GAMES / REVIEWS
A
midEvilis a ‘first-personslinger’,a fantasyFPSthat
situatesitselfwithintheproud,albeitbrief,tradition
ofgamessuchasHeretic,Hexen:BeyondHeretic
and,er,Hexen2.It’sa relentlessmetaphysicalthrillridewith
someofthemostimaginativelevelandweapondesign
we’veseen.Thepremiseis delightfullysimple.You’rea
namelesswarriorchosentoridtheuniverseofa mysterious
evilspreadingitstendrilsthrougha bunchofdifferent
fantasyrealms.That’sit. Nowhurryupandgetsmiting.
Andwhatsmiting!Yourweaponsaren’tshotgunsand
rocketlaunchers,butstaffs,swordsandtridents,eachof
whichworksdifferently,andyouwon’tknowhowuntilyou
presstheleftmousebuttonforthatfirst,glorioustime.The
Whisper’s Edge snicker-snacks a stripe of green light at
enemies, while the Voltride fires a sustained electrical charge
that, if focused on one enemy long enough, causes them to
burst into smithereens, along with any nearby opponent.
Special mention goes to the Star of Torment,
which fires a cluster of crystal shards that will impale
an enemy on any surface, or, if there’s no surface,
shoot them off the map entirely. It’s the most
satisfying new weapon we’ve encountered in an
FPS since the Drillbit launcher from Bulletstorm.
Similar credit goes to Amid Evil’s level design. The game
takes you from sun-soaked ancient temples, to a corrupted
fairy-tale kingdom, to a kaleidoscopic wizard’s lair suspended
in the sky. All these levels are beautifully constructed,
abstract and puzzle-like, yet they maintain astonishing
forwards momentum. The design of the last level, which
takes place in a formless purple void, is remarkable.The game isn’t entirely flaw-free.Eachweaponhas
a powerful alt-fire that you can activate once you collect
enough ‘souls’, but it rarely feels like there’s a need to use
it, an issue that some more careful enemy placement
could resolve. In addition, the boss battles that cap off
every stage are rather underwhelming. Also, while the
game smartly avoids many irritating quirks of old shooters,
such as fall damage, there are still lots of precarious
ledges from which it’s easy to fall, and trying to get out
of water is like watching a fish try to climb a ladder.
Nonetheless, Amid Evil is an enthralling eight to ten
hours of furious fantasy action. Its level design often
matches the mighty DUSK, and its selection of weapons
eclipses that of quite a few big-budget shooters. If
you’re a fan of running fast and killing enemies from
a distance, Amid Evil does both very well indeed.
RICK LANE/VERDICT
Amid Evil
flings itself to
greatness with its
fast pace, cleverly
constructed
levels and a
weapon roster
that’s downright
sacrilegious.OVERALL SCORE
90
HERETIC
+^ Thrilling combat
+^ Amazing weapons
+^ Great level design
HERECROSS
-^ Enemy pacing
could be better
-^ Some fiddly
platforming
-^ Underwater bits
AmidEvil /£12.49inc VAT
DEVELOPER Indefatigable / PUBLISHER The New Bloods Interactivec
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