Mr. Leng's Undying Review
posted at 9:50 PM on Thursday, March 22nd, 2001
Introduction
| Publisher |
| Electronic Arts |
| |
| System Requirements: |
PII 266
350MB HD Space
64 MB Ram
2 MB video RAM
No hardware acceleration required. |
| |
| Reviewed Using: |
PIII 500
128 MB RAM
GeForce 32MB |
I’m not afraid to admit I enjoy playing video games. I can appreciate all kinds: strategy, shooters, role-playing, simulation, etc. But there’s one brand that holds a special place in my dark and infernal heart: Horror. I thrive on the sense of dread that well-crafted horror games give me, always anticipating the latest release, eager for the next pang of fear.
Up until now, I’ve considered Silent Hill to be the crown jewel of the genre, a true masterpiece of terror, letting the player’s mind turn upon itself, wondering what nameless horror the darkness beyond your sight held. This was the way it’s supposed to be, I believed. Then I got my cold, clammy hands upon a copy of Clive Barkers Undying and was thrown into a wide open world of unabashed fright.
Now what limited experience (cinematically) I’ve had with Clive Barkers works hadn’t left me terribly impressed. Hellraiser I and II were pleasant enough, and Lord of Illusions was a thoughtful little homage to someone near-and-dear me, but the rest of his works were laughable at best. I still believe the art of developing a truly frightful film to be lost, devoured by the Hollywood sense of big budgets and grandiose special effects.
I must admit, however, that Mr. Barker's influence upon this game has turned it into something fiendishly-special and given me a profound sense of respect for the man. He managed to guide the developers away from creating just another “shoot-up-the-baddies” with the typical angry-badass protagonist, into an actual interactive horror story experience.
Story
Undying follows the story of Patrick Galloway, a World War I veteran who spent the years following the war traveling the world, immersed in the world of the supernatural and the occult. At the outset of the game, Galloway is summoned to the estate of his friend and wartime companion, Jeremiah Covenant, in order to help him track down the source of a family curse that he claims has taken the lives of his four siblings and is set to bring him down next.
Players join Galloway in his trek above and below the sinister grounds of the Irish estate, hunting down clues in regards to the source of this family curse and even encountering the undead siblings and their bestial minions.
The story is progressed through the usage of the “Scrye” magic, uncovered journals or letters and well-done cut scenes and dialogues with Jeremiah, his siblings and even the few groundskeepers who remain on the property.
On a side-note, I found that the game struck me as almost “Castelevania”-ish, in that you had a sprawling manor in which you would often times have to go back and access a previously blocked off area with some object or key that you recently discovered. Not the most literary of notions perhaps, but that was until someone pointed out to me its resemblance to the H.P Lovecraft story, “The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward”. For those of you unfamiliar with the tale, there is a portion of the story where a group of local villagers enter the sanctuary of an out-of-control warlock and attempt to put an end to his magical practices. What they find in the catacombs beneath his house, however, defies all logic and hurls many of the men into insanity. Needless to say, that feeling of uncertainty as to what you will find next lurking in the shadows beneath the manor permeates this game rather well. A fitting relation if I do say so myself.
Gameplay
The gameplay itself is rather unique in that it attempts to create realistic dynamics in this supernatural world. Bullets ricochet off of items and aren’t always 100% accurate. Fall damage takes place, and enemies do as much damage as you would expect from a razor-sharp claw to the face.
When players are struck by enemies their field of view is thrown off as if their “heads” were knocked back by the blow. Certain attacks will also leave temporary blood marks or residual traces on the players screen, but not in such a severe manner as to hinder the player’s counterattacks. My first few battles with enemies took a heavy toll as I had trouble readjusting my view, but after a while I got used to it and learned to anticipate the aftershock of the attack.
Speaking of which, I found the first half of the game to be quite thrilling and fitting of the term “survival horror”. Ammo was scarce and your character was relatively weak magically, so one had to be quick and, even turn tail and run should the situation get too hairy. Not that it helped all the time, as on a few occasions I found myself turning to run only to be faced with enemies that had flanked my position. The AI was well done and I only noticed a few instances where an enemy would get stuck against a piece of the environment.
Along with the typical handgun and shotgun, Galloway finds items such as a spear gun and Molotov cocktails. However he also stumbles across strange and rather unique weapons such as: the dragon-on-stick Tibetan War Cannon that lobs chunks of frozen ice at enemies and The Scythe of the Celt, able to swing in two modes: short, quick slice and massive, full strength reaper-of-souls swing. There are a couple more weapons, but I’ll save that for you to find out about.
In addition to his weapons, Galloway is also equipped with an expandable knowledge of the arcane arts. Over the course of the game you will be able to find scroll, which will increase your magical repertoire and also increase your lethality. Perhaps the most interesting of these magical abilities is that of “Scrye” which would allow the player to view events which take place out of the natural order of time and space. Through the use of this spell Galloway is able to bear witness or at least eavesdrop upon events which took place years ago or perhaps take place beyond the view of his mortal eyes. An interesting tool which helps expand on the story and at certain points adds a degree of uneasiness to the equation.
What dismayed me a bit was that during the second half of the game, due to Galloway’s acquisition of a massive arsenal of weapons and spells, he shifted more from becoming the hunted to becoming the hunter. Hence, I found that the last half just didn’t set me on edge as much as the first, when all that stood between me and death was a couple shotgun shells and a few health-kits.
As for actual flaws, I only had one gripe and that was in that each time you died, the game would automatically reload from the beginning of the loaded level, and not from your last autosave. I often had to wait for it to load me back to the beginning and then reload my autosave, which was the more recent of the two. A bit frustrating and time consuming, but a minor flaw nonetheless.
Aesthetics
The game provided all you would expect from the UT engine and perhaps a bit more. Clothing effects were well done and quite realistic. Humans and monsters alike were beautifully shaded and designed.
The landscape and architecture were no less stunning, providing players with a realistic backdrop to the horrors that await them within the game-world. Grasslands seem to shimmer with the passing of wind and water appears so deep and dark you would half expect something to reach out from its depths and grab you. Fans of the Resident Evil series will feel right at home within the dark walls of the Covenant manor.
However, graphical situation is where my only other negative point comes into play. I believed that the sky boxes could have been of perhaps a bit better quality. Perhaps it’s a limitation of the Unreal Tournament Engine, but often times the low color quality of the sky contrasted too sharply from the rich colors and detail of the surrounding landscape, particularly during the dusk and “Oneiros” areas.
Sound
The sound in this game is absolutely phenomenal; surpassing almost everything I’ve previously experience in an FPS. The ambience wreaks havoc on your nerves as you hear distant groans or cries and can only help but picture what sort of grotesque monster might have uttered those unholy sounds and whether or not it lurks around the next corner. The creatures that infest the manor-grounds also provide distinct and blood-curdling cries that will tip you off to their presence but not always their direction.
Weapons sound effects are decent, but nothing special, except perhaps for the scythe, which is makes a deliciously evil slicing effect as you lop off parts of your enemies’ limbs and/or head.
Voice acting is well done, and well above the quality most would expect from a video game of all things. Galloway himself is such a likeable hero I often found myself wishing he spoke more.
The music is all quality material, adding a cinematic effect to the drama that takes place within the game. I’m especially fond of the title music, which is just chock-full of unholy goodness.
Value
Well worth the $39.99 you are forced to plunk down on this title, if not at least to gaze upon the delightful box art. Also, (no doubt a direct mandate from the corporate goons at EA) if the game sells well enough they’ll release a multiplayer patch for it and undoubtedly a sequel. Yes, you heard right, there’s no multiplayer mode, yet. However don’t let that dissuade you, as the pure quality of the game itself should be enough for the most hardcore gamer. I plan on going through the game at least twice in an effort to find all the secrets as I’m quite sure there a few that I’ve missed.
Conclusion
If you’re a true horror genre aficionado, you’ll see to it you buy this game. If you’re not, well then what do I care what happens to you- begone, peon!
Story- 4.5/5
More depth in this story than you’d receive from any Hollywood conceived horror film.
Gameplay- 4.5/5
An appealing cross of realistic and supernatural game physics.
Aesthetics- 4/5
Not quite as good as some of the latest and greatest but easy on the eyes nonetheless.
Sounds- 5/5
Superb music and sound effects, walking alone at night will never be the same again.
Value- 4/5
Despite the lack of multiplayer upon release, the game is just worth it. It reeks of Quality.
The Verdict- 4.5/5
The game takes great strides to give re-energize the presence of evil in the gaming world.
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