Platform: Playstation 2

Genre: Action

Number of Players: 1 - 4

Peripherals: Multitap Adaptor

Off and on, I'll pick up some of Todd McFarlane's action figures. I'm not too much into his comics, but the toys he's done at this point have been exceptionally well crafted. McFarlane has covered just about everything that you can think of, from rock stars to sports figures to even working with horror icon Clive Barker or even taking a classic and well known story like The Wizard of Oz and making horrific versions of them. One of the lines I missed however was the Classic Monsters line. They looked great and I did have every intention of buying them, but by the time I finally got around to it, finding them was nearly impossible, and I really wasn't in the mood to be overcharged for them on eBay. I don't think that any of us realized back when they were released however that they eventually would make their way into a video game.

Evil Prophecy takes McFarlane's Monsters and gives them a story. If you think that you're going to be playing the monsters though, think again (though that really would have been a nice way to go about things.) The time is the late 19th century, and turmoil and fear grip the land. A number of strange supernatural events have started to occur. Ship in the ocean have mysteriously sank, their crew lost in the depths of the sea. Murders have become commonplace in the French hillside, and in Africa, the dead are now once again living and walking the land.

An ancient book tells of a time when darkness will fall, and mankind will become victim of a terrible and dark prophecy. Dr. Hans Jager has known of this for a number of years, and it seems as though these troubled times have arrived. Using his vast resources, he has recruited three hopefully saviors that will put a stop to the prophecy before all hope is lost. In his newly formed alliance, he has found Delphine de Soras, a young French woman whose brother and father were killed by a werewolf. Sundano, a shaman from Africa who is thirsting for revenge against the voodoo queen who has enslaved his village and is more than eager to join with Jager. Also he has enlisted Logan Blackheart, a pirate who was the only survivor when his ship was sunk by mysterious forces in the Atlantic. Jager himself is also joining with them, and together the four have precious little time before the forces of evil completely infest the land.

It was easy to get over the disappointment that I couldn't play as the monsters and instead had to slay them. It's definitely depressing, and who doesn't want to play as a werewolf, the mummy, Frankenstein's Monster, a sea creature, or a voodoo queen? It isn't too often that we can, but I suppose playing humans is just going to have to do in this case, and at least we get to see the monsters. With such a collection of classic monsters, it's obvious that timing is everything, especially considering that Van Helsing is still playing theatrically and has the same general premise behind it. Remember though, Todd did these figures a while back, so he's not trying to steal anyone's thunder.

Right from the start though, I could already seen that the game was off to a bad start. I think that most of us have gotten fairly used to being treated to an opening cut scene of some sort when we start playing, full of computer-animated goodness. Instead, the beginning of Evil Prophecy is nothing more than stills and the story itself is told merely with scrolling text. It's a complete throwback to the days of the Super Nintendo, and it just gets worse. The introduction goes on forever, or so it seems, and under normal circumstances, pressing start (or anything else) should allow you to skip it and get into the game, but not here. No combinations of buttons will stop this mind-numbing terror, and when you think it's over, you then enter the characters meeting with one another. This is all done in text as well and goes on for nearly just as long and then you go off to training, which luckily can be bypassed in this case.

Evil Prophecy plays like many other games. On one hand, it's your typical beat 'em up, but it also plays like the Dynasty Warriors games in some regards, but it also has a few RPG elements added in for good measure. The levels play pretty much the same though, and just about anyone who has played games will be familiar with the idea. You have the option to play any of the four characters, although you won't chose from the start, and instead you can switch between them by using the D-Pad. In each stage, you will fight through monsters and undead by using combos and weapons, and each of the characters does have their own unique abilities and weapons. Also in each stage, you will find at least one thing that you will need to accomplish to pass on to the next stage. This can be anything from beating all of the monsters in the area to finding an item. It's a very basic premise and has been used, almost too much in fact, in countless other games.

The RPG aspect comes in with the combat system. Using your combos will give you experience points, and eventually you will be able to level up your combat. The good thing is that your teammates can do this under the computer AI and you also have the option to go in and determine how they will behave in combat. You also will need to pay close attention to how the other characters view you. If they are in danger and you fail to help them, their opinion will become worse, but this obviously can be changed by assisting them whenever possible. The problem is though that although the game does politely point this out to you, but most of the time your team members tend to be off screen when any problems like this occur, and instead of having an audible tone, there is just a balloon that appears overhead that says help, and most of the time they aren't even in a position where you can see them to be able to.

Aside from a beat 'em up, Evil Prophecy plays a lot like Gauntlet. You've got four characters, all with different abilities, and if playing alone isn't working for you, you can play with up to four players via a multi-tap adaptor. However, as I don't have a multitap, I can't really say too much regarding this mode of game play, though I would imagine that I could possibly be a bit more entertaining. There are other modes however aside from doing the solo or co-op story. Arena mode pits the fighters against one another. It's the same concept as any first person shooter death match, though here you will only have four lives per character to work with. Time Attack mode we're all familiar with, and you will have access to play in any of the games 29 different stages. There are also some extra materials to be found in the game such as interviews, artwork, and even monsters cards that will show you the strengths and weaknesses of the creatures of the night. The trick however is that they are going to need to be unlocked, so that will give some players quite a bit to do if they want to see all of the features of the game.

The real problem with the game though is that is far too repetitive for its own good, and that's just for starters. The character designs aren't too bad, and the monsters look just like the figures do, but the animations are poor to pt it politely. Delphine for example looks far too awkward when she's running and it really takes away from playing. I spent too much time wondering who thought the animation was passable for gameplay. The worst however is Sundano who runs like he's on roller skates and quite possibly might be wearing a diaper with a full load.

Evil Prophecy is a good idea, but very poorly executed. The premise of having full control over your teammates when playing solo as well as having a way to improve or harm the way your characters interact with one another really is a good idea, but the game suffers from far too much repetition, poor animation, and lack luster visuals to really be something that is going to make a lasting impact. Unless you're someone that has to own everything that has McFarlane's named slapped on it, this is going to be a title that I would just skip. There are far better games with a similar theme out on the market and Evil Prophecy is just a pale imitation.

-mike-