I must admit, Pariah was way off my radar screen until recently and almost didn't stay on it after briefly playing the multiplayer demo with outdated graphics and somewhat boring game play. Take that with a grain of salt (from a notorious Single Player)! Anyway, the very short SP demo changed my mind and the purchase turned a sleeper into one of the most exciting recent game releases (on my computer).
UT2004: A BLAST FROM THE PAST
Okay, it hasn't been that long ago, but UT2004's graphics engine was even upon release not using the very latest technology (DX9 features). However, it still managed to look good in its own right and especially performed very well even on mid-power PCs.
Pariah is based on a "heavily" revised version of the same graphics engine and the most obvious changes are much improved atmospheric effects like lighting and dust or smoke. The animation of the vegetation has been bumped up too but doesn't really compare to FarCry in that regard. Water effects are dynamic and splashing water is quite nicely done but looks otherwise dull since it doesn't render the mirror type surface as seen in FarCry or Half-Life2.
Unreal Tournament 2004 didn't have any physics to speak of and Pariah added for that purpose the Havok engine to allow for "realistic" effects when bringing a structure down or blowing something up.
It doesn't take much to recognize the similarity to UT2004 (the game), and over long parts it even feels like a skinned version with a story. That certainly is a welcome addition to the pure tournament mode of UT2004. Upgradable weapons are one of the stand-out features of Pariah, and overall controls are very similar to UT2004.
Note: First previews of UT2007 (to be released in 2006) look mindblowing good.
HOW DOES IT PLAY?
Manual: The printed manual provides good illustration and covers the basics like enemy characteristics and weapons as well as vehicles. The game starts with a short tutorial to cover the bare minimum of controls. This is generally the way to go, but one will still need to consult the manual how to enter vehicles and use switches and so on. Most suprisingly it's up to you to read up on how to use the upgrades ("X" key).
Rating: ****-
Graphics: Since it's based on the UT2004 engine, one is tempted to call it "dated" and move on, but that would be only half the story. The developer improved the (not bad) engine and added atmospheric effects which are quite respectable (courtesy of DX9.0c). Thanks to the UT2004 basics, it's still quite fast and trees are (more) animated, but the haze and improved lighting give it new life. It may not reach Doom 3 (i.e. no real-time shadow), but it comes close to other top games. In comparison to FarCry, Half-Life and Doom3; Pariah doesn't top any of those but isn't too far off either. Cut scenes are distinctively low resolution and of general quality. The most annoying part about those videos, however, is the fact that most cannot be interrupted and should you replay a section right after a video, you get to see the same one in full length over and over. (Now I wish I used the option to not install those to save disk space.)
Rating: ****-
Violence: It's foremost a shooter and to expect it to be good for a child's development maybe a NRA daydream. However, thinking of the detailed disintegration in Doom 3 (gore), Pariah keeps it on a managable level and in fact resembles Half-Life2 in a cartoonish kind of way. The maximum gore (red splatter) can be turned off, if it makes you feel better to "kill" without the visuals. ;-) This should be a good thing as all enemies are humans and not fictitious aliens.
Rating: ****-
Controls: If you know standard shooters with a WASD control scheme, you won't have any difficulty to get started in Pariah. A new twist, the OSD selector menu for the inventory is great and takes only little time to get used. (SWAT4 is currently using a similar method to select commands.) Driving a vehicle fits within the First Person Shooter scope -- nothing to brag about but it fits the genre.
Rating: ****-
Physics: At first glance, it seems as if the developer didn't spend much time to impress us with physics puzzles as seen in Half-Life 2. The devil is in the detail like ballistic weapons which have a trajectory to be considered (not too technical though). Further, falling objects of course bounce and can be fatal. Beyond that, I am not sure sure to find much proof of the newly integrated Havok physics engine - or at least it's not actively used to interact but rather suffices to react.
Rating: ***--
Interaction: The environment is somewhat destructible and bringing down an elevated section of a building is just as much fun as shooting a pipeline and hear the pressure escape (sometimes with steam to match). Not everything can be destroyed though, and most structural demolitions have a purpose albeit not essential to progress. Further, it's kind of odd to shoot holes in a pipeline just to walk around the corner and have them "fixed" immediately upon return. But it's fun to shoot pillars behind which enemies are hiding ans see the concrete collapsing and sometimes take out the opponent. Cool!
Rating: ****-
Sound: Nothing much to complain about here, though it sounds strangely familiar. The score can be easily mistaken for the FarCry theme. Oddly, there was significant static in the sound until I turned the 3D sound option on (off by default), which is funny since I only have a 2.1 sound system. However, FX and music are of good quality, but a little bit even tempered (no noticebale adjustment for different situations). Voice acting is mostly uninspiring and somewhat detached (as if it was the narrator instead of the character). Enemies will shout at you with what seems to be a strange mix of UT2004 and FarCry "obscenities" with the clear attempt to be mildly funny.
Rating: ***--
Animation: Enemies are generally well animated and sometimes even funny to watch (i.e. when in panic because the flame thrower canister just caught fire). Once eliminated, it's a little bit cumbersome to have collision detection still pushing the (rag doll) bodies around and hinder the path. However, realism fans certainly would argue.
Rating: ****-
Weapons: Upon first use, the weapons fit the genre but the aiming is imprecise. Having a rather large circle with little impact feedback turns out to be the real limitation and keeps the weapons from feeling precise enough at times. The developer went slightly too realistic when picking up ammunition. You have to fully reload in order to pick up the maximum, which isn't all that much anyway. There is only a total of 7 basic weapon designs (not counting fists), which seems little at first. However, variety and impact are well developed and Pariah offers a new twist where weapons can be upgraded by finding modules (credits). Each weapon has 3 available upgrades which can be unlocked with one, two and three credits (in the OSD menu that's accessed via "X" key). For the Painkiller kind of gamer, this complexity might be unnecessary, but overall it adds "depth" to an otherwise stupendous task of finding new weapons and switching them around.
Rating: ****-
AI: The artificial intelligence received a slight upgrade from the already good (aggressive) AI in UT2004. Taking out an enemy without his peers noticing it? Think again! However, the game is mostly single-minded and brute force often gets you the furthest (i.e UT2004). You need to think a little bit how to approach things and scope out the environment for structures that might fit into your plan (by collapsing them), but overall there isn't much time to be spent on alternative methods. Especially in lower difficulty levels, the "smart" AI can be rather dumb and sometimes waits right in front of you to do something, but that's fortunately not too often.
Rating: ****-
Vehicles: There are four relatively similar vehicles in Pariah. All of them are land based and resemble a trike, buggy or heavy truck. Controls are simplified; you drive where you look (unlike FarCry) -- similar to Halo. The same way it gets confusing to steer and fight enemies without bumping into everything on the way. Especially hard: driving backwards. It's not a driving sim and controls are very simple and limiting, but it mostly fits the tasks and most of the time you spend on your feet anyway. The vehicle controls work best with a game pad on a console. One more time it becomes clear that we're looking at a port to the PC and not the other way around.
Rating: **---
Progress: As many games acting like ports from a console, Pariah offers only checkpoint saves which can be annoying in situations where one is forced to repeat the same lengthy section over and over and over ... well you get the idea. It sure takes the fun out of trying the highest difficulty level -- especially since it cannot be changed once you started the campaign. :-(
Rating: *----
Longevity: While there is a decent multiplayer component in Pariah, the Singleplayer portion is streamlined and doesn't provide alternate endings (or paths for that matter). This is not necessarily Pariah's fault, but it sure doesn't inspire to play it again.
Rating: **---
Multiplayer: I only tried it for a little while and I much prefer the SP missions over the unscripted (and mindless) online game. However, I noticed that the similarity to UT2004 is even closer in MP, and graphics apparently were scaled down slightly in order to maintain playability.
Rating: n/a
SUMMARY
Pariah is an exciting new game that doesn't surprise with a lot of depth or graphics evolution. Nor does the AI (artifical intelligence) or overall plot impress too much. However, it's a solid game based on a proven game engine. The changes are welcome and graphics look mostly up-to-date without having to pay all the toll that hardware monsters like Doom3 ask for. The lack of dynamic lighting (i.e. shadows) is the only obvious handicap of the graphics.
If feels like UT2004 with a story, the underlying engine is just half the story. The developer stuck closly to proven FPS ground and the success of UT2004 as well as elements from FarCry certainly were a good basis for Pariah too. Overall, the concept is close to the Unreal franchise (with sprinkles of Halo and FarCry), and that may actually be a good thing.
Sleeper or not, Pariah is a good game in the currently somewhat slow game market (summer). And until F.E.A.R. is being released, Pariah is a worthy game to spend your time with. That is, however, if you don't require challenging puzzles, and you will accept graphics below Doom 3 or Half-Life2 standards. Another reason to skip Pariah might be that it must be the shortest game I ever played. From that perspective, the $40.- seem like a lot of money and below $29.- sounds more appropriate.
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