Publishers: 1C Publishing; Aspyr Media
Developer: The Farm 51
System requirements: Pentium IV 2.4 GHz CPU; 1 GB RAM (1.5 GB for Vista); 256 MB graphics card with DirectX 9 pixel shader 3.0 support; DirectX 9.0c-compliant sound card; 8 GB hard-drive space; Windows XP SP2/Vista
Genre: First Person Shooter
Release date: Available now

Want some mindless virtual carnage? The developers of the popular Painkiller franchise have released NecroVisioN, a quirky, underpublicized first-person shooter. It combines earthly combat action against human soldiers with supernatural battles with zombies and monsters of all varieties. It breaks with many of the conventions of modern FPS releases, charting its own special course in challenging your ability to handle challenges. The game’s most reminiscent of the Serious Sam series, although it contains the highly unusual combination of dark and gory action with occasional lighthearted humor.

The story has you playing the role of an American World War I soldier fighting to save the world. The setting is Europe, where you begin by battling German soldiers. You roam through vast areas containing ornate structures as you pursue your noble quest, and you encounter many surprises along the way, including mysterious laboratories and underground caverns. As you progress, you find out that an eerie unworldly force has summoned back to life the hellish forces of the undead, creating an army far more sinister than anything the Germans could muster.

The gameplay is fast and furious, with hordes of creatures often attacking you at once. Playing NecroVisioN requires not only quick reflexes but also incredible stamina; the battles are long and there are few breaks during which you can regain your strength and composure. When engaging in these challenging encounters, you have to be adept at using old weapons as well as unconventional ones harnessing supernatural powers.

NecroVisioN has a lot going for it. The melee combat is great, particularly employing the spade, which can neatly behead enemies. Using the well-implemented “fury” system, quick destruction of multiple foes makes eliminating others easy. You have a large assortment of weapons, including the outstanding magical ShadowHand, which allows you to slash foes and shoot fire. You also encounter one or two really fun boss enemies. Occasionally you can even walk around in a robot suit, fly on top of a dragon or find special secret areas. The graphics and lighting are fine, and the ragdoll physics animation is excellent.

Unfortunately, several deficiencies exist. The plot doesn’t make sense, sometimes incorrectly explaining what you’ve done or changing the storyline, and the many notes you pick up often seem irrelevant. There is little difference between fighting Germans and fighting zombies. The action is relatively linear and you cannot interact with much that you can see. The special attack modes you earn from challenges are not that useful (or well explained). Often you don’t know where to go or what to do; the role of the compass is never made clear. And the artificial intelligence of your foes is not impressive.

The overall experience of playing NecroVisioN is truly draining; you feel physically and emotionally spent after getting through each intense level. The game gets much better in the second half after a slow start, but the final boss battle is a real letdown. If you want a game with deep meaning or real variety in gameplay, look elsewhere. But if you have a taste for blood-and-guts frenetic, nonstop combat, then NecroVisioN might just be for you.

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