Run Like Hell Screenshots   The Final Say! Gameplay 7.1 Graphics 8 Sound 6 Value 6 Run Like Hell Reviewed By: Tory Favro  Review Date: August 2004 Review Score: 7.2 Distributed By: Red Ant

It's always a tough one when you have been waiting for a title as long as I have for this one. I remember seeing early screens and movies of RLH some time ago and salivating over the thought of eventually playing the game. How did it all pan out? Read on friends as we take a look at the game that has finally come to XBox after being on PS2 for some time. Created by Digital Mayhem, RLH follows lines not entirely unlike the storyline of the Alien movies, in fact the lead character is voiced by Lance Henriksen (star of cult TV show Millenium, and also of Alien and Aliens III) not to mention that there are a swag of other known and respected actors providing voice support for the title. It seems that despite all this and the lengthy development time, DM have not come up with quite the blockbuster that I was looking for, even after the gap between PS2 and XBox releases. It's still a good game, but in good faith I do feel the need to outline the pros and cons of it all. And hey, that's my job anyway, to convey my opinion of the title. The storyline is fairly basic, you are situated on a space station in the middle of nowhere. Called the Forseti Station, you are Nick Connor (Henriksen), a pilot who is sent out on salvage and repair missions. Your girlfriend is also living on the station and everything seems to be looking up for you. That is until you return from a routine mission to find that no one seems to be responding to your craft's landing requests and moments after landing, your curvaceous co-pilot's head is bitten off and spat at you by a hulking space menace. And yes you do get to see it all in gory 3D! From that point in the game you essentially wander around the ruins of the station with set objectives, sure, but essentially just shooting anything that moves with your trusty, almost never missing rifle that locks onto targets, yes folks it's that simple. Kill an alien and the targeting system will simply lock onto the next, making an effective killing machine out you that can take on the hordes. Ah, yes the hordes... where the hell are they? Enemies drop at a controlled rate that I found never really challenged the player at all. You find health ALL over the place and can quickly utilise it with a quick press of a button whenever you like. There is never a real occasion when you will feel overwhelmed by the odds. The trick to the whole game is to keep moving and hold down targeting button and you will be just fine. Graphically RLH is a pretty decent title, and there are genuine improvements over the PS2 version. Textures and animations are nice and there is a fair deal of credibility to the playing environment. As the aliens ravage their way through the station, it does take on the appearance of a place under siege. My only real complaint is that once the aliens do take over the base, it is

covered in a strange goo consisting of screaming human faces and bodies. The textures for this are unfinished and even clip through other items. It doesn't look good and was generally unimpressive. In some cases the framerate in this game drops to appalling levels making fights such as the final battle an absolute nightmare as the game chugs through each frame. This happened on both formats.

The audio in the game is another mixed bag of sweets. The dialogue though well written, spoken and recorded sometimes fades off and is not entirely audible. Considering that this game's vehicle consists of heavy storyline and dialogue essential to progression, this is a bit of a worry. Whilst being of a standard fare, the plot is tight and you don't get disappointed by it at any stage. I found it was the fact that the aliens do not vary greatly from being Giger rip-offs and their limited sounds and audio made the game a bit boring toward the end of the title. The music during the game is well scored until you hit conventional music being played that will jar you out of any sense of immersion that you had gained during play. It's obtrusive and doesn't belong at all.

Another annoyance is that whilst the game is trying to be as realistic as possible, there are a swag of little things that have been quite simply forgotten. For example; in cutscenes, items are passed from one player to the other such as in the beginning when Nick is given a drink. Where the hell is the glass? Sure as heck not in other of the character's hands! This occurs on many other occasions as well such as when characters type on keyboards with their hands at least a foot from the actual implement they are using. Unless of course they are all telekinetic and we just have not been told.

The game has enough in it that you will try to finish it off out of idle curiosity however you may be wondering why you bothered at the end. It's a neat game and in some parts an interesting game. It isn't scary though and certainly does not induce fear which is a disappointment. The actual running sequences are more of a timed hit and miss affair which put me in mind more of Dragon's Lair (having just played that title). I can't really call it it a survival horror game but it certainly will while away the hours on a rainy day.

Give it a rent first before making the decision to purchase as this will not be of a high enough calibre for everyone.

- Tory Favro