User Rating: 8.3 | The Suffering XBOX
An awesome action-horror game. Highly recommended, especially for fans of the genre. Graphics: I suppose one might argue from a strictly technical viewpoint that the graphics aren’t that special, but aesthetically, they are perfect. They capture the mood of a horror setting perfectly: dark, grimy, spooky. The character models for Torque (the main character) and the monsters are great, though the guards and other prisoners are merely serviceable. The Silent Hill-like flashlight adds to the spookiness, and the startling visions and flashbacks Torque experiences along the way keep the hair on the back of your neck standing up through most of the game. Sound: Ambient sound, excellent. Soundtrack, excellent. Monster sounds: great. Weapons: mostly good, though the shotgun sounds a little wimpy. Voice-overs: mostly good, though the NPCs have an irritating habit of repeating themselves over and over without pause or variation. Gameplay: Perfect. No complaints. Great action, respectable puzzles. The morphing is a cool feature. I especially like that you have the option of switching between third- and first-person view (first is more immersive, creepier; third is more practical in some situations). Value: Very good. Some reviewers complained that it was short. Sure, it’s not KOTOR, but it’s not particularly short either, I think these reviewers are just spoiled. Also, I think you have to take into account replay value, which I would say is quite high. There are multiple endings, depending on how you play the game. There are unlockables, including a Preview level (which I haven’t played yet). There are also a variety of difficulty settings, so you can play it multiple times and see how good you are. Overall: Highly recommended. Go get it.
