How many games can you think of that have the ability to cause your skin to crawl from merely a sound? And how many more do you know of that can make it seem as if the temperature in the room has just dropped 15 degrees? Or a game that has caused you to turn the lights on, wondering what the hell you were thinking turning them off in the first place? I can only conjure up a few games that have effectively scared me shit-less! Clive Barker's Undying is one such game.

Perhaps those of you who have played through the Resident Evil series know precisely what it is I am talking about. I am not exactly sure what the genre title "Survival Horror" is supposed to mean, but it sure sounds neat. I mean, doesn't every game require the player to "survive" in order to actually accomplish whatever lame storyline has been thrown at them? Now, I haven't actually heard anyone throw Undying into the "Survival Horror" category, but I think I will go ahead and do so. Who said that a "Survival Horror" game had to be in 3rd person perspective, and have tedious puzzles that drive the player up a wall?

So what is it about this game that forced me to keep a box of Depends® next to my computer for those late night Undying marathons? Is it the bloody, fang filled visuals? Or the creepy sounds and ambient effects that caused me to break into a cold sweat on numerous occasions? Well duh! It's both! Actually, it is both, and yet it is neither. "What the hell is this madness you are speaking S.A.M.?"

Deafening silence is what I speak of, or the proverbial "calm before the storm," if you will. Some of the more eerie things tend to be things you can't see or necessarily hear. That is, in large, how Undying accomplishes it's mission of being a very scary and excellent game. It's not what's there, but what isn't there. Confused? Me too Blurp_anim


The Story



You assume the role of an Irish adventurer by the name of Patrick Galloway. Summoned by an old friend to whom you, Galloway, are indebted, you find that all is not well with your friend Jeremiah Covenant, nor his family. To be more accurate, Jeremiah is the last of his family. He is the last of the cursed siblings of the Covenant estate, and that is what troubles him. Or so it would seem….

As Galloway, you make your way through the enormous Covenant estate, trying to solve the riddle that old Jeremiah claims to understand and wants stopped. He fears an evil far greater than even the combined power of his "Undying" siblings, and his confidence is in Galloway to put it to final rest.

The bulk of the story is told throughout the game in the form of diaries left behind by others. Apparently, everyone in Ireland in the 1920's kept a diary and also had a tendency to leave them lying around for prying eyes such as yours. Some hold keys and hints to help solve a particular puzzle, while the majority of them are general plot devices and atmosphere. Overall, the story is pretty well told - between the diaries scattered abroad and the cut-scenes of events current, as well as historical. When you aren't learning more about the haunted estate, you are fighting off creatures that range from gargoyle-like demonic creatures to Neanderthal like barbarians that time seemingly forgot. The battlefields change between the Estate, indoors and out, small lands neighboring the estate, another dimension, and even the past.



The Graphics

Undying quite successfully uses the Unreal Tournament engine. There is a certain feel about the Unreal engine that you can even feel in this game - which isn't a bad thing. It has a much more open feel to it over other similar engines such as the Quake III engine. The UT engine was a very good choice for this game, and it really shines on many of the levels. The best example is in the detail of the characters and creatures. I don't believe I have seen models this nice in ANY game up to this point. Very good work indeed!

The environments themselves, indoor and outdoor, are excellent. The only gripe I have has to do with being outdoors. So much detail was given to textures for the land and architecture, but the sky was not what I would expect from a game running on the UT engine. The sky is on par with the skies you might see in Half-Life. Gone are the moving clouds and animated atmosphere found in Unreal Tournament. From my understanding, the reason for this was to keep the game playable for older systems, which is fine, but I think they could have at least given the option to have dynamic skies. I know that my own rig could easily handle that extra load. Don't get me wrong, what they did do was still very good, I just like to have that little bit of extra eye-candy J

The indoor levels are incredible. The lighting is perfect for what Dreamworks was aiming for. This game makes the best use of colors and shadows that I have seen yet, without being too dark and dreary. The outdoor levels are nice and lush and what you would come to expect from this engine, right down to the realistic water effects. Speaking of water effects, the rain in this game sets the standard for any other game that tries to implement rain. I could practically feel the drops splashing off my shoulders as I ran around, trying to see through the torrential downpour! There is also one level that has snow falling, which is almost as impressive as the rain.

Character animations are accurate and believable. Some of the beasties you come across animate so realistically you would think they actually existed somewhere in the world. Facial animations are a bit low by today's standards, but I think that Galloway's flowing locks more than make up for it.

One last gripe on the graphics: I think that they could have done a bit better modeling on the weapons and perspective of Galloway's hands. They aren't bad, but I have seen better models on games running on a far lesser engine. This fact doesn't really take away from the game, but like I said, I like eye-candy.

The Sound

This is the part I personally think that makes or breaks a great game. Even though one would tend to put more emphasis on graphics, and I don't recall any people mentioning over-clocking their soundcards, the sound is just as important. Ranging from the soundtrack, the ambient sound effects, the Howler's shrills, to the cackle of Jeremiah's little sister Bethany - every sound is well recorded and well executed. Numerous times I found the hair on the back of my neck raised - not from something seen - but from something not seen. Just as in a good horror flick, sound is key to creating tension and uncertainty.

From soft whispers of voices to distant shrills of what you would sooner or later confront, all is very haunting and unsettling, almost to the point of nausea. I don't mean that in a bad way though. It is what the creators of the game were aiming for, and the reason one would buy the game anyway: to get the crap scared out of them!

Some of the voice-overs are done well, while others leave a little to be desired. They are, for the most part, what you would come to expect from a B-Horror movie. Monster sounds are very good however. They all seem very fitting for the models, and highly effective. Environmental sounds, such as rain, wind, or a running stream are persuasive as well, and add lots to the overall ambience.

The Weapons

From the start of the game, all you pretty much have is a magical stone and a revolver - a very nice revolver actually. I found myself using it through the bulk of the game, even favoring it over the shotgun I later acquired. It is extremely accurate and powerful. The stone I mentioned has some very useful powers as well. It's primary function gives you the ability to push back enemies that are in arms reach, knocking them back a bit and stunning them, giving you some needed breathing room. When equipped, the stone also holds another power. The green rock will glow when you enter a room or area where there is a secret to uncover. You will also hear a faint voice whisper "look around" when you aren't holding the stone, but it is much easier to miss than the visual glow of the stone.

There are basically 2 types of weapons. There are magical weapons and physical weapons. I guess Galloway is a lefty since you find him holding items such as guns (and the one melee weapon available) in his left hand. It seemed odd, but didn't detract from the game play. There are also some physical weapons that actually have magical properties combined with them, such as the Scythe (a sickle-like weapon) and the war cannon. Along the way, you will find sticks of dynamite - best used to blast your way through a wall, as opposed to being used as a weapon; Molotov cocktails, and guided, magical explosives known as Phoenix eggs.

Once you learn a new magic ability, you have the option to make it more powerful throughout the game whenever you find an amplifier. This gives you the choice of which power you wish to beef up, which is very good, as I found that some of the spells were completely useless to me. A few of the many spells you learn are: Scrye, which enables you to see into the past, or see alternate versions of the environment around you, and doubles as a makeshift flashlight; Skull Storm, which summons a skull from the ground that you can throw at an enemy, exploding upon impact; Haste, makes you run a whole hell of allot faster; Lightning, you can charge certain weapons with electricity; Ectoplasm, short range projectiles; Dispel, helpful to ward off any magic that was cast upon you, and a few other spells.

The Gameplay

As with any FPS game, this game will have you running around like mad, trying to avoid projectiles - whether it be bullets whizzing by from some of the human enemies, or the claws of frighteningly fast creatures. When struck, Galloway will slightly lose his bearing as to where he was facing - adding realism to being injured - and blood splatters become visible as if in your eyes. Never did the game become too boring, although it did have its moments. A few levels were a bit tough, as I found myself trying to complete some segments over and over again. The game is pretty linear, in that, you won't really get lost in the huge levels, at least not for long. There is room for some exploration though. The puzzles were pretty basic, and not annoying, as can be the case with games where puzzle-solving runs rampant.

More on the subject of controls, I felt there weren't enough configurable options. Missing from the key configuration screen are a few things I would have rather been able to assign hot-keys to than others. I was rather perplexed at the fact that you are unable to bind a key for Health. With the mass amount of moments when you need some healing, it is rather painful to fumble through the items menu, usually right in the heat of battle. It seems due to the large amount of items/weapons/magic, the developers forgot all about health, and how darn often you will need it, explaining the missing key bind. It is a minor complaint, but a complaint nonetheless. All in all, I was able to configure the keys to a very comfortable setting, but I did find myself reconfiguring as time went on, trying to find the Holy Grail of key binds.



The Verdict

Sadly this game is lacking multi-play-ability. Since this game was built on the Unreal Tournament engine, it is a wonder Dreamworks didn't include multi-player functionality. If you look at some of the .ini files, it would appear that the UT net code is intact, just waiting to be used. Maybe there will be a patch to enable an online hell-match. Another downer is the final confrontation. It was far from imaginative, as it was more annoying than anything. You know, one of those bosses that just sit in one spot but takes a million or so shots to kill. This seemed odd, as all the previous battles with the Covenant siblings were fun, and required you to think a bit more.

On the good side, there does seem to be room for a sequel, and I hear that that is the plan. At this point, I would go for a sequel. Galloway made for a nice change of pace for a hero, and I wouldn't mind taking his role back up again and battling out with some more Hellions. With stunning graphics and special effects, and top-notch ambience, Undying surpasses game standards of today. Dreamworks has done an amazing job of capturing excellent game play and a decent story - all in one package. While it isn't the greatest story, it is entertaining enough to keep you playing. There are nice, unexpected twists to the plot that will keep the player guessing. Perhaps the storyline could have been a tad better had Clive Barker actually written the whole thing. From what I understand, the game had been 7 months into production before Barker even came on board! Aside from that, it is still a game worthy of purchasing, and will keep you up late at night with chills running up and down your spine.

Get the demo at 3DFiles