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Ash, the square-jawed, insult-spewing, shotgun-toting, chainsaw-armed hero from the cult classic Evil Dead trilogy is back. Picking up eight years after the last installment of the Evil Dead films, Ash is drawn back to the infamous cabin in the woods only to again face evil forces that have crossed over to our world. Our hero finds himself slicing and dicing carnivorous Kandarian demons, vicious deadites, and other unspeakable atrocities spawned by the notorious Book of the Dead. And in true Evil Dead fashion, Ash must once again attempt to save the world from an appalling and horrific end.

Evil Dead: Hail to the King takes the survival horror genre to new heights by combining the successful formula of suspense, action, and puzzle-solving with over-the-top bloodlust and signature Ash humor--all within the confines of the Evil Dead universe. There are over 20 original and familiar enemies and recognizable environments, in-game cutscenes and prerendered sequences that allow the story to unfold, and increased freedom of movement and attack ability.

Review

The Evil Dead films might as well have been based on a videogame. The heroic Ash can attach a chainsaw to one arm, carry a shotgun in the other hand, and spout off more one-liners than a post-Commando Schwarzenegger. This is not the kind of thing Hollywood normally makes unless a hot license is already attached. The glib humor boiling just beneath the surface of the trilogy (Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, and Army of Darkness) has achieved a legendary status among cult classics. Now, courtesy of THQ and Heavy Iron Studios, Ash and the legions of the undead have been unleashed upon the game world.

The game begins eight years after Army of Darkness, when Ash returns to the scene of Evil Dead 2 -- the cabin in the woods. Plagued by nightmares he can't explain, he realizes that the Evil has once again infiltrated the world -- and only he can stop it.

"The game will include several of the cool elements seen in the films," says Producer Scott Krager, "but will also add to its existing mythos by providing new environments, enemies, characters, and weapons as well as a storyline that continues the saga of Ash and the Necronomicon."

While there is a significant story to follow in the game (it's nearly Evil Dead 4), make no mistake about it -- your primary mission is to kick some evil butt, discover how to shut it down for good (or at least until the next game), and, of course, get the girl. Never forget the mantra: Good, bad, you're the guy with the gun.

Great care has been taken to preserve the feel of writer/director Sam Raimi's films. Both Renaissance (Raimi's production company) and Bruce Campbell himself are involved in the project at some level to make sure that it stays true to the feel of the movies.

"In fact," states Krager, "it was the filmmakers [Raimi and Rob Tapert] who wanted to return to the roots of Evil Dead and include the cabin and woods as primary locations." Even the opening movies have been rendered in a very Raimi-esque style and the pre-rendered camera shots used in the game will feature many of the views that the director has become famous for.

With loads of evil creatures and undead apparitions, it seems appropriate that Evil Dead: Hail to the King will offer similar stylings as horror-fests such as Resident Evil and Alone in the Dark, complete with pre-rendered backgrounds and realtime characters. Still, the comparison seems almost unfair, as the team at Heavy Iron has completely re-thought its way through every aspect of the design. Unlike the developers of the aforementioned series, those at Heavy Iron feel they need not take themselves too seriously when dealing with such campy horror fare. (To this day, we believe that Capcom wasn't trying to be funny with Resident Evil dialogue such as "It might be handy if you, the master of unlocking, take it with you"). Add to each area loads of animations (fires flicker, fog drifts in and out) and 24-bit color (a rarity on PlayStation), and this is one of the best looking games of its type.

Aside from the jokes and some new effects, the combat is what's really going to separate this title from the established horror titles.

"The Evil Dead movies are full of stylized, fast-paced action punctuated with a great sense of humor," notes Krager. "When evaluating the other survival horror games, we noticed a distinct lack of this style of gameplay."

Because Ash can attach a chainsaw to his arm and swing it about as a weapon, the designers at Heavy Iron felt it would be necessary to give you control of the other arm, which means you can actually wield two weapons at once. You can imagine the grisly scene: Ash with his chainsaw hacking a path through a horde of deadites, shotgun simultaneously blasting.

"When players enter a room and face a deadite, they won't be asking, 'Do I have enough ammo to kill this guy or should I just run?'" proclaims Krager. "Instead they will be faced with the question, 'Should I take this guy down with my chainsaw, two blasts from my shotgun, or maybe a combo using both?'"

Accentuating the action is a combo system that allows players to pull off more complicated maneuvers in the heat of battle. To reward players for better moves, Ash will utter better one-liners for more complicated kills. There's nothing cooler than immobilizing an enemy by shoving your chainsaw through him, shoving your shotgun in his mouth, pausing for a second for dramatic effect, and then uttering "Groovy" before blowing off his head. Make no mistake about it, this game is going to get the M rating.

Despite your awesome firepower, the enemies Ash encounters are often more than a match for him. Besides the fact that they can outnumber him on screen by as much as 4-to-1, they are all capable of multiple attacks.

"The game won't be just a string of encounters with slow-moving zombies," says Krager. "The enemies are more varied with respect to look, moves, and personality."

In total, there are over 20 different types of monsters that Ash will need to deal with, including such classics as the deadites and skullbats. New additions include demonic rednecks and what looks like a troop of evil boy-scout creatures. Of course, you can also expect plenty of boss battles to punctuate certain chapters of the storyline.

There are still quite a few months to go before Evil Dead hits the shelves, yet already it's looking like Heavy Iron has a title that will not only satisfy fans of the movies, but create an entirely viable new series for gamers to look forward to. Come this fall, Evil better beware. -- DailyRadar Review