Shotgun - Check! Chainsaw - Check! Witty Banter - Got ya covered! Alrighty, let's kick some undead ass.
Regeneration is probably the closest realization to that dream, as it stands right now. The second offering of Evil Dead games offered this generation, Regeneration outshines Fistful of Boomstick with more compelling gameplay, and at times, a more entertaining storyline.
If you've already seen the movies, you know the gist, but like all Evil Dead's this one starts not after Army of Darkness, but more along the lines of the end of the first movie, though elements of the first two movies are tied in. Where the real story starts is with Ash in the nuthouse after the events that take place at the cabin in the woods. Your lawyer has effectively liberated Professor Knowby's diary from a doctor whom seems bent on the destruction of mankind. While your lawyer goes off to investigate the matter further, Dr. Reinhardt is attempting experiments with the Necronomican. Eventually, as you can imagine, evil is unleashed and it's up to you and your little side-kick, the half-human half-deadite dwarf named Sam, that Professor Knowby hooks you up with, to get the job done.
All-in-all, the story is pretty much the standard Evil Dead storyline, so if you're a fan of the series, you'll know what to expect. For fans of the games, however, this game marks the first time you may be able to make it through the whole game without wondering what in the hell you're supposed to be doing next. The game provides a little hand-holding in this respect, as you're often given blatant visual cues or at times, being led to the door that you're supposed to be using. It may offer little in the way of surprises, but it's better than Fistful's haphazard, guess where you should be going now, style.
The gameplay itself is quite fun, although they did take out some of the better parts of combat from Boomstick, but they make up for it with the addition of Sam and his unique abilities. You're given quite a few combo moves with each of your weapons, and will eventually run across some cool upgrades to your existing weapons. (A rocket-firing shotgun comes into play about halfway through). My only beef is that some of these upgrades only seem to work well on non-living targets. The rocket-firing shotgun is effective in shooting out doors, but you still have to finish off deadites in the same manor as you would with the pistol, which means blasting the hell out of them with a ton of shots. As well some of the upgrades finishers aren't quite as impressive as using the chainsaw and the shotgun, whereas I was expecting some really over-the-top type of finisher. A minor complaint, but something that I feel could have been given some more thought. The addition of Sam does give a bit more depth to the gameplay though, as using him to solve puzzles and take out Deadites is both fun and useful. Sam's main function is to be abused, at Ash's discretion, which may involve kicking Sam into enemies, possessing Sam to solve puzzles, or at times, just killing him for the fun of it.
There are some platforming aspects in the game, all of which are terribly done, and merely appear to be an afterthought: A way to break up the action. During these moments, it becomes apparent how little work went into these segments. Mercifully, these sections aren't altogether long, and don't happen that often, but when they do, you'll be hard pressed to ignore how poorly these sections are animated. Indeed, you'll often find yourself having to redo the smallest of jumps, as Ash just barely brushes the tip of the platform, and the will fall with even the slightest jiggle of the analog stick. Regardless, as I say, this shouldn't bother you too often, but there are times when you really get into a groove, and they throw a platforming section at you that completely takes you out of the game.
Ok, so we've got a few minor complaints out of the way, but let's get technical...this game is ugly during the gameplay scenes. It's a budget title, so perhaps most people kind of expect that, but the cut-scenes were relatively well done, so I'm wondering why they couldn't have done some graphical touch-ups on the gameplay side. The AI can be sketchy as well...This is most evident when you have escort missions with Sam. Sam will sometimes just run around enemies rather than take them on independently, which can be a bit infuriating as it often results in his death, especially if you're close to completing a certain objective. The enemy AI can be just as shoddy, though, as you can often climb one step higher than them, and they'll just stand there, as though trapped behind a magical forcefield, or something. Not exactly stellar programming there.
Ok, so that's the good, and the bad, let's move on to the fantastic. Ted Raimi, and Bruce Campbell make this game with their clever back and forth banterings. Ash hasn't changed a bit, and for all intents and purposes that's a good thing for us...not so good for Sam though. If you're even questioning if this game is worth your money, rest assured in the fact that the voice-acting alone, is far more decent than your average $40-$50 game. There are minor glitches in the games sound, but nothing that would be horrid enough to take you out of the gameplay.
If you've ever played the abysmal PS1 Hail to the King game, or the PS2's lackluster and confusing Fistful, I cannot emphasize enough that this game more than makes up for them. It's got the gameplay, it's got the story, it's even got some decent extras. For less than $20, how can you pass that up?