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[Darkmakaimura]

I just picked up Clive Barker's Undying on GOG for $5.99. I've known about the scheme ever since it was released and remember seeing the retail box at Best Buy way back in the early 2000s. For some reason I thought it was even older than that going back to the late 90s.

Anyways, I've heard great things about this game and decided to buy it.

I've also known about Jericho for quite some time. It was an old PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game but if I remember right it had a mixed reviews.

From what it's worth, I kind of got interested because I saw a Nightbreed again on TV last weekend. I saw it when I was a teenager but didn't like it back then but as an adult watching it again I really enjoyed it.

I also liked the first two Hellraiser movies and Lord of Illusions. The latter reminded me of Mage: The Ascension and if I remember we brought the sorcerer back from the dead so it's probably the first movie to feature a lich.

What's your thoughts on these two games and which do you think of these two are better?

 

[calistan]

I remember those! I reviewed Undying for a magazine but it closed days before that issue went to press. I've still got Jericho for the Xbox 360, it's very Clive Barker - horrible skinless enemies with gaping wounds where their genitals used to be. Thanks, Clive.

Here's my Undying review, which nobody ever read. The magazine was meant for casual gamers, so it doesn't go into much depth.

Spoiler: Clive Barker's Unpublished

Clive Barker's Undying

//strap//
Trouser-filling zombie hunt

//info//
Electronic Arts; Dreamworks Interactive; £30; Out now; 1 Player; Specs: P400, 64MB RAM, 350MB disk space, 16MB video card

//controls//
Keyboard - Walk, jump, select items and read your journal entries
Mouse - Look around, fire weapon, cast a spell and switch between items if you've got a mouse wheel

//body copy//
Well he's successfully turned his talent to theatre, cinema and comics as well as novels, so why shouldn't scouse fantasy-horror master Clive Barker have a crack at computer games? If nothing else, the result is sure to be creepy.
As a 1920s paranormal investigator, your task is to get to the bottom of some mysterious happenings at the family home of the most inbred aristocrats you've ever seen – even the more respectable members of this clan are murderers, ghouls and vampires. It begins with an excursion around the haunted house, which is just about the spookiest videogame experience we've had since the original Resident Evil, and takes in a voyage to the past and glimpse of another dimension along the way to a showdown with the forces of nastiness.
Wandering around the house, you're armed with a pistol and a lump of green rock that's like Kryptonite to the undead, but the best investigative tool you've got is a spell called the Scrye. It's a kind of second sight which works a lot like the Lens of Truth in the Zelda games, giving visual and audio clues in significant rooms. With it, you'll be able to hear the cries of tormented souls and see the dead going about their daily business.
You get plenty of extra abilities and weapons as you make your way through the game, which is just as well because this is essentially a first-person shoot-'em-up. It's enjoyable, and actually quite scary at times, but ultimately it proves more taxing on the trigger finger than the mind. More akin to a bug hunt along the lines of Barker's movies than something as evocative as one of his novels, but satisfying nonetheless.

//uppers//
Weaveworld
• Sumptous locations
• Epic scale
• Cool spells

//downers//
Nightbreed
• Little thought required
• Easy to get lost

gameplay - 6
It's all about shooting stuff but at least it's done with some style.

presentation - 8
A visual treat. Check out the ruined / whole twin monastery levels.

value - 7
No multiplayer options but the game won't be beaten in a hurry.

verdict - 7
We're not sure how much Barker had to do with this but it's a good enough game to appeal to more than just his biggest fans.

 

[Hoddi]

It’s been 15-20 years since I’ve played either of those but I remember liking them a lot. I think Undying was clearly the better of the two but I still remember Jericho well enough that it’s stuck with me since then.

Undying also deserves a mention because they made a big thing about the protagonist not being the typical bald military musclehead that was standard back then. It sorta broke new ground at the time by making you just a normal average guy which almost seems quaint now.

 

[Badlucktroll]

Clive should make a new game this gen

 

[intbal]

Undying is FPS Horror GOAT.
Needs remake.
And sequel.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Undying was the better game. Jericho was poorly received as I recall.

 

[SirKicksalot]

Jericho is to Undying what Temple of Doom is to Raiders of the Lost Ark. Clearly inferior and even annoying sometimes, but when it delivers it's an 11/10.

Undying's guns-and-spells setup plays better than Bioshock.
Jericho is... fine as long as you play on easy and download the QTE autocomplete trainer (the QTEs are garbage).
Both games have masterful visual and sound design. I found them both to be very engaging and memorable experiences.

 

[calistan]

Clive should make a new game this gen

Dude is 70 years old and has turned his hand to absolutely everything, so games are probably in the past for him now. He's completely fucking brilliant though, Weaveworld and the Books of Blood series are the foundations of my childhood.

 

[poppabk]

Why not play Nightbreed?

 

[Darkmakaimura]

Dude is 70 years old and has turned his hand to absolutely everything, so games are probably in the past for him now. He's completely fucking brilliant though, Weaveworld and the Books of Blood series are the foundations of my childhood.

I'm still surprised they never made a movie or TV series from Imajica.

Maybe I should make a thread about that in Off-Topic.

 

[calistan]

I'm still surprised they never made a movie or TV series from Imajica.

Maybe I should make a thread about that in Off-Topic.

That book was just awesome. I pre-ordered it when I was at university, and I re-read it countless times. I wish I knew where my hardback copy is now, I have the urge to re-read. But it isn't as good as Weaveworld. More epic, but just not as strong a story. I also loved the Great and Secret Show (dead letter office - a genius premise - plus who else could have conceived of the Lix) but Weaveworld is definitely Barker's masterpiece.

 

[niilokin]

Undying was great experience and I liked the story a lot!

 

[nkarafo]

I never liked either game for some reason. And i am a horror games fan.

 

[xClout]

Liked Jericho. Although flawed it was atleast original. Poppin heads with the sniper.

 

[Drizzlehell]

Jericho was an interesting game. I loved its gory apocalyptic vibe. It was very much in the style of Clive Barker. I only wish they'd make it into an actual co-op shooter and make the combat slightly less repetitive. It was a bit of a wasted potential but still, I quite enjoyed it at the time. The variety of skills and weapons between all the characters was a cool and novel idea.

 

[ShadowNate]

I really liked Undying. It got me from the start (mainly through the fascinating use of the Scrye spell throughout the manor) and it didn't let go. Excellent through and through.

I gave up on Jericho after like 20 minutes in, maybe. It didn't help that I had played Undying recently (at the time) and expected to be wowed again.

Maybe I'll get back to it with a fresh perspective someday.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

Undying is underappreciated gem of early 2000's FPS era full of wild ideas and thick atmosphere. It is also a rare game that uses UE1 but looks totally in it's own unique way. You can spot UE1 only in water animated sprites, really. I've completed the GOG version a few months back in 2 days. It's still gripping, scary and unique.

Too bad it flopped so hard, EA pulled out MP patch, console version or any prospects of a sequel.

Jericho, in contrast, was kinda 'eh, it's a game, I guess'. I'd say it was forgotten for a reason.

 

[anthraticus]

Undying was a lot better than Jericho. Cool game

 

[OmegaSupreme]

I've played a bit of undying. I like it. I've also played a decent bit of Jericho and thought it was pretty shitty.

 

[AlteredForms]

I'm holding out hope that Undying receives a remaster or something along those lines by NightDive Studios. It's an absolute masterpiece and did the whole spell and shooting combination way before BioShock, it's clear that it was an inspiration somewhat. Shame the multiplayer portion of the game was scrapped due to low sales. I loved the mausoleum and Oneiros levels and exploring the different sections of the Covenant Estate. Place is huge and equally creepy.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

I'm holding out hope that Undying receives a remaster or something along those lines by NightDive Studios. It's an absolute masterpiece and did the whole spell and shooting combination way before BioShock, it's clear that it was an inspiration somewhat. Shame the multiplayer portion of the game was scrapped due to low sales. I loved the mausoleum and Oneiros levels and exploring the different sections of the Covenant Estate. Place is huge and equally creepy.

Music is spooky af still!

 

[AlteredForms]

Music is spooky af still!

Apparently that Gregorian chanting isn't gibberish as it actually means something. I remember reading somewhere that it's Latin for "Death is coming, danger is near" or something like that.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

Apparently that Gregorian chanting isn't gibberish as it actually means something. I remember reading somewhere that it's Latin for "Death is coming, danger is near" or something like that.

They're literally chanting "While I breathe, I hope" in the main menu (Dum spíro, spéro). But I've expected nothing less from Bill Brown (RtCW, Command & Conquer: Generals).

 

[AlteredForms]

They're literally chanting "While I breathe, I hope" in the main menu (Dum spíro, spéro). But I've expected nothing less from Bill Brown (RtCW, Command & Conquer: Generals).

Amazing, I do know Latin or whatever they're chanting, but I do know it meant something.

 

[zcaa0g]

Undying is great. Like Unreal 1, would love to see a high poly remaster.

 

[H4ze]

I love Jericho! Yes, it is flawes, but it has great atmosphere and every character plays different. Would love to get a remaster or sequel.

I really need to play Undying at some point.

 

[adamsapple]

I remember Undying being one of those games I was too young to play and some of the death animations giving me nightmares.

Especially the one where a plant thing drags you into the ground when you die.

 

[TheGreatMusashi]

I remember turning on cheats and getting all 1,000 gamer score out of Jericho.

I actually enjoyed that game, it was a dumb fun, co-op shooter

 

[ShadowNate]

Apparently that Gregorian chanting isn't gibberish as it actually means something. I remember reading somewhere that it's Latin for "Death is coming, danger is near" or something like that.

"Dum spiro spero" is quite "popular" latin phrase. Means "as long as I breathe, I hope".
The full thing (in the lyrics) seems to be "Dum spiro spero, dum spero scio", which translates to "as long as I breathe, I hope, as long as I hope, I learn" or something to that effect.

 

[MysticalChaos]

I found Undying to be quite fascinating. In fact, I am contemplating replaying it. On a related note, do you happen to know any other games that have a similar narrative style to Undying?

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Didn't play Undying, but I remember playing Jericho as a 360 demo download. Was decent. That was when shitloads of first person games were on the market. Many got grilled, but I thought Timeshift, Jericho and Fractured were all decent B-tier games. Problem is, a lot of people (like me) spent all our time on Gears and COD.

 

[ToTTenTranz]

They're completely different games.
In Jericho you are part of a team of special commandos with different supernatural powers and you can control them all. IIRC you're actually a former commando of that team but you got killed, turned into a ghost and get to possess all the team members. It has a horror setting but you're never really alone.

In Undying you're alone. There's an elaborate story about a household family and their descent into madness and the obscure. The way the story unfolds is actually very similar to Bioshock and the latter might have taken inspiration from it. It's a really cool game that I wish it had turned into a series. Nowadays I wish for a remake.
Undying in UE5 would be awesome and scary as hell.

 

[LazyParrot]

The art direction and atmosphere in Undying were incredible, especially in the outdoor areas. Only game where I ever stopped playing just to spend five minutes staring at the sky.

 

[zcaa0g]

They're completely different games.
In Jericho you are part of a team of special commandos with different supernatural powers and you can control them all. IIRC you're actually a former commando of that team but you got killed, turned into a ghost and get to possess all the team members. It has a horror setting but you're never really alone.

In Undying you're alone. There's an elaborate story about a household family and their descent into madness and the obscure. The way the story unfolds is actually very similar to Bioshock and the latter might have taken inspiration from it. It's a really cool game that I wish it had turned into a series. Nowadays I wish for a remake.
Undying in UE5 would be awesome and scary as hell.

Those fucking hollers hanging upside down from the ceiling. I ran into the next room and crouched into the fireplace like a scared little girl deciding when I was going to grow a pair and tread down that hallway. The atmosphere in that game is top notch.

 

[AlteredForms]

The way the story unfolds is actually very similar to Bioshock and the latter might have taken inspiration from it.

BioShock absolutely took inspiration from Undying and there are many similarities between both games. Whilst there aren't many correlations between the plasmids and the spells, the reveal that the person whom you trusted turns out to be the main villain is an obvious comparison. The one thing that absolutely sold me that Irrational Games took influence from this game is the jumpscare present in both of them. For BioShock it's when the dentist pops up from behind you when you collect that coveted item in front you, in Undying it's ammo when the ghost pops up from behind.

 

[MysticalChaos]

What are some other good games of that generation? (PS2, Xbox, GameCube)

 

[Northeastmonk]

I had Jericho when it came out. First time noticing Steve Blum’s voice. He became a cameo in a lot of games after that, tons of grunt VO’s. I was hoping for something a bit different, so I was a bit disappointed. I’ve noticed that whole concept of a group of soldiers combatting an evil entity has been used over the years and a lot of that came from playing Jericho. I remember beating it too. What was was weird about Jericho was the supernatural powers of your team. I was hoping for a more human approach and a lot more horror. I also have Undying on GOG. It’s crazy how good that game is and I didn’t know about it until GOG let me buy it.

Recently there was an episode of Love, Death & Robots called “In Vaulted Halls Entombed” and all I could think about was the potential Jericho had.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

The only memory I have of Jerico is that I took a copy to play it on an Xbox 360 of a Internet coffee which was pirated and by accident the console was banned.

 

[ShadowNate]

BioShock absolutely took inspiration from Undying and there are many similarities between both games. Whilst there aren't many correlations between the plasmids and the spells, the reveal that the person whom you trusted turns out to be the main villain is an obvious comparison. The one thing that absolutely sold me that Irrational Games took influence from this game is the jumpscare present in both of them. For BioShock it's when the dentist pops up from behind you when you collect that coveted item in front you, in Undying it's ammo when the ghost pops up from behind.

I don't really recall jump scares in System Shock 2, but... the other thing, yep, that was in SS2 and one of the main reasons Biosock felt so similar (and dumped down) to many to its spiritual predecessor.