Deep dives into console libraries are fun precisely because you can find games like these that nobody ever talks about but deserve a fair look. Add Run Like Hell to the pile of titles I wish I could call hidden gems and that I could love a lot more than I do. In many ways this is Dead Space many years before Dead Space, and somewhat answers the question of what would happen if The Thing had infected the starship Enterprise.
In the far future, former war hero turned mining prospector Nick Conner sees his space station invaded by an unknown species of murderous aliens and has to struggle to survive, along with a handful of crew members.
Reading developer posts about it reveals Run Like Hell had a five years development hell cycle during which they changed all of the creative staff multiple times and saw management impose a complete rework of the game from what started as a survival horror "Resident Evil in space" sort of deal into a pure action game that had to be built from the ground-up in ten months. Sadly, this shows, and we can only imagine whatthe game might have been had it been allowed to follow the original vision.
And what a vision it was: you can tell the people at Digital Mayhem (MDK2, Giants: Citizen Kabuto) set out to make a fully featured sci-fi movie in videogame form, starting from a cast that I can only defy a pun to describe as stellar. the protagonist is played by Lance Henricksen from Aliens and the supporting cast includes names such as Clancy Brown and Michael Ironside from Starship Troopers, Kate Mulgrew from Star Trek Voyager, Brad Dourif from Dune and Alien Resurrection and Tom Wilson from back to the Future and the Wing Commander games. Doubtless a cast that would have sold many sci-fi horror films in the late 90s to early 2000s and not only that, because, unlike other gaming productions which cast established Hollywood talent who phoned in unconvincing performances, everyone here tries their absolute best to sell a script which was way above average for a turn of the century videogame, back when fleshed out stories and dialogue werre still considered accessory if not superfluous.
How disconcerting is it, then, that none of these actors' names appear in any capacity on the front or back cover of the game? What sort of production company spends several millions on an expensive movie nstar cast and makes sure nobody can tell from the box? The answer is Interplay, and that explains more things other than the simple commercial failure of this game.
The writing is nothing too crazy by today's standards, especially considering the naif use of Shakespeare quotes as chapter titles and occasional musings, but for 2002 this was not the bare minimum by a long shot: characters behave logically and show a believable range of emotions, helped along by a number of plot devices like the war hero being forced to interact with a member of the alien species he has fought against years before, forming an uneasy alliance with a satisfying arc. It's good stuff, and moreso given the lengthy development cycle of the game, which would place its conception and perhaps its writing somewhere in the mid-90s. The music is also excellent: setting aside the licensed tracks by rock bands Three Days Grace and Breaking Benjamin, which were a sign of the times, the original orchestral soundscape is chillingly effective in generating a sense of dread and urgency.
So we have great production values, a big name cast and a story that works; what is wrong with this game? Quite simply, the gameplay has been vandalized by corporate interference, as mentioned before, which transformed what might have been a quality REsident Evil clone into a rushed and botched action game that's simply no fun at all to play. It is evident that the developers were only given enough time to cobble together something that worked well enough and playtest it enough to ship it, without any opportunity to polish the fun factor into it. The result is a frustrating and stressful 10 hour ride in which you are constantly beset by damage sponge enemies spawning in behind you, which are fought with barely effectual weapons that require an ungodly amount of button mashing to dish out anything resembling a decent damage output. The dodge move, essential to defeating the bosses, is emblematic of the rush conversion job from Resident Evil-like to action, as it is a barely functional hobbling animation whose input you have to keep tapping in order to cover any passable distance.
Any and all survival elements were stripped out of the game, with workhorse weapons having infinite ammunition and the game showering you with health recovery items. Boss fights are abominable and the checkpoint system is frustratingly limiting, occasionally forcing the replay of lengthy sections with unskippable cutscenes.
It's a mess, and it's such a crying shame, because what good is there is really good. It doesn't quite live up to its potential in the narratove department, since you will be expecting a shocking body horror revelation that never comes, but it's still plenty satisfying to experience the story of Nick Conner and his crew.
My advice is to play this game with cheats, which allow to bypass the frustration factor and to enjoy the storywithout too much hassle. Do this and you will experience one of the most interesting, and sadly completely forgotten despite being undoubtedly influential, sci-fi horror games of the early 2000s.
In the far future, former war hero turned mining prospector Nick Conner sees his space station invaded by an unknown species of murderous aliens and has to struggle to survive, along with a handful of crew members.
Reading developer posts about it reveals Run Like Hell had a five years development hell cycle during which they changed all of the creative staff multiple times and saw management impose a complete rework of the game from what started as a survival horror "Resident Evil in space" sort of deal into a pure action game that had to be built from the ground-up in ten months. Sadly, this shows, and we can only imagine whatthe game might have been had it been allowed to follow the original vision.
And what a vision it was: you can tell the people at Digital Mayhem (MDK2, Giants: Citizen Kabuto) set out to make a fully featured sci-fi movie in videogame form, starting from a cast that I can only defy a pun to describe as stellar. the protagonist is played by Lance Henricksen from Aliens and the supporting cast includes names such as Clancy Brown and Michael Ironside from Starship Troopers, Kate Mulgrew from Star Trek Voyager, Brad Dourif from Dune and Alien Resurrection and Tom Wilson from back to the Future and the Wing Commander games. Doubtless a cast that would have sold many sci-fi horror films in the late 90s to early 2000s and not only that, because, unlike other gaming productions which cast established Hollywood talent who phoned in unconvincing performances, everyone here tries their absolute best to sell a script which was way above average for a turn of the century videogame, back when fleshed out stories and dialogue werre still considered accessory if not superfluous.
How disconcerting is it, then, that none of these actors' names appear in any capacity on the front or back cover of the game? What sort of production company spends several millions on an expensive movie nstar cast and makes sure nobody can tell from the box? The answer is Interplay, and that explains more things other than the simple commercial failure of this game.
The writing is nothing too crazy by today's standards, especially considering the naif use of Shakespeare quotes as chapter titles and occasional musings, but for 2002 this was not the bare minimum by a long shot: characters behave logically and show a believable range of emotions, helped along by a number of plot devices like the war hero being forced to interact with a member of the alien species he has fought against years before, forming an uneasy alliance with a satisfying arc. It's good stuff, and moreso given the lengthy development cycle of the game, which would place its conception and perhaps its writing somewhere in the mid-90s. The music is also excellent: setting aside the licensed tracks by rock bands Three Days Grace and Breaking Benjamin, which were a sign of the times, the original orchestral soundscape is chillingly effective in generating a sense of dread and urgency.
So we have great production values, a big name cast and a story that works; what is wrong with this game? Quite simply, the gameplay has been vandalized by corporate interference, as mentioned before, which transformed what might have been a quality REsident Evil clone into a rushed and botched action game that's simply no fun at all to play. It is evident that the developers were only given enough time to cobble together something that worked well enough and playtest it enough to ship it, without any opportunity to polish the fun factor into it. The result is a frustrating and stressful 10 hour ride in which you are constantly beset by damage sponge enemies spawning in behind you, which are fought with barely effectual weapons that require an ungodly amount of button mashing to dish out anything resembling a decent damage output. The dodge move, essential to defeating the bosses, is emblematic of the rush conversion job from Resident Evil-like to action, as it is a barely functional hobbling animation whose input you have to keep tapping in order to cover any passable distance.
Any and all survival elements were stripped out of the game, with workhorse weapons having infinite ammunition and the game showering you with health recovery items. Boss fights are abominable and the checkpoint system is frustratingly limiting, occasionally forcing the replay of lengthy sections with unskippable cutscenes.
It's a mess, and it's such a crying shame, because what good is there is really good. It doesn't quite live up to its potential in the narratove department, since you will be expecting a shocking body horror revelation that never comes, but it's still plenty satisfying to experience the story of Nick Conner and his crew.
My advice is to play this game with cheats, which allow to bypass the frustration factor and to enjoy the storywithout too much hassle. Do this and you will experience one of the most interesting, and sadly completely forgotten despite being undoubtedly influential, sci-fi horror games of the early 2000s.