Evil Dead: Hail to the King

aka: Evil Dead: Ashes 2 Ashes
Moby ID: 3473
PlayStation Specs
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Description official descriptions

Ash, the square-jawed, insult-spewing, shotgun-toting, chainsaw-armed hero from the cult classic Evil Dead trilogy is back. Picking up eight years after the last installment of the Evil Dead films, Ash is drawn back to the infamous cabin in the woods only to again face evil forces that have crossed over to our world. Our hero finds himself slicing and dicing carnivorous Kandarian demons, vicious deadites, and other unspeakable atrocities spawned by the notorious Book of the Dead. And in true Evil Dead fashion, Ash must once again attempt to save the world from an appalling and horrific end. Evil Dead: Hail to the King is a survival horror game with over-the-top bloodlust and signature Ash humor--all within the confines of the Evil Dead universe.

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Credits (PlayStation version)

116 People (96 developers, 20 thanks) · View all

Featuring
Based on EVIL DEAD
General Manager
Producer
Lead Designer
Designers
Programmers
Art Director
Lead Artist
Animation Director
Character Concepts
Characters & Animation
Digital Artists
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 48% (based on 33 ratings)

Players

Average score: 2.6 out of 5 (based on 36 ratings with 2 reviews)

A perfect example of a brilliant idea going horribly wrong.

The Good
It's Evil Dead. A horror adventure set in the Evil Dead world is a fantastic idea. Casting you as Ash, the hero from the films is even better and getting Bruce Campbell, the star of the films to do Ash's voice is of course a recipe for brilliance. Many trademark characters, objects and locations from the films are in here along with great voices by B.C. and some cool atmospheric orchestral music. The game is a lot like any number of survival horror games in that the action is viewed from static cameras. The backgrounds are pre-rendered and there are puzzles to go along with the violence. As in the films, Ash has a chainsaw strapped to one arm and the other can carry another weapon such as an axe, pistol or the always trusty boomstick. Evil Dead fans are bound to get a kick out of controlling Ash and being wrapped in the Evil Dead universe but...

The Bad
...It's too bad it was a kick in the teeth. The combat in this game is awful. Enemies are constantly after you in most areas with very few sections that you can explore at your own pace. Sometimes the respawn is so quick that you've barely taken a dropped item from the last deadite when another appears right behind you. This wouldn't be so bad if the combat was slick but it's terribly wooden and awkward. The controls are very choppy, as is the whole game as a matter of fact. I was running it on a p3-800 with a geforce 3 graphics card and the game still wasn't slick. Animation and graphics are horribly low-res (can we say Playstation port?) which is a real shame as it's clear that the graphics would look a lot better with higher resolutions and better textures on the characters. The game is very short and the package as a whole reminded me very strongly of the third Blair Witch game but choppier and with inferior everything (except for concept). Even more insulting is that unlike BW Vol 3 this isn't even a budget title! We're expected to pay full price for this mess.

The Bottom Line
A terrible waste of a fantastic idea and while there is some fun to be had in here you have to look VERY hard for it. We can only pray that a new Evil Dead game will be made and the license will get the quality treatment it so rightly deserves. I tried so hard to like this game but sadly Hail to the King is perhaps worth a rent for Evil Dead and Survival horror fanatics and that's it really. Everyone else steer well clear and whatever you do... don't buy it.

Windows · by Sycada (177) · 2002

Evil Dead: Hail to the king rules

The Good
What I liked about this game was how it was "evil dead" in every way. It really gives off a creepy vibe. Sound and graphics are amazing. The control is pretty solid as well. A must for any evil dead fan!

The Bad
There's nothing not to like about this game....its that simple.

The Bottom Line
Well, for evil dead fans: "Its evil dead 4." For other gamers: It's like resident evil, but with Evil Dead's style. And I'm sure you wont be dissapointed.

Dreamcast · by Ryan Cerny (2) · 2001

Trivia

Ending (Army of Darkness spoiler!)

The ending to the game is obviously a homage to the original ending of Army of Darkness, in which Ash ends up stranded and alone in a post-apocalyptic world. As this was considered too dark for domestic audiences, the American version of the film was given a happier, save-the-day-get-the-girl ending that the more hardcore of the film's fans found dissatisfying.

Extras

A trailer for the game comes on the DVD for Evil Dead 2.

Sounds

Much of the short "jump" music that plays when a monster pops out in front of you can also be heard in the PC game Nocturne by Terminal Reality.

Soundtrack

Like the game's soundtrack, but don't want to spend additional money on the soundtrack CD THQ is advertising? Don't worry, the game's entire soundtrack is available in the program folder in Evildead/Evildead/Data/ unencrypted in WAV format. Just listen to it in Winamp. This only applies to the PC version, however.

Information also contributed by Alan Chan

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  • MobyGames ID: 3473
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Matthew Bailey.

Dreamcast added by Adam Baratz. PlayStation added by Grant McLellan.

Additional contributors: Terok Nor, DreinIX, Patrick Bregger.

Game added March 21, 2001. Last modified March 4, 2024.