Gameplay
You slowly move through various environments in the game, dispatching zombie like homeless people who have for some reason gone a bit mad, and as a result seem to be fuelled on some kind of drug that makes them very strong. It’s like trying to get onto a London Underground train during the early morning rush house. During your investigation you’ll come across a lot of hostiles like this and have an assortment of ways in which you can dispatch them. Ethan has a standard issue taser, which can stun enemies for a short period of time, enough to make them drop whatever weapon they’re carrying too. If Ethan approaches a stunned enemy, then he has a choice of ‘finishing’ them off with 4 different style mortal kombat fatality attacks, for example breaking his/her neck, or smashing his/her skull with your fist. In addition to this, you can use any weapon you wish to just kill them if you want.
Crowbars, steam pipes, wrenches, 2×4’s - there are a lot of weapons that Ethan can use by either picking them off the floor, or just pulling them out of the surrounding environment. The sounds the weapons make as they make contact with an enemy is gruesome and so realistic sounding that you’ll either laugh hysterically or squirm as you dispatch a foe with say a steam pipe.
It’s not all melee weapons though, there are some firearms in the game but they’re used in the loosest sense, as they have limited ammo and no extra ammo can be obtained. Once a weapon does run out of ammo, then you can use the butt of the gun to melee enemies with too. You can kick enemies, but this should be used as a last resort attack when no weapons are at hand. Bear in mind that for the majority of this game you’ll be using full on melee weapons.
Picture the scene for a moment. You’re slowly walking through a hallway when you hear a table move from behind you. You quickly turn around and look from side to side but no one is there? You continue walking forward and see a shadow in the distance, which turns out to be a ceiling light that has been disturbed - but by whom? You continue walking down a corridor and find some clues, and then suddenly a crazed loon bursts out from behind and starts attacking you. Your heart starts beating as he has taken you by surprise and you frantically attempt to block his swings as he tries to clobber you with a steel pipe. If you manage to time your swing right, you can hit him with that wrench in your hand…
The AI is quite good also. They certainly know when to run off after taking a beating, and when to slowly stalk you from behind until you realise just before they strike. On many occasions I’ve been startled as an enemy who I was expecting to be hidden around a corner wasn’t there but elsewhere. They’ll also fight each other. If you manage to time your movements right during a fight with more then one hostile, you can make them hit each other, leaving you time to recover and get the hell out.
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