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Intro If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, then Capcom should feel honored to receive such praises from Asylum Entertainment, for Asylum's newest title, Curse: The Eye of Isis, closely resembles the Resident Evil franchise in many ways with a few exceptions: it revolves around ancient Egypt and it goes for only $20 brand new. Gameplay: 6.5/10 It all starts innocently enough (well as innocent as a crime can be) as famed cat burglar "Le Chat" breaks into the famed Museum of Great Britain and attempts to steal the titular artifact: The Eye of Isis. Well seeing as how ancient Egyptians' favorite pastime seems to have been cursing random objects they had lying around the house; the attempted burglary unleashes a curse in the museum killing the poor, susceptible janitor in the process. Meanwhile, our hero Darien Dane was invited by Ms. Victoria Sutton to attend the opening of the Egyptian gallery featuring the aforementioned artifact. But rather than finding golden tombs and well-preserved mummies upon arrival at the museum, he finds a crime scene with something a bit…off, and no sign of Victoria. And so the game begins, with Darien in search of clues in Raccoon City's Police Sta….I mean, The Museum of Great Britain's lobby. It isn't long before the curse's effect makes itself seen. You guessed it, the dreaded Eye of Isis curse re-animates dead bodies into zombies - also: mummies (which look like tattered Michelin Man zombies). From here on out, Darien and Victoria (both are playable) shoot, bludgeon, and shoot flamethrowers out a rather anemic variety of various walking dead. Between fights, players must search for the necessary keys and items in order to progress. Health packs and antidotes make their presence known with old-timey names in the form of Smelling Salts and Methanol. One thing where Asylum's offering does differ from the rest is its use of puzzles. While RE threw in some truly dastardly puzzles with little rhyme or reason (or logic for that matter), Curse follows the path of ease. Thanks to relatively simple puzzle designs and a built-in gleam that highlights whatever is interactive, the puzzles are a breeze - the game's rating may be mature, but the puzzles could easily be solved by the most recent of lobotomy patients. One problem with games that so closely follow the conventions of an established genre is that they inherit the problems of games that come before them. While some games choose to completely innovate (Eternal Darkness comes to mind), others change only what is necessary. Subsequently, Curse sticks with the fixed camera scheme, where the camera is at a pre-determined point in the room and uncontrollable or movable by the player character. This means that all the awkward camera angles that plagued RE players make a return here. However, rather than let the camera just sit there, Curse's camera follows the player to a certain, limited degree. So rather than have the fixed camera and pre-rendered, high quality backgrounds like Resident Evil, the developers opted for a pseudo-fixed camera and polygonal backgrounds of lower quality. I can't say I understand their decision, but I guess it is their game. I have one other complaint that may sound minor, but in fact is a rather large annoyance: the doors. No, I'm not talking about the dreaded RE loading door. Instead, I'm talking about Curse's doors. There's really just too many of the things. Around every corner, players will find doors, some unlocked, most locked. But the thing here is most doors are never unlocked, and they all look the same in a given location. There's nothing in Curse that reminds the player where they are, what door they are looking for, and what door they just came through - something the Resident Evil series does well. To add to this confusion, the game adds an ineffective map. A map which doesn't always load a player's progress, a map which doesn't label rooms, or distinguish where players have come from or must go - a very, very poor map. But between enemies and the game's roaming-saving-point-in-the-shape-of-a-friend, Abdul Wahid, it is always clear where the player is expected to go next - just look for new enemies or Abdul. Speaking of looking for Abdul, it's not always clear where he's waiting, or where Darien/Victoria is expected to go. And seeing as how Abdul is the game's only way of saving, players will find themselves frantic to find him before getting offed by the walking dead. All
things considered, the story really is one of the game's best points. Despite
its overused, cliché plot, the characters are likable and the story is
surprising. Curse takes players from Great Britain to Egypt and beyond
in solving the game's mystery and does it all with atmosphere and style. Besides,
there's also a mining car portion of the game, just in case gamers are suddenly
itching for some Temple of Doom type action.
Graphics: 8/10 Sound:
8/10 Control:
7/10 Overall:
7/10 [ top ] | |||
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