Xbox Addict

Because of the reviews other sources gave this game I really thought it was gonna be one of ?those? games. One of the main reason I think this game disserves a mediocre score is largely due to the influence of Bruce Campbell with this particular title. He recorded all the voice work for Ash, and there's a whole hell of a lot. His wisecracking breaks up what could have been some pretty serious monotony (you can even make him toss out one-liners by tapping the Y button), and there are a few cut-scenes that are laugh-out-loud funny.

The other big thing Boomstick has going for it is a sensible targeting system. There are plenty of times when you'll find yourself surrounded by enemies, and being able to auto-target and fire from any position not only helps with the gameplay, it also makes for some pretty kick-ass effects. If an enemy shows up behind Ash, he'll just flip his shotgun over his shoulder and fire without even looking. Even better, equip a repeating shotgun with explosive shells, walk into a group of Deadites, hold down the Target and Fire buttons, and watch the blood fly. Oh?. priceless.

So why do I give it a mediocre score? Well, the graphics are awfully poor in details...and the camera sucks...and the level design makes no sense whatsoever...and the enemies respond after a shockingly long time. Plus, in spite of the fact that Ash has a weapon in each hand, he can barely pull of combos where you use both of them simultaneously! To me, that's a monstrous oversight. Also the puzzles in this game are awful; in some cases I spent way too much of my precious time figuring out how to get past very simple minded puzzles, but because of the level design those simple puzzles became some pretty treacherous tasks.

The game begins with a lengthy, pointless cinematic sequence that introduces us to Ash, the swaggering, one-liner spouting anti-hero of the "Evil Dead" movies. Once again, he's out to stop the zombies from taking over the world. We then move on to a deathly boring opening level where Ash talks to boring people and has to complete boring tasks. Did I mention that it's boring? So boring, in fact, that it's hard to play long enough to get to some of the game's more interesting elements, like the selection of different weapons or the ability to cast a few spells. Even if you're able to stick it out, the lame roadblocks (both literal and figurative) thrown at you prevent the action from ever really heating up. This game has more locked doors and deserted streets than a suburban gated community. You're telling me that a bad-ass like Ash, a guy with a chainsaw for a hand for god sakes, can't get past a simple locked door? As I mentioned, all you need to do in this game is get to a locked door, kill some zombies, get the key off their dead bodies, and get through the locked door. This formula is so repetitive in this game that it literally exhaust?s any player in and about the very presence of this game, and trust me it becomes very frustrating, because you are given an extreme lack of clues, and no mapping system what so ever. The game is fun when you're able to just run around, sawing, and shooting through Deadites. Simplistic and monotonous?. yes, but fun. As I mentioned before, the targeting system is the one big highlight, it lets you target enemies all around you, and even shoot over your shoulder.