NecroVisioN Review

Written by: Darren Cartledge Posted: 8th May 2009

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The un-dead crash the Great War.

NecroVisioN Details:

	First Person Shooter
	PC
	The Farm 51
	1C

18+

Out Now

I look forward to playing a good first person shooter every once in a while, so having not heard much of NecroVisioN before it fell on my desk I didn’t really know what to expect. So along I went and eagerly set out to play this mystery shooter! Unfortunately, that eagerness soon turned to regret as I realized what a sub-standard FPS I had been lumbered with!

NecroVisioN is set in 1917 during the Great War. You take up the role of US army recruit Simon Bukner, who after a failed attack on the German frontlines finds himself alone behind enemy lines. But just to make things worse it’s not only the Germans you’ll have to worry about but the dead who have begun to rise? Sounds ridiculous? Maybe! But that’s nothing as things get stranger the further you progress almost to the point of simply being silly! But I won’t spoil the plot too much here.

The games story may sound a lot like the plot of a budget b-move but that doesn’t necessarily make NecroVisioN a bad game? NecroVisioN is very much an old school shooter and very much a budget title, and as a result the game simply can’t stand up to the big budget games that litter the first person shooter genre. NecroVisioN doesn’t really do anything particular bad but then it doesn’t really do anything to make it stand out. It all feels very low budget and run of the mill. It’s the kind of shooter we’ve all played hundreds of times already, and generally just feels rather uninspiring to play. There’s nothing about the game that grabs your attention and makes you want to carry on playing. But there are rather a few annoying features that are more then enough to put you off.

Firstly, weapons in the game are seriously underpowered and inaccurate. Enemy troops are far to difficult to put down using firearms and more often then not you will find melee attacks are far more effective. Reloading your weapon is also painfully slow and will often leave you open to attack, again melee attacks come in useful here, as enemies are more then willing to run at you. One of the major bug points in NecroVisioN however comes with the games grenade throwing system, which is frankly poor. Getting any decent distance is near impossible and enemies seem to be able to throw grenades back at you, or so it appears, which is something you can’t do!

Challenge wise the game doesn’t really pose much of a problem apart from the aforementioned issues with the games firearms. Enemy AI isn’t the best and they don’t really seem to try to bring you down. When you are finally killed it will more than likely be due to the fact that you were seriously outnumbered which happens on a regular basis! Although to be fair this is in keeping with the fact you’re behind enemy lines.

The games multiplayer aspect is pretty much run of the mill and should entertain for a while, thanks to the quick pace it runs at. But yet again it’s more of what we’ve already seen plenty of times before and no doubt you will quickly tire of it.

NecroVisioN isn’t a bad looking game but don’t expect the cutting edge graphics you’d find in a big budget title. Character models and animation have all been crafted well. As have the game environments with the game sporting a dark and gritty look. Some sights can be truly gruesome and expect lots of blood and gore as the dead rise with limbs missing and nothing but gaping holes where their faces use to be.

The games audio design sadly lets the overall package down considerably. The soundtrack and effects are all passable. However, voice acting and the games script are ridiculously poor. So much so that it hinders your ability to connect to your character and you’d be forgiven for wishing that some spawn of hell would rise up and rip his throat out to stop him spouting his self righteous drivel.

NecroVisioN is very much an old school shooter and doesn’t serve up anything new or exciting. Meaning the game doesn’t sit up and scream play me and will no doubt go un-noticed by the majority of gamers. If you fancy a quick blast then it may be worth a look however if you want an immersive shooter with worthwhile multiplayer modes you’ll be better off looking else where which makes it hard to recommend this game.