I know, I know, that’s not much of a sponsor but unfortunately there’s not much of a list this week either.  Here goes, deep breaths people!

• Modern Warfare 2: Stimulus Package (May 5, PC)
• Zeno Clash Ultimate Edition (May 5, 360)

And as a jolly old gardener has said more than once, that’s your bloomin’ lot for the week!

Dr Dre isn't the only one who's strapped with Ghat

QUICK PLUG: Before I begin this particular review, I’ll drop some props to Colin Robinson and the fine folk over at GamerLimit who put this game up for grabs in their cover art contest. Many thanks!

Zeno Clash is a first person shooter style game produced by independant studio Ace Team. It’s a game very much in the vein of the BioShock titles, where the story elements, setting and visual-direction really set it apart from the rest of the genre.

The plot is a little difficult to describe, as Zeno Clash takes place in a completely original world called Zenozoik. Players take the role of Ghat, who regains conciousness after a fight in which he killed his family’s parent Father-Mother. He shows no remorse over the fact, so assumedly he had his reasons, but realises that he has to flee the city to escape his siblings’ vengence. Accompanying Ghat is Deadra, a female who assists his escape, and from then on assists Ghat in combat. The events leading up to the fight with Father-Mother are then retold in a series of flashbacks.  Many of the flashbacks also contain small clues to allow the player to piece together the full story.  Not everything gets explained, and the ending is rather open-ended, but it’s definitely well told.

Perhaps the most striking thing about Zeno Clash (apart from, well, the ACTUAL striking) is it’s visual style. Characters are various mixes of humanoid, animal and organic materials like wood and bone. Masks are used frequently, and with great effect. In an interview on HorrorStyle, art director Edmundo Bordeu was said to have drawn influences from Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal, the illustrations of fantasy artist John Blanche and the works of 15th century artist Hieronymous Bosch. The completed product is compelling to say the very least, and quite unique.

Battles begin with a fighter inspired "Versus" screen

The word “clash” in this game’s title is well deserved. Fighting in this game is a knock-down, drag out exercise in brawling, and can be summed up in two words: simply beautiful. The game plays like a smooth mix of both fighting game and first person shooter. The melee combat in particular is exceptionally programmed. Players have the option of both quick punches and power attacks, and a good variety of combination moves. It feels nice and gritty too.  A combination of some brutal sound effects and ragdoll physics makes the hand-to-hand sections of the game really feel … vicious, for lack of a better word. It is serious good fun. The crunch of kicking someone you’ve knocked down is almost tangible. Defence isn’t forgotten either, in fact sometimes you’re going to need every trick you’re offered, and the game offers a simple but intuitive block and dodge ability.

Funnily enough for a first person shooter, it was the ranged weapon combat that I thought was kind of the least interesting part of this title. It’s fine, functional, the weapons are original and look fantastic, but the brutal enjoyment of the close quarters combat kind of overshadows the gun-play by a wide margin. I don’t even really mention this as a bad thing, either, merely a point of interest as many FPS titles work the other way around. The last FPS I played that managed to put melee before guns was Chronicles of Riddick, and even then that was mostly a stealth kill affair where you tried to avoid going toe-to-toe with opponents.

Zenozoik's inhabitants have a rather ranged number of offspring

The game tries to balance the two stlyes also, so one combat isn’t superior to the other. Bull rushing a ranged weapon opponent will send their weapon skidding away over the ground, forcing them back into melee combat. Similarly, your opponents can knock any weapon you hold out of your hands if they can get in range to strike a blow. While you might curse it at first, this actually manages to heighten the frantic energy of each brawl.

What I can also appreciate, is that while the combat is quite full on, the gore is not, which only goes a way to increasing my theory that some developers throw gore in for no reason other than it’s apparently expected. This game brings the raw nature of fist fighting to the screen so effectively, and yet doesn’t need to rely on giant splashes of blood to make you feel the effects. I respect that highly.

For all the game’s good points, it’s not completely perfect. Combat uses a lock-on system to allow the player free melee movement in close quarters. The one slight problem I might describe about this is that often when fighting multiple opponents you can find yourself locked on the wrong enemy and have a hard time swinging around to meet the right one. It’s just a byproduct of having this game in first person, really, and while disengaging from your current foe isn’t difficult (you simply tap the “run” button while walking backward to reset your lock) I thought the game could have used a “next target” key to make the melee more fluid. It’s a minor thing however, and certainly didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the combat system.

The visuals in Zeno Clash are fantastic

The game is also short. It’s actually quite a good length for the plot presented, but it will definitely leave the player wanting more. It will probably take you around 5 hours to play the story game through to it’s conclusion, but the game makes good use of those hours, so I only list it as a negative because I wanted more. Apparently a sequel may be forthcoming however, which would be great.  Once you’ve completed the main game, you can also play the game’s “Challenge Mode”, which pits you in a series of battles, timed against the clock and ranked by speed and health loss.

The game is also earmarked to be ported for the Xbox as DLC, so the console jockeys like myself can have a try. I’d be interested to see how the transition would go with the change from mouse to joysticks, however.

The Verdict:

This is a real winner of a game. The melee combat has been intergrated fantastically for the first person view, and players really feel the weight of the blows they’re dishing out.

The art direction is fantastic, original, and permeates every part of the game. In regards to length it’s a tad short, but worth every minute on offer. Great stuff!

You can purchase Zeno Clash via Steam, and you can also check out the website here.