Evil Dead: Hail to the King

"An Above Average Survival Horror Game!"

The Evil Dead game is a continuation of the films, those brilliant horror films. But can the game gather up as much atmosphere as that? We will see.

You play the main character Ash, the main character in all the films so far. One night long ago Ash and a few friends went to Knowby's cabin in the woods. It was a night of evil and only Ash survived. A few years later Ash met a 'gal' called Jenny. Ash is having nightmares about the night that killed his friends. The deadites are strong and torture him in eternal inprisonment. Jenny tells Ash to go back to the cabin. So they both go back. Big mistake!

That's where you are left off to your own devices. Jenny has been kidnapped by the deadites and Ash is left on his own in the cabin. Knowby, who is now dead, told Ash to get the pages of the Necronomicon aka The Book Of The Dead to open up a vortex to send them back. But there is a axe hanging on the wall and a chainsaw in the shed, Hail To The King Baby!

The graphics are fairly good. THQ said they concentrated the game on good graphics but I have definately see better graphics on games like Resident Evil 3, Metal Gear Solid and Tenchu 2. It does capture the image fairly well though.

The game is also fairly challenging but a bit short. At first you may be overwhelmed by the respawning monsters (they come back to life) but as you get better they aren't that much of a problem. You start the game with an axe, a pistol and a chainsaw. You then find a shotgun and a rifle and you can upgrade most of the weapons. So there is a fair variety.

The sound effects are average, nothing special. When the skeletons run you get the clang clang effects, when the deadites dissapear into the ground you hear the whirring sound etc. It's the kind of sounds you expect from a game.

So overall Evil Dead isn't near to the best survival horror games out there, but it is a great game if you compare it with the movies, they fit side by side. If you are a fan of the movies, GET IT! If you aren't but want a survival horror think Resident Evil 3.

I do like the game though! It was good fun and pretty hard whilst it lasted.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/28/01, Updated 06/12/02