Video Game Saga *

Title: NeverDead
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Rebellion Developments
Release Date: 01/31/2012
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360

Intro: Every now and then a game so outrageously awesome comes along that gamers have to stand up and take notice. NeverDead is that game! Developed by Rebellion Developments and Published by Konami, NeverDead is a tour de force that defines the third person action genre in the vein of Devil May Cry. The game is designed by Shinta Nojiri-San, the same gentleman who designed Metal Gear Solid Acid on PSP and his involvement has shined through in other Metal Gear Solid titles as well.    

Story: Story time! Some married couples share sunsets together, some watch their favorite shows and some renew their vows but for demon hunter Bryce Boltzmann and his wife Cypher, they kill demons. Bryce’s life forever changed when he and his wife raged battle against the Demon King, Astaroth. Not only did Astaroth kill Bryce’s wife and gouge his eye out replacing it with an evil eye but he also put a curse on Bryce that has made him immortal. Flash forward 500 years to modern times where we find Byrce down on his luck, killing demons for money to support his favorite past time; throwing back some cold ones.  

Bryce assists NADA which stands for National Anti-Demon Agency, a clandestine group dedicated to hunting and killing all that goes bump in the night. With every demon slayed, Bryce is filled with a sense of redemption. He is not alone; fighting along-side Bryce is his partner, Arcadia, a fellow NADA investigator. Arcadia is strictly professional and is cold towards Bryce and his sarcastic personality; however, there relationship deepens as the game progresses.

Other characters will assist Bryce along the way such as the chief of NADA, Sullivan, and a Pop star, Nikki Summerfield, who towards the end of the game lends a very helping hand. You'll also encounter fellow Demon Hunter, Alex, who is rumored to be immortal and Astaroth’s right hand man, Sangria whom you’ll do battle against multiple times. You’ll face off against giant bosses in the game like this boss, Panda Bear; I guarantee you have never seen a Panda Bear look like this before. And I know you have never seen a Hippo look like this either.

Gameplay: Rebellion has developed a decapitation and regeneration mechanic in the game, meaning as you take damage you can lose every major part of your body, leaving you right down to just your head rolling around. At this point you will use your Combat Role to reattach your body parts that are spread through-out the area. Not only does your body take damage by the enemies but you use Bryce’s body as a weapon to kill demons. For example, with the proper upgrade, you can detach Bryce’s arm to use as a bomb to blow up your enemies.  You can even rip Bryce’s head off, charging it up to do a Head Spin attack which damages the enemy.

But not to worry, there is plenty of gun and knife play to go around for everyone too. You will encounter a variety of weapons including: Hand guns, shot guns, assault rifles, grenade launchers and more. What is even cooler is that you can dual wield your guns, allowing you to mix and match your guns for a deadly combination. If you detach Bryce’s arm with a weapon in it, you can throw it at the enemy, firing while his arms flails around shooting aimlessly. When guns don’t do the trick, you have your trusty Butterfly Blade which is controlled by the analog stick. Your Butterfly Blade is used to cut through chained doors, activating levers, a key to open doors to assist Arcadia and more. Certain enemies can only be killed by using your blade and towards the end of the game you will find upgrades; the Firefly Blade and the Dragonfly Blade.

Through-out the game you will gain XP Points by killing enemies and collecting red orbs, this will allow you to level up Bryce’s abilities and his weapon powers while unlocking additional content. At any point in the game you can go to the Special Abilities menu and purchase new upgrades if you have enough points. You have a set amount of abilities that you can use, which adds to the strategy of the game so you will have to purchase and manage which abilities will help you in any given situation. This adds a nice balance; no two game play experiences will be same with the depth of upgradable abilities and the way you execute them. Oh and later in the game, Bryce and Arcadia head back to her apartment to take a break from all the demon slaying at which point you can have Bryce interact with objects in her apartment for extra XP points. Some hilarious moments in the game shine through here.

You’ll use your body to interact with the environments as well including: electrocuting yourself to shoot electric bullets, setting yourself on fire to light the way in darker areas and like the electric bullets you can shoot fire bullets. In addition, sprinkled through the game are electrical fuse boxes, which you must intentionally blow your body up to use your head to navigate to another part of the level at which point, when your evil eye insignia turns yellow or if you have roll over a Regeneration Vessel, you can regenerate your entire body to move forward. This is also done to open doors and clears the path for your partner Arcadia who will follow and assist you through the game. If you remove his head, you can roll it around to the survey the area and you will have to use your head, literally, to progress through a level.

The environments themselves play a big part of the action such as when you fight your enemies in the middle of a hurricane or when trying to battle while dodging oncoming traffic on the highway. You will even have a battle in the belly of the beast, literally. In addition, you can strategically kill your enemies by using the environments to your advantage such as destroying pillars to crush demons or shooting at propane tanks to blow up a cluster of demons. A large majority of areas in the game contain Womb creatures that will keep generating enemy after enemy, so your first priority is to destroy all the Wombs then all remaining enemies, at which point the sealed pathway will open up allowing you and Arcadia to progress.

While Bryce is Immortal and can never die, that doesn’t mean he can’t be dammed for eternity. When Bryce is badly dismembered, Grandbaby enemies will swarm you in hopes of swallowing your body parts including your head. If a Grandbaby sucks you into its stomach, this will trigger a timed button sequence and if you fail, Bryce is doomed, leaving you to restart at the last check point. Speaking of which, check points occur often so you don’t have to worry about getting far in a level only to have to start at the very beginning if you fail. This is very nice considering the levels are lengthy. As mentioned earlier Arcadia will assist you in the game, however, she can also seal your fate if you let her die. When she is badly damaged you must revive her otherwise the game will end and you will have to restart at the last check point. Enemies will come at you fast and fierce so it is important to keep an eye on your partner.

Multi-Player: Let the body parts fly when you can take the mayhem online with up to 4 players. Play co-operatively or against each other through several challenges.

Conclusion: NeverDead knows exactly the kind of game it is, an ass kicking adrenalin rush set to the heavy metal music of Megadeath. Controls are simple enough to pick up and play and the Special Abilities menu for customizing Bryce is a great addition that is easy to navigate. With the Decapitation and Regeneration feature, NeverDead makes for one invigorating and unique third person action game. If you enjoy games like Serious Sam and Devil May Cry then NeverDead will make a warm addition to your collection.

Until next time this Jim Combs saying if you have a demon in your refrigerator, who you gonna call? Bryce Boltzmann. And remember let the bodies hit the floor. See you next time on Video Game Saga’s Spotlight segment, be there or be square.