Evil Dead: Hail to the King

"This one fires a few blanks."

It's no secret I'm an Evil Dead fan. I own nearly every version of each film on both VHS and DVD (including the limited editions- which were the first DVDs I ever purchased) and watch every film that Bruce Campbell stars in or Sam Raimi directs (which are, more often that not, one and the same). So, it was with the announcement of Evil Dead: Ashes 2 Ashes that my dream of actually playing one of my all-time favorite movies might actually become reality. I was giddy, to say the least. Excitement built as the name changed to something a little more befitting of the cult classic trilogy (Hail to the King), and when I learned Bruce Campbell would be once again assuming the role of Ash, I nearly fainted. So, I have to warn you that this review will most likely be written from an Evil Dead fan's point-of-view first and foremost, with the gamer in me taking a back seat.

Taking place after the theatrical ending of Army of Darkness, the plot revolves around Ash having nightmares about the infamous cabin in the woods and the evil presence that he believes to still be lurking there. His girlfriend convinces him to confront his fears, so off they go, hoping to put an end to Ash's inner-demons so he can finally put the past behind him and go on with his life. Of course, once they get there, his worst fears are revealed and he must once again kick some serious deadite ass. As far as plots go, I feel that Hail to the King fits right in with the rest of the Evil Dead series even if it stretches it a tad thin. Thus is the beauty of the B-rated movie (and, subsequently, the game that is based on them).

Graphically, Hail to the King is a disappointment. The backgrounds are good (very good, actually), recreating some of the best scenes from the movies with uncanny accuracy. But, giving that this is a Dreamcast game, I feel that the environments could have been even better. Where the game truly disappoints is the character models. Low poly-counts and poorly rendered textures do not a good game make. It's almost as if Heavy Iron wrote the code for the least-powerful platform (i.e. Playstation) and ported the game to the Dreamcast and PC with minimal improvements. It's a shame, too; with a little effort, this game could have appealed to more than just Evil Dead fans.

Sound is where it's is at in this game. I never get sick of hearing Bruce Campbell's one-liners and this game is packed full of them. You'll laugh more than once when he spews off one of those oh-so-classic lines as he decapitates the undead. Other audio effects do the job, but aren't as varied as I'd like and sometimes sound a little too sterile. Music is almost non-existent (or at least doesn't stand out enough for the player to even recognize it as such), so don't expect a revolution here. Besides, music and sound effects just get in the way of hearing Bruce Campbell's often hilarious script, so who really needs 'em?

Okay, so I guess if it looks anything at all like a Survival-Horror game, then developers automatically assume that it should play like Resident Evil. Control, at least what can be recognized as such, borrows heavily from the current king of the sub-genre while bastardizing the source material on which the game is based. What I mean is, the game controls is like Resident Evil in nearly every conceivable way (except sloppier) but also plays like Resident Evil as well. What can be so bad about that, you might ask. I'll tell you- conserving ammo. At what point in any of the Evil Dead movies was Ash at a loss for supplies? I mean come on- the man put like eight or nine shells in his pocket and it lasted him nearly two films! Plus, having the chainsaw run on gas is about as idiotic of an idea as you can incorporate into a game. Especially when the gas runs out after about twenty seconds of use! I'm too disgusted to even write any more about this, so on to the next paragraph…

…which brings us to the Hail to the King's overall design. I think the last couple of paragraphs adequately sum up my feelings on the quality of Evil Dead's design, but in case you need further clarification, I have only this statement to offer- truly half- assed. You see, I truly feel in my heart of hearts that this could have been a serious contender had the development team taken another six months to work on the game. I realize that the project had already been delayed several times, but to that I say "What would a little more hurt?" The conceptual designs and plot were top- notch, but implementation left much to be desired. Tighten the control, double the polygons, enhance the resolution, triple the ammo and for the love of god make the freakin' chainsaw a fuel-free weapon and you've got yourself an Evil Dead game that everyone can appreciate.

No bonuses to be found here. You are rewarded nothing for your efforts and are really given no reason to play through the game again. A sound test would have been a welcome secret given the nature of Bruce Campbell's role in the game.

I know I criticized this game far more than it deserved, but as I stated at the beginning of the review, I would rate this game based first on my status as an Evil Dead fan and then as a hardcore gamer. To be honest, the game does have appeal, but you really, really have to be a die-hard fan of the cult movies to appreciate the sub-par gameplay. Maybe A Fistful of Boomstick will redeem the fledgling game series…

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 08/10/09

Game Release: Evil Dead: Hail to the King (US, 12/17/00)