Games Database
Xbox
Shoot 'Em Up
Digital Extremes are the creators of one of the benchmarks in online multiplayer First Person Shooters: the Unreal engine. id Software, after honing their deathmatch-only Quake 3 Trinity engine to near perfection, moved on to create their story driven, highly anticipated Doom sequel. In just the same way Digital Extremes, after spending all their time tinkering with their tool for online team deathmatch fans, announced that they would be developing a single player experience for PC and Xbox.
Now Pariah has arrived. The game is set in one of those typically gloomy science fiction futures where the Earth is a ruined husk, all the rich have long moved away, and humanity’s home planet is put to some undeserved, degrading use. In this instance the planet is studded with huge prison complexes, the barren wastelands in between inhabited by people known as Scavengers, who are hardly acknowledged as human at all.
As you may have guessed by now, all sorts of disturbing, ethically questionable biological experiments go on in this nightmare future. Dr. Jack Mason, until recently, was a highly respected scientist in this field of research. Now disgraced, he has been re-assigned to a job escorting patients from facility to facility. The latest one of these patients is Karina, who has survived infection with a disease that killed every other (male) member of her test group. DR. Jack must escort her on a journey, during which they’ll discover the dark truth behind the experiment.
The game features an exciting array on futuristic weaponry and vehicles, and offers stylish art direction augmented by performances by Hollywood voice actors. An upgrade system makes each weapon modifiable on a four tier system: for example the rocket launcher can be upgraded to a heat seeking one, and later you’ll find the means to be able to fire two and even four rockets at once. As you’d expect from a company of DE’s standing, the physics and AI are very convincing. As well as the story mode, which allows two player co-operative play, there is an option-rich multiplayer mode that betrays the game’s lineage: split screen and online deathmatch modes are available, featuring all the weapons and vehicles from story mode. There’s also a map editor, which will allow players not only to create their own environments, but also to upload them for download by other members of the community. This then, is a well fashioned shooter, that will challenge you by throwing hordes of clever enemies at you, and at the same time offer you an involving plot. But it’s also a fully customisable deathmatch enabler.
| Also for: | PC | ||
| Viewed: | 3D First-person | Genre: | Shoot 'Em Up |
| Media: | DVD | Arcade origin: | No |
| Developer: | Digital Extremes | Soft. Co.: | Digital Extremes |
| Publishers: | Hip Interactive
(GB) Groove Games (US) |
Released: | 2004
(US) 6 May 2005 (GB) |
| Ratings: | PEGI 16+ | ||
| Accessories: | Communicator Headset | ||
| Connectivity: | Xbox System Link Cable | ||
Summary
Digital Extremes are the creators of one of the benchmarks in online multiplayer First Person Shooters: the Unreal engine. id Software, after honing their deathmatch-only Quake 3 Trinity engine to near perfection, moved on to create their story driven, highly anticipated Doom sequel. In just the same way Digital Extremes, after spending all their time tinkering with their tool for online team deathmatch fans, announced that they would be developing a single player experience for PC and Xbox.
Now Pariah has arrived. The game is set in one of those typically gloomy science fiction futures where the Earth is a ruined husk, all the rich have long moved away, and humanity’s home planet is put to some undeserved, degrading use. In this instance the planet is studded with huge prison complexes, the barren wastelands in between inhabited by people known as Scavengers, who are hardly acknowledged as human at all.
As you may have guessed by now, all sorts of disturbing, ethically questionable biological experiments go on in this nightmare future. Dr. Jack Mason, until recently, was a highly respected scientist in this field of research. Now disgraced, he has been re-assigned to a job escorting patients from facility to facility. The latest one of these patients is Karina, who has survived infection with a disease that killed every other (male) member of her test group. DR. Jack must escort her on a journey, during which they’ll discover the dark truth behind the experiment.
The game features an exciting array on futuristic weaponry and vehicles, and offers stylish art direction augmented by performances by Hollywood voice actors. An upgrade system makes each weapon modifiable on a four tier system: for example the rocket launcher can be upgraded to a heat seeking one, and later you’ll find the means to be able to fire two and even four rockets at once. As you’d expect from a company of DE’s standing, the physics and AI are very convincing. As well as the story mode, which allows two player co-operative play, there is an option-rich multiplayer mode that betrays the game’s lineage: split screen and online deathmatch modes are available, featuring all the weapons and vehicles from story mode. There’s also a map editor, which will allow players not only to create their own environments, but also to upload them for download by other members of the community. This then, is a well fashioned shooter, that will challenge you by throwing hordes of clever enemies at you, and at the same time offer you an involving plot. But it’s also a fully customisable deathmatch enabler.
Artwork
