Clive Barker's Jericho
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| Clive Barker’s Jericho | |
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| Developer(s) | Mercury Steam |
| Publisher(s) | Codemasters |
| Designer(s) | Joe Falke |
| Engine | Proprietary game engine |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |
| Release date | NA October 23, 2007 UK November 2, 2007[1] |
| Genre(s) | Action Horror First-person Shooter Tactical shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Rating(s) | BBFC: 18 ESRB: M PEGI: 18+ USK: 18 (rating rejected) |
| System requirements | Minimum Specification:
Recommended:
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| Input methods | Gamepad, Keyboard, Mouse |
Clive Barker’s Jericho is a supernatural horror-themed first person shooter video game with author Clive Barker providing the premise of the storyline. The game was released for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 and available on GameTap on October 23, 2007. It can also be downloaded via Steam.[1]
A demo for the game was released for the PC on September 26, 2007.[2] The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 demos were made available on the Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store on September 27, 2007.
The R in the title is a reference to the R Rotunda.
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[edit] Premise
Certain Apocryphal and Gnostic texts speak of a being created by God, in His own image, before the creation of Adam and Eve; according to legend, this being was abandoned by its own Creator. Called the Firstborn, the creature was a singular being neither male nor female, dark nor light, both beautiful and terrible to behold. God was so disturbed by what He created that He banished it into the Abyss to be forever forsaken, forgotten and unloved. God then started anew and went on to create mankind, giving the species two sexes, intellect, feelings, and love [not to mention a soul].
The Firstborn, too powerful for even God to keep from breaking into the mortal world, would make seven attempts to escape, each time taking back a piece of the earth to add to its domain and each time sent back to the Abyss. Fragments of time and space would form layers around this domain, linked to this world in the city Al Khali. These layers would entrap pieces of history within its walls, from the time of the ancient Sumerians to World War II. Over time, other great conquerors and civilizations would arrive to claim the city as their own. Eventually, the city was forgotten and buried by the sands of time.
The Department of Occult Warfare was created in the 1930s to combat the supernatural and unexplained. Another purpose was to meet Nazi Germany's own research into the paranormal. One of their most brilliant members, Arnold Leach, was recruited in 1962. However, his unscrupulous behavior and nature would eventually have him expelled. He was marked for assassination, and although the operation appeared to be successful, it seems that he may have survived.
The Jericho Squad is sent to Al-Khali to prevent Leach from opening the breach and unleashing the Firstborn upon mankind once again.[3]
[edit] Gameplay
Jericho's core gameplay consists of leading the game's eponymous seven-man team, allowing control of all team members by jumping to each character during certain points in the game, through various environments that have been warped by the Firstborn while fighting off a variety of twisted creatures. The game also features several "survival events" where the player must press the corresponding buttons or keys shown on screen in order to successfully survive. Additionally, each team member has both a primary and a secondary attack, either in the form of an alternate fire such as a grenade launcher on a rifle, or a secondary weapon such as a knife or pistol that can be dual wielded. While the game is a first person shooter, the ability to control different members of one's squad adds a tactical element; players must determine which squad member is appropriate for each particular job. Not only does each squad member have different strengths and weaknesses, but they also each have a unique supernatural ability (or abilities in some cases). This allows the player freedom in choosing a playing style that suits them throughout much of the game. However, during certain instances, certain characters are unplayable.
The squad's supernatural abilities play a prominent role in the game. The character the player originally controls is a medic with the ability to fully heal fallen comrades that are close to death. Other squad members have other powers, such as summoning a fire demon, slowing time, firing a guided bullet, and leeching life from enemies to add it to one's own.
[edit] Plot
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The plot summary in this article or section is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the article. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot. |
The game begins in the present day, in the ruins of the ancient city of Al-Khali, where the team is ostensibly searching for a recon squad of Swiss guardsmen. However, the squad soon finds the guardsmen dead and their bodies horribly mutilated. They venture further in order to carry out their mission, Operation Godseal.
In the past, every time the Firstborn tried to break into the mortal world, seven warrior priests would seal it away inside the Box (or Pyxis in Latin). The Pyxis is the reality or realm that the Firstborn was forsaken to by God. When the Firstborn is forced into the Pyxis, it takes a part of the earth with it, to add to its domain. In doing so, it also takes the inhabitants of that place with it, sealing them along with the Firstborn inside the Pyxis with no possibility of escape.
Normal rules of reality do not apply to those inside the Pyxis. To those who now call the Pyxis home, every day is the same battle. Time does not move, day and night do not apply, and neither does death. Those who do die inside the Pyxis are then engulfed by flies and become whatever the Firstborn sees fit to serve it best.
Upon entering the Pyxis, the time is still present day, though time stops once Jericho has entered. The team must seek rips in the time rift called Breaches. A Breach is a gateway into the past, to the time the Firstborn was sealed prior to the current time. Before Jericho's attempt, during World War II, British soldiers closed the Breach and successfully detained the Firstborn. Before them, the Crusaders had sealed a Breach. Prior to that, the Romans had, and prior to that, the Sumerians originally sealed the Firstborn away after its first attempt at taking over the world. It was hinted by the British soldiers that another group of seven had tried before Jericho but after the British. Always referred to as a "sorry lot".
Whilst attempting to enter the first Breach, Jericho is attacked by unknown creatures, and find that Arnold Leach, who was once part of Jericho, is now a twisted monster and is trying to open the seal so the Firstborn can take over the world. The leader of Jericho, Captain Devin Ross, is killed by Leach before he can enter the Breach, forcing his soul to take refuge in Delgado's body. Upon entering the first Breach, the members of Jericho find themselves in Al-Khali as it was during WWII, and discover that Ross can still interact with Jericho by possessing each of them. They meet up with Blackwatch, an elite group of British soldiers who were the last successful lot to seal away the Firstborn, and are now trapped in their time. The Blackwatch squad explains to Jericho that the last person to open the void before Leach was a German commander named Hanne Lichthammer, and that she must be defeated before Jericho can continue deeper into the Pyxis. Jericho then captures Lichthammer, and Church ultimately kills her, thereby opening a Breach deeper into the Pyxis. And, after a farewell from the Blackwatch, Jericho enters the Breach.
Afterwards, the Jericho squad finds themselves in Al-Khali during the Crusades. Here they discover the story of Bishop Maltheus St. Claire who sent innocent children to Al-Khali (claiming that their innocence will shield them from Saladin's armies). The children were slaughtered by the Saracens and their souls became twisted and full of hate because of the effects of the Pyxis. Also, the squad meets a certain Crusader Knight, De Gray (one of the seven Crusaders that originally sealed the Breach in their time), who is deceived by Leach claiming he is Archangel Gabriel. The Jericho squad defeats Maltheus and the souls of the slaughtered children tear him apart. The children free themselves from their curse and Jericho advances further into the Pyxis.
This time they find themselves in the Roman period during which Al-Khali was a far Roman province. Its governor, Cassus Vicus, is a twisted sadist, glutton and a fan of all kinds of bacchanalias, most notably orgies and cannibalism. On the road to Vicus' residing place, the squad meets centurion Tertius Longinus (one of the seven Roman warriors that sealed the Breach). The crucified and tortured centurion gives them directions to Vicus. After a battle in a Colosseum-like arena and the defeat of Cassus Vicus himself, Jericho Squad proceeds deeper into the Pyxis.
The last time jump takes them to the age of the Sumerian Empire, when the original order of seven Sumerian priests, who first stopped the Firstborn, was founded. One of those priests, Antadurunnu, tells the squad that the remaining priests have been corrupted by the Firstborn because they spent millennia in the Pyxis and that they have to help him regain his body. The Jericho squad fights and defeats the corrupt priests and reassembles Antadurunnu's body. Antadurunnu then begins the ritual that will bind him and the Jericho squad to the Breach, effectively shutting it, like he has done many times before. But Delgado opposes such action because he claims that, after being trapped in the Pyxis (which is a "side effect" of shutting it), the squad will fall to madness or end up in an eternity in their personal Hell, like all the other Breach-shutters before them (the Blackwatch, the Crusaders, centurion Tertius Longinus and Antadurunnu and the Sumerian priests themselves). Father Rawlings opposes him, but Ross states that "Delgado could be right". Delgado then kills Antadurunnu ignoring the Sumerian's threats that everything he loves will be gone and replying that everything he loves is right here. The squad then jumps into the Breach and is taken to a location named Pyxis Prime where they face the Firstborn. It is revealed that he is actually the child that the squad had been encountering numerous times on their mission, and which had helped them progress, usually by letting Jones use his astral projection ability on him. Arnold Leach is also in Pyxis Prime, tied to a wall. Before the final battle, the Firstborn kills Cole (before she could tell the squad how to defeat him) and Jones by blasting them with magical bolts causing their bodies to explode. The Firstborn then battles the squad and uses their own magic against them. At the peak of the battle, Arnold Leach, who had managed to free himself in the meantime, betrays the Firstborn, grabbing him and flying with him into a tunnel of light, possibly destroying both the Firstborn and himself by doing so. The Jericho Squad (minus Cole and Jones) then attempt to flee Pyxis Prime by swimming away through a pool of water by which they came there and the game ends. During the credits a vast ocean is shown.This ending however, is extremely open-ended, more or less because of the (rumored) sequel.
[edit] Sequel
Rumours about a sequel to Jericho were confirmed when Clive Barker had announced his intention to make a sequel to the game. In an interview, Clive let slip that plot details include "an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean with exactly 666 children in its hold", and will reveal the fate of the remaining Jericho members, especially Ross, following the death of the Firstborn.
[edit] Main Characters
[edit] The Jericho Squad
Captain Devin Ross
Formerly extremely skeptical towards all paranormal and psychic phenomenon, Jericho Squad Leader and accomplished war veteran Devin Ross was transferred to the Department of Occult Warfare after his own psychic abilities manifested during a botched raid on a Taliban safe house several years previously. As a psychic healer, Ross is able to revive fallen teammates, provided he is able to maintain visual contact. Near the start of the game he is killed by Arnold Leach, a former Jericho member turned demon, but his spirit lives on in the bodies of his teammates. (Voice Actor: Steven Blum)
Captain Xavier Jones
Little is known about Jones, and he seems to like it that way. Second in command, Xavier Jones is more of a bookworm than a fighting man, having spent most of his career at the DOW in an office before recently joining the combat division. He is skilled in astral projection and empathy, and the Jericho Squad look to him as some kind of enforcer, seen at one point after some team infighting, when he is ordered to "arrest that man." He carries a Patrioteer which is an HKG36C assault rifle with an XM26 semi-automatic mounted shotgun. During the game other beings have used him to translate their language to the Jericho squad. (Voice Actor: Jamieson Price)
Lt. Abigail Black
A telekinetic sniper, Black tends to keep to herself. The only daughter of avid Alaskan-born outdoorsman and hunter, Abigail Black persevered through a childhood of poverty and abuse to become one of the top marksmen in the US Army. She carries a sniper rifle called Flash Thought which also has an under-barrel grenade launcher. Her psychokinetic powers allow her to guide her bullets into multiple targets (Ghost Bullet). Her teammates pick on her somewhat due to her being a lesbian, with Delgado in particular making many jokes regarding her sexuality, but deep inside she has strong, repressed, romantic feelings for Xavier Jones. (Voice Actor: Cindy Robinson)
Sergeant Frank Delgado
Sgt. Frank Delgado is of Mestizo and Chickasaw descent, his powers owing to a life-long pursuit of alchemy and shamanic wisdom. Delgado has only one useful arm on a mission--his right is encased within a protective shell containing Ababinili, a parasitic flame spirit of which Delgado was able to summon and earn the cooperation of after offering his arm as a sacrifice. Accordingly, Delgado favors high-caliber firearms to compensate for his reduced dexterity. He carries a 7.62-mm mini-gun fed by a continuous ammo strip (Hells Keeper) and a .50-calibre semi-automatic custom pistol with 6-round magazines (Pain). (Voice Actor: Armando Valdes-Kennedy)
Sergeant Wilhelmina 'Billie' Church
Church is a blood mage who serves as a point man for Jericho Squad. She can cast a blood ward and a fire ward to keep enemies at bay. Raised by snake handling fundamentalists in rural Tennessee, Church became somewhat introverted, taking up training in stealthy arts. Now skilled in ninjutsu, she serves Jericho as a scout and assassin. She carries a rapid-fire sub machine pistol with a 30-round magazine (Kenjuu) and a legendary Katana, which is lethal at close range (Nodachi). She is dating Delgado at the time of the game. (Voice Actor: Kate Higgins)
Corporal Simone Cole
The daughter of two Silicon Valley programmers, Cpl. Simone Cole is a genius and "reality hacker". Her vast intellect allows her to manipulate space and time using advanced mathematical principles, using this to maintain communications, scan areas for temporal distortions, and generally keep the team in touch and aware of their general surroundings, though her techno-babble often confuses them. Her time manipulation powers (by way of a wrist-mounted supercomputer) are used to explain the in-game checkpoint system, as well as explain how the team keeps their ammunition supplies high (she "rewinds" time in their ammo belts back to the point when they were full). She has mild autism (possibly Asperger's), is an atheist and hates being touched. Also claustrophobic or fear of enclosed spaces. Her weapon of choice is an XM8 Compact Carbine. (Voice Actor: Michele Specht)
Father Paul Rawlings
A preacher with a troubled past and twin Desert Eagles complete with extended 15 round magazines (Faith and Destiny). Serving as a chaplain in the military, he knows a great deal of history of the Jericho Squad and the hidden nature of their mission. He can heal members of the squad from great distances using Ghost Heal and can drain enemies health and distribute it among the squad by summoning Vlad's Curse. He is the oldest active member of the squad, and he is a veteran of war from his experiences in Iraq and Vietnam. He has a strong personality and sometimes assumes command briefly when it is clear he has more knowledge of the situation than Ross. His personality sometimes leads to him clashing with other members of the squad, particularly the hot-tempered Delgado. (Voice Actor: James Horan (actor))
[edit] Villains
Hanne Lichthammer
Lichthammer (German for "hammer of light") was an officer of the Schutzstaffel during World War II. A sadomasochist in the extreme, as a powerful psychic she was ordered to capture Al-Khali, where she was sucked in the Box along with her men by the Firstborn and transformed into a hideous monstrosity, a parody of her former self twisted in such a way to accommodate her perversions: in the game she appears as a zombie-like woman with her torso and low jaw skinned, a monocle and her lips ripped open, clothed in a bondage-like SS uniform. Lichthammer is able to teleport at will and use her powerful telepathy to gain control of other bodies and delve into the minds of others, exposing their innermost demons, fears and memories, such as Church's incestuous relationship with her father and Father Rawlings' pederastic and pedophiliac tendencies. In the end she is captured and exorcised by Rawlings, and ultimately killed by Church, her throat sliced open and her corpse squashed. (Voice Actor: Susan Silo)
Bishop Maltheus St. Claire
Maltheus is as cruel as he is insane. Maltheus assembled an army of children with the Pope's consent, claiming their innocence would protect them from harm. He moved to Al-Khali, which through visions, he saw as the Garden of Eden, and had his newly formed army erect a great fortress. The children were in turn slaughtered by Saladin's armies, and Maltheus fled to the safety of his chapel. The souls of the children haunted the fortress still, their hatred turning them into abominations by the Firstborn, craving revenge against the foul Maltheus. The bishop is found by Jericho as a ghostly priest clad in ceremonial robes, who firstly welcomes them as "children" and offers them redemption for their sins, becoming hostile after some irreverent comment as response. Maltheus is all but invulnerable for most of the fight, creating shockwaves of energy while chanting in Latin, and shielding himself in a powerful cocoon of black petals that doubles as a long range weapon (he's damageble for a short time only after this attack). After his defeat the bishop attempts to summon the children he led to slaughter to his aid, but they show him no mercy and instead tear him apart, freeing themselves from their torment after the death of Maltheus.
Governor Cassus Vicus
Governour Cassus Vicus is an obscene pervert that has gorged himself in violent orgies and cannibalism. Exiled to the lost city of Al-Khali for his heinous crimes, Vicus erected a palace, temples, and a vast Colosseum to house his sick ritual games. The temples were not to praise the lost pagan gods of old, but rather to Vicus himself. Vicus turned even more monstrous than before, his very stomach became an orifice, unleashing a violent spray of dark blood upon his foes. Jericho sought him out, overcoming his champions in the Colosseum and facing the abomination himself. Vicus, too obese to move himself, is strapped to a metallic contraption of chains that pierce his shoulders and suspend him in the air. The machine is manned by an enormous disfigured gladiator of old. After a long battle, Vicus is finally overcome by his wounds, and his corpse is left to dangle by the chains, his bowels and innards falling from his chest in a waterfall of gore, finally, the player uses Black's telekinesis to push Vicus into the middle of the rail construction to create a portal to the next and last level. Whilst one of the most disturbing and gory characters of the game, Vicus is also the one with the most sense of decorum, to the point of a face-to-face chat with Jericho as a form of welcome. This shows that he is indeed able to walk and tend to himself, but has very poor sight and every step he makes is difficult due to his massive size. Also, one could notice that Vicus' obese body bears some similarity to that of a horrendously twisted and fat human baby. (Voice Actor: Michael Bell)
Arnold Leach
Leach was once a dedicated member of society, but dark visions sent to him by the Firstborn led him to the ruins of Al-Khali. His humanity gone, Leach became a monstrous abomination, a winged demon, and out of madness he carved wicked occult symbols upon his forehead. Leach and Ross show a true hatred for each other, Leach being his arch-nemesis. It is indeed Leach himself who kills Ross, leaving him nothing more than a soul. Leach serves the Firstborn and has gathered a vast number of disciples to aid him in his quest to free his master. At the end of the game, Leach realizes he was merely a pawn of the Firstborn and redeems himself by sacrificing himself and obliterating the Firstborn. Apart from his abilities as a demon, it is unknown what his powers as a human were but it's shown that he is a psychic/telepath and that his abilities involve luck or teleportation/opening gates. (Voice Actor: Jim Cummings)
The Firstborn
An abomination of God, His first attempt to create man was a failure. He gave it great power but entombed it at the beginning of time in Al-Khali. The Firstborn deceives the Jericho team into believing it was but an innocent child, tainting Ross' visions and dreams. The Firstborn appears as a black child with white eyes, but his true form is never revealed. When confronted, the Firstborn uses Jericho's own powers against them, killing both Cole and Jones in the process. After being slashed vigorously to near death by Billie, Leach turns on his old master, and destroys himself and the evil of the Firstborn. The voice of the Firstborn is a number of different male and female voices speaking all at once.
[edit] Time Slices
In the game, the squad moves through various 'layers' of time:
Al-Khali, Present day - The ruins of an ancient Middle Eastern city.
World War II, 1942 A.D. – A city already destroyed because of the war itself and Nazi occupation. Here Jericho come face to face with Lichthammer, the leader of demonic German forces.
The Crusades, 1213 A.D. - Classic Arabia when crusaders have influenced architecture with massive, aggressive structures built directly on old walls and buildings.
The Romans, 38 A.D. - During Roman times, Al Khali was the domain of governor Cassus Vicus. Vicus, a notorious obese pervert and cannibal, was effectively exiled from Rome by Caligula and given Al-Khali as a distant outpost.
Sumeria, 3000 B.C. - In pursuit of Arnold Leach, Jericho must reach the top of the tower of Babel. Between Jericho and its objective lie an army of stone statues of Sumerian Demons which come to life intent on destroying the squad. Later, Jericho enters the original domain of the Firstborn - a massive chasm lined with the imposing faces of demons - and a place where Jericho find their very powers turned against them.
[edit] Reception
Upon release, the game received mixed reviews with an average critic rating of 66% for the Xbox 360 version, 61% for the PS3 and 64% for the PC at Game Rankings and 64%, 61% and 63% respectively at Metacritic. While some reviewers praised the squad based system, elaborate storyline, and Clive Barker's dark style, others criticized character AI, linear gameplay, and difficulty with certain game mechanics.[4]
On the game's style, Eurogamer stated that "Clive Barker's contribution to the concept and narrative direction of the game will certainly help get the attention of horror fans"[5] while Gamespot noted its "Gorgeously creepy visuals and sound."[6] Official Xbox Magazine praised the choice of characters, being "endless fun to switch tactics and experiment with different combinations of powers and weapons for crowd control."[7]
Ben 'Yahtzee' Croshaw called it a ' spunk-flavored lollipop'.
However, reviewers complained about the in-game mechanics. Among their criticisms were the poor AI, whereby team mates would die often, requiring the player to heal them regularly. IGN stated "If the Jericho members' intelligence level wasn't enough of a nuisance for you, there's the actual shooting itself"[8] with Game Informer concluding "If broken gameplay mechanics and community college acting didn’t weigh down the game, it might actually be worthwhile." Jolt Gaming commented that the maps were too linear and close.[9]
After being denied a rating in Germany[10] Jericho's uncut version has now received an 18+ rating[11] for the X360, PS3 and PC versions.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Clive Barker's Jericho. IGN. Retrieved on August 18, 2007.
- ^ Clive Barker's Jericho demo release dates. GameSpot. Retrieved on August 24, 2007.
- ^ - Official Jericho Website (2007-07-20). Retrieved on 2007-07-20.
- ^ Search Results from Metacritic.com
- ^ Kristan Reed (2007-10-24). Clive Barker's Jericho Review. Eurogamer. Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
- ^ Kevin VanOrd (2007-10-30). Clive Barker's Jericho Review (Xbox 360). Gamespot. Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
- ^ Logan Decker (2007-11-20). OXM Clive Barker's Jericho Review. Official Xbox Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
- ^ Charles Onyett (2007-10-26). Clive Barker's Jericho Review (Xbox 360). IGN. Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
- ^ Jolt.co.uk - Online Gaming - Clan Server Rental
- ^ "Surprise of the week: Jericho banned in Germany"; David Houghton. http://www.destructoid.com/surprise-of-the-week-jericho-banned-in-germany-46460.phtml
- ^ "Clive Barkers Jericho - USK erteilt Altersfreigabe"http://www.gamezone.de/news_detail.asp?nid=60487
[edit] External links
- Eurogamer news article announcing Clive Barker’s Jericho
- IGN announcement article and screenshots
- Clive Barker's Jericho review at RewiredMind
- Zero Punctuation review of Clive Barker's Jericho
- Official Fansite of Clive Barker's Jericho- the comprehensive resource of information and media
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