Video Games : The Suffering (Xbox)

Rating: - I never thought I'd buy it!
This along with Max Payne was a game I never thought I'd buy due to it's much publicised,at the time,bad language/violence,however when it was cheap enough I thought I'd chance it.
I was wrong,yes they do swear a lot but they are on death row,I didn't expect them to be model citzens as it were.
My main reason for buying it was mainly that I love third person adventure games,especially horror ones and after being disappointed with Shadowman 2(glitchy mess as it is)I thought this was a good substitute.
The controls are very good and the camera is excellent,unlike Shadowman where the camera went almost vertical time and again leaving me to play it like Gauntlet or having to use the sniper rifle's scope every five seconds to see what was in front of me.
As you probably know the story has Torque,who is banged up for allegedly(?)killing his wife and kids,escaping from a prison that has been overrun by monsters,his ultimate goal to leave the island the prison is on.The story is very good with some subtle changes depending on your morality through the game,kill enough guards or failing to help them leads you to have a diseased appearance and the ending is a little different.
The graphics are very solid,the monster designs are great(Stan Winston R.I.P) and the abilty to transform into your rage form never gets boring or relied on too much.
It's not the longest game,some 3+ hours on easy,since being able to save anywhere negates any frustration of having to repeat sections,due to it's length,I've finished it several times with the differing endings,
I'm currently playing the sequel,which is just as good although not being able to carry the health pills(Xombium) and the re-spawning monsters needed to replenish the insanity/rage bar are small niggles in an otherwise excellent game.

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Rating: - One hell of a game!
I have just completed the game for the first time, oh somewhere around 10 hours! lol, depends on how much you explore really? Well have to say I'm a big fan of horror survival games esp resident evil, and this doesn't dissapoint! It's very good, more action than puzzle solving, there are a few to do but most are obvious, sometimes you may get stuck but if you search well enough you find your way! The graphics are very good as is the music which adds to the tension. A good array of weapons including grenandes etc can be used. You start off in a creepy prison on a remote island and try to get off it, depending on how you adjust the brightness of your tv you can be playng in near pitch black darkness, although you do have a torch,when you have batteries! This does add to the atmosphere of the game, which can make you jump with sudden nightmare visions and flashbacks! The best bit is swithcing from 1st or 3rd person mode,which helps when fighting many enemies at once and you can play either mode switching back and forth as you like. It is very gory in terms of scenery with beheaded figures etc all over the place,the swearing is only really in the opening scene, after all not a game for young kids!
The game throws up chances to be good or bad with helping other prisoners or guards and this affects the ending of the game which is good replay value,help everyone or kill em all? Also on the game are behind the scenes making of game approx 15mins,not too in depth but cool bonus and also prison is hell documentary about 20-25mins featuring a haunted prison in usa again a nice bonus.

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Rating: - SWEET, FREAKY , SCARY WEIRD GAME!
Lets start off with your either gonna love the game or hate it(no in between)

This game starts in a prison which is basically filled with evil head things wanting to rip parts of your body off(its a horror game what would u excpect) The graphics are nice and clear, true they can be a bit dark (all u gotta do it turn the brightness on ur tv up) unless of course u want to play it dark with no lights on
(suggest clean underpants near) i haven't played on this game much,but what i've played so far i have really enjoyed.

Pro's
*Good graphics, well detailed
*Levels are big
*Never a dull moment
*Pick it up cheap
*Great game for all you gore fans
*Save when you want
*Question's whether your normal or insane???
(weird ghosts run around i questioned myself askin if i'd just imagined them..lol)

Con's
*Maybe a Bit 2 much swearing(not such a biggy)
(why don't u either turn the sound off or skip that part its not important anyway, not to mention it is a 18 game)
*Not the easiest of games

Overall its a good game, will keep u occupied either playing on it,hiding in your room,or staying in the bog all nite (releasing number 2's..lol)

Any gamer who likes Resi or Silent Hill you'll love this game.. just don't play it alone..

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Rating: - A bit repetative, but still a good play.
I got this game yesterday for christmas and so far have completed 12 out of the 20 chapters. I have only died twice and the gameplay has not become too frustrating...yet. There have been a few places were i got stuck, unknowing where to go and what to next, but, with a little determination, it's all paying off. However, there is one slight fault with this game that knocks a star off it's final rating, it's repetative. The gameplay seems to be the same on every level, and the same goes for the enviroments. You play indoors for the first 4 or 5 chapters, and then it's a mixture of outdoors and indoors therafter. The weapons are decent, ranging from revolvers to tomy-guns, shivs to shotguns, although i have not yet built a flame thrower, which you build yourself with various bits and pieces. However there are lots of good points, more so then bad points. There is plenty of gore, maybe not as much as some reviers lead you to believe, but enough. I was expecting lots of strong language as i have read reviews that it's very very bad, however there is no more swearing then you'd get in an 18 rated film, and seeing as though this game is rated 18, what all the fuss about!?!? It's not scary at all, it's more haunting then anything, not knowing what round the corner, or where it'll jump out from, it's very exhilirating! The graphics are great, not so great in the cutscenes but acceptable. The sound during the gameplay is also good, being slow or silent whilst Torque is alone, and then when surrounded by enemies the music bursts into a fast and heavy beat. I'm currently playing on the medium difficulty as that is what it's set at , although you can change it if you want. There is one more thing though that gets annoying during the game. the flashbacks that Torque has during play. The first time they happen it makes you jump, however they occur about every 1-2 minutes and after a while they are annoying and unscary, particulary in the second half of the game. But play and see what you recon.

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Rating: - Save anywhere, Yay!!!
If I've completed a hard part of the game but then die before reaching the next checkpoint or completing the level, I don't want to have to do that bit all over again. I've proved I can do it, let's move on. This game gives you that rare opportunity of being able to save whenever you want to. The gameplay itself is fun although it can be a bit repetitive at times.
good points: save anywhere, choice of difficulty, controls, rarely frustrating, 3 different endings.
bad points: occasionally not sure what to do/where to go next.
Lifespan: approx 9 hrs to complete first time through