Scurge: Hive
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| Scurge: Hive | |
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| Developer(s) | Orbital Media |
| Publisher(s) | SouthPeak Interactive |
| Release date(s) |  October 24, 2006 October 13, 2006 |
| Genre(s) | Action/Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-Player, Versus |
| Platform(s) | Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS |
Scurge: Hive is a Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS Video game. The game follows Jenosa Arma battling an alien infestation from an isometric perspective. The character is tasked with fighting the Scurge, and alien entity capable of rapidly adapting to and infecting biological, mechanical, and digital systems, including the player. Throughout the game, Jenosa Arma will have to battle various forms of the Scurge virus and race against the clock as the Scurge slowly takes over Jenosa's body.
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[edit] Story
Like the Metroid franchise, from which it draws its primary inspiration, Scurge:Hive features a female bounty hunter tasked with hunting a parasitic lifeform. The story follows Jenosa Arma, who has been contracted by the military on a rescue and salvage mission to Confederation Research Lab 58 on planet Inos. The perpetrator of the disaster is a virulent organism known as "Scurge," a parasite which has the ability to transform various organisms and technologies into Scurge derivatives. Jenosa has been equipped with a suit that resists infection. Unfortunately, it can only slow the infection down rather than make her immune; she is infected with Scurge the moment she first encounters it. The story establishes an atmosphere that is detailed for a portable game. The ending leaves the door open for a sequel, though that likely depends on Scurge: Hive's success commercially.
[edit] Gameplay
Scurge: Hive is an action-adventure game that incorporates elements of many different games, but takes its primary inspiration from Metroid. Much like Metroid, Scurge emphasizes platforming elements, though the game's isometric vantage point makes jumps difficult to align. In addition to Jenosa's standard jump move, she can also attach a mechanical tether to a hook and swing longer distances, jump in mid air and grab onto horizontal pipes and ledges. Also borrowed from Metroid is the game's upgrade system, which allows the player to progressively open up more of the game world. Scattered throughout are simple puzzles.
The game's isometric perspective and the inability to run while shooting puts the emphasis on aiming and risk-taking. Combat makes use of a rock-paper-scissors system, where a weapon will deal more damage to one type of enemy and powers up another. Jenosa will receive three elemental weapons, EMP, combustion and dissipate. EMP does more damage against mechanical enemies but increases the power of energy-based enemies; combustion works well against biological enemies but increases the strength of mechanical foes; dissipate effectively destroys energy foes but gives additional power to biological adversaries. Scurge: Hive frequently throws multiple enemies of different kinds at the player, forcing difficult decisions about which weapon to use.
Tying the game together is the game's infection meter. When the meter reaches 100%, Jenosa's health deteriorates rapidly. There are various cleansing stations scattered about the game-world that heal Jenosa. The infection meter increases slowly enough for enough time to explore a little, but advances quickly enough to hurry you from one point to another. The result quickens the pace of the game, though the game can take upwards of 15-20 hours to complete.
[edit] Graphics and Sound
Scurge was originally developed for the GBA, and later ported to the DS, so graphical and sound expectations should be managed accordingly. Regardless, Scurge is one of the more attractive games on a portable, despite its relatively dated technology by today's standards. The environments, enemies and animations all appropriately convey the game's moody atmosphere. The game's sound is similar. Although the sound quality is artificial, that seems to work to the game's advantage, given its setting in a futuristic laboratory. Equally moody, it's reminiscent of the sound in Metroid games, though the melodies are fairly original in their own right.
[edit] Reception
It has also been announced that SouthPeak Interactive will be publishing the game [1].
Scurge: Hive has performed moderately amongst critics, scoring 7/10 for the DS version and 8/10 for the Game Boy Advance version on IGN.
