The AI in Jericho is somewhat of a double-edged sword. On one hand the members of Jericho are really smart, helping you complete levels and battle enemies with ease. On the other hand those enemies are way too stupid causing the game to feel easy overall. Some gamers may find this a turn off but for me it was a selling point. I got exactly what I wanted out of Jericho, which was a simple arcade-style shooter with horror elements. Add to that the seemingly infinite amount of ammo thrown throughout the game, multiple saving points in every level, and the fact that up to seven characters must die before you, as the player, official dies. The shooting aspect of the game is done well and when the big battles are taking place the game is really fun. Boss battles are also pretty well done and add a little more variability to the otherwise run-of-the-mill shooting elements. It is obvious the developers spent a whole lot of time on the Jericho squad members themselves and the storyline so something must be lacking right?
What’s lacking is level variability and any sort of multiplayer mode. Many of the levels are way too long and should have been replaced with more varied levels. If you get sick of the cave like, underground, blood filled, dark level then this game may not be for you. The number of enemy types is good but the levels they fill are repetitive and dull, after the first few. For a game with such a cool idea such as instant character switching and dual weapons (physical and metaphysical) I would have thought that a multiplayer mode was an obvious choice, obviously not. Jericho could have had one of the coolest online components out there but the developers chose to focus on the single player campaign. This mode will run most gamers about twelve hours total, which is not bad, but once that is completed there is little to zero reason to put Jericho back in the Xbox 360.
It is obvious that Jericho’s graphical look could have used a huge increase in the brightness levels. The game is so freaking dark that many times I could not see where to go or from which direction I was being attacked. This downfall may have been a trick by the designers to help the game feel scarier. Unfortunately it only causes the game to be more frustrating. Other than that the game looks pretty good, the overuse of the shiny factor may turn some gamers off but for the most part it looks good. The character models are very detailed as are the levels. Although it fits well in the next-gen library it is not going to blow anyone away with the overall graphics. Don’t get me wrong though Jericho is a very scary game, the setting of the game is very freaky and it looks good. The audio aspect also helps Jericho in the horror factor. At some times things are so quiet that you know something bad is about to happen and once that bad thing happens things get insanely loud. The equally eerie soundtrack features some perfect tunes for the story.
There are so many good games coming out over the next three months that it is tough for a game like Clive Barker’s Jericho to stand out but it does. Considering the subject material there are not many other games like it (F.E.A.R.) and the unique character-switching feature helps it pick up a few points. The nice variation in weapons and magical powers also keeps the average gameplay from getting too boring. Because Jericho gives gamers the option of choosing from a number of different fighting techniques there is bound to be something here for everyone. Even though there is no multiplayer mode and some lackluster graphics Jericho is still one hell of a scary game and it screams Clive Barkers influence throughout. If your looking for something to play on Halloween night Jericho would be the perfect game, as long as your old enough.
