User Review : The Evil Within

Make every shot counts.

I rarely get hyped for a game unless I feel it will be something that i will fall in love with. And while everyone was getting hyped for Destiny, Call of Duty, Halo MCC, Assassins Creed Unity and those well known franchises. I was hyped for one game that I knew I will be satisfied with and that game was The Evil within. It is by far not a perfect game but It was a game that I have been waiting too long for since Dead Space 2 since every other horror release was either too action packed or just felt like a low budget title. This is my game of the year and one of the best survival horror games I played on the Xbox360.

The game begins normally by getting a call from the Krimson City Police Department or KCPD that tells you to go the Beacon Mental Hospital where everything has gone to hell. The Protagonist is Sebastian Castellanos is a normal detective that feels generic and doesn’t seem to care about anything that happens around him, which I think that when you know what happened to him, you will feel why he is like that. So the game begins with you walking into the gates of the mental hospital alongside your partners, Julie Kidman and Joseph whom I forgot his last name :).

The moment the chapter begins, the game becomes very intense, dark, brutal and extremely violent. There is never a dull moment as you will be on the edge of your seat fighting for your life.

Story:
You will hardly understand anything as you will be wondering most of the time what the hell is going on here. And unfortunately by the end of the game, it will seem to have more answers than questions. Which will makes you think that it's reserved for a sequel. While some is explained by the audio logs, newspaper or the documents you find, it's never really figured out what's happening.

Characters:
The only character that is fleshed out here is Ruvik, the main antagonist of the game. While Sebastian back story is in the documents you find in the game, it will still makes you wondering even more about him and what the hell really happened to him. And his partner Joseph while you know nothing about him, you will get the feeling he might play a big role in the sequel. And the most mysterious character of them all is Julie Kidman in which you will be pissed off that they say nothing about her because its kept for the DLC. And she is as important to the story as Sebastian by the end of the game. You will meet other characters in the same but no one will actually be remembered because like everyone else, you will never know anything about them. So in the end you will be left in the dark here.

Sound:
This is one of the most important aspects of the game and will keep you on the edge all the time. Its best played with good headphones because the sound design in this game is phenomenal. And extremely important when approaching an unknown territory. The voice acting is excellent but since you know absolutely nothing about the characters, you will rarely give a damn about them. The Haunted sounds very creepy and some of them are invisible so you will need to hear their footsteps to know where they are and its actually awesome and scary at the same time. The bosses are the highlight of the game and some of them are really creepy and sounds scary especially that long haired woman or as I call her, the lickers mother because she sounds and moves just like them. Nonetheless this is really the highlight of the game.

Visuals:
I can't speak about the current gen graphics but the Xbox360 looked so good, this is one of the best graphics I have seen this gen. They did a wonderful job from the fantastic lighting to the creepy design of the monsters. The phenomenal variety in locations makes it shines in this department as every location is very well detailed and atmospheric especially the mansion which is the highlight in this department. You will be surprised by the amount of variety this game has. Oh and the ways Sebastian Dies is really intense and brutal and only matched by those deaths of Isaac Clarke in Dead Space series. Poor men haha.

Gameplay:
Now to the most important aspect in this game, the gameplay. I have to say I honestly didn’t think I would love a game this much since Dead Space 2 especially in the gameplay department and Shinji Mikami proved he can make an excellent gameplay. It has never been that satisfying to pull off a headshot and you see the blood splatter everywhere. You start with the usual in these kinds of games. The Revolver which is really underpowered and useless until you upgrade it. Later on you get the shotgun, Magnum and other types of weapons and the best weapon in the game which is basically five weapons In one, seven if you count the two dlc types of ammo. It’s the infamous Agony bow. I have to say this weapon is a beast. You get the normal Harpoon bolt, Freeze bolt, Flash bolt, Explosive bolt, Electric bolt, Incendiary bolt and Poison bolt together they make this weapon the most important weapon in the game as it will get you out of every single dire situation you are in, off course that’s if you find enough resources because a lot of the times you will have so little bullets and that’s when the environment and stealth approach come in to play. While stealth won't always work, the traps in the environment will prove to be really useful to get you out of any situation if you choose to use them or you can take the resources from these traps to make more ammunition for the Agony bow. You can also upgrade your weapons, ammo stock, health and stamina by the green gel that is found in the game. And I found it interesting the way you save and upgrade your arsenal  in the game is by going into a mirror and the beautiful piano piece by Clair De Lune is played that gives you a sense of relief in a dark twisted world which transfer you to the hospital that is run by the lovely nurse Tatiana which spends her time taking care of her nails. I found that to be creative. The only think I hated in the game is the forced encounters in some chapters because the game felt like it wasn’t designed for that type of play. Other than that it was a blast especially the boss fights which one in particular, the Boxman or the Keeper makes one hell of an awesome entrance. I don’t want to spoil it but you will love it.

Length and New Game Plus:
The length of the game is really good as I have spent 15 hours and died 165 times on Normal mode the first time around. The second time I did a speed run on Normal and took me 4 hours and 44 minutes to finish. Off course finishing it on Normal unlocks two higher difficulties. Nightmare mode and the extremely hard and not for the faint of heart, Akumu mode and I have to say I am proud to be one of the few that actually finished this mode because believe me it will test your patience with its one hit kill from anything and anyone. I played it a total of five times in 7 days. Yeah I took the week off for it :). And I have to say it was amazing. My only issue with the game was the finishing it on Akumu gives you nothing but the achievement and for that I was disappointed. Beating it also the first time nets you some cool weapons but also which disappoints that they are not infinite so that means if you are out of bullets. Then the probability of finding ammo for those weapons are almost impossible.

Conclusion: This game is not for everyone as some will be put off by how difficult it can be and having to repeat some sections a lot of times. Other will be put off by the story because it won't make any sense. Who will love it are the ones who crave for a survival horror game because in that department, it delivers and also to pay tribute to Shinji as it is his last game and I have to say he will be missed.

Easter Eggs…Spoilers:
That part might contain a bit of  spoiler of some of the elements in the game. But I wanted to write some of the awesome Easter eggs I found in the game.
1-The first haunted you fight does the same animations of the first zombie you fight in Resident Evil 1
2-The long haired woman boss moves and sounds the same as the lickers from Resident Evil 2
3-The Keeper or The Boxman fight at the end of the game is Reminiscent to Silent hill 2 Pyramid Head Fight.
4-The Sugar Bombs poster from Fallout 3 is in the game possibly hinting at their next AAA game. Which might actually be that Fallout Shadow of Boston which would be awesome if true.
5-The Village, the Chainsaw guy, the haunted, the mansion feels exactly like the old Resident Evil games.
6-A movie poster about a Serbian murder and The Fog are reminiscent of The Serbian Film and the Mist.
7-When you save Julie from the haunted , she headshots them in a somehow similar way Barry headshots the first Zombie.

I hoped you liked my review for this excellent game and hopefully we get to see a sequel for such a beautiful game.