Cheapshot is a chaotic and strange take on the location-based genre

Cheapshot is an interesting multiplayer title that's found some success in places like Moscow and Stockholm. Like Pokemon GO or any other of Niantic's AR games, it uses your GPS location to let you explore an in-game version of your city. It's a very social experience, allowing you to chat with friends, destroy other players' items, or take part in weird encounters around town.

Interestingly, Cheapshot opts not to hide exactly where your friends and other players are on the map, meaning it's easy to partner up with (or potential grief) them. It's really up to you how you want to treat your fellow players, but there is a slight competitive lean here when it comes to claiming specific areas in your town.

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Basically, you can plant a cactus and lay claim to wherever your heart desires, but you'll of course have to be ready to defend it from others, especially if you've picked a particularly desirable location. This is pretty much guaranteed to cause all manner of conflicts.

Some of this type of action can be seen in the trailer above. We get a quick look at in-game police shootouts, robberies, and – of course – epic dragon battles… I never said Cheapshot is going for gritty realism.

It looks like a fairly lighthearted time, but I'm sure players will find myriad ways to turn that on its head. The text-to-speech chat is a neat addition, though it likely means that Cheapshot won't exactly make for a kid-friendly time, and that's before you consider how being able to see everyone's location could cause trouble. Still, there's perhaps the option to turn off some of these features to open the game up to a wider audience.

If you'd like to test it out yourself, Cheapshot is currently in early access on Google Play, while iOS players can grab the game from the App Store.