When Orbital Media announced last year it had a number of titles in the works, Scurge: Hive was the one I was most excited about.  From early previews of the game, it was immediately apparent that Scurge was influenced heavily by the Metroid series, which happens to be one of my favorites.  From the game’s tough bounty hunter heroine to the music and gadgets used throughout the game, players will be constantly reminded of the aforementioned Nintendo franchise, which is a good thing!

Scurge begins with female bounty hunter Jenosa Arma receiving a transmission from the “Federation” to investigate a distress signal that was sent from a laboratory on the planet Inos.  She is informed that experiments were underway on Inos involving a hostile alien species, and that it is to be assumed they have escaped captivity.  This turns out to be true as Jenosa’s ship is attacked while in orbit, forcing her to take an escape shuttle to the planet’s surface.  Throughout Scurge, Jenosa will acquire new gadgets and explore many different areas of Inos in her efforts to rescue the survivors of the Scurge outbreak and uncover the purpose of the expansive laboratories that cover Inos.

The actual gameplay in Scurge is fun, even if it’s not very innovative.  Jenosa is armed with a suit that helps her avoid Scurge contamination, as well as a special gauntlet attachment to battle the Scurge.  Jenosa explores many areas of Inos, solving puzzles and looking for key cards to proceed to the next area.  Nexus points must be activated in each area in order to advance, requiring Jenosa to locate six nodes in each area to activate the given nexus.  This is typically the goal for each of the five areas in the game.  Magellan, Jenosa’s computerized assistant, chimes in regularly to provide coordinates to the next area.  Players are given an isometric view of Jenosa and her surroundings, which allows for a good view of most of the action, but sometimes causes problems when moving vertically.  More than once, I walked off a ledge thinking the next platform was underneath the current one when it was actually further way, causing me to fall and forcing me to start all over.

Each area is teeming with Scurge specimens of three different forms of matter: biological, mechanical, and energy.  Defeated Scurge leave behind biomatter that, when collected, allow Jenosa to replenish her life and raise her experience.  In true RPG fashion, Jenosa levels up upon obtaining a certain amount of experience resulting in an increase in maximum hit points. 

Throughout the game, Jenosa also acquires different gauntlet enhancements which are effective against each type of Scurge.  Exposing each enemy type’s weakness is the key to dispatching the hordes of enemies that populate each area.  While each enemy type is weak against one enhancement, they are strong to another, which means players have to constantly switch weapons, which is done easily and intuitively via the right shoulder button.  An example of this is the EMP enhancement which is lethal against mechanical enemies but gives a boost to energy-based enemies.  Other upgrades include a cryostasis enhancement which freezes enemies, allowing the player to manipulate them to solve puzzles; an adrenaline enhancement, which boosts Jenosa’s reflexes; and a plasma bomb enhancement which removes obstacles that bar Jenosa from reaching later areas in the game.  While the weakness/strength dynamic keeps the Scurge from being classified as a dungeon crawler, it gets old fairly quickly, as all three enemy types typically come in waves, forcing players to constantly change weapons. 

Other upgrades include a tether attachment, a gas mask, a light attachment, and high-jump boots that allow players to solve many of the game’s puzzles.  The tether attachment in particular is a lot of fun, as it allows players to pull objects and enemies around to solve puzzles.  Later in the game, an upgrade to the tether attachment allows Jenosa to grab special orbs and fling herself over chasms like a rubber band, which is very gratifying.

The contamination gauge in Scurge is somewhat of an innovation.  While Jenosa’s armor will protect her from immediate Scurge contamination, a gauge is displayed at the top of the screen slowly counts up from zero to 100%, at which point Jenosa takes damage.  Decontamination platforms spread throughout Inos reset the contamination gauge, replenish Jenosa’s life, and act as save points.  While this contamination gauge is one of the defining features of Scurge, it seems like a cheap excuse to extend the game in some ways, as players can only go out for short bursts of action before having to return to the platforms.  For a game that only lasts 10 hours, it truly felt like Scurge took a long time to complete due to the constant need to seek out platforms.

In the Gameboy Advance version, players access an interactive map and status screen by pressing Select.  In the DS version, the map is conveniently displayed on the lower screen.  I found myself accessing the map very frequently in the game, giving the DS version a distinct advantage in this regard.  The map displays decontamination platforms as well as the nodes required to activate the area’s nexus.  One complaint I have about the mapping system is that it was difficult to manage in areas with multiple floors.  Pressing the right shoulder button when the map is displayed toggles between floors, but it only goes forward through the floors, with no way to go backwards.

Upon activating the nexus, a boss battle ensues at the end of each area.  Boss battles are epic as they typically take up the whole screen, and are introduced by name at the beginning of the fight.  While most boss battles boil down to a long exercise in dodging and shooting, they tend to be a bit challenging, and most players will find themselves dying a few times while learning the boss’s weakness.

Unlockable content also abounds in Scurge.  Upon completing the game’s normal difficulty, the hard difficulty and costume menu become available, allowing players to change Jenosa’s look.  Beating the game on hard unlocks the insane difficulty and a boss rush mode, which allows players to battle the game’s bosses in rapid succession.  Finally, upon completing the game on the insane difficulty, the ultimate mode becomes available, which allows players to play through the game yet again with a golden-colored Jenosa and a super-powered gauntlet enhancement.  I really doubt most players will want to play the game a second time, much less a fourth time to take advantage of the ultimate mode, but it’s nice that Orbital included the unlockable content.

Scurge has a very anime-esque appearance.  From Jenosa’s long flowing hair that waggles as she moves, to the character portraits that are displayed when characters speak, Orbital has crafted a beautiful game.  Each area is detailed with unique accents that add a lot to the depth of the title.  The Biocore Laboratory is littered with electronic screens and gadgets while the Forest Lab is overgrown with vines, trees, and shrubs.  While most of the regular enemies are simple palette-swaps, the bosses are drawn to epic proportions and are just plain ugly.  The last boss in particular is quite disturbing.  The cut scenes were also amazing for a Gameboy Advance game and even a DS port.  Strangely, however, the character portraits looked a little grainy on the DS, which doesn’t really make any sense.

The music in Scurge is one of my favorite aspects.  Just as it was a strong point in Metroid, Jacob Kaufman’s score for Scurge really stands out.  The game is dominated by electronic music, which is where Kaufman shines.  Catchy melodies and driving beats had me intently listening to the music as I played.  I noticed that there were extra instruments in the mix in the DS version, which was a definite plus. 

The sound effects are also some of the best I’ve heard in a game, Gameboy Advance or otherwise.  There are mellow hums that come from electronic enemies and squishy splats when biological enemies are dispatched.  Even the jingles that sound when players find an item or open a new area seem inspired.  One of the most memorable sounds from the game, however, is Jenosa’s heartbeat, which becomes audible when the contamination gauge reaches 60%.  As contamination rises and eventually reaches 100%, the heartbeat becomes more rapid and heavy, which literally scares players into running and finding a decontamination platform.

Overall:  8/10