Clive Barker's Jericho - PC (Collector's)

I haven't gotten very far into Jericho, so this may not be the most fair review. However, from what I've played thus far, I like it! I am a very big fan of Clive Barker- I've read every book by him (well, I haven't finished the latest Abarat yet). I've been eyeing this game and his Undying for some time now, but the price was always too steep, and I was suspicious of a game using Clive's name. Well, the price was low enough (thanks, Amazon!), so I thought I'd take the plunge and order this and Undying. Let me first say, that the graphics of Jericho are beautifully rendered. I was actually surprised- I wasn't expecting them to look this great. The controls seem fairly simple enough. The storyline does seem like it comes from Barker. I can't wait to see the monsters- Barker is best at this. I should add some warnings, though. Nothing too severe: I first sampled this game on my laptop, so I was playing using a touchpad, not a mouse. This is NOT recommended. Please use a mouse (or a controller, if you have one) with this game, it's not only highly recommended, it's essential. You WON'T get far in this game using a touchpad. Basically, you can look around using the mouse/touchpad, but an essential game feature is the 'roll up' or 'roll down' on the tracker on the mouse (again, or on the controller if you have one. I suspect the controller would be the best option). Another cricitism I've heard about this game is that you can't save whereever you like- there are autosave points in the game. So if you pass an autosave point, and do something difficult, and die- you have to do it again.. And again. From what I can tell, this looks like it'll be a fun game. In addition, the story actually grabs me MUCH more than I was expecting, and we can give thanks to Clive for that! One last thing: I took a risk in buying this. The game box specs state that it was designed for Windows XP (the game was released in 2006). I have a 64 bit Windows 7 laptop. Windows 7 usually doesn't have much of a problem with backwards compatibility, but it's not guarenteed. Luckily, my system made some adjustments and allowed me to play this game, no problem. Whoo-hoo!

**Products in Amazon should have a note specifying if they come with any kind of DRM**Don't get me wrong, this is a very nice looking game, I bought it because I found it very cheap here on amazon (some 7$) and for the interesting screenshots and reviews. It was a good chance to get some original game with box, manuals and all almost free.I bought this instead of Bioshock, because i've read the warnings of the awesomely crappy DRM named Securom it has.If I knew this game comes with Securom, I wouldn't buy it.Then, I get it, install it, execute it... BOING! Securom #uninteligible error with link# click link -> Securom has detected that you are trying to run this game with a DVD image inserted instead of the original disc, please insert the original disc and try again.MY ORIGINAL DISK WAS IN THE DVD TRAY!Minutes later trying to find the problem, I disabled PowerISO and ran the game again...Voilá, it worked.Meanwhile, in some other part of the world, Mr. X has just finished downloading his pirate copy of this game via torrent, installed and started playing it with no problems at all, in half the time that it took me to play my LEGAL COPY.This is ridiculous.Please say no to DRM.

I've always loved clive barkers work with hellraiser lord of the illusion etc. When i heard he was making video games i was pretty pysched, i picked up Undying and still have the original copy today and wow it still gives me the creeps. I was very pysched when i saw this in game informer mag last year, Clive has always kept a low key about his work including games. Well this fails to deliver in many ways, basically here in the run down of pros and cons.Pros* Being able to choose from the 3 Jericho members at any given time is really cool.* The usual clive barker atmosphere is there but in a more subtle less morbid way. More futuristic perhaps.* The enemies are the usual twisted heeps of muscle tissue growling around waiting to kill you, but are much faster it seems.* Very excellent sound, ricocheting bullets on metal, very ambient undground sound effects, water, creeking etc.* Its actually pretty easy NOT to die.* Very interesting psychic ablilities from each J member.* Nerve racking which some people like some don't* Lastly Great Visuals.Cons* EXTREME repetative gameplay, more than some games, less than others.* No real outside environments, most of the game takes place in caves and old ruins.* The overall feel just isnt Clive Barker.* Awkward control issues, i would recommend a PC controller especially for when you have to hit certain buttons during cut scenes in order to survive.* Some of the A.I although brilliant move a bit TO fast leaving you wildly spinning the mouse in every direction.* Just an overall feel that the game was done pretty quickly and had more potential than what it gives.So while Clive Barkers Jericho won't leave a "bad" taste in your mouth is does make you wish the game were a little more Clive Barker and a little less Gears Of War and Unreal Tournament. So fair but not much replay value.

I loved the theatrics and effects in this game. It was honestly a lot of fun to play and it had its creepy moments. Lots of action and gore and it even had some humorous moments that are very subtle (like a protagonist saying "oh, shut the hell up" to the creepy, disembodied, ghostly voices around them). It was fun. The one thing I did not like about the game is that it's hard to control your aim in the game. The reticle jiggles around a lot at even the slightest movement. If you're a bit of an accuracy freak like me, this game will be frustrating at critical moments. Aside from that, I really enjoyed the game.