Darkwatch
Score: 86% ESRB: Mature Publisher: High Moon Studios Developer: Capcom Media: DVD/1 Players: 1- 8 Genre: First Person Shooter/ Action/ Survival Horror
Graphics & Sound: DarkWatch comes to us from veteran company Capcom and relative newcomer, the aptly named High Moon Studios. It is a bit of a mix between Resident Evil and the recent Red Dead Revolver, and shooter classic Doom. You play Jericho Cross, former outlaw turned enforcer with Dark Watch, an age-old organization bent on protecting the world against the worst of evils. While I have heard the Xbox version is superior graphically, the PS2 version obviously holds its own quite well. The graphical style is quite impressive to say the least. Cross is a highly stylized, gothic apparition, with a strong vampire-esque touch. He is fluidly animated, and is a fearsome sight when his guns are dropping undead left and right. This is further enhanced with the sadistic location damage system - exploding heads never looked so good. Also included are the now genre-standard rag doll effects, punctuated every time you lob some TNT around. Your teammates of Darkwatch also are great looking too, showing a lot personality. High Moon even added a generous amount of sweet looking cut scenes to help the story along, peppered between missions DarkWatch adds new meaning to the term ?ghost town.? These old west environments are truly haunting. Old, run down houses, covered in dust and cobwebs, tumbleweeds and the near constant moon-bathed scenes, bring that ?creepy? feeling home. The barren landscapes of desert and canyon lend to the isolation you feel as Jericho, battling against incredible odds. Though, sadly, you will get a bit tired of seeing sagebrush country ad nauseam. But hey, ya can?t just plop a jungle level into a Wild West game right? Sound wise, it actually trumps the graphics. The robust sound effects, from pistols cracking, horses clopping about, and the various demonic shrieks, add up to a great sound experience. The soundtrack is also top-notch too. No true western can be without some nod to Sergio Leone, and in Darkwatch, it?s his classic theme to ?The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.? I kept expecting Clint Eastwood to pop around the corner of a saloon for a cameo. Also worthy of note is the nice voice work, by Rose McGowan (Tala) and Jennifer Hale, the latter acting as your guide throughout the game.
Gameplay: DarkWatch sets Jericho Cross in hot pursuit of vampire lord Lazarus Malkoth, whom he accidentally released while trying to rob a train. Now you must track down this evil foe, wading through horde after horde of undead minions. Like most FPS's, you have a wide assortment of weapons. They range from dual-wield pistols, rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, crossbow and a hefty rocket launcher. Why they couldn?t throw in a flamethrower is beyond me. These toys are augmented by Jericho?s special abilities, each with it?s own good or evil power pools. This will sound familiar to fans of Knights of the Old Republic, with the choice of actions leading you down different paths. Jericho can leap higher than normal, use special vampire vision and more. But ultimately, you can get by just fine with your steel and wits. Most of the gameplay consists of tried and true "blast ?em before they get ya" goodness, and there are a lot of baddies to blow away. They range from peon-esque zombies, to the more powerful banshees, to name just a few. They will often work together and boast some pretty sharp and aggressive A.I., although nothing groundbreaking. There are even some horse-riding missions intended to break up the monotony of grisly gunslinging, but these are a bit weak in design and feel ?rushed.? Sometimes you will also experience some clipping, or getting stuck into corners while under heavy attack?never a good thing. The storyline itself is a bit muddy, even with the numerous cut scenes lending a visual element to the unfolding plot. Even with the large amount of dialogue, I often was lost and unsure of my major goals. Sure I had to take out the head honcho of vampires, but along the way you get off course a bit. But hey, this is an action game after all, not an interactive movie. There are also some multiplayer options, but sadly nothing online. I had some great fun with the co-op mode -a PS2 exclusive- but it lacks the Xbox?s fleshed out online mode, which boasts up to 16 players. The PS2 is mired in 8 person slugfests, with messy controller wires everywhere.
Difficulty: This title was surprisingly easy to get into and handle. The straightforward nature of most FPS's enable this, really - you played one, you played them all. And with only one real level variation (horse riding) you have ample time to master your aim and weaponry. Even the masses of enemies fall easily enough after a few hours.
Game Mechanics: I usually cringe when I have to review a console game, mainly because the controls are usually much more finicky than the good ?ol PC mouse/keyboard. However, DarkWatch has some truly excellent controls. Highly customizable for one, it also was very responsive and tight, unlike a lot of the ?floatiness? associated with console shooters. Even jumping was quick and easy. The camera is also flawless, aside from a few minor glitches in cramped quarters. Overall, DarkWatch is a solid and creepy shooter for fans of the PS2. With a healthy dose of gore, western macabre and pinpoint controls, it?s time to sink your teeth into this quality title. Oh by the way?. did I mention the steamy sex scene? Yeah?.
-Tybo, GameVortex Communications AKA Tyler Whitney
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