Reviewed: June 22, 2005
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
Majesco Games
Developer
Artech Studios
Released: April 21, 2005
Genre: Adventure
Players: 1-2
ESRB: Mature
7
8
9
8
8.6
Supported Features
Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)
Raze’s Hell is one of those sleeper hits that will likely not do as well as it should because of its $20 release price. Unfortunately, budget titles, regardless of their quality, come with their own stigma, both for consumers and retailers who shove them off into some dump bin. They seldom share the same shelf space as the $50 games that often pale in comparative quality.
Not only is Raze’s Hell insanely original, it’s freaking hard; so hard I was searching for the god code about two-thirds through the game. It also delivers a solid and entertaining multiplayer experience that enhances a great core single-player game.
Raze’s Hell might mirror the action of your standard third-person action shooter, but the premise is totally outside of the box of anything we have seen before. The game takes place in an enchanted storybook land with a beautiful queen and her cuddly subjects, the Kewletts.
In true Hitler fashion, the queen decides to rid the land of anything “ugly” and orders the Kewletts to exterminate all monsters. Hmmm…guess who you play? Yep, you play Raze, an ugly little monster, who is on the queen’s hit list. This spins the game in a whole new and seldom seen twist where you have to kill the cute Kewletts in all sorts of disgustingly violent ways. And even though you are killing the equivalent of racist teddy bears, the blood flows more freely than it did in BloodRayne 2 and that’s saying something.
The story opens with Raze’s village getting destroyed. He escapes into a cave, pursued by cute Kewletts who try to talk him out of the cave, saying they are only “trying to help”. Inside the cave, Raze finds an ancient stone that bestows him with special powers of nature. Now he can gather energy from various colored glowing plants and use that energy to destroy the invading Kewlette horde.
Despite the nature aspect of the ammo and the supernatural powers of Raze, all of his weapons and abilities are rooted in more mundane weapons. There are clever variations of shotguns, sniper rifles, machine guns, rockets, and grenades. There is even a clever guided missile you can fire then guide the weapon to the target in first-person.
When the Kewletts get too close or Raze runs out of ammo he has some devastating melee attacks that can slice and dice the fur balls into bloody chunks. Those bloody chunks can then be “inhaled” to restore any lost health. Yes, it’s as disgusting as it sounds.
Raze can also roll up like an armadillo and speed around the landscape. Not only is this a great way to cover large distances, you can also wipe out anyone you happen to roll over, but you can also take damage if you roll into something solid. There is a certain satisfaction in bowling for Kewletts.
Raze’s Hell is extremely difficult, not only in the sheer numbers of Kewletts you will face, but in their uncanny ability to detect you the second you get in firing range. This practically eliminates any and all stealth aspects of the game, even though there are a few sections where you can sneak up and do instant kills. Once the enemy is alerted to your presence it’s an all-out bloodbath until only you or the Kewletts are left.
Thankfully the game checkpoints often so you won’t have to replay too much if you die, but ultimately I was forced to use the god mode when I had to go up against a tank guarding the exit to the level. The tank just had an unnatural ability to kill me with a single perfectly timed shot whenever I would peek out for an attack.
There are 20 levels of insane killing and you can play them alone or with a friend in a fantastic co-op mode. The game is potentially easier with two players and you can even heal your friend at the expense of some of your own health, but there is also an unforgiving friendly fire element that cannot be turned off.
If you are looking for some head-to-head action Raze’s Hell offers a good selection of online modes for up to ten monsters in traditional deathmatch, team deathmatch, CTF, King of the Hill, and a bloody version of soccer. It’s all pretty standard fare, but with the unique monster twist and clever level design, it manages to rise above its simplistic roots.
To wrap up the package, there is an assortment of fun mini-games that will test your stealth abilities, let you play golf, or play unique games like Blood Rain and Survival. These are fun diversions that will give you an extra hour or two of gameplay, but you probably won’t play them as long as mini-games in other titles.
The graphics in Raze’s Hell are just as twisted as the story and the entire premise. Raze is an ultra-cool monster with fluid motion when he is running or rolling around in a ball. The Kewletts are adorable in their own twisted way. They look like a crossbreed of Pokemon and Teletubbies, and they come in assorted colors and quirky costumes like samurai and soldier uniforms.
The blood flows freely in this game, pooling on the landscape and splashing the screen. The same effect is used for rain and it looks really good. Lighting is especially good with the colors orbs on the plants casting glows on the terrain, and the indoor caverns look amazing with dusty streams of light shining through cracks.
The levels are large, massive at times, with sprawling vistas, mountains, canyons, valleys, caverns, forests, villages, and many other unique and colorful environments. The textures are simple at times and really unique in some areas. Depending on the amount of action on the screen the framerate can take a hit, but it never becomes unplayable, even during multiplayer.
The music in Raze’s Hell ranges from campy storybook tunes during the movies to some energetic beats that rival the intensity of the gameplay. Most of it becomes a blur or fades entirely away under the droning sounds of warfare.
The Dolby Digital mix is very effective in surrounding you in the sounds of massive battles. Your powerful attacks all have supernatural sounds, especially in contrast to the “Pop Goes the Weasel” Jack-in-the-Box weapons of the Kewletts.
You will hear the death cries of the Kewletts, along with plenty of humorous insults during combat. Some of the best dialogue in the game is what is overheard while sneaking around or even during the battles. There are numerous references to pop-culture including a hilarious homage to Saving Private Ryan.
Expect a solid 12-15 hours to get through the 20-mission solo campaign, not because it’s long, but because it’s hard. The mini-games will add about another hour of entertainment and the online play has the potential to keep this game in your Xbox a lot longer than you might expect.
There is a surprising amount of people playing this game online, so obviously the $20 price tag isn’t keeping people that want to play this game from finding it. You just might have to look harder, but it’s worth the search.
I probably like Raze’s Hell more than I should. Once you get past the quirky concept and the hysterical dialogue the game pretty much boils down to a tried and true classic shooter, but there’s nothing wrong with that, especially when it packs this much violence contrasted with comedy. It's definitely a novelty and one that you'll want to show off to your friends.
If you love quirky humor and challenging gameplay then this is a title you’ll want to be adding to your game collection. And you can’t beat the $20 price – just don’t let it fool you into thinking this is less of a game than it really is.