Clive Barker's Undying

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Clive Barker's Undying
Studio United StatesUnited States EA Los Angeles
Publisher United StatesUnited States Electronic Arts
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 Microsoft Windows: February 21, 2001 March 15, 2001 March 19, 2013 macOS: June 11, 2002
North AmericaNorth America
EuropeEurope
Download (GOG)

North AmericaNorth America
platform Windows , macOS
Game engine Unreal Engine
genre First person shooter , survival horror
Subject Dark Fantasy
Game mode Single player
control Keyboard , mouse
system advantages
preconditions
medium CD-ROM , download
language English (German manual)
copy protection SafeDisc (2.10.030)
Age rating
USK approved from 16
PEGI recommended for ages 18+

Clive Barker's Undying , in the following Undying , is a computer game from 2001. The first person shooter with horror elements was developed by EA Los Angeles and brought onto the market by Electronic Arts . The title is made up of the name of the well-known British horror writer Clive Barker , who wrote the background story of the game, and the English participle undying (German: "immortal").

action

The story takes place in Ireland in 1923. Patrick Galloway, returning from war, is appointed by Jeremiah, the only descendant of the Covenant family, to be their main residence, a large mansion in the middle of a deserted island. Jeremiah's four siblings died, but rose again to seek their brother's life. Only Jeremiah can remove the curse from his family's face.

Galloway, Jeremiah's friend, rushes to his aid to help him lift the curse. He learns that the curse must have something to do with a ritual held at the time on the "island of standing stones". He has to endure dangerous adventures in five chapters, which include a visit to strange worlds and a trip into the past. In addition to hordes of hellish creatures, the four Covenant siblings and an old competitor also face him. The locations are deliberately chosen to be gloomy: the plot leads the player from the manor house to cemeteries, mausoleums , a gigantic, old monastery and a fairytale dream world full of cannibals (called "Eternal Autumn" in the original version) all the way to the said "island of standing stones".

Gameplay

The game is largely based on the pattern of conventional first-person shooters . The player takes on the role of the main character Patrick Galloway in the first person view , who has to fight against creepy creatures and fulfill various tasks as the story progresses. Even if the structure of the game is largely linear, it is often possible to return to previously visited places, for example to replenish energy.

One of the distinctive features of the game's gameplay is the variety of weapons and tools made available to the main character. The weapons are operated with the left mouse button, ranging from standard models such as revolvers and rifles to fantasy weapons such as a magical scythe or burning phoenix eggs. With the right mouse button you can cast “curses” (spells), some of which are also weaponized. These consume a second type of energy, the so-called mana , and range from energy flashes to shields to a flight function or the defense against all magical elements. Weapons and curses can be used at the same time, which is often necessary because of the comparatively scarce ammunition available.

background

As a computer game, Undying is the first interactive project by British author, illustrator and director Clive Barker. The ideas that spring from Barker's imagination often revolve around the world of horror.

Although the game received mostly good reviews from the trade press, it was not commercially successful: the game was only sold around 25,000 times worldwide. As a result, an announced expansion to the multiplayer game, as well as porting it to consoles, was no longer implemented. Plans for a sequel were also no longer pursued. The fact that Undying was only published in English in Germany may have contributed to its moderate success there. Ports for Sega Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 were in development but never completed.

In 2007, another first-person shooter called Clive Barker's Jericho was released, the plot of which was written by Barker.

Others

  • Clive Barker speaks the voice of Ambrose, an intermediate opponent from the game.
  • The composer Bill Brown ( Command & Conquer: Generals , Return to Castle Wolfenstein ) was won over for the soundtrack . During the course of the game, the background music remains mostly mystical and subtle, only the choir, which at certain climaxes of the plot the words "Dum Spiro Spero, Dum Spiro Scio" (Latin meaning "As long as I live, I can hope; as long as I live, can." I understand ”) chants, gains dominance over time.
  • In the mansion of the Covenants there are numerous famous paintings, most of them depicting scenes of violence and madness. The artists represented include Hieronymus Bosch , Jan Fyt and Luca Giordano .
  • In the monastery you can find the image of the devil from the Codex Gigas on some stained glass .
  • There are some Easter Eggs hidden in the game, such as B. secret rooms or a giant sheep.
  • Westlake Interactive was responsible for porting to macOS . Aspyr Media took over the distribution of this version .
  • The German rapper JAW used the title music of the game for the track Legacy (Skit) on his album Täter-Victim-Compensation .

Ratings

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Clive Barker's Undying on ogdb.eu (accessed June 9, 2018)
  2. ↑ Metascore: Clive Barker's Undying on Metacritic , accessed April 13, 2013
  3. ↑ GameRankings: Clive Barker's Undying on Gamerankings.com, accessed April 13, 2013