Good game,worth entertaining,great environments & descent horror gameplay!
The difference is, that while Undying was a game that suited Barker's style of horror, Jericho is a game that comes from Clive Barker himself… but is it any better because of it?
You've got the originality of being able to possess characters as you choose and use their weapons and abilities however and whenever you please.. but that's let down by the fact that once you've seen all they've got, there's nothing new coming to you for the rest of the game. It wouldn't have been so bad if you could at least augment or enhance powers by mixing them up a bit, perhaps even using Ross as a channel to link powers together… but that's not the case.
As you progress through Clive Barker's Jericho you'll need to use all your body-hopping possession powers to the full as each member of your team has their own unique abilities and weapons that you'll need to call on in certain situations. Your sniper, Black, is telekinetic and can shift obstacles as well as steer a bullet in mid-flight, making it strike multiple targets. Cole carries grenades that can be configured in various ways, to explode on impact, when bad guys are near, after a time delay or by remote control as well as being able to loop time, slowing it down or stopping it for short periods.
The others all have a variety of abilities which, through the level design of the game, you'll need to use to progress without getting chopped into gory, bloody pieces. But the most important ability rests with Father Rawlings and the deceased Ross, that of being able to heal the other members of the squad. When anyone takes too much damage, rather than dying, they'll slump to the floor. You can then heal them bringing them back into the battle.
If you're possessing someone when they die you'll jump to the nearest squad member and, through them you can use your healing power to revive your fallen comrades. Father Rawlings has the same power so as long as one of you is alive and active, you've a good chance of keeping the team going. And this where, to my mind, the PC version of Clive Barker's Jericho is better than either the Xbox 360 or PS3 versions.
If you want to make full use of your team's abilities, such as casting a ring of fire damage around the squad, then casting a curse on enemies so that the damage they take gives a health gain to team members, you have to be able to jump between squad members quickly. The easiest way is to target them and hit the space bar, and even the most accomplished console gamer is going to be slower than me using a keyboard and mouse… sorry to all the console fans but you know it's true.
But what's nice about Clive Barker's Jericho is that it seldom forces you to use a certain squad member or a particular power, it never makes it bluntly obvious that you need to use astral projection into this area or time looping in this section. The first few missions sort you out with introducing powers and their uses from a few little pop-up tips but after that you're left to figure it out yourself. I like a game that makes you think a bit more than usual.
On the downside, you'll not be picking up any new weapons at all… not even the odd pistol or sword. Each character resolutely sticks with the weapons they started the game with. This wouldn't be quite so bad if they weapons didn't feel so puny. Sure, they sound good but even the first zombie demon things you meet in the first level can take an entire clip to the head before dropping. There's no ammo or health pick-ups either, you're ammo is replenished at the start of each section which is a bit of a bummer too… You can run out of ammo if you try and shoot anything and everything that moves but in sensible play you'll have a tough time using even half of what you get.
If you want to make full use of your team's abilities, such as casting a ring of fire damage around the squad, then casting a curse on enemies so that the damage they take gives a health gain to team members, you have to be able to jump between squad members quickly. The easiest way is to target them and hit the space bar, and even the most accomplished console gamer is going to be slower than me using a keyboard and mouse… sorry to all the console fans but you know it's true.
And then there's the environments. The Firstborn has made six previous attempts to break through into our world but there's only 4 different time zones to pay here. And they all look much like each other. Ok, I understand that this is Al-Khali through the ages and so the underlying backdrop will be pretty much the same, but the generic bad guys and lack of different, time-specific monsters only highlights how cool it could have been…
Using different powers to defeat enemies or solve puzzles is a tried and tested foundation of video games. The attraction is in allowing players to experiment and find their own way around a level or a problem and Clive Barker's Jericho does this just fine.
Pros
Looks good for the most part
Puzzles more taxing than average
Cons
Little variety between time zones
Little variety in enemies
Little variety in gameplay