Pariah

"Pariah's one player mode can get boring fast, but, they put a level editor ;)"

Genre: FPS (first person shooter)

Gameplay: 8/10
The one player mode had potential. The game begins in a forest like area. After walking for less than a minute, you will encounter your first enemy after a short cinema. The first thing you will notice is that the enemies are not smart. They shoot and run. They rarely use cover or and kind of tactic. This means the fighting will become repetitive fast. Plus the weapon you start with is very ugly. It looks like a large rectangle with some designs on it. The other weapons look ok, but since you will be using the weapons you start with a lot, it drags down the game. One of the good things, is that you can use vehicles. You can use a hover... bike like vehicle. A large jeep with guns, and a small three wheel bike (two wheels in the front one in the back). Plus, Pariah has a lever editor that makes for an excellent multi player mode.

Level Editor: 9/10 ;)
The level editor makes Pariah's multi player mode very fun. You can start with nothing more than a flat field. Then you can raise the ground where you want, you can make (small) mountains, canyons, giant holes, or anything else you can think of. Then, you can place bridges, buildings, forts, towers, turrets, rocks, trees and much much more.

Entertainment Value: 8/10
The one player mode can get boring before you even beat the game. The areas are well made, but the enemies don't have a good AI, and the weapons are... lame. There are some good things about the game though. They included the ability to snag vehicles, though there are no flying crafts. Also, they put a level editor. Which means the game has a high replay value for the multi player mode. Pariah is a very fun game, but only because of the level editor and multi player mode.

Graphics: 7/10
The areas are large, and most of them are in the open. The trees look ok, and the leafs fall very realistically. Unfortunately, the ground and rocks do not look well done, they look very blocky, most of the areas look like something you would see in a game for the N64. Oddly, some of the rocks are areas look as if they where normal mapped! But somehow, they did a bad job doing so. The graphics is Pariah are not great, but they are not bad either.

Sound effects: 7/10
The sound effects are less than perfect. The guns make a weak "bang," as do the explosions. When you walk though water you hear is "swishing" around, when you walk on metal you hear a "clank clank clank," sadly though, thats about it. There isn't much to make sound, so there isn't much sound in the game.

Music: 8/10
The music is very shallow, it's mostly one instrument at a time. It has a "wind blowing in the distance" kind of feel. The music is repetitive, but it's fitting for the areas. I've heard better, but it's something to listen to.

Replay Value: 8/10
The one player mode can get boring fast. The areas are not repetitive, but they are not interactive. Also, the enemies do not fight well. Most of the game can become boring fast. However. The level editor makes up for that. Since you can make the levels to fit what YOU want, the multi player levels are ultra fun and can NEVER get repetitive ;)

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/25/05