NeverDead (Xbox 360) Review

Posted by Dan Watson on 02.17.2012

Will this game cause you to lose your head or is worth paying an arm and leg for?

Title: NeverDead
Developer: Rebellion
Publisher: Konami
Genre: Action Adventure
Rating: M for Mature
Players: Story 1 player; Online Challenges 2 players

Every few months a video game company offers gamers the chance to play a game that is going to revolutionize a genre. This game had that opportunity and missed the bar, by a lot. The general concept of the game is that you are an immortal demon hunter who is working with a government organization to track down and kill demons. You have a sidekick/partner who is fairly attractive but also seems to be the brains behind the missions always helping you with where to go and informing you when puppies are in the area. As you battle enemies you may lose limbs, this sounds really cool until you realize that every fight you are losing limbs and they are falling through the stage so you cannot recollect them. There are boss fights for every level and of course with every action adventure game lately, a system of adding new skills to help your game along. The areas this game falls short are easy to point out, it is extremely repetitive, much uninspired, and the controls are terrible. Let’s cover this all a bit more in-depth so you can make the final judgment for yourselves.



Visuals

I want to start here because this was probably the shining moment in the game. The stage locations that you travel through look amazing in the game. It is a mix of cartoon with realism. Shadows seem pretty close to working flawlessly, and the stages just have certain greatness to them. The characters and enemies, well they do not look so great or even original. The main character reminds me of a few different other characters and has a Frankenstein look to him. The sidekick, female, looks like every cartoon gaming female out there, blonde hair, blue eyes, large breasts, perfect body. The enemies are hard to even figure out what they are supposed to look like. The puppies remind me of the enemies from Doom especially as they jump at you with their mouth wide open. Even with the issues with the characters, the destruction of the levels works out nicely. You can destroy balconies and let them crash down on enemies to kill them. In fact, if you are looking for achievements, there are a few achievements for destroying certain amounts of value. Finally, one of the more disappointing parts of the game is how often a cut scene will start or end with having the screen close in on your sidekick’s chest. I get it, the game isn’t meant for someone looking for a story or even a great game, but do the developers think that you can just get good reviews and people to buy by showing excessive amounts of CGI cleavage?

Sound

I can imagine that some younger teens probably really like the script in this game. It is mostly nonsense with the immortal hitting on the sidekick and while in her apartment even going through her underwear drawer. The script is comparable to Duke Nukem, without the humor for the most part. Even the naming of enemies, puppies for one type, seems like the company was trying to force humor over quick jokes. So while you are playing with friends you can say kill the puppies. It is just lacking that extra effort that takes a game from being average to remarkable and enjoyable. The voice actors are not terrible by any means but the script just feels forced. The demon bosses are pretty cool though and their script works at times and other times fall flat. The guns sound like guns, walls crashing sound like walls crashing, etc. Nothing amazing or remarkable here. The only saving grace the sound offers is the background music, normally metal, that fills in greatly.



Gameplay

The story is interesting, especially the backstory of our main character. The backstory is presented in CGI cut scenes and tell the story of how he became immortal, what happened to his eye, his wife, etc. The general idea and theory here is pretty cool and interesting. The script ruins it as does the actual gameplay. Each mission feels as if it is the previous mission just in a new location. There are a total of maybe six enemy types you encounter in each stage followed by a boss fight that normally is the same basic concept. The idea of the boss fights is expose the weak point by using a limb into the stomach or as a mine, or what have you, and then shoot the weak spot. Some of the bosses are pretty cool looking which helps a bit. The controls are terrible, I cannot tell you how many times my head was swallowed and I would clearly hit the mark to be spit out, only to be told I missed it. Ah, that is right, when you lose your limbs and torso, you can be swallowed. It is basically a scrolling bar that you have to hit A when the line reaches the yellow mark. Pretty pointless after about the first fifteen times doing it. At times the game feels almost unplayable because you are losing limbs and unable to get them because of a glitch. You can click the button to re-spawn as much as you want, most of the time it is useless.



There are plenty of times the controls just feel like they are not responding or not working as they should. The idea of how to swing the sword using the stick again seemed great in theory but was not able to be implemented smoothly or with any great responsiveness. Reattaching the limbs is fairly easy if they are near you, however, some things just don’t make sense at all with a limb that is away from the body. For instance, you can continue to shoot and somehow reload your weapon after your arm has been detached. I am okay with the idea of shooting, however, where is the arm getting the ammo to reload or the ability to reload if it is just one arm?

The 411

To sum up the entire review in a few sentences let’s just cut to the chase. The stages look great, background music helps the sound, but outside of that this game is a pass. I would encourage you to rent the game if you feel like you really need to play it, however, do not expect anything great out of it. The first stage made me thing that the other reviews I had read or heard about were entirely wrong, then after about thirty minutes of playing I realized they were correct and I was just spinning my wheels. I pushed through the boss fights and stages and was waiting for some unexpected twist that never came. The game is very predictable and uninspired. Make sure to collect the collectable (they are called collectables) that are in very plain view. You cannot miss them.

Graphics	7.5	Visually the game looks great, sadly thats about the only thing that is good about the game
Gameplay	4.5	Controls are stiff and unresponsive, story is okay though
Sound	4.0	Metal soundtrack helps get through the game
Lasting Appeal	3.0	After the story is over, challenges aren't worth going through
Fun Factor	4.5	The overall fun in the game is sucked away after about a hour of gameplay
Overall	4.5   [ Poor ]