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| By Brad Cook When’s the last time you jumped and nervously looked over your shoulder while playing a game on your Mac? Sure, you’ve probably seen movies or read books that really scared the heck out of you, but when was the last time a game did that? |
Be afraid, be very afraid.
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Aspyr president Michael Rogers admits, “If I finish playing very late, I do notice I’m quite a bit more paranoid about the otherwise normal sounds in my house or office.”
Begone vile demon.
All in the Family
Undying, a 3D first-person shooter based on the Unreal Tournament gameplay engine, is set in Ireland during the 1920s (the perfect setting for Gothic horror). You play the role of Patrick Galloway, a master of the occult who has been summoned to the ancestral estate of the Covenant family by Jeremiah, the last living member of the clan. Unfortunately, Jeremiah is still dealing with some family squabbles.
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You see, his four siblings are dead, but they’ve become reanimated as a bunch of creepy crawly walking corpses with just one goal in mind: kill Jeremiah and free the Curse of the Undying King. Not only does Patrick have to square off against Jeremiah’s undead brothers and sisters and deal with the Undying King, but he also has to contend with his competitor, Keisinger, who wants to steal the power of the Covenant family should Patrick unlock it.
There are five realms you must travel through in this game, each creepier and more difficult than the last. To defend himself, Patrick has not only a revolver and a shotgun at his disposal, but also a variety of magical items — such as the Gel’Ziabar Stone or the mystical Phoenix — and spells — such as the illuminating Scrye or the ever-useful Flight — that he can use against his foes.
“Patrick is a compelling character in the cast of all this mystery,” says Rogers. “You start out knowing the least about him, and, as your in-game persona, learning his history and motivation is one of the best parts of the game.”
A Clive Barker Production
Not only did horror master Clive Barker lend his name to Undying, but he helped develop it too. In case you haven’t heard of him, he’s best known for the Hellraiser movies and his Book of Blood series. This is his first videogame, but it does have the unique Barker stamp.
“The only Clive Barker experience I’ve had is watching the Hellraiser movie when it came out,” Rogers says. “It was a shocking experience. It just had a mood that I’ve never seen in a movie before, and I guess that’s what makes Clive’s work so unique to him.”
If you’re curious just how much involvement Barker had with the creation of the game, head over to Electronic Arts’ official Undying site (warning, parents: it may be unsuitable for kids under the age of 18; check it out first), where there’s plenty of behind-the-scenes material, including a Q&A with Barker in which he says “I think (I hope) the game is both more intense for my presence and more human.”
