Escape from Bug Island

"Good concept HORRIBLE follow through"

I dread survival horror-ish games for the sheer fact that I get shocked easily but the sudden music/sounds when "bad guys" appears. But this game was just.. It was slightly fun until I reached "the end" and realized I had to do it all over again.. But got the trusty gun I never used until the second final boss... Games need to be a minimum of scare [creatures, atmosphere, music; a real scare SOMEWHERE], limited items [beit health, ammo, throwing items et cetera] and a DECENT plot to even consider it to be a survival horror.

The bonuses for each level can be gathered by turning around and heading BACK into the section you just left if you forgot something! How silly given the "plot" later on you learn about. If you forget you get a second chance... and third.... and fourth.. You can't see you're level objectives [aka bonuses] until you've left the level which is dumb.

The game gets easier as you progress and acquire better weapons [then that lame ass stick]. I suggest saving the "good" [obviously good] weapons for the end [if you still want to play this game].

The game makes it too easy to beat bosses once you've acquired said better weapons. There's nothing hard about this game but it's more of an annoyance to have swamps and hordes of this and that suddenly all around you [which happens often but easily remedied].

There is just TOO many health items around to make it a SURVIVAL game [forget horror this game is only scary when the characters talk.]

The storyline no, the concept of trying to survive on a bug infested island is decent at best but the storyline they chose just gets worse as the game progresses. And the fact that you are left HUGE incredibly detailed HINTS about where to go and what to do next for every single area of the game [even minions and bosses are given hints for]; it's just so disappointing that the developers couldn't think about Silent hill or resident evil or what have you for some puzzles or riddles et cetera to make the game remotely difficult.

The fog and "darkness" with the flashlight is just horrible, I ran the game with the light off since you could see more.

The atmosphere reminds me of Silent hill with all the fog ... Sure the game is nice to look are but some of the mutated creatures are so far fetched and bizzare and the sounds to go with some of them is ear bleeding.

Some music is alright but in general not impressive.

The controls seem confusing but partaking in the tutorial are all to easy but in swarms or hordes your arm will get tired and you may forget about the back up motion and checking your health. Balancing is ridiciously easy and carry no real point other than to move you to another section [even if there is a walking way around]

This game is nothing but a run around [since the map is only seen by uncovering the areas you've been to], picking up rocks, sandbags [oh those are SO helpful <.<] and trying to rescue a girl protected by a guy with a shotgun; pain in the neck and waste of $12.50 to rent.

As far as glitches go I had problems with every single brand of creature getting stuck coming at me or chasing me. A boss got stick and thusly was quickly and too easily killed. The developers should have had enemies chasing you onto the vines/wood while you balanced or had random enemies popping into your hideouts if you stayed for too long.

You can easily tell when you are being followed by the sudden music change and obviously your flashlight being on they can see you. By having your flashlight off you can avoid many boring and easy fights; this is better suited for when the later half of the game arrives and you've collected all your bonuses or are edging for that time score.

This game is more tailored toward the beginner "survival horror" gamer since there is little fear of scare and death [death is easily remedied by starting the leveling again since they are so short and take minutes to finish even with the bonuses in mind].

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 01/03/08

Game Release: Escape from Bug Island (US, 07/25/07)