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With SONY’s latest handheld venture now flexing its muscle
on UK shores, the Launch Line-Up has received many mixed opinions. With
there being many, many titles now available in Japan
and the US, the publishers had a pretty large selection to choose from. MediEvil:
Resurrection is one of these titles which, at least from this
writer’s point-of-view, come with a great deal of expectation.
Havin g played the title at E3 2005, my expectations of the title
only grew as, within only minutes of play, MediEvil:
Resurrection provided a satisfying, if disjointed, gaming
experience. Now, with the full title playable, MediEvil:
Resurrection has the spark of UK creativity whilst trying to recall a previously established fanbase
to a new generation of gaming.
The Intro FMV immediately wraps the captive audience in the
world of Gallowmere; offering tales of legend and centralising
around the one Dan Fortesque – where the clear-cut similarities
between the title’s story and that of Shrek will
unfortunately only do more to endear the unknowing consumers –
before throwing the player into a brief Training Mission. The Map
opens up after journeying through a small catacomb and into
Gallowmere Graveyard. Each Level is represented by a location on
the World Map and is accessible either when previous Levels are
completed or on demand by simply travelling back and forth –
handy when you’re in desperate need of supplies before venturing
to the next unknown territory.
The game progresses similarly to the expectation from
platform titles; however, the gameplay is more of a mixed bag. MediEvil
has always been a franchise which reserved the right to be
pigeon-holed into a fitting genre and while, as said above, the
progression is greatly platform-oriented, the inner-level play
appears immediately as a “less-jumpy” affair. Action seems to
be more on the developers’ minds, with the strictest of play
mechanics offering a Fight-Puzzle-Fight system, occasionally flexed
into a Fight-Puzzle-Fight-Fight-Puzzle or
Puzzle-Fight-Puzzle-Fight-Fight scenario. The puzzle system retains
the inventiveness of the original without sacrificing the immediacy
of the new title designed around a portable system and while this
may mean very few times of confusion or extended thinking, the
title is rewarding for it. Combat, however, is a much less
rewarding exercise. Although the title features a well-designed
targeting reticule – allowing for a clear line-of-sight and
turning red when lined up with an enemy – the game feature no
Lock-On system, resulting in much of the often overpowering combat
sections feeling lightweight and flimsy. The combat reflects that
seen in titles such as Sudeki and 2003’s multi-million
selling abomination in games design; Enter The Matrix – a
harsh statement to make about any title.
The Level Design is one of the titles’ greatest features.
All-too-often games are released with huge and expansive
environments which, after traipsing through the last fourteen, no
longer have any kind of draw or the
“got-to-see-what’s-round-the-corner” factor. MediEvil
Resurrection cunningly avoids becoming lost in the realm of
“I nearly completed it” titles by pacing the more elaborate
design and having a clearly streamlined plan for unveiling the
world to the player.
In addition to the variable main game, the title features a
wide variety of mini-games; drawing the game into a parallel with Super
Mario64 DS – a launch release honouring all of the systems
USP’s whilst romancing a title’s fanbase long thought all but
diminished, featuring platform-esque play and a variety of
feature-rich mini-games – which, unfortunately, will only ever be
displeasing to the Cambridge-based development studio responsible
for Dan’s outings. The mini-games range from targeting practice,
to sheep herding, through to a Whack-A-Mole variation –
each pleasing and entertaining in their own right, but distinctly
lacking the originality of those seen in Super Mario64 DS.
Graphically it’d be very hard to fault MediEvil:
Resurrection. Every Level has a variety of textures
backed up by dazzling backdrops and a consistently heavy amount of
on-screen action. The animation is fantastic and the style of the
title will cause obvious comparisons to be drawn with Tim
Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas – certainly not a
bad thing – while retaining a truly British sense of humour ala Grabbed
By The Ghoulies. Minor fra me-rate niggles are easily
overlooked; however that dastardly polygon pop-up does forcibly
appear in a few Levels.
MediEvil: Resurrection is an audible treat. Each of
the sound bites is genuinely funny and takes some time to wear
thin. The in-game music complements the action and it seems that
the Narrator from the BBC’s annoyingly un-funny Little Britain
makes a dazzling performance as… the Narrator…
It would be unfair to suggest that MediEvil: Resurrection
isn’t flawed; however these flaws are often easily overlooked.
The title has a distinct charm that, while it may not be living up
to expectations it had carved for itself, is at least a competent
Launch Title, and at best the pinnacle of everything that the two
PlayStation editions dreamt of being. Failing to live-up to the
quality of the NintendoDS’s Launch doesn’t relegate the title
into the league of ignorable games, but does send it home with a
slightly bloody nose.
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