The Devil Inside shows us that splitting zombie heads open with big guns makes for some "must see TV."
Cryo Interactive's The Devil Inside has shipped for the PC on a fitting Halloween release date, and now the game's creative director, Hubert Chardot, has revealed plans to release The Devil Inside for the Xbox. Although the company may not be in any rush to get the console version of the game out, The Devil Inside will feature enhanced graphics and more gameplay options when it is released for the Xbox.
"The Devil Inside will be ported to Xbox," Chardot said. "Technically speaking, we have to deeply transform the game play, the general design and the technology to adapt it for other consoles."
The game's premise is a surreal look at what people really want to see on TV. Well, maybe not, but blasting zombies and other creepy creatures for a studio audience sounds like a ratings hit. The star of the show is Dave Ackland, an ex-cop, journalist, and paranormal investigator. When serial killer Harry Grimes escapes from Hell with 39 of his friends, it's up to Dave to send them all back to their fiery home. A camera crew follows his exploits for a live audience. As Dave travels through the many rooms of a mansion, an abandoned cemetery, and even the depths of Hell (over 70 areas to explore in all), the audience will be right there with him cheering him on when much zombie killing commences. Players can't let the audience down or ratings will drop and the plug will be pulled on the show.
The name of this game comes from Dave's ability to summon his inner-demon, Deva, to really teach those ghouls and ghosts a thing or two. Dressed to kill in leather, Deva lets loose with supernatural powers and an ass-kicking attitude. It's through Deva that the evil forces are defeated, as she must capture the souls of enemies and send them back to Hell.
The cameraman that follows Dave offers a freeze frame panning experience so you can see the action from every possible action. Dave must traverse through many frightful places filled with all sorts of paranormal beasts and activities. The graphics on the PC version are fantastic, with lots of detail and spectacular lighting effects. The Xbox version will no less be even more beautiful, although details on what improvements we'll see have yet to be divulged.
Control is handled well with intuitive movement and the ever-helpful laser sight that helps players when picking points to hit enemies. Once Dave unleashes Deva, players will also be able to fly and shoot magic spells at the same time, not unlike those who can walk and chew gum at the same time. This all leads to some interesting variances in gameplay, but the underlying sense of action is kept throughout.
One of the great features in The Devil Inside is the positional damage enemies take when shot. Obviously, if you want to take down a pack of zombies quickly, you'll shoot them all in the head. Additionally, if you shoot an enemy in the leg, he'll still crawl toward you as relentless as ever. With over twenty different weapons, from handguns, shotguns, and machine guns to flamethrowers and spells, you can riddle enemies with bullet holes of various sizes or split a few heads open and they'll still pursue you. It's this sort of intensity, coupled with the chilling atmosphere of the game's setting, which allows for so much action and a whole lot of fun.
The sound effects and music also help bring the supernatural events of The Devil Inside to life. Doors and wood floors creak, fire cackles, and zombies moan in perfect devilish pitch. Voiceovers through cut scenes help bring the story to life, and the music suits the dark locale while enhancing the action presented.
Overall, The Devil Inside brings everything gamers love about action games and adds some unique twists in gameplay and presentation for an ultimately cinema-like feel. For Chardot, author of the Alone in the Dark series, it's an old hat, but one he wears very well. We hope to see The Devil Inside soon after the Xbox's launch.
Robert Zuniga
Lets his devil inside out only on special occasions.
