Clive Barker's Jericho

Clive Barker's Jericho , hereinafter called Jericho , is a first person shooter with horror and team elements from 2007. The game was developed by the Spanish studio MercurySteam , and Codemasters was responsible for the distribution .

background

The title is made up of the name of the well-known British horror writer , illustrator and director Clive Barker , who wrote the background story of the game, and the name of the team that the game is about, Jericho . It is Barker's second interactive project after Undying . The ideas that spring from Barker's imagination often revolve around the world of horror.

The world depicted in the game also has an extremely dark and oppressive atmosphere. According to the game, God created the "firstborn" at the beginning of time. But before completing it, he realized he had made a mistake. But since he could not destroy the firstborn, he banished it to an infinite abyss. In this abyss it has been waiting ever since until someone who is foolish enough to follow his call sets out to free him.

action

Strange things are looming over the city of al-Khali when the US DOW's (Department of Occult Warfare) "Jericho" task force is dispatched to secure the crevice through which the firstborn wants to penetrate our world. The special command now has to penetrate the shallows of a parallel world (the "pyxis") in order to be able to close the gap to the human world. In doing so, the team apparently roams through several levels of time and space and, at the end of each, fights a boss. On their way there they have to face all kinds of dangers, most of which are of a supernatural nature.

Gameplay

In this first person shooter, the player takes on the roles of seven protagonists who are equipped with different weapons and skills. These seven characters, partly female, partly male, can be controlled alternately by the player. The remaining characters behave according to the programmed artificial intelligence and the instructions of the player. Each protagonist has two supernatural abilities that are unlocked as the game progresses, and at least one firearm per character. Depending on the game situation, it is necessary to control certain figures, for example Delgado is suitable for larger groups of opponents, whereas Rawlings can be used as a healer and supporter. The opponents are almost always made up of mutilated, former humans and monsters; they appear in fixed places and in some places with endless supplies, unless you advance further. Certain opponents can only be defeated by pressing key combinations immediately (quick-time events), while others can only be injured in certain parts of the body.

The input is made in the console sockets via the respective gamepads . With the PC version, this can either be done using a mouse and keyboard or a gamepad. The German version does not differ from the English or American version in terms of the content of the story. The graphic design remained unchanged and was not cut. The game itself only has a single player mode. The developers decided against a multiplayer mode. In the game, background information and images can be unlocked through different requirements.

Age rating

Because of the depiction of violence in Germany, the USK initially refused a label, which is why publisher Codemasters had to forego a publication for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in Germany due to the mandatory USK approval for these systems. Codemasters initially published Jericho in an unchecked version without the USK seal after the approval refusal. At this point in time, Jericho was legally equated with games that were rated by the USK as “not approved for young people” (18 years and older). However, without a label, there was the possibility of an indexing process because of possible violence-glorifying and youth-endangering content. Such a procedure was also initiated by the Federal Testing Office for Media Harmful to Young People (BPjM), but indexing of the game was ultimately rejected. Thereupon Clive Barkers's Jericho received from the USK after a re-examination the marking "no youth release" and was offered for sale in a new edition with the 18 marking.

Ratings

PC Games Database: 70.8%
EDGE: 5 (out of 10)
Shooter Planet: 83%
GameStar: 72%

Web links

Clive Barker's Jericho at MobyGames (English)

Individual evidence

[1] Бука Clive Barker's Jericho .

[2] ttps://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/USK-verweigert-Horrorspiel-die-Alterseinstendung-178554.html

[3] ttp://www.gameswelt.de/clive-barkers-jericho/news/bpjm-leitet-verfahren-ein,88264

[4] ttp://www.schnittberichte.com/news.php?ID=660

[5] ttp://www.eurogamer.de/articles/jericho-erhalt-usk-einstufen