60 Second Review of…Clive Barker's UndyingTom's Review: Undying is a game set in a world where most of the doors don't work. No One Lives Forever was also a game in a world where most of the doors don't work, but it had other distractions beyond the poor lighting and wind sounds that pass for atmosphere in Undying. Although it's billed as a Clive Barker created horror game, Undying is merely another action game on rails, complete with hair-pulling boss fights, nail-biting ammo management, and bone-wearying key hunts. It is a shining example of how so few horror games other than Alone in the Dark and Silent Hill truly understand horror. Yeah, it's got some nice touches, but nice touches do not a horror game make. To its credit, at least Undying is better than Dreamworks' first and scariest game, the horrifying Trespasser.
Mark's Review: The doors may be fake, but the tension's real. This one really surprised me. Undying is the scariest game I've played since Alone in the Dark. It's on rails and is a key hunt, like Tom says, but somehow that didn't bother me. I like my shooters to herd me towards my objectives so I can focus on action rather than exploration, and Undying does that. As a shooter, it provides plenty of action and some interesting new wrinkles with its use of spells alongside guns. As a horror game, it's very successful in being creepy. I was on edge every time I entered a new room for the first time. Be sure to play it at night with the lights out -- in fact it hard to play in a well-lit room because the game is too dark. If you don't mind a game based on the three Ls -- linear levels, locked doors, and limited ammo -- this is a very good game.
March 19, 2001 |
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