Looking back, I've got to to say that I have yet to find any game developed or published under the 'Codemasters' logo that I've truly enjoyed. I've come across quite a few and I've tried to give them the benefit of the doubt, picking up and playing through most of them. The end result for pretty much all of them left me with the feeling I get when I take a bit of one of those fluffy French pastries with the powedered sugar on top; sort of sweet but filled with nothing but air and really messy at the end. They try, but just don't seem to have the revenue or the skill to match their convictions. It's too bad, because I'd be more than happy to give them an 'A' for effort.
GAMEPLAY-1 Star
For this type of story, I'd almost think they shot themselves in the foot by turning it into a basic first-person shooter, and the way Codemasters seems to do shooters is to have you wander down corridor-like areas and literally SWAMP you with wave upon wave of enemies at periodic intervals. Kill all of them, travel a little bit further and repeat. For this type of concept, a Resident Evil style of play would be better in my opinion. Make it a little slower paced but more suspenseful. After all, it's supposed to be horror, not straight bang-'em up action. And the action is mind-numbingly dull, meaning walk forward, pull a trigger, walk forward, push a button, open a door, walk forward, kill everything that's not a team member while avoiding exploding demons and barrels. Yawn. That style of play tends to lose its impact for me very quickly.
STORY-4 Stars
According to the story, before God created Adam, He created a prior, sexless entity named the Firstborn. Indescribably powerful but apparently viewed as a flawed creation by its maker, the Firstborn was left abandoned, banished from its Father's sight, to wander alone in a barren nether realm.
Jealous of the attention that it sees God lavishing on humanity, it resolves to destroy man and recapture God's love for itself. It breaks through to our world at the site of Al-Khali (roughly translated from Arabic as Empty Quarter), an ancient abandoned city of the Middle East.
Strange sightings are reported from that area along with unusual weather patterns, prompting the deployment of a special team of soldiers to investigate, each gifted with their own unique supernatural ability.
It quickly goes south from there.
GRAPHICS-5 Stars
The visuals of Jericho are incredibly detailed. This is the most immersive aspect of the game that I've found. The creatures are grotesque, the zone in the desert you find yourself in is convincingly remote and forlorn and I LOVE the effect when, after one of the demons is killed, a swarm of flies flows over the body to devour it. I find myself playing the game just to see that at times. Your team members and the demons are also very intricate in their design.
SOUND-3 Stars
The ambience is wonderfully rendered through the sound effects, music and dialogue... at first. It quickly becomes repetitive after the first few levels. There are only a few points where the dialogue wanders off the beaten path. That kind of thing only serves to remind me that this is, in fact, a game.
REPLAY-1 Star
I have found no way to get anything different from going through this game more than once. It's the same areas, the same enemies and the same non-witty sarcastic remarks from your team members each time you pop it into your console. I DO try to get something different out of each game or movie that I watch, but this one just didn't manage to draw me in enough.
OVERALL-2 Stars
Again, sadly, the idea behind Clive Barker's Jericho showed promise, but poor execution marred it beyond any hope of true quality. Unless you're the type of person that enjoys simplistic gameplay, this game will probably leave a void where satisfaction is supposed to be.
And I have a feeling that that's EXACTLY what the Firstborn wants.Get more detail about Clive Barker's Jericho.
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