Verdict: An innovative, dark and compelling shooter from the creator of Hellraiser.
If you've ever seen any of the 'Hellraiser' films, you'll know that Clive Barker has a truly twisted mind. Visceral horror, intertwined with the occult and sadomasochism, situated in fantasy worlds that exist in tandem with our own, are the order of the day. It's testament to the man that 20 years on, everyone still remembers the infamous 'Pinhead'.
Jericho is Mr Barker's second foray into the games industry. In 2001, EA released Clive Barker's The Undying, although it didn't sell well and the expected sequel was canned.
In many ways, Jericho is similar to The Undying in that it's a dark first-person shooter. However, the key difference between Jericho and The Undying is that the former is really bloody good. The story tells of The Firstborn, who was God's first creation before man. Unfortunately, the man upstairs got it a little wrong. To quote Clive Barker, 'Disturbed by the power of his creation, God left it unfinished, banishing The Firstborn to the Abyss, forsaken and unloved.'
Of course, this entity didn't enjoy the Abyss and wanted to escape back to Earth. However, each time it tried, a group of seven humans - gifted with magic arts - sent him back into the Abyss.
You play Captain Devin Ross, leader of a team sent in to investigate a paranormal anomaly related to The Firstborn's reappearances. From the outset, it's obvious that things aren't quite right, and your character quickly becomes an integral part of The Firstborn's quest for freedom.
Jericho is a squad-based shooter and each of the seven characters has a specialised field, such as sniping and so on. The way in which you control these characters is quite innovative, since Ross, who unfortunately is killed early in the game, can flit ethereally between the rest of his squad, obtaining control of their bodies and abilities. The game's AI does a very good job of making the rest of your squad fight smart, as well as making the enemies challenging.
Each time The Firstborn is banished, it takes a slice of that particular period in time back with it. This means that as you progress through each of the seven levels you also journey through different time periods, fighting followers of The Firstborn from each period. For example, at one point you team up with a squad of British Officers to hunt down a Nazi archmage.
Despite the inventive settings, the gameplay is quite linear, although there's usually enough going on that this isn't a big deal. More of an issue is the lack of variety in the enemy creatures. Considering that you're travelling through 6,000 years of history, you'd have thought that The Firstborn would have become a little more creative along the way.
Jericho is a creative, dark and entertaining FPS with a fantastic storyline. It's a grown-up game, and a great example of how computer games can be more than just mindless shooters.
