Illbleed

You could say I am big into the whole survival horror genre. I've played the good (Resident Evil: Code Veronica), the bad (Carrier) and the awful (Countdown Vampires). Basically if the title has a creepy/subhuman feel to it, I'm bound to give it a whirl. I really wasn't sure to expect with Illbleed, but due to the recent drought of Dreamcast games I bought it on impulse. Within the first 10 minutes I could say without blinking that this game was horrible. So why 3 stars? Well, once you get the hang of the game it is actually quite fun. Though it must be said that one needs a lot of patience to get into the swing of things. As I was saying my biggest beef with Illbleed is it's horribly steep learning curve. The instruction manual really isn't sufficient when it comes to explaining Illbleeds bizarre mechanics. The majority of people are going to start the game and die very quickly a few times before realizing what needs to be done or completely giving up. It has to be said that there is a graveyard that can be used for training at the beginning of the game. Though I can't help but feel that it was somewhat of an afterthought due to the fact it is practically hidden and borderline useless. On top of that, the first level is reasonably hard. Illbleed reminds me a lot of the Playstation series Deception. The big difference is that you are on the receiving end of the traps rather then setting them. Like Deception, traps are numerous; most are random, some are not. To avoid the plethora of traps you have 4 senses, "Sight," "Sound," "Smell," and "Sixth Sense." They peak as according to how close the character is to the trap. At the beginning of each level you must find a "Horror Monitor" which you can use to mark off what you think might be a trap. The "Horror Monitor" can lead to extreme frustration for many reasons. Initially I had no idea where to find the "Horror Monitor" because it is well hidden in the first level leaving me confused about what to do and absolutely raging. Once it is found the biggest problem with the "Horror Monitor" is that disarming potential traps can be a total guessing game. This is can be daunting, considering that you are limited to the number of objects that you can warn because every trap mark off leads to a drop in "adrenaline." Use too much too soon and you are not gonna last long. Don't use enough and you will probably be too beaten up to complete the level. On rare occasions the "Horror Monitor" is not just a shot in the dark. For instance, when a dead body is down the hall from your character and has potential to a trap the "Smell" and the "Sight" might spike, tipping off that you should probably mark off the corpse. Though after an hour or so you do get a feel for what is and is not a trap from trial and error resulting in a suspenseful environment rather than a frustration one. When you think of the average life bar in video games the first thing that comes to mind is a gauge that depletes as your character is damaged. Illbleed does not have one life bar, it has three. One is the standard strength gauge that all games have. The others are fairly unique; a blood lose gauge that monitors the amount of blood lost per second and a heart rate gauge. Lose all your strength, you die. Lose too much blood, you die. Get scared when your heart rate is too high, you die. It is very hard to maintain lifebar homeostasis. This may anger some game players but I felt it added to the perilous atmosphere Illbleed is trying so desperately to uphold. Illbleeds controls at times are plain insufficient. This is not entirely true when you are just exploring, though pressing the R-trigger constantly for the "Horror Monitor" gets mighty annoying. The controls are problematic during the fight sequences. I found that there is a one-second delay from when you hit attack and when the character actually attacks. Also, the camera during combat is inconsistent. It's either too far away, too close or is facing the incorrect direction so you cannot even see what is happening. You get accustomed to the control's and camera's sloppiness but nonetheless it is unacceptable. Story wise there isn't much of one, though it is similar to the movie "House on Haunted Hill." There is a billionaire moviemaker, he is twisted, he is offering 100 000 000 dollars to anyone that can survive his house of horrors, people go in and don't come out, and our heroine must rescue them. Simple as that. Illbleed is not breathtaking but definitely visually pleasing. Characters move fluidly, textures are nice, and the colors are vibrant. The B movie feel adds a lot to the atmosphere and it is great to see a survival horror game that doesn't take itself too seriously. Though some jerky/poor trap animations take away from the overall visual presentation. Lastly, the non-existent load times are very pleasing. I do recommend Illbleed, but definitely rent it before you purchase. After you conquer the initial confusion you are in for an original, addictive and humorous game.

So I am a sucker for low-budget B-movies, especially horror. The whole tongue in cheek humor and over the top craziness is so fun when mixed with a little gore and suspense.This game is really not for everyone, it can be very frustrating and doesn't make a lot of sense when you start playing it. However, it has some moments that just can't be missed. Hilarious and disturbing, creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky and all that. Anyone who likes movies such as Evil Dead (the original *sigh*) or Shaun of the Dead should either play it, or watch someone play it.

A B-movie horror-film producer puts up a million dollars to anyone who can survive a virtual house of horrors . But great ideas mean nothing without great execution and that's exactly what's happened here. Yes, Illbleed's graphics are Dreamcast quality and sure there are monsters all over the place, lots of areas to traverse and a good selection of weapons to use Yes, we even admire the fact that the game doesn't take itself too seriously (at all.) But in the end, it just isn't much fun. The best analogy I can offer here is that Illbleed is a lot like a backstage party with Ru Paul; all of the elements appear to be in place, but it's just not adding up to a good time. As bad as Blue Stinger was (also developed Illbleed is ten times worse My god, how do I escape this horrible nightmare?" will be a question asked by Illbleed players everywhere. The game offers everything except the ability to take itself back to the store

Little known uber cult classic among Dreamcast enthusiast. This game is made from the same company/creator behind Blue Stinger. Blue Stinger actually sold pretty well. Sega had asked Shinya Nishigaki to work on Blue Stinger part 2. Instead he decided to work on this. As the game was nearing completion Sega had backed out of publishing this. Mr. Nishigaki struggled to find a publisher. Ultimately he went with a offshoot of Jaleco. Unforuntately at the same time Sega decided to quit the console biz. Ironically one of your goals is not to die of a hear attack. Unfortunately a few years later the creator died of the very same thing. If you dont have patience this game isnt for you. The game is hard and is a bit awkward. However, this is a very unique game. This is a very bizarre game. Im not going to lie and tell you is execution is good. It isnt and you will be frustrated often.If you can stay the course you will find yourself in a very unique and different experience. Graphically wise it is average. Your goal is not to be scared to death. There are many traps and enemies. You can just run through this game. You have tools in your disposal to avoid this. It is a set in a B movie type horror environment. Rumors are there were only about 50 thousand copies sold. So you might have yourself a little bit of a collectors item if you can secure this game.

This was purchased for my husband and he said thank you, very Excellent!

I was realy looking forward for this ILLGAME. I played it for a while in a friend's house and it made me throw up. Its not scary, its not fun to play because its so damm HARD. THE FLAWS ARE: 1-controls while fighting is a bit hard. 2-the CG storys are realy bad(worse than BLUE STINGER). 3-its impossible to keep up with this game because its HARD. 4-since the game lets you rely on your six senses, its still doesnt work because you cant avoid a lot of traps(almost all of them) then you die and its game over. I realy cant believe that they have spent all this time on this realy fu_ked up game. STAY AWAY FROM THIS ILLGAME.

Interesting game nothing really like it , shipped fast and in described condition

I am glad that i did not buy this game, i borrowed it from my friend and i found out that it has one of the worst CG CINEMAS in gaming history, it has realy frustrating controls and i cant believe that they didnt fix the camera problems. .... DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON IT.

Good condition minus minor scratches on case,manual intact and Game works perfectly .