Published
by:
Aspyr
Developed by: Mindware Studios
Release
Date: October 12, 2009
Available only on: PC, Xbox 360 (not
released yet)
INTRO: Dreamkiller is an FPS
where you assume the role of Alice Drake, who is a very, very helpful
and hands-on psychologist who has the ability to literally enter your
dreams and help get rid of all the nastiness that might be plaguing
you. Imagine what kind of bill you’d get for that? Anyway, that’s the
gist of it; the possibilities here are endless and this budget title
seems to have high hopes. Read on to find out if this game is a dream
or a nightmare to play (I couldn’t belp it, sue me).
GAMEPLAY:
Well,
this game doesn’t have much going for it outside of a great premise. I
mean, it does work to a certain extent. You spend a lot of time going
around big cathedral type areas through twelve levels, blasting away at
all kinds of funky looking bad guys. I dug the level design through the
premise, and some of the stuff you run into is awesome in theory
(clowns, spiders, all the stuff people tend to have phobias about). You
get various weapons as you progress through the game, and each has an
alt-fire mode to break up monotony. The weapons aren’t realistic,
they’re giant killing machines in case you were wondering. Also, get
ready to run into a whole bunch of orbs that are going to piss you off
royally when they force you to change your weapons. You will find
yourself in tight spaces where you can’t avoid them. You will be
frustrated.
Alice is also psychokinetic, and can shoot fire and blast waves out of
her hands. This sounds great. but it can be frustrating because they
take so long to recharge. Don’t forget about Alice’s bizarre “breaker”
mode, where she goes all berserk. Why does this happen? And when it
happens, why does the screen go all grey? Very strange.
Everything here is pretty paint by numbers. You upgrade some skills,
you fight in levels that get harder, you get to an occasionally unfair
boss, you move on to the next level.
Gameplay: 5/10
GRAPHICS:
The levels look decent
but that isn’t enough. If you don’t have a decent computer, this game
looks brutal on medium setting. Some of the weapon blasts look decent,
but ultimately are mediocre. I like the graphic design, but everything
here just feels a bit dated. And good lord, wait until you see the
bizarre painting-esque cutscenes.
Graphics:
5.5/10
AUDIO:
The weapons don’t sound
very good, and neither do Alice’s hokey one liners. The music is pretty
decent, but the aural experience is just as forgettable as the rest of
the game. Nothing really worth noting here.
Audio:
5/10
FINAL VERDICT:
Ultimately
this game is a budget title that isn’t worth including in your budget.
It does have a great idea and features a few cool monsters, but that
doesn’t warrant dropping 30 bucks on it. Sure, there are twelve levels
to blast through but this one gets really tedious pretty quickly- the
game gets monotonous very quickly and will just grind on you after
awhile.
Final
Score: 5/10
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