Spawn: Armageddon – PS2 – Review

Demons Might Weep.  (Nope,
that won’t work.)  Demons May Cry.  (Not quite right.)  Wait, I’ve got it —
Demons May Spawn!

That is, in a nutshell, what Spawn: Armageddon truly is.  It’s Devil May Cry
gameplay set within the Spawn universe.

Is it the unofficial
Devil May Cry sequel the fans were hoping for?  Since it’s not supposed to be
a sequel to DMC, you can’t expect every great thing about Capcom’s game to be
here.  But the fierce, kill-everything-in-sight battles are intact.  They’re
executed in nearly the exact same way, leaving few complaints for that
aspect.  Even the tiny details – like firing a shotgun while falling after a
jump, temporarily suspending Spawn in the air – are the same.

Ammo is not unlimited but
is readily available, giving players no reason to whip out their favorite
weapon and send the demons back to where they came from.  Spawn himself looks
tough and cool, sporting his powerful aesthetics that were seen in the Xbox
version of Soul Calibur 2.  His moves had to change for game structure
purposes (it would have been difficult to convert the mostly 2D moves to the
third dimension), but you won’t be surprised by what you see when he attacks.
I haven’t followed the Spawn comic books too faithfully, but I do remember
that he had chains attached to his body.  Those chains could be used as a
weapon or a defense mechanism.  Likewise, Spawn uses his chains very
effectively in the game.  Two chains are available for whatever the situation
requires: to kill deadly enemies or to remove a locked gate that cannot be
penetrated.  When using the chains to kill, Spawn fans will be pleased by
their flexibility.  Spawn can use both chains to attack from the front, or
split them up and eliminate enemies from all angles.

Chains are not his only
weapon though.  Spawn packs a heavy arsenal of machine guns, shotguns and the
like, ensuring that the game never veers off the Devil May Cry path.  Only the
most basic weapons can be found in Spawn’s inventory at the start of the game,
but within an hour you’ll come across many more.  Ammo can be replenished by
killing enemies or by knocking over dumpsters throughout the city.
(Apparently someone likes placing ammo in dumpsters, fire hydrants, etc.
Perhaps Spawn has a guardian angel looking out for him?)

Spawn’s most trusty
weapon is his axe: Agony.  You saw him wield its power in Soul Calibur 2, now
unleash even more power in Spawn: Armageddon.  In simple terms, it is
primarily Spawn’s answer to Dante’s sword; you can swing it around to perform
deadly slash-combos.  It’s good for killing large groups of foes, but it’s
more fun to break up the action by using other weapons when just one or two
are near.  Why it works best for groups I do not know.  I guess its power is
intimidating to the enemy, so instead of ganging up on Spawn they stand back
and let their comrades die one at a time.

While fun and generally
exciting, Spawn has a downfall: confusion.  A brief real-time movie will show
you where you need to go during the more difficult parts of the game.  That’s
okay, unless you’re like me and foolishly skip the movie, thinking it was
another story segment.  The game is not at fault there.  However, although it
may show you where to go, it doesn’t always tell you how to get there.  I’m
not looking for a strategy guide, I just want more structure.  I want the
goals to be a little clearer, a little more straightforward.  Do not confuse
this with linearity, that’s the last thing I want.  A game like this is all
about the action.  The fun dropped a bit when I didn’t know where to go next
and had killed all of the enemies in the area.  I was left with nothing to do
and nowhere to go.

Working in conjunction
with the confusing levels is the confusing camera.  It’s nice having the power
to control it yourself, but once you see the result of this improvement you’ll
understand why Capcom’s cameras are always restrictive.  The problem is
instability.  While battling on the ground the camera does nothing to hinder
the gameplay.  But it’s a whole other story when trying to climb buildings and
jump across rooftops.  The game feels like it’s expecting a lot from the
player when you can’t see what you’re doing.  Otherwise the game would have
been relatively easy, especially for those who have conquered the medium or
hard difficulty modes of Devil May Cry.

It’s not impossible to
get past these flaws, but it does make the game less exciting.  At a time of
year when dozens of games are vying for your attention it makes it tough to
spend time with one that doesn’t seem perfect.  But with the exception of
Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, which is in a class entirely its own, there
aren’t any Devil May Cry clones on the market that play this good.  It’s
frustrating, but not to the point where I wanted to stop and never come back.
You’ll want to see it through to the end.  You know why it can’t be
recommended as a great buy for all DMC fans, but it wouldn’t be wise to
overlook it during the Christmas rush.

Reviewer’s Scoring Details

Gameplay: 7.5
Agony axe and
machine gun in hand, Spawn has returned!  He may not be here in the
mind-blowing form that some had hoped for, but aside from the levels and the
camera I have no complaints.

You can target enemies,
circle around them, fire weapons, execute slash-combos (with your axe), and
perform nearly every basic move that Dante was capable of (Dante was the star
of Devil May Cry).  You can upgrade your weapons, but you don’t need to
earn the right to double-jump.  It’s already there.

Spawn:
Armageddon is repetitive in that you shoot and kill your way through every
level (this isn’t a game of mind-boggling puzzles), but that’s also what makes
the game worth coming back to.  If a game can pull off repetition without
turning off players, the developers have achieved something that not many
have.

Graphics: 7
Somewhat dated.
Spawn himself looks okay, but the backgrounds seem a little grainy.  That’s
another oddity of the gaming world.  PSone games began to seem grainy shortly
before the PS2 was released.  Now that the PS3 is only 18-24 months away,
suddenly new PS2 games look grainy.  Go figure.

Sound: 7
What should Spawn
sound like?  It’s hard to say since the story began in a comic book.  Spawn:
Armageddon sounds pretty good, with decent music and sound effects.  Nothing
spectacular, but it’s better than the intolerable stuff that most games are
filled with.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Maybe it’s just
me, but it seems as though games are getting easier.  Maybe I’m just
getting better, but Spawn: Armageddon’s challenge is a far cry from its
inspirer, Devil May Cry.

Concept: 7
Devil May Cry’s
gameplay, Spawn’s universe.  Not the most original concept, but it works.

Overall: 7.5
The best Spawn
game ever?  Despite its flaws, this is the best Spawn game I’ve played.  It’s
a Devil May Cry clone all the way through, but it’s not like these games are a
dime a dozen.  Tomb Raider clones were once everywhere, but Devil May Cry
never received that kind of attention.  I’m glad that a game developer has
finally taken interest in Capcom’s masterpiece, one of the many Capcom games
that spawned from Resident Evil.

Devil May Cry fans should
rent this title as soon as they can.  Spawn-lovers will also enjoy the game,
which features a cool CG intro and a story that’s based on the comic books.