Studio - THQ
Age - Mature (18+)
Genre - Survival Horror/Action

Ah. The opposite end of the spectrum.
Two weeks ago I spoke about TV Series being translated into video games, and how for the most part that genre is miss and miss. This time out it's the movie genre being translated into video games.

If I think hard enough I can barely scratch together a small list of games based on movies that I liked.
Let me see... ah... hmm... I have a few.

007 Video Games (GC/PS2/Xbox) - I'm going to take it that the batch of games based on 007 movies are in fact good because they seem to keep rolling out one after another. Never played it myself though.

Batman Returns (SNES) - Yeah it was a simple side scrolling beat down game, but heck it was playable and it was fun. For the SNES it wasn't such a bad game even if it was simple and easy to beat.

Harry Potter games (GC/PSOne/PS2/Xbox) - Love it, hate it, whatever. Obviously there is a niche market of people playing these games less we wouldn't have more and more games coming out. Then again maybe the WB is just persistent to a fault. It's one or the other... maybe both.

Polar Express (GC/PS2/Probably Xbox) - Just saw it, and tried it out. From THQ (who made this game) and it's pretty good. Simplistic and easy, of course since it's for kids, but nice. Hidden bonuses and cutscenes from the actual movie highlight this movie to game translation that is worth checking out.

Star Wars games (all platforms) - If you're talking movie related games the first series that most people think of is the Star Wars trilogy of games, which is most definitely a series I can point to with it's successes. Of course it also has it's failings, but what large gaming franchises doesn't have a few regrets?

There are more, but they don't seem to be coming to mind right now.
No need to jot down the list of bad games, and forgettable games. Those are far too numerous for any list.
Even if the movie does well in the box office that doesn't mean the game will do likewise.
I'm sure you can name at least a half a dozen games (based on movies) you didn't like in the least.
I could too. Easily. Far easier than naming games I did like.
What is it about adapting movies/TV Series or comics into video games that is so hard for the people doing it that it's a rare thing when they get it right? I don't know but they seem to miss more than hit it seems.

So what about this game? Hit or miss? Let's see.

The game is less than a game based on an Evil Dead movie, but moreso (as Bruce Campbell himself noted in the Making Of bonus this game offers) an "Evil Dead 4" since it looks like nobody is going to go and put an actual Evil Dead 4 into production.

Taking place sometime after "Army of Darkness", we catch up with Ash and he's not exactly the happiest guy on the face of the planet at the moment.
Seems it's the anniversary of the death of this woman he cared about, and that alone has him in a pretty bad mood... too bad for him he's about to have his day ruined when a strange trippy woman (working at the local Dearborn TV Station) and her guest on this show she's doing (about the paranormal) bring the Deadite into the world once again while meddling in things that they have no grasp on at all... or do

they?

Looks like Ash is going to have to pick up some weapons and blow away some Deadite, after "disposing" of his formerly favorite bartender turned Deadite minion. But just going about blowing Deadite away isn't enough, you (as Ash) will also have to find a way to shut down the portal bringing Deadite into the world.

Too bad that good meaning quest quickly turns you into a pawn of the ones who masterminded this crossover as you fight your way into the museum of this nutty occult dude to steal an ancient tablet with the power to control the Deadite, only for said tablet to be stolen by the apparent "mastermind" of this whole thing... which leads to a trip back into Colonial era Dearborn, then Civil War Dearborn... then Post Apocalyptic Dearborn as it seems even if you get rid of would be world conqueror #1 there will be another to take his place.

Yeah. If it's not one bad thing it's five to ten other bad things. Lucky you.

Gameplay is straight beatdown. With weapons in hand you'll blow your way through armies of Deadites, spouting one liners at random... or not so much at random if you push a button (then you‘ll get a Bruce Campbell one liner per push which changes as the game progresses).

Watch out for the citizens as you play. As the game progresses mild mannered citizens can be grabbed by the Deadites and "converted" into Deadites for you to fight. Which means if you can take the time? Save as many people as you can, though that might as well be a lost cause since they'll just wander around aimlessly anyway until "converted"... eck, the dummies.
However there is one good thing. While Deadites can kill citizens you (for the most part) cannot.
With the exception of your "ancestor" during the Colonial Dearborn era level you can pretty much shoot THROUGH citizens to get at Deadites (they'll just stand right up again and walk off).
That makes this game the most forgiving when it comes to civilians. Once I found out (by accident) that shooting "innocents" doesn't harm them? I basically just started shooting through them to kill Deadites attacking them. No need for taking it easy since you (at least) can't kill them.

Of course you can kill at least one or two by accident. Policeman during first Dearborn levels who leads you to the police station (where you'll need to pick up stuff but only after you learn the magic that allows you to possess Deadites). If you allow him to reach the station first he'll enter the yard and get torn apart by Deadites. You'll have to run past him, watch the cutscene, and he won't get killed... at least not in the yard but he might get mauled down later and turned into a Deadite while wandering aimlessly though.

The other person who might die is a surely biker dude. Right off the bat in Level 2 find the gang of bikers (waiting in what looks like a small parking area of a loading dock with trucks) and save them, one of the will give you a cheap tin ring which you'll trade later to gain molotov cocktails in Colonial Dearborn.

Weapons? About over a half a dozen are available (can't remember how much exactly, but it's a lot of killing potential at your fingertips)! You have your shotgun to start off with (which will be modified in Colonial Dearborn by your ancestor), and as you go along you'll pick up a chainsaw, handgun or two, grenade launcher, and more including hand weapons and another

weapon for your chainsaw arm.

And since you always have the chainsaw on one arm, and your gun in another, you can combine the two weapons together for combo attacks. For instance you can do a chainsaw impale and then blow away your enemy with your gun. With some thought you can use your weapons for maximum damage and wipe out whole rows of enemies... which is good because they'll come at you several at a time at times (up to a dozen at once if you are not careful)!

Of course the main problem is ammo for the guns. You can find more, of course, either lying around (which is also how you'll find potions that increase your health/magic meters) or off the corpses of your enemies, but some weapons ammo management is a good thing since you'll need as much ammo as you can muster for later levels (especially the last Post Apocalyptic level).

There are puzzles, though few and not too hard... if you work at it you can solve them fairly easily.
The main thrust of the game is the bloody conflict, and there'll be lots of blood as you rip through tons of Deadite, and more powerful minions. There are puzzles, but they are not that difficult.

Another plus for you this time out is the use of magic.
As you progress throughout the game you'll find pages of the Necronomican with spell magic written on it, and once you do that you'll gain a magic meter. With each page you'll find a spell, and it'll get recorded down in your spellbook for easy reference... which is good since you'll need to memorize a series of buttons to push to activate each spell.

The spells are pretty good. They include the following...
- Possession spells that allow you to control (and even fight as) your enemies. This is good for infiltration (to get into the police yard to retrieve valuable items in the first Dearborn levels) and for one rescue mission (to keep your Colonial era ancestor alive and relatively intact you'll need to possess one of his captors and beat the other one up while in "possession" of one captor).
- Powerful attack magic which levels lots of enemies.
- A few good defensive magic spells, though the offensive magic is better.

Also the magic can be used to solve certain puzzles, and recharging is easy as it can be done with the energy of defeated Deadites.

Lastly there's saving your progress. It's done using tokens you find. Now those are easy to find, and I found so many that I never ran out though some management of your tokens might be a good thing.

Bosses are kind of a pushover once you know the trick to beating them. And there is a trick to wiping out each boss, which once learn makes them too easy to destroy. In fact (once you know what to do) you'll find some of the normal monsters to be more of a challenge than the bosses.

Bonuses in the game include an Arcade mode (replay levels you beaten in arcade mode which is good for quick play), or watch the Making Of video starring Bruce Campbell (Ash) which was originally aired on G4/TechTV (home of X-Play).

I beat the game, but there doesn't seem to be any unlockable extras or anything.
In fact I'm a little disappointed by the lack of extras. I was hoping for more.
Gameplay is straightforward enough, but there isn't enough substance past the gameplay and Bruce Campbell's acting performance (which is good) to keep you playing. In fact after awhile you might actually grow bored of the

game, even if you are a die hard Evil Dead fan.

If only the game had more substance and "meat" than it did, I might have thought better of it.
However it seems to sputter and die when it comes to it's Replay value, of which it doesn't seem to have much unless you're a major Bruce Campbell/Ash fan and love to hear his witty one liners again and again.
It's good... but it has no endurance for long term playing.
Okay. Breakdown time.

Evil Dead Breakdown
What's Hot? - It's fun... for awhile. But without extras or things to keep you coming back for repeated playing it may be nothing better than a rental game. After all once you beat it what's the point? Put it into the PS2 once a year every Halloween and make it part of an Evil Dead party? Otherwise where is the replay value in this game? It doesn't seem to have much to lure people to play it over and over again.

It's good and fun, but still...

What's Not? - You mean besides the whole lack of replay value thing?
Let's see... hmm... another Not for me is the lack of real depth in this game. It's a beatdown game for the most part with the incidental puzzle or thing that requires some thought to overcome.

The meat and potatoes of the gameplay is the beating down of Deadites. The puzzles and thought provoking things that make you think seem secondary to the beatdown.
Uh... and I guess this is more Action than Survival Horror because I wasn't horrified for a second of this game. It seemed more actiony than horrifying, which is probably why I liked it.
Then again maybe I'm just jaded.

Moments to Remember
I can sum the moment up in two words. Bruce. Campbell.
Without a doubt one of the major reasons you might even be considering getting this is his being in this game as his Ash character. If you are a major Bruce Campbell fan and loved the Evil Dead movies you'll be picking this up (which should be in the bargain bin considering how long it's been out).

Maybe the action too, but for me I think the only memorable thing is Bruce Campbell.

What to Ignore?
Uh... hard to say. I have a feeling there's something I want to ignore... but I can't put it to words.
Ah. Yeah. Ignore the fact that you are probably going to be five steps ahead of Ash all the way through this game in terms of what‘s going on, and probably already know where things are going way before he does which might not be a good thing. Otherwise the gameplay is solid even if without enough easter eggs and stuff to keep you playing over and over again.

Overall?
Let's face it. You are here for only one thing, Bruce Campbell.
The game is a pleasant rental but it doesn't have enough "meat" to it to make it ownership material.
It would, however, be worth buying if you are a major Bruce Campbell fan or can't get enough of stuff like the Evil Dead movies... but even then I have my doubts.

As always you should try rental, but considering now the game should be dirt cheap in the bargain bin you might want to buy it since it's so cheap anyway (renting might seem a waste if the game is only a little more expensive than renting, which means you might as well buy it if it's that cheap).
But don't expect this to have a home in your permanent collection, it just isn't good enough for that kind of long term commitment. Sorry.