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Platform Filters:   All Platforms  Xbox   GameCube   PlayStation 2   PC   Game Boy Advance   Site Sections:   Updates  News   Games   Publishers   Developers   Reviews   Previews   Release Dates   Editorials   Glossary   Contact Us		Review:       10th July 2003: Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick  When you make a game based on one of the greatest horror movies of all time, it has to be good, right? Read on to find out... Posted by Chris Barnett - PlayStation 2,Xbox - UK and Europe As the Evil Dead films are regarded as one of the greatest franchises in movie history it is surprising that more games have not been made about it. The films even look as if they would make a great game, with main character, Ash, wielding a chainsaw and blasting a shotgun at zombies throughout. But the developers seem to have ignored the franchise except for the zombies and weapons. The game has its own story, which is surprising considering that all three films have tried and tested (successful) stories. It concerns the reading of the book of the dead on live TV, causing portals in a town to unleash hoardes of undead on the normal public. This is told through rather poor in game engine cut scenes that are voiced by the real Ash actor Bruce Campbell. As the game unfolds, it is discovered that one historian wants to control these undead for his own means and the predictability grows from there. The game is a third person scrolling beat em up in the style of Streets of Rage or Final Fight (but obviously in three dimensions) so the story should not really matter. But when the whole game is based on a franchise, you expect the story and atmosphere to mirror the franchise. So it is a shame that the game fails to even capture one iota of the feel of the movies. Instead it captures the feel of a repetitive slashing game that follows a very linear path. Most tasks involve the collection of items, the dropping off of those items and the pickup of new items. In between this collecting you are often ambushed by zombies. And that's it. The combat with the zombies is very poorly handled as Ash cannot do any more than wield a chainsaw in a three hit combo, swing a spade of utilise several firing weapons. The guns fire at enemies from distance and the melee wepons can be used to hack and bash from close range. But the aiming is simply 'at the enemy' as opposed to an individual body part. So although a head shot or decapitation will result in a kill, it is impossible to perform such a move intentionally. Add to this the fact that around twenty enemies can attack sometimes and you have the ultimate in frustration. You simply end up running away whilst firing your gun, until all the zombies are dead. If you run out of ammo you can engage them in close range and pick up the ammo that they occasionally drop, which allows you to resume the firing. As the enemies also respawn it makes the whole point of killing them tedious and unfulfilling. As you can see from the screenshots, all of the environments are pretty much the same, with the indoor sections being even more linear than the outdoor sections. This loses the interest of the player pretty quickly as there is no real urge to go on. There is no story incentive, there is no enemy incentive, there is no environment incentive and there is no graphical incentive (the graphics are simply make do, with occasional glitches). In short, the only reason to play this once you have brought it is to complete it so that you can exchange it as soon as possible. Attempts to incorporate a magic system seem latched on as the moves are impossible in intense combat, and the inclusion of Evil Dead 2 on DVD only reminds you just how poor this game is compared to the films. Take a hint and save your £30 and buy all three Evil Dead films on DVD instead. You should be able to pick them up for that much if you shop around. Chris Barnett             Latest Images:		Review Scores:    Graphics:   Sound:   Gameplay:   Length:   Overall: Click here for our Review Score Guidelines.  Related Games:  Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick for PlayStation 2  5  Screenshots  1  Review Click here for All Game Information.
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