n Overblood players take on the role of Raz Carson, an amnesiac who wakes from cryogenic storage to find himself trapped in the sub-basement of an abandoned research facility. The facility is in ruins, and Raz must immediately busy himself restoring power, unlocking doors and looking for clues. As he's taking care of the essentials, Raz comes across evidence that hints at what's going on. Then he finds a friendly robot named Pipo, and his journey up through four levels really begins.
Overblood has two different methods of control: a standard first-person Doom view and a third-person, 3-D perspective that has both an overhead view and a chase-camera view (players can switch between the three at any time). Aside from walking and running, Raz can jump, crouch, push and climb, and during combat he can also punch, kick and fire a gun (if he has one). Most actions -- such as examining an object, talking to someone or picking up an item -- can be handled with a simple push of the X key. Players can also take control of two other characters that Raz meets up with, although the bulk of the game is played as Raz himself.
The plot of Overblood is relatively straightforward. The goal is to find a way out, and to find a raison d'etre. As the game moves along the plot becomes more intricate, and the obstacles become more difficult.
See locked door. See key. Open door. Run, Raz, run.
Electronic Arts is billing Overblood as a "Sci Fi Adventure," and the list of ingredients sure smells right. There are evil scientists, mutant monsters and even a virus run amok. So what could be lacking? Unfortunately for Overblood, it's the key ingredient: adventure. The game is so reliant on its linear plot that there is nothing to do but follow along as the story unfolds, occasionally putting the square peg in the square hole as needed. And since the square pegs and holes (or the wrench needed to loosen the screws, the key needed to open the door, etc.) are all too obvious, they present little challenge.
Even the slimy, scary creatures suddenly dropping out of air shafts aren't all that scary, because Raz can bat them around like so many sock puppets. Sure, they can take more blows than Rocky, but since they just sit there and take the blows, killing them is a matter of patience, not skill. And in any case there just aren't enough mutants around to keep the game interesting. A few out-of-place action sequences relieve the monotony a bit, but again they lack any real challenge.
All of that said, Overblood does have a few things going for it. The look of the game is appropriately creepy, the intrigue of the story is indeed intriguing, and the sounds and graphics are excellent. In fact, it makes a pretty decent participatory movie, as long as gamers realize they're there to follow a set script, with no improvising allowed. But as an adventure game Overblood does little to distinguish itself, and in fact it has problems keeping up with the pack.
