Illbleed for Dreamcast Review

The Story

Michael Reynolds is a B-movie producer whose movies were so gruesome they were banned from most theatres. He has put up over 5 billion dollars to build a 7 attraction movie theme park where he invites people to try and survive his Park of Horrors. If they do, the winners get 1 million dollars. So far, no one has made it. There is one catch: once you enter the house, you cannot leave until you either clear all the stages, or die.

The Gameplay

You play someone who has found an invite and decided to give it a try. As you progress through the theme houses (which range from zombies, to killer puppets, and contain over 1,000 booby traps) you have all your senses working for you.

Now this is where the game gets interestingly insane. You have four senses to help you at and are shown at the top of the screen in the form of a heart monitor. Sight, hearing, smell, and your sixth sense are flatlined when there is no activity near to activate that sense. When there is something near, the corresponding sense will start to throb (like a beating heart) giving you a hint of what could be nearby. Let me tell you that watching your Sixth Sense start to rise is kind of creepy because ANYTHING could be near by.

Besides the four senses, you also have to deal with your pulse, adrenaline level, bleeding level and your physical strength. You pulse will increase when you get scared, dodge, or see a trap. To decrease it you have to seek medical treatment or stand still. You may faint if it gets too high. Your adrenaline is directly affected by the Horror Monitor, which you can find during each stage. The horror monitor lets you scan an area for traps or for a shocking event that could occur. Your adrenaline decreases when you use it. If it gets to 0, you cannot use the important monitor.

Bleeding is just like it sounds. If you get attacked or fall prey to a trap you start to bleed. If it falls to 0, then you die. You can get medical treatment to stop this. Your physical strength operates as your hit points and guess what, 0=death.

While trying to deal with each stage, there are also conditions that must be met if you want to earn 100% of the prize money. Things like keeping your heart rate below 150 bpm, or clearing the stage is a certain amount of time will get you the maximum amount. If conditions aren’t met, then the money decreases.

The Graphics

Illbleed is a B-horror movie game and the graphics represent as such. Cheesy zombies, dark and isolated backgrounds and rooms, and simple monsters. Different rooms, like the rotating tile of lights room puts a little happiness into the dark graphics you’ll encounter during the game, but the dark graphics are a good thing since they fit in well with the type of game it is.

Thompson’s Two Cents

Illbleed is one of those rare games that takes the horror game genre to a new level. With the different senses and parameters of your health you have to pay attention to, you’ll find this game challenging and scary at the same time.

And Michael Reynolds kind of reminds me of Wes Craven.