamma World, I just hope Atari doesn't forget to make a fun game in the process.