Games Database
PS2
Adventure: Survival Horror
| Also for: | Xbox | ||
| Viewed: | 3D First-person / Third-person | Genre: | Adventure: Survival Horror |
| Media: | DVD | Arcade origin: | No |
| Developer: | High Moon | Soft. Co.: | High Moon |
| Publishers: | Ubisoft
(US/GB) |
Released: | 7 Oct 2005
(GB) 3 Mar 2005 (US) |
| Ratings: | BBFC 15 | ||
| Accessories: | Memory Card | ||
| Features: | Vibration Function Compatible, Analogue Control Compatible: analogue sticks only | ||
Summary
Darkwatch is a crossover title, taking the ever popular survival horror game and spinning it, setting it in the Old Wild West. You play Jericho Cross, just another outlaw trying to make an easy buck. With the law hot on his tail, Jericho figured it was time for one last job before hightailing it down to the Mexican border. But it all goes a bit wrong. Stopping a train to rob it, the hapless felon inadvertently unleashes a cursed Vampire Lord, who, as Vampire Lords tend to do, immediately sets about making life terribly unpleasant for pretty much everyone. That includes Jericho Cross, who managed to get bitten by the Dracul-alike and is now half vampire himself. Picked up by Darkwatch, an undead hunting syndicate, you are promptly commanded to clean up the mess you have just made, and free the West from the curse of the bloodsucker.
With satisfying First Person blasting action, Darkwatch looks good too, drawing on the cinematic traditions of horror and westerns. A reputation system allows you to choose to be good or bad, and you inhabit a huge, atmospheric environment in which you carry out complex, non-linear missions against crafty enemies. But the best best is that you get to ride around on your horse shooting people, and the location-specific damage system means that you can blast holes out of the undead scum with delightful precision.
All the time, there’s something of a race against time going on – you must kill the Vampire Lord if you are to return to your normal outlaw life. But in the meantime, you get to take advantage of your newfound undead powers. For starters, you get supernatural strength and a ‘blood shield’ that acts as body armour taking a few hits before your body even feels a nick. Jericho Cross only had one eye, but the vampire infection within has given him a red eye in his old socket, which as well as looking pretty cool, allows you to identify undead fiends in human form. Your vampire strength also allows you to leap several times the height of a man. And there’s also a selection of subsidiary powers, from silver bullets to the dangerous blood frenzy. An intriguing blend of horror and the wild west, Darkwatch is veritable root-tooting blood feast.
With satisfying First Person blasting action, Darkwatch looks good too, drawing on the cinematic traditions of horror and westerns. A reputation system allows you to choose to be good or bad, and you inhabit a huge, atmospheric environment in which you carry out complex, non-linear missions against crafty enemies. But the best best is that you get to ride around on your horse shooting people, and the location-specific damage system means that you can blast holes out of the undead scum with delightful precision.
All the time, there’s something of a race against time going on – you must kill the Vampire Lord if you are to return to your normal outlaw life. But in the meantime, you get to take advantage of your newfound undead powers. For starters, you get supernatural strength and a ‘blood shield’ that acts as body armour taking a few hits before your body even feels a nick. Jericho Cross only had one eye, but the vampire infection within has given him a red eye in his old socket, which as well as looking pretty cool, allows you to identify undead fiends in human form. Your vampire strength also allows you to leap several times the height of a man. And there’s also a selection of subsidiary powers, from silver bullets to the dangerous blood frenzy. An intriguing blend of horror and the wild west, Darkwatch is veritable root-tooting blood feast.
