Friday 9 March 2012

I Am Alive Review


This I Am Alive review will contain minor spoilers.

I was first aware of I Am Alive in 2008 when the 1st trailer dropped and instantly i was hooked. I was waiting for info but it seemed as everyday went on that this game would never be released. After a shaky start the developer's was changed and I Am Alive was back and after years of waiting was announced to be coming in 2012 as an arcade/PSN game. After waiting close to four years for this lets see if it was worth the wait.

The game starts of by asking you what mode you would like to play. You can choose between two normal or survivor, Normal means you can find much more food, ammo and guaranteed 3 retry's after every save. The other mode "survivor" also known as hard mode features limited food and ammo it should be noted that you can earn more achievement's by playing I Am Alive on survivor mode. Cutscenes for the game are not your classic ones they are seen as recordings on a video camera that the main character owns these cutscenes are skipable by pressing pause and you have the choice to skip if you don't want to watch any scenes.

When i first got into the game it was a little difficult to get used to the buttons scheme at first i was pressing the menu button instead of the aim and vice versa. i also checked first if the player can jump by pressing any of the buttons which he is unable to do as well as using melee combat by pressing a button you can only attack when prompted to on the screen. I also saw two bars the classic red for health but there was another bar a white one which is for your stamina.

You have to be aware of your stamina meter as it can drop fast while climbing and if it goes to the end your character will fall and instantly die, there are ways to get your stamina back by drinking drinks or using supplies like oxygen tanks. Another feature i noticed is that the camera switches from third person to first person when aiming. The two bars are very realistic and will drop quick if you jump while climbing it will drop fast! The health bar will also drop fast if shot at its common to get shot twice and die while in other games you can stay alive after 20 shots! I like the realism but i can see how people could be frustrated with both meters.

The game features a few QTE events like when you use Melee combat and also when trying to get doors to open its the same for both by repeatedly tapping RT. One of the most unique parts of the game is the "bully" feature were survivors try to kill you to steal your supplies. You can pull an empty gun on them and they might surrender or they might test their luck and call your bluff the feature is one of my favorites of I Am Alive as there is many different variations to what these can do you can shoot one of the gunmen and a melee enemy can pick his gun up which was a very good feature of realism. As the game progresses these enemies can gain body Armour making it difficult to kill them and you also gain more weapons and also supplies as the game progresses.

Now before getting into the story there is little side missions you can do by saving survivors there is 20 in the game and there is different ways to save them, it could range from giving a first aid kit from your own personal supplies to fighting of bad guys to save the survivor.

Now the story (Just a reminder there is no end spoilers or really any spoilers just plot details) is a really basic and one of the low points of the game its the old "I can't find my family or kid" and you go on a hunt to find your family. You bump into a child that you think is yours but ends up not being her and you help her find her family and the game expands upon that. The game roughly takes about 4-6 hours to complete with more hours if you like to get all achievements. Graphics are nothing to brag about and is another low point of the game.

The Final Verdict.

I Am Alive is a very good start to a potential series of games if there was a I Am Alive 2 there is many improvements that could be included and current features that could be built onto. I Am Alive is out now and costs 1200 Microsoft points i recommend that you download the trial first for free before forking out the cash because this game is one of those that some will love and some will hate and if you end up loving the trial then by all means buy it! If you think its OK then i suggest waiting out for the 800 points sale price that it will most likely get by the end of the year.

+ Love the "bully" scenes and the many ways it can play out
+ Love the realism and survival aspects of the game

- Pretty weak story but nothing terrible
- Graphics aren't great but again nothing terrible

Final Score

7/10

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