"This game will DEFINATELY give even the mightiest of men the creeps."

I will never forget the first time I played Blood on my computer... the shareware version, that is. Before I went and bought the full game, I had no idea what to expect once I started playing. I had read about the game before, and it was going to be developed by 3D Realms, the same people who brought us Duke Nukem 3D. But then, it was bought by Monolith, the same people who brought us Claw and Shogo, and after a while, out it went.

The advertisement for the game in magazines was kind of silly... but hey, I'm sure they didn't want parents at their throats for exposing children to a bathtub full of blood like in one of Resident Evil's ads. It was just some guy, looking up at you while sitting in a bathtub full of tamato juice and holding a pistol. Bad ad, but a good game was shown.

Anyways, once I started playing, I was just having fun. But then, when I got deeper into the game, I began to get creeped out. Blood is not some silly cheap B-Movie parody made into a FPS. Blood is a game not for the faint of heart or the easily scared... this is a game that is very well done, and very scary. It could even rival Resident Evil itself, maybe even Alone in the Dark... that was what made me go out and buy the full version of the game when it went out, to get more and more creeps. I was not disappointed. Blood has to be one of the best of the last Doom-like first person shooters of all time, and it would leave me sometimes with nightmares.

As far as the storyline in Blood goes, you play the role of a man named Caleb. You and your buddies must have gone to Hell somehow, and are servants under a fearful demon named Tchernobog (what a name). He demands sacrifice... and on his word, his right-hand monsters come and massacre them. Thus, leaving you. Instead of killing you too, he casts you into a grave. But you awake, and now, the only thing on your mind is revenge.

[-Graphics-][9]

Extremely gruesome, well-detailed, and bloody stuff exists in the world of Blood. Even though it is one of those old 2D sprites with 3D worlds kind of games, Blood was one that made it go out spectacularly. All of the monsters are well drawn and do not look like silly B-movie monsters. They are all freaky, and disgusting looking. Some of the details in the levels are also very good and fitting for the game and are bound to creep you out as well. The first time I saw the walls breathing in one level creeped me out as much as when I watched Amitville. What prevents this from getting a 10 were the cutscenes, in which the characters look really bland and ugly in a bad way rather than a good way. Duke Nukem beats Blood in that department.

[-Sound-][10]

Very good sound. Very very good. All of it fitting extremely well with Blood. Caleb himself tends to make comments and show his love for one-liners (''Strangers in the night... exchanging glances...'') as you move through the game, much like Duke Nukem. But Caleb does it better (he's played by the same guy who played Claw, Stephen Weyte). Some of the atmospheric sound will also creep you out, and might make you want to turn the sound off, but in a good way. The CD Audio is also very good and fitting for the levels in Blood, my favorite being one that is used for a couple of Carnival levels. The monsters all have their own distinct sounds too, my favorite being the Zombies (''Your braaaaaains!'')

[-Control-][9]

The control is very good, but ah, there is SUCH a problem sometimes with jumping. And at times it can get a little frantic during battles. But aside from that, the control is flawless, and you can customize them all to your liking. Your weapons even have a Secondary Attack button too, to add some fighting strategy to the game. Pure fun!

[-Gameplay-][8]

Gameplay is superb. Beyond Doom or Duke Nukem 3D's reckoning. It's based mostly on the Duke Nukem engine, but there's a bit of a neat little spin on it that makes it so much different... for one, theres the ''Rooms-Above-Rooms'' thing, in which different things could be going on a room above or below. Secondly, the interactivity is great... like blowing up almost anything like in Duke.

Then theres the aforementioned Secondary Attack button that allows you to attack your enemies with either a more effective or more powerful attack, but they come at some cost or another. A few of the weapons are your standard fare weapons, but they are creative too... like a Flare Gun that can set your enemies on fire, which could make them flail around in flames and set other enemies (or you!) on fire. Proximity Detonators for some interesting traps. Even a Voodoo Doll!

There are also three types of armor in the game to protect you from different elements... there's the standard Body Armor, Fire Armor, and Spirit Armor. Enemies in the game are also well done and have some very good AI. Level design and placement of the enemies are well done, and at times I would jump when I was attacked out of the blue by a gargoyle or zombie that I never noticed before. Trust me, you will definately be surprised.

Another interesting feature is the ''Guns Akimbo'' item, which will let you use not one, but TWO of the same weapon (for most weapons, anyways) at the same time, allowing more bang for your buck, and the Multiplayer feature is a nice touch too, with its humiliation sequences. Battles can be fast and furious, and sometimes the traps can be tricky. And most importantly, try to watch your back cause you may never know when you're going to get jumped. The framerate is very smooth and fast, and even on a slow computer it will deliver quite well, even though there may be a few times where slowdown will occur.

My only gripe is that sometimes the action will get so furious you may end up getting killed too soon or you may lose yourself in all the action, and that can lead up to some frustrating times. But it's not a bad thing in any way, and it's not outragously difficult like Claw was. Sometimes the enemies can get annoying too, like the bats, which I especially hate and can sometimes be hard to shoot at cause they can move so damned fast.

[-Replay Value-][5]

You may find yourself playing this game again even after beating it... but then again, those who are way too creeped out to even sleep probably won't play it for a long time. But you are going to have a lot of fun with this game weither you like it or not.

-BOTTOM LINE-

Blood shouldn't be missed by FPS fans. I don't know if there is any horror-based game that can come as hard as this one. Blood delivered some very good gameplay mixed with an extremely creepy atmosphere mixed with some dark humor. I'm sure lovers of horror films will also be impressed with this game, as Monolith captured the feel of a true horror, and not some B-movie flick, very well with this title.

[-Overall-][9]

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/16/03, Updated 01/16/03