The opening movie of Midway`s latest survival horror, The Suffering, left me sceptical. The acting was uninspiring and as for the language, well let`s just keep the kids away from this one. That said, this does add a realistic element, as I doubt you will find many prisoners on death row speaking the Queen`s English.
The Suffering begins with the arrival of Torque at maximum-security prison Carnate Island. He is sentenced to death for the alleged murders of his wife and two children. Murders he claims not to have any memory of.
Once you get past the opening movie, the fun really starts. The lights flicker, the cells shake and prisoners are slaughtered left, right and centre by some of the freakiest monstrosities to enter the gaming world. Obviously, Torque is the only survivor and now he must get out of the prison alive.
The Suffering is fast-paced and full of excitement. It can be played in either the standard third-person view or from a first-person perspective. I found the controls difficult to handle at first, but with a little practise it becomes second nature.
The atmosphere is suitably creepy and gets into the dark recesses of your mind with disturbing images. Dark rooms with broken bodies, dripping blood from the ceilings and blood smears in the halls are all things gamers will lose their beauty sleep over.
The attention to detail is awesome, from blood splattering all over Torque and the wall behind the creature that is being pulverised, to being able to blast off the creature`s arms, legs and heads.
While playing as Torque you will come across a variety of weapons to use against the creatures, from a shiv (prison slang for a sharpened steel pipe) to double revolvers. The game encourages shooting first as there is ample ammunition for your firearms.
As the game progresses, Torque can transform into a monstrous beast whenever his insanity meter gets full. Once he transforms, he can easily rip through a room crawling with evil nasties.
I suggest you watch the documentary on haunted prisons before playing The Suffering to set the scene. Also check out the making of feature to see what they had in mind when creating the game.
Overall, I highly recommend The Suffering for anyone that is into the survival horror genre. It provides hours of non-stop frightening action, blood and killing. What more could you ask for in a game?
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