RLH: Not All Bad! Its very simple to describe what RLHs story is like. Take two parts Aliens, one part Predator, one part Star Trek, and shake. The idea behind the game was a very movie like sci-fi story with you driving the action along. They did pretty well with the story part but the kind of goofed up the action part. The story is told through in engine cut scenes and sounds quite a bit better than it looks. A number of very good character actors have been employed in the game and for the most part it pays off (Aliens: Lance Henriksen, Splinter Cell: Michael Ironside, and Star Trek: Kate Mulgrew). The story is very derivative and certainly stale but at least its told with some emotion and a bit of style. For me the story was enough to push me to want to continue through the game despite the poor combat. Why is the combat poor. Too many reasons, really. First, despite the name of the game, your character moves quite slow. In fact, there are only a few creatures in the game that your character could out "Run" if he tried. To help with combat a "side-step" maneuver is available which allows your character to dodge attacks and get some distance between himself and the enemiess. Unfortunately, the camera has a mind of its own while you are targeting enemies and tends to cause you to be disoriented. This can really cramp your style because you will often find yourself tripping over enemies that suddenly appear from nowhere and you can't move. There is also a lot of close quarters fighting in which the camera will just go to lunch. The other main problem with combat is the weapons balance (or lack of it). For the most part the first weapon you get in the game will be more effective then any other weapon by far. Trying to use the other weapons is often just frustrating. You are even given one weapon for 2 entire levels and then the game "takes it away". Your characters comments that the weapon was not that usefully anyway. Seems like a strange progression to me. The combat is also fairly limited in terms of variety. It feels as if you are simply fighting the same enemies over and over again because you are. The graphics are about what you would expect from a PS2 port. Decent in spots, but too many flat textures are repeated throughout. The characters are decent and the amimation of the charaters is good if a bit slow. So, as I said, its not all bad. Strangely I felt that despite the gameplay flaws, the story and characters were somewhat compelling. If you are a fan of this type of story you may be able to enjoy the game as I have. You will still be frustrated by a number of gameplay elements though. Much like "Enter The Matrix" its always disappointing when you see a lot of potential in a game but the developers just fell way short of the mark. Would I recomend this game as a buy? I would at about $12. Other than that I would say if you like Alien type sci-fi and you can't get enough of it , then you should give it a rent.
RLH, an outstanding game with a desperate need for a sequel… This game is as close to a Hollywood movie as games can get, it is very surprising to me that everyone seems to hate it. First, we need to take a look at... Read Full Review
I'm a few years behind the times with this game, which is usually the case. But I think that allows me to evaluate this game a little more objectively, without any hype surrounding the game any longer. I can only assum... Read Full Review
