Want to Play Necrovision?
If we started the discussion about horror video games, we might as well to continue it with a game which appeared in 2009, but also keep the rankings of the horror games, which are recommended for and by the enthusiasts of this genre.
No, stay calm, there’s no love story in Necrovision, which is a survival horror shooter very intelligent created -in fact no woman appears during the whole game, this could be considered an advantage (for this type of games, don’t blame me) – but if Doom 3 had made a passion for Painkiller or Serious Sam, and their child would have been born with a killer gene, this would have been definitely called Necrovision.
A good alternate title would have been “How to stay awake for two weeks” and that’s not because the game is categorised as a horror game (for example, you could have shivers given by the atmosphere of Bioshock), but because the game is so well done, so you cannot stop playing. One thing about which the game cannot be blamed (or praised) would be the originality: there is nothing at all original. Necrovision is an unusual combination of styles.
According to Giz, the game is Doom 3 recycled as an idea, atmosphere and story: the game begins with an American soldier who discovers that German scientists have opened a portal to the …., Yeah, you guessed it, to hell. From where we are invaded, surprise, by a horde of demons, and the research team which is sent there never returns (wow). And some levels will obviously be in hell. Nothing new here, but the players who know Doom 3 and played it until the end could have probably something to say about it. Necrovision sometimes lets the user to experience a third person gameplay.
The difference when compared to Doom3 is that enemies are not any smarter, nor surprising, and you do not need to have any tactics to beat them, but, as in Paikiller and Sam they are very numerous. Which is not bad at all when you have plenty of guns or bayonets. The part which is original is represented by the first background levels: Verdun 1916.
This is not an exact reproduction, after all among waves of Germans appear hordes of zombies and at one time a French biplane is broken by … a dragon, and you shoot them with a machine gun from your waist (then this was impossible, they were cooled with water) or with a “submachine gun” which was not invented; but the overwhelming atmosphere, of dark despair and generalized death is reconstructed in a fascinating way: the decor shows very convincing that in that epic battle, there were present gas attacks, artillery bombardments and destructive fighting. Desperate battles with the bayonets in the trenches are also there, probably coming from another movie, but also there.
The player can find less interesting the second part of the game, where he or she will be transported into hell. There exist fantastic weapons, but you cannot say that is a pleasant experience to attack fortresses full of vampires riding a fire-breathing dragon. But no one knows. Maybe you’ll like it. Why don’t you try it?
Here, the user can get bored, because the levels, otherwise large, are not separated into individual parts and the player receives often repetitive tasks (destroy the mechanism to open the gate, destroy the mechanism that crushes, search and destroy the mechanism which blocks the dragon etc… you get the idea).
Another disadvantage of the game is the loading time; frustratingly long (on an open forum about this game there is a topic: “What can you do while Necrovision is loading?”). And this unfortunately applies also to F9/quickload. As much too long, and rather pointless and without any utility are the dialogues. The story is obviously just a poorly written and illogical excuse for slaughtering endless hordes of enemies (Germans, zombies, demons, vampires, dragons); the only good part is that at the middle, the game has a twist that may surprise you.
But that’s about all the negative things that are to say about the game. Otherwise, the convincing atmosphere (depressing), the fierce battles, a large variety of human weapons (some did not exist then, but it would have been boring to fight only with a rifle and a shovel, like in 1916, others, like a Mech-robot inside you could have entered, also did not exist, but would have been possible) or fantastic weapons (including the flamethrower, which is extremely cool), many kinds of enemies with different skills, excitement, various scenery and a very successful graphics.
All combined in a cocktail that once it catches you, it does not let you get out of the game. What really pleases the player is the feeling that the game offers its users: “I will play just a little, just to see what is the under that tank, and after I explore that ruined house, oh, and then I will cross the bridge over the river of blood and after that I promise I will turn off the computer. Yes, I promise.”
Briefly, the game is a dose of adrenaline that we recommend to the full. And the conclusions are up to you. You are the ones who will decide whether the play to game or not. I recommend you should try it at least, not necessarily to become addicted. There are games which are definitely more horrifying, more attractive, or perhaps not, but when comparing the advantages and the shortcomings of this game, you will see the balance weighing more in terms of benefits. So try the game and like the author from Giz, which presented this game, says, see you all in hell!
