Clive Barker's Jericho
Xbox 360
Codemasters/Atari


The problem with being a pioneer is that you have to keep that level of creative intensity going, otherwise you're overtaken by imitators, or those you've inspired. Take Clive Barker as a particularly relevant example - his work in the '80s pinned him as one of the most exciting writers in horror at the time.

Fast forward 20-odd years and Barker has whipped up 'Jericho', the story of a crack team of army operatives with supernatural powers. There's the tough Captain, whose powers manifested during a botched raid on the Taliban, the preacher with a dark past, the genius computer hacker, and the tough lesbian who actually has feelings for one of the male squad members, amongst others. It is, to say the least, pretty middle of the road stuff, and that's the problem with 'Jericho' in a nutshell, really - there's absolutely nothing that hasn't been seen before. The enemy art direction is dark and detailed enough to pass muster, but it doesn't do anything that stands out from the score of other dark shooters on 360.

In fact, the only thing 'Jericho' really does that makes it stand out is to have some of the most abysmal squad AI seen this generation. It's fortunate that you're given the power to revive fallen comrades, because the rest of the crack team seem to have missed the part of the training that detailed use of cover. As such, much of the game is spent cowering in cover yourself, taking the very occasional shot, waiting for the chance to bring your entire squad back to life.

After just a few battles, it saps all the enjoyment out of the game - you'll be replaying the same sections over and over again until you realise that you're far more medic than squad leader. And since it lacks the feeling of fairness present in the battles of 'Half-Life 2' or 'Halo 3' - where if you die, you generally know it's your fault - you'll be spending most of your time cursing the game for its cheapness.

Add to that a stifling linearity in the level design, voice acting that rarely rises above a high school drama class level of ability and it's a pretty unappealing package all up. With so many great shooters seeing release recently, 'Jericho' just doesn't match up, and doesn't offer anything different enough to even make it worth a glance.

Alistair Wallis