Evening Dive Studios, my favourite purveyor of remastered relics from my salad days, is again once more, this time with a challenge that’s concentrating on me personally. They’ve aimed their explicit abilities at The Factor, a 2002 sequel to the seminal 1982 John Carpenter movie of the identical title. That movie, a masterwork of sensible results led by Kurt Russell’s magnificent beard, was launched just some months previous to my very own start. I preach the gospel of The Factor to anyone who will hear, so you possibly can think about my pleasure after I learn, within the pages of EGM (if reminiscence serves) of a Carpenter-endorsed adaptation by Pc Artworks. It was launched in 2002, a banner yr already full of Wind Waker, Metroid Prime, and Tremendous Mario Sunshine, however I managed to play The Factor on my uncared for PS2 and loved it, although I by no means beat it. Going ahead on this assessment, after I consult with The Factor by title, I imply the online game. If I need to consult with the 1982 film, I’ll specify.
The Factor is a singular tackle the “squad-based shooter” style, which was nonetheless in its infancy in 2002. There is no such thing as a multiplayer right here: solely your character (Blake) and a handful of AI-controlled buddies. These squadmates are categorized into three jobs: Engineers, Troopers, and Medics. Every of them is sweet at one factor: Engineers can repair electrical issues, Troopers are useful with the metal, and Medics can heal different folks however, oddly, not themselves. As within the movie, belief is at a premium, and taking sure actions can enhance or scale back a squad members’ belief in Blake, which is able to decide their conduct. In the event that they mistrust Blake sufficient, a squadmate will attempt to kill him, believing Blake is a Factor.
There’s additionally a worry system, the place squadmates grow to be traumatized by disturbing sights over time and may go loopy, killing themselves, taking pictures their squadmates, or having a coronary heart assault. Additional, each time one among your squadmates is available in direct contact with a Factor enemy (of which there are numerous), there’s an opportunity they, too, will grow to be a Factor. If they’re, it means they are going to, in some unspecified time in the future, remodel right into a humanoid Factor monster so that you can kill.
All of those programs weave collectively to create a tenuous relationship with you AI-controlled teammates. You must watch their standing display screen consistently and attempt to handle their frame of mind, as a result of with out them (Engineers specifically), you possibly can’t progress by way of the sport. I’ll get to the sensible results of this later within the assessment.
The Factor is, so far as I’m conscious, Evening Dive’s first PS2-era remaster. I discover that these video games have aged poorly within the graphics division, and whereas Evening Dive has achieved an admirable job of cleansing up the fashions, bettering the textures, and redoing the sport’s textual content logs and varied icons to make them extra legible, The Factor is not going to be on any “greatest trying PS2 video games” lists anytime quickly. I don’t bear in mind if the unique recreation didn’t have a rating, however this remaster certain doesn’t. The dearth of music is sort of distracting at occasions, as a result of the movie’s rating (by Carpenter and Ennio Morricone) is such a vital element of the vibe. The voice performing is okay, however your varied teammates solely have a number of traces of dialogue apiece.
However what do you truly do in The Factor? You all the time have a particular mission, like “discover the comms room,” however virtually no different course. You’re typically left to your individual units, which normally means wandering aimlessly by way of buildings you’ve already explored or exterior within the snow, the place it’s apparently -40℉ and in case you keep on the market too lengthy, your well being will quickly decline. So it’s bizarre that J.F. Blake would forego a hat. Once in a while, you’ll need to survive a number of waves of enemies. And, simply as typically, you’ll be requested to finish a job earlier than an NPC will allow you to progress or be part of your workforce. And that is the place the issues emerge.
Your teammates are, to place it diplomatically, dangerous at their jobs. They’ll blow by way of ammunition with shocking pace however can not carry their very own spare ammo, and so will consistently ask you for extra. They will not simply do their jobs routinely, it’s a must to inform them to do issues. They’ll wander into your line of fireplace with reckless abandon–especially in case you’re torching the alien scourge with the sport’s best weapon–the flamethrower. Merely strolling right into a room lined in blood or corpses will trigger many males to lose their cool. Being attacked by Issues also can trigger your boys to go batty, however scripted occasions, the place it could actually’t be helped, appear to break their fragile psyches lower than random corpses. You’ll be able to assist your colleagues by giving them weapons or ammo, and/or transferring to a different room.
If issues are trying actually dire, you possibly can inject them with adrenaline (when you’ve got any) which is able to rapidly decrease their worry stage. Mistrust is, oddly, much less of a priority, but when folks refuse to observe your orders or attempt to shoot you, you can provide them new weapons or ammo or self-administer a blood take a look at to show that Blake is human, which is able to convey their belief ranking up. However, as I stated, the general impact of the belief/worry system is that you just spend quite a lot of time micromanaging your companions, typically to no avail (they’re typically predestined to show into Issues because the story requires), and you start to marvel if this journey wouldn’t be simpler by your lonesome (it might).
Nicely, absolutely the story have to be fairly good if it was endorsed by John Carpenter himself, proper? I didn’t discover it notably compelling, principally as a result of it implies a army conspiracy that’s wholly inconsistent with the movie but in addition requires some weird leaps of logic for the villain. However the calls for of the plot additionally put you towards gun-toting grunts lengthy earlier than the sport’s climax.
I admire that Evening Dive selected this recreation to remaster as a result of I’ve held it in such excessive regard for therefore lengthy. Regardless of all my complaints, it was enjoyable to revisit this 2002 recreation partly as a result of I got here to understand how far squad-based shooters have come within the 22 years (good lord) since. There may be yet another good function price citing: you possibly can entry a bundle of idea artwork from the primary menu, which is enjoyable to peruse. And like I stated in my Shadow Man assessment, I’m glad Evening Dive didn’t “repair” the sport. It was a fantastic recreation in 2002, and, like so many video games of that period, was a product of its time. And that’s the way it ought to be skilled.
