The Evil Within

The absolute best thing about Evil Within is that it MAKES you get good at all aspects of the game. We've all played games where once you get the right BFG or the right amount of armor, you barely rely on your other available weapons etc because you can blast your way through it. Not here. For Evil Within, you WILL learn to disable all types of traps because you have to get the parts for agony bolts. You WILL learn best use of weapons, because ammo is so scarce as to be frightening in itself. You WILL learn to use perspective to you best advantage, or you're gonna get blown the @%$@ up on a regular basis. You WILL learn sometimes it's better to run because there aren't a lot of health syringes laying around, and a couple of the bosses can take a licking and keep on ticking. You will utilize stealth, strategy, use of environment, because you cannot just blast your way thru this one, there's never enough ammo (or matches...my kingdom for a match). You WILL seek and obtain every power up/ammo pack/health/white angel available in your environment on every level, because otherwise you will die, and revert to a couple of saves back to continue. I am usually jaded by horror gotcha's, but E.W. actually pulled off 3 solid ones that I have to admit caught me right between the eyes. As you work through your upgrade tree, EW will make you put more than a passing thought on what to spend your green liquid on, since simply boosting your health and speed ain't gonna get it. Reload times are painfully slow , although several of the cut-scenes are quite clever. Puzzles are adequate, although the fighting puzzles are much more carefully honed than the simpler item getting puzzles. AI is wicked, forcing you to use tossed bottles and hiding spaces as more than a passing thought. Save system is maddening until you figure it out, and then you long for the red doors and victrola music. Excellent