November 01, 2000 - Update 11-01-'00
It's sad to see a game with real potential go so wrong. I could say that about a great many games, but in this particular case, the unfortunate subject is Evil Dead: Hail to the King. It has been supplied to us in nearly-finished format, but it feels like a game that needs months more work, to supply such vital qualities as original gameplay and watchable graphics. As it is, it's got Bruce Campbell and not a lot else. I like Campbell as an actor, I miss Brisco County, Jr. something fierce, but the man needs something to work with, and Heavy Iron Studios haven't offered him a whole lot.

The CG cutscenes, admittedly, look great, introducing the plot of the new game just fine - Ash returns to the cabin with his new girlfriend Julie, horrors ensue, including his evil hand and an entire evil twin to boot. Then, however, the trouble really begins, because everything outside the cutscenes looks much, much worse. I don't know exactly who I'm nicking this term from, but Evil Dead typifies the "brown" sort of game that has been occasionally railed against throughout the 32-bit generation. It's so called because, well, that's what color it is. It's other colors, true, but brown definitely predominates in Ash's adventure, painting the backgrounds in uniform shades of mud. They're not very detailed, either. The recent Resident Evils and Final Fantasies have Evil Dead soundly licked when it comes to quality of rendering - the backgrounds tend to be very grainy, and they lack the kind of attention to design and wonderful little fiddly bits that we've come to expect from pre-rendered art in games today.

The 3D characters are similarly unimpressive, both Ash and the Deadites he does battle against. Ash's animation is wooden, and he looks just awful. Even considering that he looks like hell throughout most of his film appearances, this is one ugly character model, skinny and with very blurry textures. His animation is wooden and repetitive (one motion and one motion only for a swing of his axe or chainsaw), and his gun fires only a faint burst of read, with no smoke or lighting effects. The first undead you encounter, meanwhile, pop out of the ground in a blink of a few animation frames, and have two basic movements: clawing at you and heaving up stomachfuls of green gunk.

Pick up the controller, and a new dimension of difficulty appears. Evil Dead adheres to the traditional survival-horror movement system: the D-pad moves you forward and back, the left and right keys pivot you on a dime. Have we spent enough time explaining why this is a fundamentally broken control scheme, I wonder? It doesn't help that the Deadites appear literally out of nowhere, completely at random. Suddenly they're behind you, and you have to switch to your ready position, turn around, and then take a swing at them. Once you've dispatched them, more basic problems arise, like the ridiculously slow speed at which Ash moves (faster than Aya in the original Parasite Eve, but only just). The game even wastes a perfectly good face button on nothing but Ash's one-liners - triangle, rather than bringing up the inventory menu, just causes him to repeat one of maybe half a dozen stock lines.

Evil Dead may wind up being a much better game on other systems - that's what our early experience indicates, anyway. The outlook is pretty grim on the PlayStation, though. In terms of both visual artistry and game design, this is several lengths behind the pack right now.

-- David Smith

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Update 7-31-'00
THQ finally reveals a little bit of gameplay and combat action -- in motion -- for the masses. These most recent movies show Ash with Shotgun and Chainsaw in tow fighting, wandering, and getting a whipping. Take a look at these easy, and quick to download movies. We'll have more updates soon enough. For more Evil Dead goodness, check http://www.evildeadgame.com/, for more downloads, wallpapers, and fanboy goodness.

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An early rev of Evil Dead: Hail to the King was playable at the THQ suite. This game is extremely early and was whipped up, in demo form, for the show. Currently several of the antagonist characters (Deadites) are in place--though the AI is nowhere near tweaked at this point. Ash is back and loaded with Shotguns, Chainsaws, Axes and Rifles.

Playing the demo proved a bit tedious, as the game is mad early. We had difficulty simply moving Ash's rambunctious ash around to just to avoid Deadites. Executing use of his weapons was tough as well. Again...the keyword is early. Nevertheless, this game falls smack dab into the Survival Horror genre, and Heavy Iron studios, the game's developer, says it will be a blast to play once they finish building it to capacity.

Fabian Blache III

Previous Information:

Evil Dead lives! Work on THQ's array of Sam Raimi-inspired adventures continues apace, with legions of Deadites drawing nearer to multiple consoles. The PlayStation is set to get some in the form of Evil Dead: Hail to the King, a survival-horror adventure with what should be some of the best pre-created background graphics yet seen on the system.

New details on Dead include news of a Parasite Eve-style combat system, including free movement during battle sequences - not surprising, given the developer's pedigree. The game's story will be all new, not recreating any particular sequence from the movies. There'll be a strong resemblance - expect the same Deadites, dark forests, and hideous chainsaw action - but the story details will be original. Those Deadites will be part of a rogues' gallery comprising over twenty enemies, including monstrous boss creations.

This game will be part of a veritable Evil Dead marketing blitz in the latter half of the year. The original film is coming on DVD in the summer, the PlayStation game follows in the fall, and close on its heels will be the action figure line from fan-favorite McFarlane Toys. A perfect opportunity for Dead fans to go nuts, or the uninitiated to open the Necronomicon for the first time.

Previous Information:

Less than a month ago, one of the most conservative (and profitable) companies in North America decided to get a little bloody. THQ, best known for its middle America games such as bowling, fishing, wrestling, and pool, turned evil. It turned toward the wild "Mad Arab" ramblings of the Necronomicon, blood red with delight, chainsaw, shotgun, blood, guts, and all. It turned Evil Dead.

As promised, we have brought you the first new pieces of info and artwork on the upcoming videogame Evil Dead: Hail to the King, which is based in concept on the movie that horrified and entertained millions when Sam Raimi brought out the 1982 cult classic Evil Dead. Now we have eight new, ingame screenshots, which give a much better example of what the game looks like.

Developed by Heavy Iron Studios, and in conjunction with Renaissance Studios (Director Sam Raimi's movie house), THQ's Evil Dead: Hail to the King 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.

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 and will be rendered in 24-bit color, a first for any PlayStation game. Heavy Iron is confident that by using high ratio compression schemes and skilled PlayStation programmers, it can avoid any load times whatsoever, providing the player with continuity and fluidity throughout the game, something that Resident Evil still doesn't do well.

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.

As usual, we'll bring you as much coverage on Evil Dead that your good hearts can handle.

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