🕹️ New release: Lunar Lander Beyond

Clive Barker's Undying

aka: Bu Si zhi Ling
Moby ID: 3457

Windows version

Not bad, but not great either

The Good
- The FPS gameplay was based on the Unreal Tournament game engine; suffice to say it works pretty well. The horror themed graphics and textures are good enough and help create an atmosphere.

  • The music and sound effects are sharp. The voice acting is okay.

  • The game difficulty is more than acceptable; it's possible to beat it even if you play on the highest skill. It has some tense fights.

  • The plot is hooking. There is an intriguing story which get unraveled at a decent pace while maintaining the gamer's interest. The four (or maybe five) Covenant siblings are distinctive personages with a dark backstory. The quests to hunt each sibling have their own perils, puzzles and monsters. The enemies are also distinctive and could require to think in different strategies.

  • You get some cool weapons, both conventional and mystical; some weapons have different modes and modified ammo available. You also get some very cool original spells, with aggressive or defensive power; the magical energy, or "Mana", unlike other games alike, regenerates itself, so you won't need to worry about getting magic flasks (although you can get items to boost your Mana and improve your spells).

    The Bad
    - The uninspired level design can make the game get old and linear. The unevenness of the quests makes it seem deformed (the last quests feel rushed). Also, the puzzle solving aspect gets tiresome (I'm sick of the usual "get the key" solution).

  • The difficulty is not consistent. Some levels, particularly at the beginning of the game, can be really hard to pass, while others, some in which you even get to fight bosses, offer little challenge. Besides, at some point in the game, and from then on, they started making the typical mistake of providing the player a ridiculous and excessive amount of ammo and health items. Some enemies (like the monastery monks for example) are unrealistically tough.

  • Unfortunately it has AI glitches. While the enemies are diverse, most of them are quite stupid and can get stuck unrealistically.

  • Some plot points are poorly explained. The ending leaves you confused and wanting to know more.

    The Bottom Line
    If you like horror themed games and FPS, you should check this out.

by Czar Husk Qi (27) on November 1, 2010

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