There
was a time when the worse thing you had to worry about in prison was a
little bit of the so called prison love (thats right, I put being
someones bitch higher up on the worry scale than getting shanked in the
cafeteria line). Apparently Midway didnt feel that prison was scary
enough, so when they set their new video game in a maximum-security
prison, they felt it necessary to inhabit it with all types of horrific
creatures that look like they come straight from the horror movies or
from your worse nightmares. Mwahahaha.
I
have to tell you, the first time I saw The Suffering I wasnt horribly
impressed. It was near the end of a long day at E3, my back was sore, my
feet hurt, and there was a rumbley in my tumbley. On a whim, I picked up
a free controller and started playing. It was right in the middle of a
game; the person before me had been stuck and I wasnt doing any better.
I gave up and walked away in disgust. Lucky for me I saw a trailer for
the game a little later on one of the many, many big screens. It caught
my attention and I decided that I must go back and give The Suffering
another try.
The
next day I returned to E3 refreshed and ready for more hot video game
action. This time I stopped at a different booth for the Suffering. Here
is what really made the difference: this booth had headsets. Anyone who
has been to E3 can tell you it is an amazing and overwhelming place, but
all that melted away when I placed that head set over my ears. I was no
longer on the floor of E3 but locked up in prison, convicted of murder.
I kid you not, this game spooked me and it did it in the middle of the
most crowded room I have ever been in. The Suffering is not for the
faint of heart.
The
main character is Torque, and he doesnt appear to be a very nice
fellow. Torque may very well be the most despicable video game hero of
all time. He is on death row awaiting his turn to fry, convicted of not
only killing his ex-wife but his children as well. The neat thing about
this game is that your actions throughout the game will determine
whether or not you truly did murder your family or if it all is a setup.
In the beginning though you learn fast that Torque is a bad dude.
As
he sits in his cell awaiting his fate, something happens and the entire
prison becomes the victim of some unholy apparitions. Most of the
inmates and guards are dead and Torque suddenly finds himself free; that
is, if he can escape the evil that has now taken over the prison.
The intense audio experience draws you in and the superior lighting
effects keep you peeing down your leg. Ghouls appear in the shadows and
spring upon you without warning. Prisoners moan in the background and
rattle their cell bars. It is all done superbly, much better than you
average horror flick.
All this scary goodness is a great package around a game with some
interesting innovations. The choices you make affect the game as well as
the ending. At one point a prison guard was assisting me. It was easy to
tell that he wasnt a big fan of Torques. (Incidentally, this guard
character has to be the most fowl mouthed video game character ever. I
could not believe the things that were coming out of his mouth. Once
again I warn you that this game is not for children.) I was tired of his
threats and a little torqued (ha ha!) that he had a gun and all I had
was a measly knife, so I killed him. Now I had a gun, but my character
was one step closer to damnation. I think it is good that in a game that
deals with so many mature themes they decided to have consequences for
your actions. It makes this a mature title in more than just the usual
way.
In the way of gameplay, The Suffering is fairly standard to the
third-person action-horror genre. It is like Resident Evil taken up a
notch (or ten). If this game were a movie it would be fighting for the R
rating. I am anxious to sit down with The Suffering, but I would be
hesitant to let my little brothers hang around and watch. Midway is
shooting for an appropriate Halloween release date. Hopefully The
Suffering will scare your socks off and push the boundaries of the genre
at the same time.