Todd McFarlane, the creator of the Spawn comic-book series, has done it again. Yes, he is using his name to churn out yet another sub-standard PlayStation 2 title. This time it is called Evil Prophecy and is based on the creatures of his Monsters figurine line.
Although an interesting idea, its appeal will be limited to those interested in his work. Set in the 19th century, Evil Prophecy tells the story of how monstrous minions from our worst nightmares are trying to bring about the end of the world.
Scientist Dr Hans Jaeger has assembled a team of adventurers to take on these hordes and save the world. The team includes Logan, a pirate who lost his crew to creatures at sea; Delphine, a gun-slinging hottie with expertise in killing werewolves; and Sundano, a supernatural warrior from Africa.
The plot is a poor excuse to get you ready to beat up some enemies. After killing the initial wave of monsters, there are more monsters. Following that, you will have to beat up a few more monsters. So, did I mention that monsters must be killed in this game?
You will probably expect the fallen enemies to at least leave some treasure of sorts behind. Not in Evil Prophecy. You have to rely on what you find in boxes scattered around the maps for extra items. Naturally enough, these items need to be used within a certain time limit or they will disappear.
The map is also completely useless and you will find yourself wandering around aimlessly. The pathetic camera angle does not help matters as your characters get stuck in places where you cannot actually see them.
In most of the levels, you will have to perform at least some kind of special objective to move to the next stage. Sure, this is a valiant attempt at breaking up the monotonous beat-`em-up action, but the objectives are by no means fun or even mildly interesting.
Imagine, running around a labyrinth to locate one of several kidnapped children while constantly being pounded by hundreds of re-spawning creatures. I assure you it is more frustrating than fun.
As the game progresses, the objectives get more complicated, and the enemies get much tougher. Dare I say you might want to rip the game out of your console and throw it against the wall?
During the game, all four of the team members will fight at once. You can switch through the group to pick a specific warrior, and the artificial intelligence will automatically control the three remaining characters.
Special attacks can be made but these drain the special abilities of your entire team. So, when one member performs a special attack, the whole team`s ability to perform a move decreases. At least the meter refills when you kill enemies.
Beside the story mode, the game also features dungeon, battle and time attack modes.
The dungeon levels are dull when you play an almost identical map on every stage. Try and image what Diablo would look like on Atari about 15 years ago. You get the idea.
Battle mode lets you and your friends compete against one another by trying to see who can kill the most enemies. However, game play is sloppy and confusing.
While these modes are a good idea, they are not put together well at all. Graphically, Evil Prophecy is almost as bad as the game play. It is too dark and too tedious, with each level continuing with the recycled feeling.
I love McFarlane`s work, but it seems he threw this game idea together to make a quick buck. I cannot in good conscience recommend this game. It is dull, dull and - oh yes - dull.
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