February 02, 2000 - The book of the Necronomicon is not something to take lightly. This text deals with the nether world, the land of the spirits and demons. Bound in flesh and written in blood, it is the gateway to unspeakable horrors. Beware, ye adventurer who seek this relic, for all to have encountered it find only interminable doom and agony in its pages... What a great idea for a videogame!

The upcoming videogame Evil Dead: Ashes 2 Ashes is based in concept on the movie that horrified and entertained millions when Sam Raimi brought out the 1982 cult classic Evil Dead and its popular sequels. Gameplay is based on an all new storyline set somewhere after Army of Darkness (the amazing swashbuckling third in the series), and although the game won't follow the Medieval setting of that adventure film, the fact that Ash is back in a haunted house will delight fans of the series. And, of course, Ash's trademark (and thusly stolen by Duke Nukem) catch-phrase attitude will be an integral part of the game.

Developed by Heavy Iron Studios, and in conjunction with Renaissance Studios (madcap director Sam Raimi's movie house), THQ's Evil Dead: Ashes to Ashes is a big step in the direction of the "hardcore gamer." Bringing its skills from the 1998 RPG Parasite Eve, developer Heavy Iron -- made up of several team members from the now disbanded Square LA -- looks to bring a cinematic adventure experience to gamers with all of the action, blood and gore the movie delivered. It's Resident Evil with a sense of humor, or Clock Tower with a chainsaw.

Players assume the role of Ash, the ever-ready hero who simply won't die. Whether you've seen the movies or not, gamers should be delighted to know that actor Bruce Campbell, who played Ash in the movie, will perform voice-overs throughout the game. His ironic sensibility and knack for campy one-liners somehow seem perfect for a videogame. The square-jawed shotgun-toting, chainsaw-armed hero begins this brand new story with all of his weapons, including a wide range of upgradeable weapons yet to be revealed. Players can be sure that this game will receive a Mature rating, as Ash uses his chainsaw to rip through the Deadites and other baddies who cross his path, while providing plenty of pain with his trusty shotgun.

While THQ came forth with the game's blend of action, adventure and puzzle-solving, it wouldn't reveal anything new about what kind of puzzles the game is to be comprised. But players will be able to romp through non-linear designed levels, which hints at lots of cleverly designed backtracking -- not the kind we're already used to. Heavy Iron did say that the game includes both environments and scenes from the Evil Dead movies as well as new ones created specifically for the game.

How the PS2 version will differ from the standard PlayStation game is unknown, although higher quality textures and background images are the most obvious improvements. Using a combination of well-placed still cameras and angles "true to the movie," Heavy Iron is starting with prerendered, layered backgrounds and environments straight from the Evil Dead movies. Many of the backgrounds are to include animations (like Fear Effect) as well as interactive elements. While the PS2 game will likely not change the format of prerendered graphics and realtime gameplay, the graphics will be sweetened and the gameplay will be tweaked for more action once the PS game is finished.

As a little extra for you serious Evil Dead fans, check out this full up-to-date interview with the Star of Evil Dead on our ForMen site: Bruce Campbell Interview.

Douglass Perry