Game Reviews

Evil Dead

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Evil Dead
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| Evil Dead

When The Evil Dead was released back in 1981, its offering of graphic violence, terror, and gore simultaneously enthralled horror lovers and repulsed censors.

The controversial film was banned by some countries, but that didn't deter a dedicated following.

This game will rely heavily on that legion of supporters, as those who aren’t fans of the film will be less willing to forgive Evil Dead’s awkward controls and dull, repetitive gameplay.

Cabin Fever

For the uninitiated, The Evil Dead tells the story of five university students who are staying at an isolated cabin in Tennessee.

In true horror movie fashion, events take a turn for the worse when they find The Book of the Dead and a tape which releases evil spirits, turning people into zombie-like Deadites and transforming plants into dangerous foes.

The game features 30 levels spread across two separate campaigns. The first, Autumn Horror, follows the plot of the original movie, while Winter Nightmare boasts a brand new story.

These levels involve navigating the mazy terrain, killing enemies, and negotiating occasional platform sections to complete goals such as guiding friends to safe zones or killing as many Deadites as you can within the time limit.

Optional goals include scoring as many points as possible and collecting all three badges on each stage. These levels aren’t the longest and completing the obligatory goals does not take a great deal of time with optional goals not taking too much longer.

Dead Man Walking

Bruce, the protagonist of the film, is the central character in both campaigns and is controlled by using a virtual joystick, while jumps and physical attacks with axes and chainsaws are performed by tapping virtual buttons.

Having a shotgun equipped turns the game into a twin-stick shooter with shots aimed using a second joystick.

The most attractive aspect of Evil Dead is its graphics. In stark contrast to the gory and violent movie, characters appear as caricatures of themselves with giant heads and cute facial features, giving them the appearance of marionettes.

These are complemented by sound effects including standard screams, eerie woodland noises, and actual dialogue from the film.

Pure Evil

However, while it’s easy to praise the game’s art style and tongue-in-cheek references to the movie, repetitive and overly-short levels mean the campaign is fairly uninspiring, while the game is plagued with awkward controls and combat.

Levels all too often involve getting from point A to point B, while optional goals fail to offer any significant distraction from reaching the end of the stage.

Bruce is difficult to control - physical attacks and gun shots are tough to perform with accuracy. Since you can’t select weapons, you'll find yourself constantly wasting bullets, which are at a premium in the game.

Another frustration is that when Deadites are killed, gory intestines and eyeballs splatter your screen, forcing you to wipe them off with a finger. In the time it takes to clean the screen you're often overwhelmed and killed.

Fans of the movie may be more forgiving of these faults, but for others Evil Dead is pretty, but fairly average.

Evil Dead

One for fans of the film only as charismatic visuals are not enough to mask problematic controls and monotonous gameplay
Score
Steve McCaskill
Steve McCaskill
A crippling addiction to Football Manager threatened Steve's education and social life for much of the past ten years, but he has come through it with a history degree and an unparalleled knowledge of zonal marking.