
	Platform PSP Genre Action Publisher SCEA Developer SCEA ETA September 2005
Newsletter
Be notified of site updates. Sign-up for the Newsletter sent out twice weekly. Enter E-Mail Address Below: Subscribe \| Unsubscribe

MediEvil Resurrection

Back in 1998, Sony released a nifty little action game for the PlayStation called MediEvil. It starred a reluctant undead hero, as he hunted down an evil sorcerer out to rule the kingdom. Now taking its spot in line to join the seemingly never-ending conga line of pre-existing games / franchising heading to the PSP, a remake of the game is in the works for the Sony handheld.

In MediEvil, players take control of a knight who has risen from the dead named Daniel Fortesque. A century ago, he fought for the kingdom of Gallowmere in an attempt to Zarok the Sorcerer, and thanks to many grand tales of adventure that Daniel fed the king, the lad was made an honorary knight, then placed at the lead of the royal army. However, Daniel was slain by an arrow to the eye, which also happened to be the very first arrow fired in the battle between the forces of Gallowmere, and those of Zarok. Despite Daniel’s death, Gallowmere still emerged victorious, but Zarok was never found. In order to ensure his people felt safe, the king of Gallowmere told his peasants that Zarok was killed by Daniel, but that the brave knight also tragically died moments later. Now it’s one hundred years later, and Zarok is back, and Daniel has risen from the dead to defeat the sorcerer, and hopefully regain some of his dignity in the process.

While running around the kingdom trying to find the evil wizard, players can expect the action to play out with a mix of hacking up bad guys, and the occasional bit of platform-like gameplay. MediEvil was always a straightforward game in how it presented the action, with the these elements of the game largely comprised of running around and whacking stuff. Meanwhile, the platforming consisted of the occasional bits of hopping around certain obstacles, or collecting runes that were needed in order to unlock certain gates in a given level.

Advertisement

As one might expect, Daniel’s core weapons are a sword and shield. However, as the game progresses, the knight is able to receive additional weapons and items from the spirits of the soldiers who fought along side him 100 years earlier. These weapons can range from a crossbow, to axes, and longbows. Also, from the start of the game one of Daniel’s arms can be used as a makeshift club if need be.

Advertisement

One area of the game that got a lot of attention initially, though, was its visuals and music. At the time movies like The Nightmare Before Christmas were still quite popular, and there were many comments at how much the visuals in MediEvil resembled that of the Tim Burton film, while the music also had a Burton-esque vibe to it. As such, expect a certain level of quirkiness in this game's presentation. About the only thing that is likely to happen in terms of the presentation as the game makes its way to the PSP is a bit of a facelift, as Sony cleans up the game’s graphics for this generation.

When MediEvil originally came out, it wasn’t the most innovative of games, but it was certainly a fun title. Its overall quirkiness was hard to ignore, so much so that the game even spawned a sequel. Now the question is whether or not the game will still have its charm after all these years when it hits the PSP in October.

Mr. Nash

(August 1, 2005)