Cliver Barker's Jericho: a horribly reviewed horror game. But is it really that bad?
When you look at Clive Barker's Jericho, one thing about it immediately jumps out at you. Clive Barker. Jericho is soaked in Barker's personal style, both artistically and literarily. A Clive Barker fan will probably find a lot to love here. For those of us who have little-to-no previous experience with Barker's work, we merely have to take Jericho as is.
One of the best things about reviewing a game so long after its initial release is that you get to respond to the reviewers who have come before you. Let me then set the record straight by summing it up in one single sentence: Clive Barker's Jericho is the most fun I've had with a video game since I played Resident Evil 4 on the 'Cube back in 2005. In fact, Jericho is the first game since RE4 that I restarted immediately after beating it. That is not to say that Jericho is by any means perfect, just that I happen to thoroughly enjoy it.
Part of the reason I think Jericho has done so badly in reviews is because reviewers seem to approach Jericho as if it were a tactical squad-based shooter. I didn't know it was supposed to be; I approached Jericho with the excitement of being able to control every character and using a host of supernatural powers. Seriously, for a micro-manager like me, this is a dream come true! If this is your outlook, you will probably have more fun than if you expect a gameplay style similar to GRAW. Well, onto the review!
Graphically, I have heard opinions on both ends of the spectrum on Jericho. I personally find the graphics to be excellent. The whole game is very dark, very caliginous. Some surfaces are a bit more reflective than they should be, but all in all, the graphics are very nice. However, there is a lot to be said for personal taste here; if you like dark, cavernous settings, you will probably like Jericho's graphics. If you don't, you will probably claim that this game looks like a 12 hour bowel movement. That aside, the character models are nice; the enemies look terrific, and the bosses' are delicately detailed.
GRAPHICS: 9.5/10
The soundtrack in Jericho is pretty minimalist; it's made up of mostly percussion and muffled off-key Gregorian chant. I like it, and I think it fits the theme of the game, but I get the feeling that most people will not. The weapon sounds are a bit softer than I'd like, and the character dialogue can be dull and repetitive at times, but for the most part, they too are enjoyable.
SOUND: 8/10
The controls in Jericho are somewhat awkward. They were never awkward enough for me that I got distressed or irritated, but they did take some getting used to. Like in most shooters these days, Jericho uses a dual-analog control scheme. Unlike in most shooters, however, your character will actually move faster when moving forward than he/she will moving left, right, or backwards. The change can be jarring, especially when running around a corner or away from enemies. Other than that, the controls are not especially tight or loose. There are certainly better control schemes out there, but Jericho's are not really a significant bonus or deterrent.
CONTROLS: 6/10
The quality of Jericho's story is debatable. It's all a matter of what you want in a story. Jericho is a squad of witches, wizards, and wise-asses that are supposedly kept around to protect the world from certain supernatural doom at the hands of God's first attempt at humanity (referred to as, *SHOCK*, the Firstborn). It's a pretty far stretch for a plot, but if you're willing to make the effort, there's lots of theological fiction here to love. You are cast as Captain Ross, and not far into the game, you die. You spend the rest of the game in an ethereal ghost-like form, unable to interact with the world unless you "possess" one of your Jericho squad mates. Each of your six remaining squad member have two weapons (or weapon attacks) and two supernatural powers. Ross can also use his power of resurrection regardless of who he is possessing. Many reviewers said that the mechanic by which you change bodies can be disorienting, and at first I agreed, but I adjusted to it fairly quickly. The story progresses as you journey farther and farther into "the Box," the Hellish home crafted for keeping the Firstborn entertained and in captivity. The story itself is slightly weak, but the ideas presented are very solid. If you are a little forgiving at times, you may find yourself thoroughly wrapped up in the dark world of Jericho
STORY: 8/10
There is no multiplayer, so I cannot review it.
MULTIPLAYER: n/a
The extras consist of logs about the different playable characters, enemies, and NPC's that you encounter throughout the game. They become available as you unlock achievements, and if the story interests you, then they're worth a look. If you find yourself bored with the story, they are completely worthless.
EXTRAS: 4/10
To summarize my views on the artistic stylings of Clive Barker's Jericho, I cannot heap enough praise into this review without it potentially falling on me like a futuristic version of our own Leaning Tower of Pisa. The dark environments, the macabre setting, and the gruesome visuals all serve to get my inner artist more excited than a lesbian in a ladies locker room (should any lesbian readers take offense to that comment, I apologize). The enemies are great, the characters are amazing, and the bosses are all hypnotic in their design. If games were reviewed solely on artistic expression, then, in my mind, Jericho would set the standard.
ART: 10/10
After all this praise, there is still a lot to say. Jericho is not without its flaws. It's been brought up in countless reviews that you often have to spend a lot of time healing your squad. I disagree with this. If you manage to keep Father Rawlings alive (your other healer), he'll take care of most of that for you. If you are spending your gunfight time healing rather than shooting, than you're doing something wrong, and you should probably re-examine your strategy. It still can be pretty annoying to heal your allies during some of the more difficult fights and parts of the game where you split up can be unnecessarily unforgiving. Many of the cut scenes incorporate timed button presses, as is pretty standard these days. Jericho's button prompts only appear on the screen for a very, very brief period of time. You do have longer to press them than it would seem, but it takes some getting used to. Most games leave the button prompt up until you press the button, so the difference can be discomforting.
Jericho is gory, and that's putting it mildly. The game is a blood-lover's fantasy, but I would argue that it's not blood/gore simply for the sake of blood and gore. Again, it depends heavily on your own personal artistic tastes.
Basic gameplay is very enjoyable. Most of the levels are short and sweet, and thus don't ever overstay their welcome. Level design has been marked as a big flaw for the game, but honestly, I only found myself backtracking twice during the games thirty or so levels. I think that's a decent average. Level design is not outstanding, but I think I'd have to stretch to say that it's bad.
The game's ending leaves a lot to be desired, but I won't get into it for those who haven't beaten it. I have read rumors on the Codemasters website that a sequel would be developed depending on sales of Jericho. Jericho was definitely enough fun for me that I would relish the chance to spend more time in it's dark, secluded universe.
To summarize, Jericho is an amazing game hidden deep within itself. If you're willing to forgive a few quirks (or god forbid, enjoy said quirks), you will find a horribly underrated game that is quickly getting lost under the constant barrage of holiday releases. For those of you who haven't played Jericho yet, I urge you to ignore all the reviews (even this one, if you want to!) and simply give it a try. Personally, I found one of my favorite games of this console generation. I'm sure other people found their favorite game to bash. But either way, don't you need another game to love/bash?