Clive Barker's Jericho
Review
An ageless horror threathens humanity
by Rook
reviewed on X360
Getting past the fluff
Jericho is a ‘supernatural squad-based horror FPS’ (quite a mouthful eh?). As you progress through the story, the special powers of each of your team members become apparent and eventually usable. These team members, after the introduction segment of the game, can be switched between and their powers used to complete objectives or to navigate obstacles.
Of course it would be easier just to be able to command your telekinetic sniper to push that debris aside, but that wouldn’t make for too much of a game now would it? Instead, you ‘jump’ into your team mate through a possession like ability and play that team member as the active character. As team lead, you still maintain control and leadership of your team as well as your original ability to heal and raise fallen allies; you are just inside a different body. What happens to your body you ask? Well, let’s just leave that up to you to discover for yourself.
Fighting the beast
Actual combat is not much different then your standard fare of this genre. A group of uglies jumps out and you and your team aggressively suggest -through the use of superior firepower- that they shouldn’t scare you like that. If the occasion calls for a unique touch, then jump into the appropriate team member and make use of their special talents.
In addition to their supernatural talents, each team member plays a very specific role in the teams’ make up. The team consists of a sniper, scout, healer, heavy weapons specialist, hacker and your second in command. Each team member also has an auxiliary ability, or secondary attack that will compliment their armaments. “Billie” Church, for example, is your scout. Armed with a Katana in one hand, a Sub-machine pistol in the other, she would be a perfectly mundane soldier. Her Blood Magic however, is able to keep enemies at bay for a short period and, with her combined abilities, is the perfect ‘point man’ and close quarter combatant.
An ‘A’ with a side of intelligence
Being able to switch between your team members, brings up an interesting point; AI. What exactly does the rest of your team do when you aren’t running around in their body? For the most part, the friendly AI is hit and miss. You can issue simple squad based commands allowing for separation and manipulation of the two teams that make up your squad, Alpha and Omega. Squad members will freely take cover, heal, and fight in the most effective manner appropriate to the character.
7.0
fun score
No Pros and Cons at this time
