
<MAP NAME="boxmap-p8"><AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="14, 200, 103, 207" HREF="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" ><AREA COORDS="0,0,10000,10000" HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/thearmchairem-20" ></MAP><img src="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/rcm/120x240.gif" width="120" height="240" border="0" usemap="#boxmap-p8" alt="Shop at Amazon.com">	Platform Playstation 2 Genre Shooter Publisher Interplay Developer Digital Mayhem ESRB M (Mature) Released Q4 2002

- Some decent looking polygon designs - Excellent surrounding and atmosphere design - Great voice acting

- Lip-synching was horribly done - Game can degenerate into basic hunt/solve puzzle game

Review: Red Faction (Playstation 2) Review: No One Lives Forever (Playstation 2) Review: TimeSplitters 2 (XBox)
Newsletter
Be notified of site updates. Sign-up for the Newsletter sent out twice weekly. Enter E-Mail Address Below: Subscribe \| Unsubscribe

Run Like Hell

Score: 7.5 / 10

You have to respect a game that comes up with a title like “Run Like Hell.” It certainly does catch the eye. The basic design of Run Like Hell (RLH) relies on a 3^rd Person perspective that almost feels like a 1^st person shooter by design. For the most part, the game is a blending of traditional puzzle solving blended with the usual killing of alien opponents. Mmm, random senseless killing...

The premise of RLH is that you are the captain of Space Station Forseti, which serves primarily as a refueling depot. Although not exactly a premier stopping point, it does serve as a dumping ground for the reprobates of the universe. While on an away mission to collect minerals from some cosmic bodies, Forseti Station is over-run by an alien force – one that doesn’t seem too inclined to do anything besides leaving people in piles… bloody ones. Now that you’ve been apprised of the situation, you have to re-organize whatever resistance is remaining on the station and try to save as many lives as possible.

Advertisement

- Playstation 2 Game Reviews

- Shooter Game Reviews

- Reviews of Games Published by Interplay

For the most part, RLH does fall into the “traditional” first person shooter genre, you run around trying to complete specific goals while blowing away any enemies that cross your path. The big difference is the way the designers established the surroundings and the mood of the game; the game constantly goes for the scare tactics, and there rarely passes much time where you aren’t surprised by enemies popping out of the woodwork or surrounding you and taking turns

Advertisement

wailing on you. Besides the enemies and their random appearances, the game features some really dark atmospheres (intermixed with some good lighting effects) and doesn’t miss an in-game soundtrack with the cryptic echoing effects that resonate as you walk.

The available weapons are the usual collection of guns and launchers but with a distinct difference – you have the opportunity to collect upgrade chips for your guns that can increase the damage of the guns, clip size, or burst amount (applies only to some projectile or energy guns).

The character designs are top notch, with all of the humans and even aliens looking pretty realistic with only some blocky polygons on the fringes of the characters – this becomes really noticeable in light environments when you see a black perimeter around each person; but for the most part, it isn’t an issue. The lip-synching of the characters is one of the bigger flaws of the game – most characters don’t even have their lips move when talking, and on the odd chance that they do, they talk with their entire mouths, much like an open-mouthed bass gasping out of the water. That’s really tragic considering how Digital Mayhem went out and got some great voice actors. (It really gives that Sci-Fi feel to have all of those Star Trek voices in the game.)

The in-game action is very much "hunt and find" interspersed with some mini-games and that sort of action. For most of the game you are going to be trying to find a specific widget or hooking up with a group or whatever… the action really doesn’t deviate a whole lot from most old school FPSs. This is really evident in some of the puzzles that you’ll find in the game, which weren’t particularly difficult 10-15 years ago in games like Castle Wolfenstein 3D and Doom.

All in all, Run Like Hell is a pretty great looking and playing game that delivers some great style but lacks in the depth department.

- Tazman

(February 6, 2003)

“I'm just glad my fat ugly mama isn't alive to see this day.”

“Enough about your promiscuous mother, Hermes...”

- Hermes and the Professor (Futurama)