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| | Title:
Pariah
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System:
Xbox
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Genre:
First-Person Shooter
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Publisher:
Groove Games
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Developer:
Digital Extremes
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Release:
May 3, 2005
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Online:
Yes
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ESRB:
Mature (M)
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Pariah had a lot going for it. It was the new franchise from Digital Extremes and early impressions of the game had everyone stoked for it’s release. It was almost out of the question that Digital Extremes would make a bad first person shooter. This was the company involved with Unreal Tournament; one of the most successful licenses in the first person shooter genre. So to find that Pariah is not a good game, at times a frustrating and unplayable game comes as a saddened shock. There was so much potential for this title and yet it falls short in so many areas.
What’s Going On?
Pariah follows the journey of Dr. Jack Mason. We first meet Jack when he is assigned to watch over the transport of a female named Karina who has been placed in stasis. Karina is said to have a unique virus inside her. Later in the game what this “virus” actually is, is explained. This is about the easiest part of the story to understand because the plot quickly spirals downward into a baffling story. The motivations of the characters are not explained well if explained at all. Only by the final level of the game do we truly understand why Dr. Jack Mason is so concerned with the protection of Karina. This is a perfect example that the videogames of today require a high-quality story to thrive. If the narrative of Pariah had been improved than the gameplay failings may have been ignored. There is however a very rich back-story to this game and it’s a shame that Pariah did not explore it more. A sequel to this franchise in the form of a prequel would be an excellent idea.
Levels
Level design has always been a skill the people at Digital Extremes were at the top of their game. To this day the multiplayer maps of Unreal Tournament are still some the best crafted. This skill has carried over into Pariah, resulting in one of the strong points of the game. The interior level design is both unique and streamlined, guiding the game along in an imperceptible approach that makes the player believe he intuitively is finding the correct path. This pacing is still a talent the people at Bungie are trying to master, and should look to Pariah for it’s proficiently designed interior levels. In contrast the exterior levels do not contain this type of pacing. They are too large and desolate to be appealing. Their appearance is also unpleasantly repetitive. After the third venture through a hillside with rocks, foliage, and wreckage it gets old. So enjoy the interior sections of the game (especially the dam) and wade through the exteriors.
The Toys
Every first person shooter requires weapons. Weapons that are unique, fun to wield, and can only work is certain situations. Unfortunately, the weapons of Pariah do not fulfill any of the requirements. The weapon designs of Pariah come across as if they were taken from the Unreal Tournament rejection board. They are just versions of already worn-out weaponry (rifle, grenade launcher, rocket launcher, ect.) The only firearm that looked imposing is the sniper rifle. These are the people that gave us the Flak Cannon, the Lighting Gun, and the Shock Rifle! Players will have expected better of Digital Extremes. And thanks to the overwhelming efficiency and abundant ammo for the grenade launcher no other weapon seems like a rational choice.
Pariah does introduce an original “customization” feature for the weapons. Scattered throughout the game in rather obvious locations are energy cells. Collect enough of these and weapons can be upgraded up to three times. The upgrades range from armor piercing rounds, to remote detonation of grenades and even an improved scope on the snipe rifle. It’s a nice touch and Digital Extremes should be given credit for trying something new. It probably would have been a lot more effective and fun if the weapons weren’t as disappointing.
The Bigger Toys
In addition to the weapons Pariah has also been graced with the Halo cliché of vehicle operation. There are four basic vehicles to operate and range from a single one-man motorcycle to a mortar-blasting tank. Despite looking cool the vehicles handle nothing like those found in Halo or Unreal Tournament 2004 for that matter. The control scheme for the vehicles is a modified version of Halo’s; point the camera in a direction and the vehicle will follow. However, the vehicles did not handle nearly as well. Crashing into the sides of mountains, trees or any other obstacle will become a frequent aggravation. Complimenting the controls are the meager selection of weapons on each vehicle. The machine guns on the motorcycle are inaccurate and the mortars found on the tank only damage an enemy if dropped directly ontop of them. No splash damage here folks. Players will find running on foot is much more effective than driving these vehicles.
Military School Backing Off Huh?
The A.I. of a first person shooter is one of the most telling aspects of the game. It shows whether the team really put effort into the experience or just quickly hashed it together. The A.I. is Pariah is very representative of the game as a whole; brilliant in some areas but mostly under whelming. Some of the tactics the A.I. executes are smart and make sense. One good example is when two enemies lay suppressing fire as the third bull rushes the player’s location. The list however of effective maneuvers is fairly small. Even worse is the A.I. in the rest of the game is quite dumb. Enemies run off cliffs to their deaths, others fire grenades or rockets at their feet killing themselves. In later levels the A.I. will fight against one another (going along with the story) and only turn their attention to the player after all their opposition has been dealt with. The only savings grace is that on the hardest difficulty does the A.I. seem to make up for this apparent daze they suffer from in of lower levels of difficulty.
Going Boom
Sound found in Pariah is a mixed bag of good and bad. The gun sound effects are surprisingly practical and each gun sounds unique. Complimenting this are the excellent environmental sound effects that infuse the barren wasteland of Earth with an attitude and life appropriate for the story setting. The voice acting is not that bad either. But in spite of all this good there is some bad. The first would have to be the awful repeated synthesized music. In some cases it does work (outdoor levels), but other times it becomes an annoyance that draws unfavorable attention to itself. The other big quandary with the sound is some of the effects are taken directly from the Unreal Tournament or Championship game. What this just says to the gamer is that the people making this game were way too lazy to create unique effects in the game. To some it may be even slightly insulting especially when that person paid sixty bucks.
Take It Online
After reading all the above people will probably assume that the game is horrible, unplayable and should be avoided at all costs. That’s not exactly the case. While Pariah does have all the problems just mentioned, the team at Digital Extremes has enough skill that the game still can be playable and fun to a certain degree. The ragdog physics while not the most realistic in a game are entertaining. Watching men in armor fly in the air and bounce down a cliff is something that never gets old in this game. Also there are destructible environments that make the game feel much bigger. Like the ragdoll physics they never get old. The biggest plus Pariah has going for it is the multiplayer. Some of the problems carry over like the weapons, vehicles, and sound but the level design is made up for. There are some maps that are just closed off sections of the single player (avoid these), but the CTF and Siege maps are of the quality expected by the people of Unreal. It’s where they are at home and it shows. There is also the inclusion of a basic yet very deep map editor. Those of us who have messed around with the UT2004 Map Editor will feel limited but everyone else will find a simple and enjoyable program to construct maps. The best part of all is the maps can be loaded online for play across Xbox Live. It’s a first and hopefully other games will follow.
The Decision
Pariah is a fun rental for those who want a quick shooter to blow through in a weekend. Only buy this game if you are having aspirations as a future map designer and truly want to spend the limitless hours on the map editor, and like ragdoll physics. Other than that the confusing story, ineffective vehicles, unoriginal weapons, and sketchy A.I. don’t make this game worth the sixty dollars. A 6.7 out of 10.
| The Core Score |
Overall
6.7 |
| Fun |
|
6 |
| Gameplay |
|
6 |
| Graphics |
|
8 |
| Audio |
|
7 |
| Replay |
|
8 |
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