Spawn: Armageddon
Score: 85% ESRB: Mature Publisher: Namco Developer: Point of View, Inc. Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 Genre: Action
Graphics & Sound: Since the days of the Dreamcast -- Todd McFarlane's masked hero from Hell hasn't been seen in his own game. Well, that has changed with Spawn: Armageddon, where you will take the role of Al Simmons (aka: Spawn) as he travels from Heaven to Hell and everywhere in between in order to stop the end of the world. The graphics of Armageddon aren't anything to really drool over, though there are a few aspects that are nice. The character models are smooth and have a lot of detail. For instance, after having your way with a room full of Meat Puppets, Imps and various other hellacious creatures, the blood dripping from Agony (Spawn's Axe) adds a nice effect to the scene before you. Oh yeah, I guess this would be a good time to say that this game is rated Mature, and though it isn't as bad as Manhunt, there is a lot of blood and gore in it. The levels themselves make use of some good textures, but it tends to be the same thing over and over again -- making them somewhat bland. The voices in Armageddon are almost perfect. Since the Spawn animated series on HBO (several years ago), I have placed those voices (like Keith David, who also voiced Goliath on Gargoyles) in the roles of these characters. The voices used in Spawn: Armageddon come damn close.
Gameplay: Malebolgia feels it's time to bring about the Apocalypse, and he needs his newest Hellspawn to do it. Spawn: Armageddon's story is unique and separate from the comics, but there doesn't seem to be any major changes to the flow of the series. As the tormented Al Simmons sits on top of one of the buildings in Rat City, a large beam hits the middle of New York and suddenly hell is about to be let loose. Spawn will travel through the alleys, into the business district and down to the harbor, not to mention Heaven (okay the 'Angel Space Station') and Hell in order to find the source of the problem. As Spawn, you will collect several different weapons (both of human and angelic origins) to help you throughout the game. Each one will have its benefits and problems. These weapons range from Spawn's chains, to a sawed off shotgun, mini-guns and the Brimstone Cannon. Spawn will also have at his disposal several Hell powers that use up necroplasm (Spawn's energy). These can be shields, projectiles (which can only really be described as 'mind bullets') and a few other powers that will help you on occasion. Spawn will face many different types of enemies from Heaven, Hell and yes, even a few from Earth. As you go up against these foes, you will unlock encyclopedia entries where you can read up on these baddies -- maybe find their weakness (if you haven't already by the time you get a chance to review the material). You can also collect comic covers in the game that will unlock... well comic covers. In each level you will collect souls. Before you start your next mission, you are given the chance to buy upgrades or ammunition for your weapons. You can also use these souls to increase your maximum health and necroplasm. I guess this is a way of saying souls are the currency in Hell.
Difficulty: I didn't have a lot of trouble with Spawn: Armageddon. I found myself plowing through sections left and right, and when it came to the bosses -- if I didn't beat them the first time they appeared, I was sure to nail them the second time around. Most of the bad guys can be taken down by holding down the R1 button, locking onto them and just using your weapons (guns, chains, etc). Needless to say, there wasn't really a lot of planning that needed to go into the battles. There are three difficulty settings -- but the difference between them is barely noticeable. I was able to cover about half of the storyline in one sitting (about 2 and a half hours) and then finish the game the next time I sat in front of it. So, either the enemies are easy to kill or the story is too short -- either way the difficulty in Armageddon is not very high.
Game Mechanics: The controls of Spawn: Armageddon take a little getting used to, and it has a few faults that are really hard to ignore, but after a while you should be able to get the hang of it. The overall controls are similar to those found in most Third-Person action games, with a few differences. The Circle button is used for Agony, while the Square is used for your other weapons and to activate your hell power, you press the Triangle. This is one of the places where your fingers might start to fumble over each other. There were several times that I had meant to use my sub-machine gun against a Flying Imp and ended up swinging my Axe instead. The other problem I had with the controls is the way that you select your weapons and Hell powers. You cycle through the weapons with the left and right D-pad buttons, and you use the up and down buttons to select the Hell powers. I'm sorry, but when you are in the heat of battle you don't want to have to glance down at the D-pad to make sure you hit the right buttons. It would have been a lot better to allow you to cycle through the weapons and powers with the R2 and L2 buttons (buttons that aren't used, I might add). Spawn is a good game, it isn't the best, and if you can live with the controller problems and the quick storyline, then you might want to pick it up. It is worth a rental if nothing else.
-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications AKA Chris Meyer
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