Amazon.com Review: After making a name for himself with horror classics such as The Damnation Game novel, The Books of Blood short-story collection, and the feature films Hellraiser and Candyman, Clive Barker has slowly moved away from the horror genre toward more fantasy-centric work. Barker hasn't completely forgotten about his first love, however, and Clive Barker's Undying, a first-person action game from Electronic Arts and DreamWorks Interactive, beautifully captures the type of horrors that populated Barker's earliest works. And not only is this game genuinely frightening, it's also a lot of fun to play.
Cast against the backdrop of Ireland in the year 1923, Undying follows Patrick Galloway, an investigator of the paranormal. Galloway has been summoned to Ireland by his old war buddy Jeremiah Covenant to put an end to the strange occurrences at the Covenant family estate. What Galloway finds is a house of horrors that is populated with Jeremiah's dead siblings (and other ghastly creatures), all of whom want to snuff out Jeremiah so they can complete a spell cast when they were children.
Graphically, Undying is first rate. The Unreal Tournament graphics engine has been used to great effect and the result is amazing character models and environments. The haunted mansion is suitably dark, with wispy draperies and macabre paintings. The estate's grounds are a mix of lush Irish countryside and crumbling ruins, all set against vivid skies.
Pretty pictures aside, the most impressive thing about Undying is its atmosphere--this game is flat-out scary. Every element of the game, be it the gothic architecture, eerie story, great weather effects including rain and lightning, or amazing sound effects, perfectly complement each other. The result is a gameplay experience that rivals the Resident Evil series in terms of generating sheer terror in the player.
The great atmosphere isn't Undying's only innovation--it also features a very cool two-handed attack system. Most action games saddle the player with an attack system where one hand controls all the weapons and the other hand does nothing. In Undying, the left hand (and left mouse button) controls the standard weapons, such as the pistol and shotgun, while the right hand (and right mouse button) casts spells. This is a great gameplay device and ensures the action stays at a frantic pace.
Of all the spells in the game, the coolest is the Scrye spell. When cast, it lets the player see and hear past events--some of which are quite horrific--and occasionally it shows you how to progress beyond a certain level. This help can come in the form of highlighting certain objects or unveiling a portal, but whatever the method it is a very well-designed gameplay element.
The only real complaints with Undying involve the long loading times between levels and the system requirements, but even those aren't enough to derail this excellent--and terrifying--action game. --Kilmic Robbins
Pros:
Very, very creepy
Amazing sound effects
Excellent graphics
Slick controls
Cons:
Long loading times
Story is a little convoluted
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - atmosphere
I've played a few of these FPS type games, and after just starting Undying, this has become one of my favorites. Why? The atmosphere this game creates is superb - there is no background music on the first level, just creaky floors, the wind moaning in the background, the occasional scream as the help is attecked and killed. Very cool, and for 10 bucks, a terrific bargain. As noted by others, it plays well on G3 Macs with less than 32 MB of vram, a refreshing change from the latest wave of games.
Rating: - Interesting and exciting gameplay..
First, let me start by saying I am a game playing novice. That being said, this game is a GREAT value[]. The six levels provide great "gameplay variety": there is fighting, climbing, swimming involved. The second level, the monastery, is an especially creative level.
Potential negatives are linear gameplay---although this ensures a lower skilled player (like myself) doesn't get too frustrated because of their ineptudes.
Unlike some reviewers, I enjoyed the variety of weapons in the game. The scyre is a particularly effective weapon.
The game is scary.
Rating: - Yawn
Very boring. Very tedious. Very predictable. Now, add your own adjective: Very ______________ (anything negative you put here will describe this game).
Rating: - underappreciated
this game had so-so sales (usually a better idea than reviews of how much one will like it), and i didnt do it right after it arrived. yet this is one of the best games i have done. its good and long, in addition to being scary, though familiarity will dull the surprise of the monsters. the disgusting sky lizards, floor squids, and the vile land fish will give your back chills. howling dogmen will make you jump out of your seat, and these are only some of the nonhuman(oid) opponents. the weapon list is diverse and a little far fetched, but certain monsters are very susceptible to specific weapons and spells.
even on easy, there were places that needed to be played over and over to discover the boss's weak spot. most could not be approached with pure firepower. puzzles are few, but there are side trips that end in finding valuable amplifiers (of spells) and mana wells which increase your ability to use these spells. these side paths are often difficult to find or are well guarded. of note, there are many places where you cant just kill all the monsters and then go on; if you just sit there, the game will keep throwing monsters at you, and only if you progress through the horde will they stop coming. there were several times i spent an hour fruitlessly trying to fight monsters or bad guys only to realize the solution was to run.
there are several magical levels, such as a floating sky city and an attractive but perilous mountain glen, but the best is the ancient monastery. in addition to being able to produce effective mood, these environments allow special spells such as increased jumping ability. one will find plenty of medikits; i had > 200 before encountering the last bosses, and spell enhancement is plentiful as well. this game ran very well in OSX without crashes, freezes, or slowdowns. many people have complained about loading as the game progresses from room to room. Although frequent, loads lasted 6-8 seconds; anyway, i was reloading much more frequently from deaths.
all in all, this was an exciting, engrossing game that commanded my attention the whole way through and one of the best games i have done, especially at its cheap price. this game should be bought 1) for days of top notch entertainment and 2) to encourage the availability of more games for mac.
Rating: - Worth Every Penny!
A great game with excellent graphics. It's an awesome thrill ride that keeps your heart pumping and your wallet full.
- atmosphere
- Yawn
