NeverDead looks decent as a whole, as long as you aren't looking at anything too closely. When the action gets heated, the frame rate dips a bit. The environmental destruction is a definite plus, though it often makes navigation more of a pain than it should be. NeverDead's visuals are at their best when they're depicting the core gimmick of the game: that is, Bryce's physical immortality. It's entertaining at first to see this centuries-old demon hunter ripped into six pieces: limbs, torso, and head often go flying in different directions. It's even funnier when he's only partially mutilated. If Bryce is left with one leg, he'll hop around comically until you reclaim the other one. If he's completely blown to pieces, his head can roll around like some sort of bastardized Morph Ball. Enemies are interestingly-designed, though the lack of variety all but guarantees that you'll tire of them before the halfway point.

Megadeth is one of my favorite metal bands. I'm not lying when I say that the opening of NeverDead (accompanied by a title track from Dave Mustaine and company) made me excited to see what the game's sound design had to offer. Let's just say the rest of the soundtrack doesn't live up to the promise. Sound effects are decent at best and annoying at worst. NADA's communication hardware sounds like it belongs in a junk heap; everything comes in fuzzy, with the exception of Arcadia's ear-piercingly shrill death cry. The voice acting isn't great, but the script fails to give the talent anything to work with. Bryce shoots off groan-worthy one-liners with enough repetition and frequency to fool the player into thinking that he's just a robot whose voice got caught in a loop. If you think that sounds annoying, wait until you're introduced to Sangria, who is probably the weirdest and most repulsive demon in video game history.

NeverDead stars Bryce Boltzmann, a jaded demon hunter who has lived for roughly half a millennium, thanks to a curse from the Demon Lord Astaroth. Bryce is as immune to the human aging process as he is to decapitation. That makes him rather valuable to the government agency NADA, which specializes in paranormal defense. The defense of what, though? Presumably the human race -- but save for the main characters and a few others, there don't seem to be many humans in this world. NeverDead follows Bryce and his utterly useless companion Arcadia as they work to prevent the return of Astaroth. The story has its moments, and a handful of flashback sequences help get you invested, but the characters are impossible to connect with.

Save for its core gimmick, NeverDead is a linear third-person corridor/arena shooter. As Bryce, you run around environments, killing demons with an assortment of guns as well as the biggest butterfly knife you've ever seen. The level design and standard gameplay wear thin pretty quickly, but the boss fights are solid.

NeverDead features a four-player multiplayer mode, which can be played locally or over Xbox Live. You and some friends work together to progress through levels that are separated in "waves." It's similar to Horde mode from Gears of War, but with a more traditional sense of progression. Just like in the campaign, you navigate corridors and clear out arenas full of enemies. It's more fun to play with others, provided you can find them.

Bryce can't die, but that doesn't mean there's no Game Over screen. There are a few ways to reach it, but if you're modestly skilled and put forth enough effort, you'll see it less than five times over the course of a single playthrough. As mentioned before, you have a companion named Arcadia, who's nothing more than a token female and a liability. Her mere existence is a gameplay contrivance clumsily shoehorned in to give the illusion of challenge. She can't absorb bullets or walk off a missing leg. If she absorbs enough punishment, she will go down for the count. As long as Bryce gets to her in time, she'll be fine. The timer set to her "down but not out" phase is extremely lengthy. The biggest threats to Bryce's safety are creatures known as Grandbabies, spiky little spheres that roll around each combat arena and respawn upon death. If Bryce loses his head, a nearby Grandbaby will pursue and attempt to devour it with a powerful suction attack. If Bryce is unable to reunite head and body before this happens, he will be ingested. Even if this happens, all is not necessarily lost. A timed button press will cause the Grandbaby to vomit Bryce's head and give him another chance.

So what is difficult about NeverDead? Playing it can grow tedious after a while; this is not a game you'll want to play for long stretches of time. The challenge here is fighting the temptation to put the controller down and do something else. And truthfully, that's really only a problem for reviewers. NeverDead is best enjoyed in short sessions.

NeverDead's shooter mechanics are very standard. Bryce can hold a weapon in each hand, and from there it's purely a point-and-click affair. The swordplay is different, and more exciting to boot. You must hold a trigger and move the Right Analog Stick in the manner in which you want to move the sword. Swinging all willy-nilly is not the way to go; there's a definite rhythm to it, and adhering to it results in more powerful attacks. On top of that, Bryce is powerful enough to carve up just about anything: pillars, statues, you name it. It's fun to kill enemies with all the collateral damage.

Innovation is a wonderful ideal, but the idea is only part of it. If the idea isn't implemented properly, none of it matters. That's the root of most of NeverDead's problems. Bryce's physical immortality is not nearly fleshed out enough in the context of gameplay. There are some good ideas at work, but Rebellion didn't go far enough to keep the game from becoming stale after the first hour. That means most of the campaign is made up of very similar sequences of running, gunning, being gibbed, and regenerating.

Mutilation in NeverDead is inevitable, and happens often. When Bryce is maimed, he must go to the missing appendage and roll over it to assimilate it back into his body. This is a bit harder when all you have control over is his head. Combat scenarios in NeverDead are rarely content to pick Bryce apart slowly; more often than not, his body is simply blown apart. This often results in body parts being scattered everywhere. It's insanely frustrating to navigate an entire room full of debris only to have a monster scatter your parts again once the head reaches the torso. You could wait until the regeneration timer dings and simply sprout the necessary parts, but that takes time. Luckily, one pickup makes things a bit less aggravating. A certain potion allows you to instantly regenerate regardless of how many parts you're rolling with.

There's an ability customization system linked with an experience system, but like the rest of the game, it isn't fleshed out enough. You can purchase and slot new abilities, but most of these abilities are nothing more than power and speed upgrades. The absolute best of the abilities is Explosive Limbs. Do yourself a favor and save up for that one.

NeverDead features some novel ideas and a handful of interesting mechanics. However, the game built around those ideas and mechanics fails to live up to its potential. Furthermore, the story and characters don't do enough to get you invested. Is NeverDead entertaining? Yes, in small doses. Is it worth $60? No. If its price was half of that, I would give it a modest recommendation.