Infernal – PC – Review

The premise/story is an often-overlooked portion of a game. Innovative gameplay, realistic physics and
cutting edge graphics are traits that gamers seem to focus upon when talking
about games. But how many truly great games have all of these factors plus an
interesting and thought-provoking storyline? Well, the story was one of the
reasons I was drawn towards Infernal, along with the graphics, gameplay and
physics. Unfortunately when all of these ingredients are on the verge of going
sour it can make for a bland gaming experience.

The story of Infernal centers upon
the main character, Ryan Lennox, a former angel working for Etherlight, Heaven’s
secret agency on Earth. The agents of Etherlight have been waging a constant
battle with the agents of Hell in the age old battle of good vs. evil. However,
the forces of Heaven have the upper hand with Hell’s agents close to being
exterminated once and for all. Since Ryan is a former Etherlight agent, Hell
believes recruiting Ryan can help them gain the advantage in their struggle with
Heaven. Once Ryan has been endowed with the powers of Hell he sets out on
various missions to take down Etherlight and Heaven’s forces on Earth.

Now almost immediately the story is
where the game goes wrong. The game starts off with Ryan having a conversation
with another Etherlight agent when soon Etherlight agents are raiding the
building chasing after Ryan. No explanation is offered as to why Etherlight is
after Ryan or what Ryan has done to upset the higher power. Instead we get a
run-and-gun segment to start off the game that doesn’t do a good job of
establishing the overall tone of the game. After clearing this first “starter”
stage the real story unfolds with Ryan being offered the powers of Hell and the
first mission begins.

The gameplay of Internal is a
mixture of third-person perspective shooter and puzzle solver. The majority of
the game focuses upon you taking out Etherlight agents as you complete an
assortment of missions for Hell. Usually most of the game follows the same
type of formula: clear out enemy agents on a screen, solve a puzzle, clear more
agents, solve another puzzle and then fight a boss battle. The game does
include some special powers that you can use to solve puzzles and to unleash a
more powerful attack: Teleportation, Infernal Vision and the Infernal Attack.

Teleportation is one special power
that allows you to temporarily move to different area on the stage. I should
emphasize temporarily since you have to act very quickly when using the
teleportation feature or you will warp back to origination point. Infernal
Vision allows you to see special codes and items that are invisible using normal
vision. The Infernal Attack is more powerful attack that you can use during
combat or exploration to break down walls or items in the game. Both the
Teleportation and Infernal Attack require mana in order to activate their
powers. You gain mana points in certain portions/areas of the game, defeating
enemy agents or finding mana icons using the Infernal Vision.

The special powers are nothing
unique but the biggest downfall of Infernal is the core gameplay. The special
powers do almost nothing to make the game feel special or unique. Teleportation
always seems hit or miss simply due to the time restraints and questionable
camera angle once you’ve teleported. The Infernal Attack takes way too long to
charge up and can be a huge detriment during a fire fight with multiple agents. The AI of the enemy is more erratic than intelligent. The AI can always hit you
from a mile away, while running after you a full speed or by standing behind a
metal container.  But the next minute they will run right up to you while
you’re unloading several rounds into them. Did I even mention the ability to
shoot while taking cover? I didn’t? Well that’s because it’s almost pointless
to even try since the game kept moving me out into the open while I fired. Even
backing up against a wall is hit or miss, since I found myself backing up
against a wall when I was just trying to move forward.

At the end of the day it’s always up
to you the reader to make the determination if you’re going to play the games we
review. For every bad review there can be just as many good reviews for the same
game. For every good feature discussed about a game, just as many bad features
can be the subject of conversation. Infernal is one of those games that will
probably find its audience thanks to it being on the most dominate gaming
platform, the PC. But finicky gamers will probably look the other way due to
the questionable AI and repetitive gameplay. If you’re just looking for an eye
candy game then Infernal could be a decent choice since the graphics are the
best portion of the game.

Gameplay: 5.0
The game tries to do an admiral job of being a decent third-person shooter but
falls apart just after the first few minutes.

Graphics: 7.5
Visually the game was a nice treat with some great character models and
impressive special effects, such as the Infernal Shot. But the camera angle
does get a little crazy during heavy combat and during teleportation.

Sound: 6.0
There are a few tracks in the game that do a nice job of building up an almost
mythical atmosphere during certain portions of the game. But someone needs to
tell the designers that the late 90’s industrial soundtrack worked in the late
90’s. The voice acting in the game was decent but nothing you would make you
listen to the dialogue twice.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Even on the easiest setting all of the AI controlled characters had the accuracy
of a sniper. Some of the puzzles in the game felt completely unnecessary since
the solution was usually some arbitrary item you would never think about.

Concept: 5.0
Honestly at first I thought I was playing a complete rip-off of Resident Evil 4
due to the behind-the-shoulder camera angle and first stage. But after a while
I realized that I was shaming Resident Evil 4 by making the comparison. Infernal is simply just a basic run and gun game with a less than inspired
storyline.

Overall: 5.9
Infernal is one of those games that tries to do everything right but has a hard
time doing just one good thing. The graphics are probably the only true saving
portion of the game because the storyline and gameplay just doesn’t make
Infernal shine. If there was an epic battle between good and evil I think
Infernal would stick to the sidelines for as long as possible. After a while it
might jump in to give everyone a nice initial first impression but soon that
good feeling wears thin.