Playstation > Whats New > PlayStation Reviews > Staff Review

A.P.I Review:	HEART OF DARKNESS
Developer:	Amazing Studio	OPTIONS:	SCREENSHOTS: No.1   No.2   No.3
Distributor:	Interplay	1 Player
Game Type:	Action Adventure Platform	Memory Card
Review Date:	September 1998	Standard Joypad

Setting the Scene

The Hype
  
Batman & Robin, The Crow, Judge Dredd, Independence Day...   
Just a few movie titles that have spawned a Playstation video game.  

Tomb Raider, Doom... 
Here's a couple that began life as video games and will eventually  
be released as movies.  

Heart of Darkness. 
Many years in the making, it could be regarded as a movie video game.  
However, all of the hype surrounding the development of this epic 
adventure would itself provide an excellent script for a blockbuster 
of a movie.   

It all began over five years ago when Virgin Interactive Entertainment  
and Amazing Studio, led by Another World and Flashback creator Eric 
Chahi, started development of an ambitious project in which a plucky 
teenager journeyed through his worst nightmares to save his pet dog.  
It was far beyond anything ever witnessed on a games console, boasting 
cartoon animation comparable to that of a Disney movie.  

May 16th 1996, downtown Los Angeles, HoD received its first preview 
at the high point of the software calendar, E3 games' exhibition.   
Then... all went strangely quiet.      

During '97 rumors were sweeping the industry that all was not well 
and this culminated is the release of the following press statement: 

'The INFOGRAMES ENTERTAINMENT Group continues to flex its muscles with 
the acquisition of another key title to further bolster its stake in 
the interactive entertainment market.'  

'After a fierce bidding war fought from both sides of the Atlantic,  
INFOGRAMES ENTERTAINMENT has announced that Amazing Studio's Heart of 
Darkness, previously funded by Virgin Interactive Entertainment, will 
finally be released by the Group in summer 1998.'  

'This is an amicable deal with V.I.E who simply did not have the willing 
to continue to fund the games development.'  

Terms such as 'flexing their muscles' and 'fierce bidding war' only
served to fan the flames of interest in this game.  

And so the countdown began...
    
The Story
  
With his cap firmly on his head, his red sneakers and his bandanna in 
the wind, Andy is a little boy much like any other little boy. His teacher  
despises him and his dog loves him. But what scares him most is the dark.   
One summer afternoon, while he is quietly observing an eclipse in the sky,  
a high-powered energy like a magnetic force, drags his pal, Whisky the dog,  
into an infernal spiral down to uttermost darkness. When the sun returns, 
Whisky is nowhere to he seen.   

Andy, a clever little handyman, keeps a cool head. In next to no time, he 
is ready for combat, determined to control his fears of the dark and rescue 
his dog from the heart of darkness. Fitted out with his plasma cannon, his 
ray-beam helmet and his survival kit, he climbs on hoard his flying machine 
made of skateboards and spiral antennas. He takes off, leaving his shed 
behind him, not knowing his destination or even whether he will he back 
some day...
     
The Characters
   
Andy is the main character of the game and has a peculiar talent for 
assembling ingenious machines and crazy robots in his garden shed.
His other qualities include his kindness of heart, immense courage,  
resourceful, though a little naive and unwary of danger.  To rescue  
his pet dog, he must take on the impossible, and in the heart of  
darkness, impossible means a whole new dimension...
  
Whisky is first and foremost a dog. But not just any dog, He's Andy's 
dog.  They wear the same cap and love each other more than anything  
else.  Whisky goes to school with Andy, waits for him until it is over,  
keeps guard outside his secret shed, sleeps in his room and eats  
everything Andy does not like. In a nutshell, Whisky is the ideal dog.  
So of course, the day Whisky is kidnapped by the forces of darkness,  
Andy is bent on only one thing, getting him back.
  
Amigo belongs to a friendly tribe of winged devils who have the nose of 
a hippo and speak in a strange tongue. They all live on a flying island.  
It's a beautiful place, filled with waterfalls and palm trees. The  
temperature is always warm and the sand on the ground makes you think  
that you are walking on a tropical beach. Unfortunately their food is  
running out and they need to travel to land of darkness to find new  
supplies.
  
Vicious Servant may be a coward, but this rubbery pink character has the 
ear of the Master of Darkness. He is devious and sly by nature and will  
often blame others for mistakes he has made. This guy may look like an  
over-chewed piece of gum, but he is one of the most dangerous people that  
Andy will meet during the game.
  
Master of Darkness is the Devil incarnate. His face only shows his eyes 
and his carnivorous flame-red mouth. He is entirely draped in his black  
cape and only his gnarled hands will be seen from time to time. When he  
speaks the ground shudders, the birds hide and the spectres awaken.  
Nothing can resist him - everyone is afraid of him.

Genre

In a world just like our own lives Andy, a boy like any other. His teacher  
hates him. His dog adores him. The thing that really scares him is the
dark...
  
To rescue his doggy pal, Whisky, snatched away by the Forces of Darkness, 
Andy must face his darkest fears in a secret kingdom, a world of soul-
hungry phantoms, bed-time demons with manic monsters and bizarre friends.  

Only YOU can control Andy’s destiny, hold back the forces of evil and 
ultimately confront the sinister Master of Darkness.  

You will climb, swing, twist, swim and shoot your way through a world 
filled with mystical mazes, exotic landscapes and evil enemies. 

You fight head on within 8 huge levels splits in around 180 screens 
inhabited by The Shades and The Dark Souls.  This is a land where your 
childhood nightmares become a reality...

Graphics

How much more can be squeezed from the Sony Playstations limited memory? 

I mentioned some months ago that game developers were moving closer to
being able to offer in-game visuals that are almost as good as some of 
the CG and  FMV intros we had witnessed recently.  Well HoD development 
team, Another World, have somehow managed to do just that taking gaming 
to a new level of sophistication.    

This is not surprising, considering their all-star team includes the 
designer and programmer of Another World, Eric Chahi, Frédéric Savoir 
and Fabrice Visserot's the talented Megadrive duo involved with Flashback, 
and Daniel Morais the creative programmer behind the IBM PC compatible 
versions of Future Wars and Another World. Together they have succeeded 
in creating a work of art where backgrounds no longer look like they 
have been realistically rendered but emerge as natural scenery with 
characters that move and appear in an identical style to a quality cartoon.  

I suggest that you rest a large, soft cushion just below your chin before  
witnessing the opening five-minute intro movie, because your jaw will 
truly drop and your eyes will surely pop.  Every single second of the 
animated cut sequences that piece together the game's storyline are 
immaculate and I can find nothing at all to criticize.  Imagine your 
favorite Disney moving unfolding before your eyes and you get the picture.  

Furthermore, when playing the game and the visuals unnoticeably slide into  
one of the cut sequences, the experience you are subjected to is a 
remarkable cocktail of panic and amazement.  You are left looking a 
flabbergasted fool as you struggle to re-gain control of the character - 
only it's to find it is now out of your hands.  
You really cannot tell the difference.  

Because there is not a polygon in sight Heart of Darkness more resembles 
a higher quality, side scrolling Abe's Oddysee than take on the expected 
format of a 3D style Crash Bandicoot game.  HoD was rendered using 3D 
Studio and relies on traditional computer animation. Andy, the hero, has
more than 2,000 frames of animation in one direction alone which allows 
seamless transitions between actions. This mixing of transitions results 
in a greater and smoother level of interaction.  

The result is a game that is rich in detail and the nearest I have seen 
to perfection on the Playstation.  

Sounds and Effects

Of course quality visuals require the ambience of a movie style score and 
for this the talents of Bruce Broughton were acquired.  Now Bruce has a
number of  credits on his Curriculum Vitae including the soundtrack to 
Young Sherlock  Holmes, Silverado, Rescuers Down Under, Miracle on 34th 
Street, Tombstone,  Baby’s Day Out, So, I Married an Axe Murderer and 
the forthcoming Lost in Space.  

His composure was recorded by the full 55 musicians of the London  
Symphonic Orchestra and I would heartily recommend playing through a 
high- quality sound system as it allows to output 16 stereo channels. 
It blends  perfectly with the visuals and will without question provide 
a healthy  income selling in it's own right.       

Naturally you don't want the sound effects to let the whole team down  
therefore a gathering of famous sound designers were added to the payroll  
name dropping past achievements such as The Bear, Nikita etc. etc.  

Together  they have succeeded in producing a selection of sound effects 
that bring the  visuals to life.

Playability

So you get quality visuals and classical sounds, but does the gameplay 
stand out in the crowd?  

Hmmm, tricky one this!  
HoD is not your run of the mill Crash Bandicoot style platform, where you  
bound along without a care in the world, crashing and zapping everything in  
sight until you reach the end of a level.  First of all there aren't any  
levels, so to speak.  I tell a lie, there are, but they all flow into each  
other to give the impression of an interactive in a movie.   

The gameplay leans more towards being an adventurous shoot-em-up as Andy 
sets off on his quest with the task of zapping his way through legions of 
shadow demons who hurl their black souls in his general direction by the 
score, on occasions it seems like hundreds.    Their AI is incredible, 
as each wave of attack seems to happen completely at random.  Some beasts 
crawl along the ground, others leap above and behind Andy, while many 
charge straight forward and crash into him.  Andy begins armed with a 
zap gun that fire bolts of electric across the screen and, with guidance,  
fries a few enemies along the way.    

Should the creatures get their grubby black hands on him then Andy is 
offered one chance for survival.  By systematically pressing the left 
and right directional buttons he will be seen to shake off the creature 
and then throw him to the ground.  Fail and the demons from the dark 
will raise the young lad above their heads and duly swallow him whole.  

Now this all sounds great fun but on occasions the frustration factor 
can become a little tiresome.  Especially when wave after wave of 
creatures' just keep on attacking.  To avoid you from reaching the point 
where the only option is to throw the control pad down in annoyance, 
take heed of these words of wisdom.  Keep trying something different.  

If the creatures seem indestructible - jump over them.  If they are too 
big to hurtle - run away.  Should they keep on endlessly attacking then 
try to leave the screen and move on.  This little piece of advice should 
avoid you from standing your ground forever and probably dying unnecessarily 
countless times.  

Controlling Andy is an effortless task.  There is one button to jump, one  
to fire, one to run and finally one for a special weapon (when available)  
while the directional pad moves Andy across the screen.  That's it!   
Simple, but effective.    

Most of his actions occur naturally without prompting.  This comes to light  
when faced with a steep climb.  On approaching a dead end Andy will reach 
up and begin to scale the vertical rock face.  On reaching a gap in the 
climbing surface he will lean out as if to beckon a jump.  A quick press 
of the required  button will see him leap across the gorge and grab onto 
the opposite ledge by his fingertips.    

Should you struggle to pass a certain stage of the game an extremely helpful  
guide automatically appears on the screen offering advice on how to proceed.   

If at anytime poor Andy falls to his death then the game will restart no 
more than two screens back form the point of fatality.  A game may also be 
saved at any requested point.  

The gameplay constantly changes throughout the adventure.  One minute Andy 
is waging war with the demons, the next he is creeping through dangerous 
swamps, then it's time to scale a mountain, then he is swimming through 
treacherous  waters, then he is crawling through darkened caves, then....  

Value for Money

Variety certainly doesn't come into question with dozens of brain taxing 
puzzles to solve and the non-stop action is undeniably intense.  However, 
there are two disappointing factors within Heart of Darkness.    

First, the two CD game on medium difficulty was complete inside two evenings 
play which is way too short in terms of value.  

Second, during the final quarter of the game, rather than slow progress down 
by offering perplexing and thought provoking puzzles the same old ones are 
constantly re-used and it all collapses into nothing more than another
mindless shooter.  

Of course HoD is targeted towards over 8yr olds and family gatherings - just  
like a Disney movie I suppose.  But are the developers aware that a ten- 
year-old child these days would probably whip his Pop in a Doom
Deathmatch?   

I know mine does!    

Heart of Darkness is still worth checking out.  I suppose you could boost  
the difficulty up to the hardest setting and try to survive without smashing  
the set up.  Now that sounds like a challenge.