Pariah is yet another entry into the crowded FPS market for the XBOX - but really, it's not a bad thing. Sure, we see horrible FPS's come and go, but don't mistake Pariah as just another FPS that, to YOUR eyes, "probably won't deliver what I expect, and even if it did, it can't reach the ranks of Halo 2." Well, if your expecting something that's totally unexpected in the FPS genre, you obviously won't find it here, BUT, even at that, it simply shouldn't stop you from playing it. Pariah puts you in the shoes of Dr. Jack Mason, a doctor who basically transports 'prisoners.' During a transportation, his plane unsurprisingly gets shot down by a large group, and after your plane is shot down, you soon come across one of the to-be transported prisoners, Karina. From here on out, you find out that your plane was actually shot down for a reason, and that the group that shot down your plane is going after Karina, a holder of some unusual and bizarre virus. After the opening cutscene, Pariah puts you into the action rather quickly. You really have no time to learn the controls, but FPS gamers on the XBOX will easily be handle the controls, since it's simply the same layout as other FPS on the XBOX. Anyways, Pariah traverses across 18 chapters in it's single-player campaign mode, and along the way, you definitely will encounter fierce battles that will keep you on the edge of your seat. For the lazy, Pariah puts you in the action quickly. Pariah supports the Havoks Physics Engine, so you'll have some fun experimenting with the ragdoll physics. You can also use the environment to your advantage to kill off any enemies that dare step in your way. Not every item in the environment is destructible, but normal things like boulders can be used to take out the enemy quickly and efficiently without any real hassle involved. Probably the most entertaining and thought-out aspect within Pariah is it's upgradeable weapons feature, which in short, allows you to upgrade any of your current available weapons. By using the cores you find within the environment, whether it be from dead enemies or someplace around the area, you can use them to upgrade your weapons. Sadly, the cores aren't copious, so it's hard to decide what to use your cores or points on. Just be careful - you might regret upgrading a weapon. Pariah offers 8 weapons, which I thought was pretty low, as you really don't have much variety in some heated action-packed battles you are supposed to face. You have some good weapons to choose from anyways, like a Grenade Launcher and a Sniper Rifle, all of which obviously can be upgraded. There is also a melee weapon thrown in, but in the immense environments, it's utterly worthless, period. As stated before, the controls for Pariah are quite easy to learn for an FPS XBOX addict since they resemble that of XBOX FPS's. There are a few changes, but overall, it's a simple pick up and play type game. But the real problem with the controls is how they are used when you control vehicles. It's just that the vehicles have dismaying controls, and it feels your driving a vehicle that controls itself instead of you actually controlling it. If you have the patience, you can get around this, but most people will probably feel too frustrated to control any vehicle in Pariah. Pariah, like all other FPS's, has it's own multi-player mode. The usual bread and butter of FPS multi-player modes are here, including Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Capture the Flag. There are also a couple different modes, like Siege and Front Line Assault. In Siege, one team must defend their own base from the other team or else they lose - it's that simple. In Front Line Assault, you basically capture points that lead closer and closer to the enemy base. These are definitely not apalling modes in any way, but with the addition of bots in the multi-player mode, there's definitely something to like here. Of course, Pariah is also enabled with XBOX Live so you can play all these modes online. Pariah also includes a M.A.P. (Make and Play) Editor, so you can actually create your own maps and then trade them or put them online so other people can play on them. It's quite easy to use, but you have to be at least a bit skilled in MAP editors to make an exigent and complex map. It'll take some time, but for people who just want to make a simple map with little to no skills of MAP editing, it can still be done. The disappointing part with the MAP editor is that it doesn't support bots, so it's impossible to play with bots on your own custom map, which means if you don't have XBOX Live, using the MAP editor is completely useless and a waste of time. However, if you DO have XBOX Live, you can trade your custom made maps with friends and strangers alike, like I stated above. The enemy A.I. in Pariah is a real mix of "amazing and talented", and "boneheaded and predictable." At times, you will see enemies hide behind cover when being shot at, and at times, you will see them stand around like idiots, pretty much yelling out "I'm a free hit, so take advantage of it!" Since most of the battles will be heavy and intense, you will easily spot all the mistakes and challenges that they show. Visually, Pariah looks solid. The environments are all well-done, along with the weapon models as well. I did find the enemy models to be boring simply because your just fighting the same enemy that looks like all the other enemies. I also noticed some jerky animations and on rare occurrences there is a framerate issue, probably because of the large, intense action that's going all around you. In-game cutscenes look good, and pretty much everything else left that I haven't explained in the graphics department is good enough. Pariah's audio is quite impressive, but it does have it's faults. During the single player campaign, you'll be treated to some music in and out of battles, much like the Halo series does. As for it's sound, the firing of weapons and bullets passing by is all good, but the voice-acting is just mediocre, at best. In my opinion, I think Digital Extremes hired some drunk actors to voice act for the characters. I'm not saying it's THAT bad, but it's pretty bad enough to make you think something of that nature. Other than that, the sound and audio can stand well on it's own. Pariah's single-player campaign is a short one, lasting around 8-14 hours, although FPS fanatics can finish it in even lesser time. After the single-player campaign, you do have the multi-player modes to boot for extra value. The addition of bots, which is something you really don't see in console FPS that much anymore, is great, but then again, once you master Pariah's gameplay and controls, the bots are quite simply too easy, even on the highest setting since it's quite predictable what they do. If that doesn't float your boat, you can easily take it further with XBOX Live - that is, if you have XBOX Live. If you do have XBOX Live, the MAP editor will please you well online, but those without XBOX Live will find it useless. But since there is an addition of bots for offline players, it further expands the value for Pariah greatly, especially when you begin to start out playing with bots. Pariah may not be an earth-shattering FPS, but when it's all said and done, it delivers surprisingly well. The story does fizzle out around the beginning portion, but it quickly picks up to provide you an interesting storytelling around the middle portion, up to the end. Pariah also includes a MAP editor and bots, all of which are solid features. Pariah does have it's share of faults, like the somewhat bad voice-acting, and some framerate issues, but all those flaws are forgivable, thanks to the intense action of Pariah. With the overcrowded FPS market for the XBOX, it makes for some tough decisions. Some will overlook Pariah, but that's their own mistake. Pariah delivers well, and easily provides a great FPS experience from what it has to offer.
Thanks to another GS bad (and, at least for me, incomprehensible and biased) review also, Pariah suffers from a nasty reputation: every single game has its own features, so first of all it’s pointless and unfair making c... Read Full Review
Pariah is a standard fps with no outstanding qualities, although is does have its own high points. Take for example the multi-player mode. It has the basic modes like deathmatch and team death match but it also throws in... Read Full Review
