Xbox

The Suffering: Ties That Bind

I would gladly recommend The Suffering: Ties That Bind to horror fans. If you like lots of guns that feel the business, lots of demons who look the business, lots of tension, lots of suspense, a great plot that keeps you guessing and interested, and buckets and buckets of blood, then you'll probably love this. Be sure to play it in the dark with the volume turned nice and high, and if you have surround sound make use of it. Mums and dads beware though: this is an 18 for a very, very good reason. Don't buy it for little Johnny or Jane for Christmas, unless you don't want them to sleep ever again…

The core gameplay surrounding The Suffering: Ties that Bind isn’t awful, it’s still fun, but it does have its glaring flaws. Then again, this game isn’t about the blasting or the slashing – it’s about the scares. Let me tell you, it’ll scare you good. If you’re looking to jump out of your skin this holiday season (sorry, Halloween’s over), The Suffering: Ties that Bind is definitely worth picking up in order to experience its blend of intelligent and truly disturbing horror action. Just be sure your bladder is empty before you play.

Like its main character Torque, there are two sides to The Suffering: Ties That Bind. It is simultaneously fun and extremely frustrating, compelling and flawed, mature and foul, engaging and confusing. As a game, it can be aggravating, but as a piece of interactive storytelling, it flirts with brilliance.

Playing with the same tools as the first game but sporting a new territory, The Suffering: Ties That Bind is more of the same and, if you enjoyed it the first time around, that’s a very good thing. The story is still scary and still a bit confusing but the action is good and that makes this a fun ride worth taking.

The Suffering: Ties That Bind is a great action game due to it’s very enjoyable gameplay and interactive world, but lacks a prominent story that really ties everything together. Sure, the story is there and is pretty interesting, but the game just lays it out and presents the story rather poorly keeping you off balance and at times confused at what is going on. Besides a weird story, this game is loaded with tons and tons of great, non-stop action that will keep you playing the game to the very end just to shoot-up some demonic baddies with all kinds of deadly weapons. While this game ultimately isn’t a huge improvement over the already good original Suffering, The Suffering 2 is still loaded with enough fun to be enjoyed by fans from the first one and even those who aren’t.

Suffering: Ties that Bind is more than the typical "second verse same as the first" style of sequel. It's the kind of sequel that gamers look for, just as if you were to see a great horror film and then anxiously await the next installment to get all the answers. You know the gist of what's to come, you just don't quite know where it's coming from. That's what makes a game like this so special, unpredictability. A must by for horror fans, no question.

There seems to be a lot of horror titles to choose from this season, even on the Xbox, but you could do a whole lot worse than putting yourself in the shoes of Torque for a few days and learning the true meaning of terror. The game oozes with style and originality unlike anything that might dare to compete with it. And yes…there will be blood…

With very good production values, voice-acting, and a dreariness that permeates all aspects of the game design, The Suffering: Ties that Bind is one of the best horror titles released this year. The game delivers equal parts fright and action, with fluid controls, versatile weaponry, and a gory sensibility. Not for the squeamish or children in short pants (as there are way too many severed limbs for a tykes mind to process), Ties that Bind is a definite rental for fans of the horror genre and action nuts.

If you enjoyed the original game, and can live with the fact that you won’t be quite as scared as when playing through the original for the first time (even Jason Vorhees lost his fright factor after a movie or two), The Suffering: Ties That Bind is worth picking up. It simply crushes most of the competition in terms of art direction and audio composition. The gameplay is still a bit trite, and you won’t need a PHD to figure out the puzzles, but the action is still more entertaining than the original. If you always wanted to visit Baltimore but could never find the time, well now’s your chance. It’s worth the ticket price.

With the survival horror subgenre so heavily populated, you'll want to add any flavor you can to make yourself not look like the stalwarts. Ties That Bind, being more urban, loses some distinction. Still, if you liked the original, you should like Ties That Bind. If you never played either, there has been some discussion in the office with regards to how much Ties That Bind is a standalone title. I think you'd benefit from playing the first one before diving in, and you can get it for $30 brand-new these days, or around $20 pre-played. There are some recurring themes and characters whose presence has a lot more substance and context if you've played the original.

Ganz klar: Man muss einen stabilen Magen haben und ein gesundes Verhältnis zu körperlicher Gewalt, in Kinderhände gehört dieses Spiel keinesfalls. Wer jedoch im Kino bei Schockeffekten die geplatzten Äderchen in den Augen des Monsters zählt und vor dem Schlafengehen nicht unters Bett gucken muss, der darf mehr als einen Blick riskieren. Fans des Vorgängers sollten sowieso zugreifen, außer den nicht mehr möglichen Enthauptungen wurden keinerlei Zensuren vorgenommen. Der erschreckend blutige Grusel dürfte für jede Menge adrenalinverseuchtes Fleisch sorgen. Also, nachgeladen, Axt gezückt und der Brut der Hölle auf die Pelle gerückt.

Ties has plenty of atmosphere to be sure, but the narrative isn't particularly compelling, as you move from locale to locale without much rhyme or reason, and the monsters--disturbing as they are--become all too similar after the first few chapters. Plus, the limited play mechanics--circle-strafing enemies works almost every time--also dampers the overall effect. The whole game comes across as the equivalent of a B-grade horror movie: exciting at times, ultimately unmemorable. Worthy of a rental for the curious, this Suffering is good for a few scares, but its ties bind with the strength of loose string.

The suffering Ties that Bind is a solid title, although some players have reported bugs such as the game freezing and needing a reboot. I didn’t encounter any thing like this so I guess it depends on your Xbox suffering or not! Some moments of the game can be a little obscure and you could sit and scratch your head for a while until you figure it out; the same can be said of the story itself. The Suffering doesn’t wander too far from the previous game and in that sense is a true sequel offering more of the same which isn’t a bad thing. I would recommend this title for anyone who likes horror laid on thick and fast!

If you didn't play the original Suffering, this sequel won't make a whole lot of sense to you. Our advice: Get the first one. Play it. See how you feel afterwards. If you're still hungry for more Suffering, buy Ties.

The Ties That Bind may not be the best game to start with. If you haven't played the original, that's where you should begin. If you don't like it, you won't like this one but fans of the first one will revel in another visit to that old familiar hell.

Ties That Bind is one of those games that you wish went farther than it actually does. Sure, it expands on the story of the previous game, and as an expansion pack would be somewhat adequate, but it doesn’t innovate or redesign anything to make it stand out from its predecessor’s shadow. It’s a great chapter to Torque’s story, but some of the restrictions with the combat and linearity make it a good action title instead of a great sequel.

The Suffering has always been about atmosphere, and The Suffering: Ties That Bind doesn’t let down in this department. Before you buy it, though, rent it to see if it’s up your alley.

While The Suffering: Ties That Bind definitely contains its share of faults, one may argue that they don't really take very much away from the game. While this sequel is definitely not anything new compared to the initial offering, those who enjoyed the first game may want to check it out, keeping in mind that it is more of continuation of than actual new material. With that said, Midway has actually succeeded in creating an acceptable sequel to The Suffering, one which fans of the original should definitely look into.

While the stages are linear in design, moral decisions you make shape events later in the game. Best of all, The Suffering is easy to play. There's no need to juggle items, because it's all done automatically. You can save at any time, and there's actually an easy difficulty level (good idea!). On the downside, while the voice acting is high quality, I could have done without the gratuitous profanity. Also, while most of the graphics are excellent, the people models look surprisingly angular and stuff. But if you're an adult looking for a shooter than won't make you think very much, Ties That Bind is a satisfying romp. And remember, Baltimore may be the embodiment of hell, but you really can't beat the crab cakes.

Still, polish up a few rough edges and you'll find a very good game underneath. Few developers have been able to master the horror aspects of games as well as Surreal has done in the two Suffering games thus far, and with a bit more balancing, this could have been a great current generation sendoff for players looking to move on to the next-generation terror of F.E.A.R. and Condemned.

The Ties That Bind proves to be more of the same. While there are minor revisions to the game, the core of the game remains the same. Because of this, you really have to be into the game for the story or just be a fan of how the original game played. If so, you're sure to find a game worth your money. If you're look for something a little more, a rental should be enough to give you the progress that the story makes.

If you're a fan of the original game, depending largely upon whether you liked the weapon system or not, you'll either love or strongly disapprove of the direction that Midway has taken the franchise. I happen to be the latter, but I reserve everyone's right to an opinion. The game lulls along, with action here and there, but the fear of the unknown creeping behind every corner in the first game is very much gone in Ties that Bind, which happens to be my greatest disappointment. All told, Ties that Bind is worth a rent, but if you find yourself wishing you'd spent your money on something else, don't say I didn't warn you.

The Suffering: Ties That Bind has its moments, but most of these moments are the same sorts of moments that you saw in last year's game. If you're a fan of the previous game and you're looking for more of the same, Ties That Bind fits the bill, but more expansion on the themes of the first game would have made for a much more interesting final product.

Op zich is er niks mis met Ties That Bind, maar ondanks een sterkere verhaallijn, een prima geluid en een grafische oppoetsbeurt verschilt The Suffering II te weinig van z’n voorganger. Het zal moeilijk zijn om vooral gamers te verleiden waarbij de eerste Suffering al in de kast staat.

The Suffering: Ties that Bind is a decent survival horror action title, it just simply hasn't evolved much from its precessor; the environments are a little restrictive and the action can be a bit stop start sometimes, fans of the genre will find plenty in the game to like and plenty to keep them entertained for a while.

The Suffering: Ties That Bind is a solid action title that should satisfy fans of the original game. Although the game doesn't bring a lot of new experiences to the table, it does do a great job of adding to the experience gamers enjoyed the first time around.

Horror fans are happy that we have another episode of crazy man Torque. Gamers who enjoyed the first game will find something to enjoy about Ties that Bind although it's not as brilliant as the first offering. Ties that Bind is cool, creepy and bloody, but it gets old fast. It's a rental for most, and a buy if you need your gun smoking, blood soaking fix.

If you liked the first game then this title is pretty much exactly the same and continues the story straight on from the first title. Others probably won't be interested enough to see the game through, especially given that the horror genre has plenty of other superior titles to offer.

Loin d'être désagréable, The Suffering : Les Liens Qui Nous Unissent est malgré tout sorti à la va-vite pour profiter du succès du premier épisode. Bien que l'absence d'évolution graphique ne soit pas un vrai problème en soi, il est dommage que les développeurs aient construit ce second opus sur des gunfights qui ne s'arrêtent pour ainsi dire jamais, sans prendre le temps d'améliorer la jouabilité. Le scénario est un peu laissé en retrait, même s'il suit directement celui de The Suffering, et on aimera ou non cette nouvelle orientation, synonyme d'une difficulté plus importante. Dans l'absolu, on prend tout de même du plaisir à suivre Torque dans ses déboires psychotiques et à avancer, rien que pour avoir le plaisir de découvrir les nouvelles créations du studio de Stan Winston.