The Suffering proves that horror and action can go together.
User Rating: 7.5 | The Suffering PS2
I'm not a fan of console shooters. As a matter of fact I just bought "The Suffering" 'cause my PC graphics cards would not handle it. I was pleasently surprised by the game. It took me some time to adjust to control the aim, camera and iventory on the control rather than on the mouse/keyboard but things got pretty good after the initial 45 minutes. You play the game as a murder convict. You're sent to Abbot Prison after supposedly slaughtering your wife and kids (nice guy, aren't you?). Five minutes after you're taken into your cell, the whole place becames crowded with undead monsters and you have to find yourself out of the prison. Abbot prison is a fine environment. All the places have their own story, background and monsters. The creatures (tough few in variety) are cool and related to the prison and to their executions. Everything seems to belong to the prison, even "bosses". Altought you're not given a clear explanation why in hell are all those incidents on Abbot related to you, the storyline unfolds pretty straightforwardly and the characters you meet are well developed and have decent voice acting. The puzzles are simple and the battles are resolved quickly. The "horror" is rather gross. You have mutilated bodies, blood and severed body parts everywhere. You're also plagued by visions of your family, both alive and dead. The game also offers some subtle touches here and there, for example, you hear some twisted messages if you pick all the phones through Abott. As you meet other human beings, you're given the option (through some disturbing voice acting) of trying to escape togheter, killing, or just ignoring your kin. Your choice actually influence the game's end and mechanics, a rather interesting feature in a shooter. To me, it's a solid console shooter with a good horror atmosphere. 'Tough game controls are far from perfect, it's worth your time and money. 
