Games Database
PS3
Adventure: Survival Horror
| Also for: | Xbox 360 | ||
| Viewed: | 3D Third-person, floating camera | Genre: | Adventure: Survival Horror |
| Media: | Blu-Ray | Arcade origin: | No |
| Developer: | Rebellion | Soft. Co.: | Konami |
| Publishers: | Konami
(GB) |
Released: | 3 Feb 2012
(GB) |
| Ratings: | BBFC 15 | ||
| Connectivity: | Network Features, Network Players | ||
Video
Summary
While NeverDead might sound like a generic title for an action/horror game, it's actually very appropriate. You're Bryce, a demon hunter who was made immortal by demons some 500 years ago. You now spend your days working for some government agency or other hunting the type of chap who made you immortal. Your equipment consists of a sword and a gun for each fist. Oh, and a bad attitude, complete with a healthy disrespect for authority, obv. So it is that you skip off into the modern world to do some demon-fighting.
The catch - the unique selling point - is the fact that you can't die. At a glance, this looks like a recipe for a game that's too easy. Except, of course, you can't really die in any game these days.
In the absence of death, you're faced with dismemberment and the occasional trip to a demon's belly for all eternity. The dismemberment tends to happen quite a lot. Take too big a hit from an enemy and you'll lose anything from an arm right through to your entire body. After a maiming you can choose to either recover your lost body parts by combat-rolling into them or stick it out until your health regenerates and you can respawn replacement parts. Lose a single arm and you're reduced to single-handed gunplay. Lose your entire body and you're left controlling a rolling head. It's novel, kind of fun and leads to some interesting gameplay mechanics.
For example, if there's a locked door to get around you might rip off your head and lob it into an open vent, roll through the system to the other end then burp a new body out of your neck. Alternatively, when faced with an enemy that's protecting its weak spot you might feed it your arm, gun still in-hand, then start shooting it up from the inside.
You can also happily do things like set yourself on fire or charge up with electricity - talents that become pretty useful when you purchase abilities such as firing flaming bullets.
It turns out there are more uses for immortality than just seeing how/if Coronation Street eventually ends!
The catch - the unique selling point - is the fact that you can't die. At a glance, this looks like a recipe for a game that's too easy. Except, of course, you can't really die in any game these days.
In the absence of death, you're faced with dismemberment and the occasional trip to a demon's belly for all eternity. The dismemberment tends to happen quite a lot. Take too big a hit from an enemy and you'll lose anything from an arm right through to your entire body. After a maiming you can choose to either recover your lost body parts by combat-rolling into them or stick it out until your health regenerates and you can respawn replacement parts. Lose a single arm and you're reduced to single-handed gunplay. Lose your entire body and you're left controlling a rolling head. It's novel, kind of fun and leads to some interesting gameplay mechanics.
For example, if there's a locked door to get around you might rip off your head and lob it into an open vent, roll through the system to the other end then burp a new body out of your neck. Alternatively, when faced with an enemy that's protecting its weak spot you might feed it your arm, gun still in-hand, then start shooting it up from the inside.
You can also happily do things like set yourself on fire or charge up with electricity - talents that become pretty useful when you purchase abilities such as firing flaming bullets.
It turns out there are more uses for immortality than just seeing how/if Coronation Street eventually ends!