Game Review: "Clive Barker's Jericho"
Gerard Campbell - The Press
Nov 28, 2007
Gaming News And Reviews; the Box : Powers Can't Save Jericho
For: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
From: Codemasters
Classification: R18
Score: * *
Horror writer Clive Barker must have one sick imagination if some of the monsters in Jericho are anything to go by in this formulaic romp.
You play Devin Ross, a member of a secret military unit known as the Jericho squad, working for the Occult Warfare Division. After a lost city suddenly re-appears in a Middle Eastern desert the team has to destroy the evil at its heart.
But you're not alone as you hunt down the malevolent evil: no, you've got some leather-clad team-mates with you, each with paranormal powers.
Ross himself can heal fallen comrades; behemoth Frank Delgado unleashes a flame spirit that ignites nearby enemies; Simone Cole can control time; Xavier Jones can leave his body and possess enemies; Abigail Black can fire mind-driven projectiles that take down multiple enemies; and Billie Church can immobilise enemies.
Much of the game is set among underground ruins and castles -- of the same various shades of brown -- so it's naturally dark and creepy making it hard to work out what's going on. You'll need to keep your flashlight handy.
The game tends to plod along for the first few levels, following the tried and true first-person conventions and some of the paranormal skills show tremendous potential but just aren't used to their full ability.
At times you'll be faced with button-pressing challenges where you have to match key presses with on-screen prompts.
To be honest, if Jericho had been released six months ago, it might have made a small dent in the crowded first-person market, as it has some truly interesting aspects, but released at a time when you've got so many triple A games like the fantastic Call of Duty 4, The Orange Box, Halo 3, and Bioshock pleading for your money, it's just asking for a beating. Clive, that's a fail.
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