Amy Review

By Dan Whitehead Published 11 January, 2012

What's in a name?

Version tested: PlayStation 3

Just like hurricanes, horror games seem to go well with girl's names. First Catherine, and now Amy. Just names, nothing else, but simply by knowing there's a sinister context, these otherwise ordinary words take on a malevolent air. Yet it only works with girls names. Could you imagine getting chills down your spine from a horror game called Mike or Roger?

Sadly, that's about it as far as interesting things to say about Amy goes, as this shambolic collection of outmoded ideas and clumsy execution would have been sub-par if released in 1998. Put it up alongside even the shaggiest second-stringer in 2012 and it's hard to find anything positive at all.

The plot gets things off to a bad start, compiled as it is from a jumble of survival horror clichés. We open with Lana, our heroine, as she escorts the Amy of the title on a train. Through leaden exposition we learn that Amy is both traumatised and mute, and she's been sprung from a dubious research facility. It's not hard to see where this one's going.

Not helping is the fact that the quality of the cutscenes is dire. Stiff puppet-like movements, rigid figures and inane dialogue delivered in halting, flat speech all conspire to make the game more laughable than enthralling before you've even taken control. Already the on-screen captions are veering away from the spoken dialogue, a problem that only gets worse as the game goes on. It gets so bad that characters are referred to by completely different names in the subtitles than they are in the game.

Amy can copy glyphs from walls, which then give Lana magic powers for some reason.

But back to business. There's an explosion in the distance, just as Amy draws a picture of flames and people being eaten by monsters, and everything goes black. Lana wakes up on the wrecked train with no Amy in sight, and you're first order of business is finding her, as together Lana can keep Amy from panicking and Amy's magical psychic powers prevent Lana from becoming infected by whatever contagion is making everyone go all gloopy.

It's a tutorial quest that should cement our emotional investment in the characters - something essential to successful horror - but we've been given no reason to care. The relationship between Lana and Amy has been left vague and the acting is so bad that Lana simply doesn't seem that bothered.

You have more pressing concerns than narrative engagement, however. Simply moving around is a problem, thanks to a twitchy lurching camera that constantly threatens the player with seasickness, and a sticky frame rate that means simply walking in a straight line is a procession of judders and snags. Your view of the action is rarely satisfactory, and Lana becomes jammed on scenery items just out of view all the time.

Naturally, this handicaps the combat too. It's a horror game so of course people turn into shambling zombie things, and you're able to take weightless swings at them. You have two melee combat options - lunge forward to attack, or feint backwards to dodge - but even this limited repertoire is undercut by the game's woozy camera. Take a hit and Lana spins around, and the camera follows. While you're reorienting yourself, you'll take another hit. Since Lana can only take three or four hits, it means the survival in this survival horror is often out of your hands.

Death also introduces perhaps the game's most baffling and irritating design choices. First off, every time you die your inventory is wiped. Health syringes, vital for patching Lana up and fighting the infection, are taken away, leaving you even more vulnerable. In a better game, this could be a great - if brutal - way of increasing the tension. Here, where failure rarely feels like your own fault, it simply infuriates.

Making matters worse, checkpoints are sparse, so each demise can mean replaying up to an hour of gameplay as you go through the same puzzles, battles and dreary exploration just to get back to where you were. If that's not enough, the checkpoints are only active while playing and the game only saves your progress at the end of each chapter - and there's no manual save. Switch the game off mid-level, assuming that a checkpoint means your progress is safe, and you'll be forced to restart from the beginning of the last chapter when you return.

It's indicative of a game full of ideas and mechanisms that rarely work as planned. For example once reunited with Amy you can lead her around by the hand, Ico-style, and send her through small gaps into locked rooms to push buttons or retrieve objects. The gaps are clearly large enough for Lana to crawl through as well, but that's typical of design that throws immersion out of the window at every turn.

Too many puzzles are predicated on separating Lana and Amy using ridiculous contrivances, such as Amy being unable to climb ladders, or elevators that can only be activated by buttons on the other side of the room. If not that, then you'll be sighing in dismay at how many locked doors will only open after you've retrieved - wait for it - colour coded key cards. There's simply no sense that this is a logical story, set in a real place and populated by actual characters. If common sense must be thrown out of the window to cram another obvious video game obstacle in your path, then so be it.

Amy is all the more disappointing, given that it comes from Paul Cuisset, designer of the classic Flashback.

The problems quickly pile up, from minor irritations such as the way Amy lets go of Lana's hand at the slightest brush with scenery, to major inconveniences, such as the arrival of military goons who kill you on sight. Coupled with the idiotic checkpoint system and the game's half-baked idea of stealth, they make progress a hit or miss affair.

Crucially, the game simply isn't scary. Huge portions of gameplay are spent blundering around empty corridors, fighting the swaying camera and looking for the way ahead. The monsters are drab and obvious, while encounters are rare to begin with. Whatever thin atmosphere the game tries to muster by making gas pipes hiss and electricity spark as you walk past dissipates long before anything resembling pace or excitement can rear its head.

Games can survive bad dialogue and wonky mechanisms provided the experience has charm and originality. Deadly Premonition, the obvious example, suffers from many of the same technical issues as Amy, but is far and away a more entertaining ride thanks to its unique oddball style. Equally, plenty of games can be perfectly entertaining despite a lack of originality, provided they're served up with polish, pace and style.

Amy fails on all counts. It's plagued by jerky movement, poor scripting, weak puzzles and shoddy checkpointing, but it's also a characterless mess of themes and ideas swiped from a dozen better horror titles. Neither quirky enough to be forgiven its unfinished feel nor polished enough to satisfy the base gaming itch, Amy is a crushing disappointment with little to recommend it. With classic titles from both the Silent Hill and Resident Evil series getting HD re-releases there's absolutely no reason to suffer this shambolic imitation in search of your survival horror fix.

2 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Dan.

About Dan Whitehead

Dan has been writing for Eurogamer since 2006 and specialises in RPGs, shooters and games for children. His bestest game ever is Julian Gollop's Chaos.

Read more articles from Dan by visiting the Dan Whitehead archive page.

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Comments (156) Latest comment 3 weeks ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Goonboy #1 1 month ago

    ....but does it have a platinum trophy? :p

  • midnight_walker #2 1 month ago

    Oh dear.

    Oh dear oh dear.

  • Daeltaja #3 1 month ago

    Ouch :(

  • Tomo #4 1 month ago

    Wow, wasn't expecting that. This was on my radar.

  • Biker_Bob_1971 #5 1 month ago

    Post deleted at 16:59:10 06-02-2012

  • darleysam #6 1 month ago

    Hah, oh wow..

  • CaLeDee #7 1 month ago

    What if your review makes someone on the development team commit suicide? Did you ever think of that??

    I didn't think so.

  • darleysam #8 1 month ago

    I see why you said "please wait for our review before buying".

  • Vortex808 #9 1 month ago

    Ouch indeed.

  • the_dudefather #10 1 month ago

    Twice as good as Flatout 3 then!

  • -cerberus- #11 1 month ago

    Total disappointment. Where am I going to get my survival horror fix now? Resident Evil went to shit, Silent Hill has been taken hostile by a bunch of incompetent fools, Project Zero only gets released in Japan, ...

    Back to last-gen it is. *dusts off ps2*

  • TopKatt #12 1 month ago

    @CaLeDee

    Ah, but what if the game makes someone who bought and played it commit suicide, did they ever think about that?
    Edited by 1 at 11/01/12 @ 14:16

  • streetmagix #13 1 month ago

    Ouch, very surprised that Sony put their weight behind this turkey.

  • CaptainQuint #14 1 month ago

    I've just had a 'flashback' to that other awful review score we had the other day.

  • HiddenAway #15 1 month ago

    So, is it better or worse than PSP's Corpse Party then? :p

  • mrpon #16 1 month ago

    Bummer, looked an interesting concept.

  • ZuluHero #17 1 month ago

    That's a good point, Catherine is out soon here isn't it?

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #18 1 month ago

    That 3rd picture looks like a Zombie Nathan Cole

  • MattEdWithCheese #19 1 month ago

    @midnight_walker

    To me!

    To You!

  • CaLeDee #20 1 month ago

    @TopKatt

    I didn't think about that. I rescind my previous comment in light of my own ignorance.

  • arcam #21 1 month ago

    Anyone get the feeling EG is starting to put a bit more importance on originality, and punishing more games for stale plots and video game cliches? I like it, keep it up!

  • kingmancheng #22 1 month ago

    This makes me so sad, I had high hopes that survival horror was making a come back. Especially as it comes from the maker of Flashback.

    Oh well at least Naughty Dog are working on it! Bring on Last of Us!
    Edited by 1 at 11/01/12 @ 14:28

  • galerian86 #23 1 month ago

    Man, saw a trailer for this months back. Looked promising enough at that time.

  • Miths #24 1 month ago

    Makes for a pretty stark contrast to all those praising quotes from previews I just saw in the trailer :).
    Assuming the reviews from the sites in question aren't going to be a lot more favourable than this one, it's sometimes hard to understand what the hell can go wrong in the time between preview code is shown to the press and the game is released? But I guess in many cases previews are written based on barely any actual gameplay experience, and just some cleverly composed videos or demos from the developer?

  • jstar #25 1 month ago

    Hey Eurogamer - at the top of your reviews/previews etc how about putting the name of the developer and publisher and maybe even creative director like they do on IMDB so at a glance we get a better sense of who is making what.

    Making the names of whoever is responsible for games (companies and individuals) more widely known is surely good for long term quality?
    Edited by 1 at 11/01/12 @ 14:28

  • Darren #26 1 month ago

    Ouch at the score! :eek:

    So who can survive playing this horror?
    Edited by 1 at 11/01/12 @ 14:29

  • bigtechno #27 1 month ago

    So when it states it like Ico with zombies in the trailer it just means you drag a girl around with you

  • dadrester #28 1 month ago

    Could you imagine getting chills down your spine from a horror game called Mike or Roger?
    Quite the opposite. Mikie was all about collecting hearts and copping off with a girl (if my memory serves me correctly).

  • AbracadaverAK #29 1 month ago

    I knew this would be shit. Still, if it's this bad I must play it!

  • reeferchief #30 1 month ago

    So it'll be free for plus users in a few months then, I'll take a shot then lol.

  • Dismiss #31 1 month ago

    Oh come on, is this supposed to be the legacy of Flashback and Fade to Black? Thank God I still have Dead Space 2 and Forbidden Siren to get through.

  • Acquiescence #32 1 month ago

    Major bummer. Will wait for SH: Downpour.

  • arcam #33 1 month ago

    @Miths All previews tend to be pretty positive, I think there's an unspoken rule that games journalists should never be too hard on the preview build of a game.

  • seeafish #34 1 month ago

    "bla bla bla zombie!"
    I'm out! PEACE!

  • Paulie_P #35 1 month ago

    @-cerberus- Do you have a PS3? - Blood Siren is pretty good if you haven't tried it.

  • -cerberus- #36 1 month ago

    @Paulie_P: I have the blu ray version ;) But other than Blood Curse, there's not much else in terms of true survival horror on ps3.
    In fact, most decent attempts at survival horror are found on the Wii: Calling, Cursed Mountain, Ju-on, Project Zero IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse (got the import and the fanmade English patch installed)...
    Edited by 2 at 11/01/12 @ 14:47

  • carlosdfn #37 1 month ago

    Such a damn shame, I had high hopes for it. I'm so ready for a game like this but I'll guess I'll have to pass. I really wanted to support these guys but the reviews are just too bad.

  • deadstoned #38 1 month ago

    Ouch... Still want to check this game out though, even if it is on sale. Scary games are my thing =) .

  • bad09 #39 1 month ago

    Ouch does not sound good, another case of "Oh actually it's a turned out great for me that you delayed the PC version". :)

    This looked really interesting to I had such high hopes for it. My tastes tend to differ from EG reviews but people are already saying the demo on the consoles wasn't great :(

    For the love of god won't someone make a great Survival horror? Are we really to be left with the dross Capcom and Konami spew out these days? :(

  • MadCaddy13 #40 1 month ago

    Hmm... Read like an 8/10

  • Moth_Pope #41 1 month ago

    I was really interested in this... until I saw the very first video of it. Since then I got more and more put off by it. Big shame, as I'd love a good survival horror game to play.

  • Miths #42 1 month ago

    @arcam In that trailer the preview quotes weren't merely politely positive, several of them were pretty much praising the game as the saviour/second coming of the survival horror genre.

  • FireMonkey #43 1 month ago

    @arcam - Yeah, I don't think they should be allowed to take quotes from preview builds.

  • vert1go #44 1 month ago

    Could you imagine getting chills down your spine from a horror game called Mike or Roger?
    Oh I don't know about that... Milo always seems pretty chilling.

  • Naster #45 1 month ago

    Yet it only works with girls names. Could you imagine getting chills down your spine from a horror game called Mike or Roger?
    Lucius
    Edited by 2 at 11/01/12 @ 15:09

  • Darren #46 1 month ago

    What about... "Damien"?

    /shudders

  • Mister_G #47 1 month ago

    Glad I saw this, was going to get it. Thanks EG, you've saved me some money :)

  • captain_Carl #48 1 month ago

    Hate out of 10?

  • Obli #49 1 month ago

    @-cerberus- Have you tried SIREN: Blood Curse? It was (hopefully still is) on the Playstation Store (in episodes, IIRC). Got some decent reviews. I haven't played it myself, though.

    http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/siren -blood-curse
    Edited by 1 at 11/01/12 @ 15:19

  • DrStrangelove #50 1 month ago

    I just saw the image on the main page and thought "oh God, this is going to be awful."

    Apparently it's so awful my Flash player died when I tried watching the first vid.

  • Paulie_P #51 1 month ago

    @-cerberus- Yeah, its been slim pickings in recent years for Survival Horror. I got Corpse Party for the PSP and loved it myself but I'd hesitate in recommending it to others because there are some design decisions that will frustrate many people.

  • arcam #52 1 month ago

    @Miths Maybe I was being too diplomatic when I said journalists are encouraged not to be too harsh. Honestly I would never trust a preview for much more than basic plot and setting.

  • DrStrangelove #53 1 month ago

    @jstar

    There should be pillories, with inscriptions that read "I MADE DUKE NUKEM FOREVER" etc.

  • stryker1121 #54 1 month ago

    "Lana wakes up on the wrecked train with no Amy in sight, and you're first order of business is finding her."

    Hate to be that guy, but this sentence needs an edit..

  • ToAks #55 1 month ago

    NOOOOOOO. is it really that bad?

    fcuk it, i will buy it anyway, just to see if i might like it, even if just a little bit.

  • Lunatic4ever #56 1 month ago

    Shit...I expected this to be a really interesting game :S

  • makariel #57 1 month ago

    nooooooo :(

  • Inmediasress #58 1 month ago

    And here I was thinkig I can get my horror/survival game fix.

  • Badassbab #59 1 month ago

    @-cerberus-

    Dead Space

  • Nova1977 #60 1 month ago

    ....wow. I was so hoping this game was a throwback to the original Silent Hill.

  • Phantom_Dynamite #61 1 month ago

    Silent hill HD collection it is then.

  • agent55 #62 1 month ago

    "2/10"

    The horrendous gameplay trailer made that pretty clear.

  • Naster #63 1 month ago

    @-cerberus- and bad09

    Look no further than Amnesia: The Dark Descent. It's only for the PC, though.

  • DUFFMAN5 #64 1 month ago

    Played the demo and...not too fun at all.

  • Waldo #65 1 month ago

    Too bad Amy wasn't the talking gorilla from Congo and you had to lead her around by the hand solving puzzles and stuff.

  • BigE0n #66 1 month ago

    What does it take to get zero out of ten????
    Seems to me the only game that could get zero is if the only interaction was
    'Pressed start and game over screen appears, after the 18th attempt this is still not fun...' ;-)
    Edited by 1 at 11/01/12 @ 16:07

  • Quixz #67 1 month ago

    I bought this game like an idiot! The checkpoint system is soooooooooooooo BAD!
    Want my 800MSP back :(

  • bad09 #68 1 month ago

    @Naster

    Yeah got Amensia installed and ready to go after picking it up in the Christmas sale, I hear good things. Just need to dent some of my massive RPG backlog first!

  • Paulie_P #69 1 month ago

    @Naster Is Amnesia available on Steam? Will it run well on most PCs/Laptops bought in the last couple of years?

  • Uncle_Fishboy #70 1 month ago

    "Yet it only works with girls names. Could you imagine getting chills down your spine from a horror game called Mike or Roger?"

    Henry: Portrait of serial killer.
    Martin (George Romero Film about a boy who thinks he's a vampire)

    Ok they're not games but they are unsettling/scary films with boys name. Up your bum Eurogamer.

  • -cerberus- #71 1 month ago

    @Badassbab: True that the first game had its moments but it's just another gory shooter with monster closets ŕ gogo.

    @Naster: I very rarely play on pc but if there's a hard copy version available and my pc can run it, sure, I'll give it a go.

  • dirtysteve #72 1 month ago

    This had just popped into view, I was wondering about it, and BAM, just as quickly, it's gone.

  • samk #73 1 month ago

    "The gaps are clearly large enough for Lana to crawl through as well, but that's typical of design that throws immersion out of the window at every turn."

    Indeed. I watched the videos before reading the review and my reaction on seeing the girl crawl through the gap that supposedly the woman cannot was "hang on, *I* could fit through that gap, and I'm a 6 foot bloke in my mid thirties."

    I'll wait for the Resi Evil and Silent Hill remakes methinks.

  • TYPICAL_RANDOM #74 1 month ago

    Who is talking in the video? It sounds like the guy who played Lucas in Fahrenheit?

  • Canyarion #75 1 month ago

    Amy, come sit on my wall.
    And remake the story of old.
    Tell it like you still believe,
    that the end of the century
    is a change for you and me.

    (I know it's actually Amie, but that song is too gorgeous not to be mentioned here.)

  • arcam #76 1 month ago

    @Canyarion A man of taste.

  • weebl #77 1 month ago

    Is it worth it
    Let me work ya
    Put an eight down flip it and reverse it

  • superted1974 #78 1 month ago

    Cheer up.

    At least that is a 10 in binary!

  • flameboy84 #79 1 month ago

    ouch

  • 8bitMofo #80 1 month ago

    Hydrophobia all over again.

  • Lucodeath #81 1 month ago

    And I thought it couldnt get any worse than Alone in the Dark inferno.

  • Sharzam #82 1 month ago

    Shame, looking at then trailer and dev videos you 'imagine' it has some really good concepts and ideas to make a really intreasting game. Althourgh as pointed out in the review you need more than just a concept.

  • havoc2011 #83 1 month ago

    @-cerberus- Are you posting from a PC? If so get Penumbra and/or Amnesia and you're set. Just remember a spare pair or pants though.

  • Naster #84 1 month ago

    @Paulie_P

    Yep, Amnesia is on Steam. It's not that resource-heavy so it should run fine even on a bit older hardware, but you can try playing the demo on Steam first to make sure.

    I'd be more worried about whether your mind can handle the game ;)

    @-cerberus-

    A retail version hasn't been released in Europe as of yet, but you can get the US version e.g. from here.
    Edited by 3 at 11/01/12 @ 23:34

  • Paulie_P #85 1 month ago

    @Naster Thanks!

  • UltraPoci #86 1 month ago

    Is there a demo on PSN? I'd like to try it even though 2!

  • Bulbatron #87 1 month ago

    Oh, dear.

    Still, I love my horror games, so I may well give the demo a go regardless.

    As of now though, I can't see myself buying the full game.

  • ps-360 #88 1 month ago

    WOW!!

  • silversun #89 1 month ago

    Have a question for the reviewers , first up only heard small things about this game so cant say it on my radar till a few days ago however the 2/10 score , is the game unplayable? or is it just a case of you did not like the game such as when some on eurogamer disliked the new duke nukem game.

    2/10 seems very harsh when i started reading, sounded more like 4/5 (your view on it - i have no view on it)
    what i getting at is are the animation just stiff and old compared to modern games or is the game a trainwreck?
    Edited by 1 at 11/01/12 @ 20:18

  • Bulbatron #90 1 month ago

    I reckon I could suffer the sloppy gameplay. It's the checkpointing that worries me.

    Have to agree with the praise for Penumbra and Amnesia. They are both superb games. If you're using PC, Mac or Linux, I would highly recommend them.

  • madjim #91 1 month ago

    I was thinking the other day, that this generation's survival horror console was... the Wii! It got the best version of Resident Evil 4 (though the game is last-gen), it got the pretty decent "The Calling" (despite what the reviews might say, I enjoyed it better than RE5 in terms of horror sensations), it got "Ju-On" (not bad at a low price), "Fragile Dreams" although this is partly survival horror, "Cursed Mountain", "Dead Space Extraction", the truly amazing "SH:Shattered Memories" and two RE spin-offs which are not also bad at all! And of course, the "Fatal Frame 4", which was the reason to softmod my Wii, not to pirate it (I am totally against that behavior), but to run it hacked with English translation. And this one, let me tell you, is the best this gen!

    On the other hand, besides Dead Space series, Condemned and Siren Blood Curse, Dead Island a couple other zombie titles (and maybe "Homecoming";) I can't think of other strong horror titles for my 360/PS3. These are very few titles, especially when compared to the casual Wii. Thought that Amy would change something, but... 2/10?? WTF were they thinking?

  • curtlikesmeat #92 1 month ago

    Wow, that's a shocker, was sort of looking forward to this.

  • Bulbatron #93 1 month ago

    Post deleted at 21:05:55 11-01-2012

  • Bulbatron #94 1 month ago

    @madjim agree with you about the comparative lack of decent horror titles for Xbox 360 (can't answer for PlayStation 3 since I haven't got one). It's frustrating to see so many nice-looking horror titles released for Wii alone.

  • HarryMasonHerpderp #95 1 month ago

    @-cerberus- haha so true.Your not alone!

  • Hellion83 #96 1 month ago

    Post deleted at 20:12:17 01-02-2012

  • Lemming81 #97 1 month ago

    @-cerberus- Don't suppose you've got a half-decent PC to play Amnesia: Dark Descent on have you? I can't imagine survival horror will mean the same thing to you after playing that!
    Edited by 1 at 11/01/12 @ 21:40

  • digitalash #98 1 month ago

    6 metapoints higher than Postal 2. Now that's saying something.

    Disappointment of the year so far.

  • Nephirion #99 1 month ago

    Reads like a 1

  • mkreku #100 1 month ago

    It's Dan Whitehead. This will probably be my GOTY :/

  • mukki #101 1 month ago

    Dang! a 2
    as eurogamer ever given a 1 or a 0?
    could check a I guess... but alas it is late and I am feeling lazy

  • SteveHolt #102 1 month ago

    Played the trial version, had to give up, it's like an headache-inducing mix between hydrophobia (awful voice acting, boring technical mumbo jumbo and tons of backtracking) and alone in the dark HD (lots of good intentions, instantly ruined by poor execution). The worst thing is, I'll probably buy it someday because I can't resist a survival horror, no matter how bad it is.

  • Pwnsweet #103 1 month ago

    guess I'll replay REmake

  • penhalion #104 1 month ago

    Given this review can you now please stop forgiving this kind of nonsense in so called AAA titles!

    Take Archam City for instance and the annoying plot. Batman get's poisoned by joker blood and ends up chasing the antidote nonsense. In Batman reality (obviously not realworld) a sample of his blood and the bat computer would have had the antidote winging it's way to him in minutes. Freeing us up to try to stop strange and have the odd encounter with the joker and dare I say it actually enjoy the city. Instead much of the time I was forced to undergo stupid missions knowing full well that when I got to point B the antidote would be mysteriously whisked away or not there at all. What a frakkin' downer. And don't get me started on the catwoman/robin nonsense

    Seriously. You guys forgive much of this crap in AAA titles like it doesn't matter but, while I may find myself alone in this sentiment, I'm sorry it does matter a hell of a lot. I've skipped high scoring titles last year and will do the same this year because I simply don't trust reviewers to be honest anymore. Clearly brushing major bugs and flaws under the carpet based solely on who wrote a title and not if it's even finished as a game.

  • Acrid #105 1 month ago

    Really? Fuck, it looked good as well, I'll wait for a demo to hit PSN and make my own mind up though

  • FortysixterUK #106 1 month ago

    2/10? is that the lowest score EG have ever given?
    I'd never heard of this game but was surprised to see that score.

  • NBAoz #107 1 month ago

    When I heard that this game was coming from the same chap that created Flashback, I was excited and eagerly awaiting it's arrival, so I am very disappointed to see the end result...

    I think the only way the developer can hope to make a profit now and recover from this train wreck is if they tell everyone that if they buy Amy they promise to make a faithful HD remake of Flashback for all current gen consoles ;)

    I think in that scenario, I would have to relent and purchase Amy as I would LOVE to see Flashback make a return. One of my favourite games of all time.

    Of course this whole situation could have been avoided in the first place had they just remade Flashback instead of Amy...

  • Rack #108 1 month ago

    I know its obvious but why did people have to mention Amnesia? I'm going to have nightmares tonight.

  • Fox89 #109 1 month ago

    It takes a truly special kind of screw up to make me disappointed in the review performance of a game I wasn't even looking forward to. :eek:

  • beatwolf #110 1 month ago

    fucke me. Had my hopes up for this!

  • Kami #111 1 month ago

    And this is why my new years resolution is to stop overusing and relying on the word "potential"...

  • ghostgate2001 #112 1 month ago

    Yes, Amnesia is well worth a look. And the earlier Penumbra games from the same developer. Amnesia reminded me a little bit (in a very good way) of Eternal Darkness : Sanity's Requiem. There simply aren't enough horror games with "insanity effects" out there... THIS - CANNOT - BE - HAPPENING! :eek:

    Whatever happened to the survival horror genre, eh? Seems there's enough of us here who miss those halcyon last-gen days when new survival horror games were arriving faster than you could keep up with them. They're so thin on the ground these days, even the games that were considered missable also-rans last-gen (Kuon, Haunting Ground, Rule of Rose, Echo Night Beyond, etc) feel like fine vintage wines compared to the handful of mostly Western-developed action-oriented so-called horror games we've been treated to this gen.
    Edited by 1 at 12/01/12 @ 03:01

  • ATNR1 #113 1 month ago

    @MadCaddy13 hmmmm 10 minus 8 = 2. There is definitively a pattern here.

  • oupe #114 1 month ago

    10-8 you've pulled if off again!

  • saku_luk #115 1 month ago

    First time I didn't read/watched a review...

    Bought...

    Didn't profit :(

    Still might as well finish it since I got it right? :<

  • Architect_z #116 1 month ago

    Coconut dodge looks scarier than this.

  • King_Edward #117 1 month ago

    - Low encounter rate
    - Keycard puzzles
    - contrived set-pieces

    Is it wrong that find these things make Mr want the game more?

  • ZuluHero #118 1 month ago

    Ok... i played the demo last night. It has some atmosphere and I can somewhat forgive the shoddy animation, stilted voice work and contrivances in the game design like Amy holes that big enough to fit a grown woman in (wait, that came out wrong), and switches and buttons being miles away from the object they are supposed to power (hey, maybe the re-wiring guy went a bit crazy).

    BUT what really perplexes me is that hacking mini-game and what amazes me even more so is WHY on earth it hasn't been mentioned here!

    Basically you have 4 rows that you have to fill with 4 different symbols. Each row has 5-6 to choose from. Not in no more than FIVE ATTEMPTS you have to figure out which symbol goes where in the correct order! The only feedback you get is from a little marker that tells you if the symbol is wrong (red X) right, but in the wrong order (Yellow - ) and correct (Green tick). It's supposed to be process of elimination to narrow down the potential choices, but you will often use 2-3 attempts just to find the correct symbols. And to top it all off, the code randomises the answer every time you quit or fail!

    In the end, i figured out that it wasn't so random after all, and it cycles about 8-10 codes. And when i figured out the 1st 2 symbols i just waited for that sequence to come around again before attempting to figure out the remaining 2 symbols.

    I got through the demo, and like i said it's not too bad. I would have given it about a 4 personally. To those who dropped the 800 points on it straight away, why on earth didn't you try the demo first??

    I guess i'll close with the old saying, fool me once, shame on you...
    Edited by 2 at 12/01/12 @ 09:18

  • eddiehitler #119 1 month ago

    @madjim Condemned was awesome and was the first game I played all the way through on my 360 back at launch.
    Shame there hasn't been a third one yet as its the best horror game I've ever played :(

  • saku_luk #120 1 month ago

    No demo on PSN... or at least I didn't see one...

  • Zerobob #121 1 month ago

    Ouch....I just thought "Ouch" needed saying one more time.

  • scoop #122 1 month ago

    @jstar Those names you see, they're called scapegoats :p

    Although it must take quite a few goats to get a 2/10.

    Couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the quote of praise from elsewhere...are they really using preview quotes in their release trailer?

  • Dogme #123 1 month ago

    @eddiehitler Both Condemned games were great :) Finished them both and I fully expect a third game.

  • johnson81 #124 1 month ago

    The gaps are clearly large enough for Lana to crawl through as well, but that's typical of design that throws immersion out of the window at every turn.

    I think the reviewer is kind of harsh on this aspect as this happens in almost all games in one form or another. Waist high walls that can't be jump over, wooden doors that can't be opened with shotguns etc. Tried the demo last night and although it's a bit wonky, for Ł6.80 I think I may give it a try as I can play any old shite.

    I think this may be because I'm currently on a horror game binge at the minute for some reason, trying to complete games I've had for years but never finished. Currently on Doom3, Dead Space 1&2, Amnesia, Penumbra titles, F.E.A.R 3 and just rebought Condemned.

    Any other recommendations?

  • scuffpuppies #125 1 month ago

    @johnson81
    'Siren: The Blood Curse' is a little known gem. Crazy Japanese ghost story with surprisingly good visuals and several interesting mechanics (including those seen in Amy, yet a lot better). It's available to download via PSN (in episodes), or on BR. Only problem some might find is no trophy support as it was released mid 2008. Worth looking into though.

    Bought Amy last night before reading reviews, although I stopped playing after the 2nd stage and removed it from my HDD. It's quite possibly the worst game I've played in years. Dreadful animations, poor controls, awful mechanics, and outdated designs...searching for key cards, seriously?

    It does have's it's unintentional funny moments though. When you've sent Amy through a hole in mechanically sealed room, and directed her to do something through a window (press triangle), your character praises Amy for doing so well and we're given a close up of Amy as she smiles at the camera. I was expecting her to punch the air, Mario style. It's hysterical.

    Anyway, avoid at all costs and buy Siren instead.

  • YenRug #126 1 month ago

    What I would like to know, if this game is so irredeemably bad, why was it getting such good previews everywhere? Everything that I read, up until last night, was making out this was the "second coming" of survival horror games, that it might even be challenging the RE games for its crown; I got home last night and went onto the PSN store and saw this had gone live, bought it straight away and started downloading it. I then popped on here and was horrified to read this review, then this morning saw the "Amy is a travesty" post by IGN on Facebook; I'd like to know if the reviewers had this game to test before the rest of us, if so, why weren't there huge posts warning gamers not to buy this game until the reviews went live?

  • Bulbatron #127 1 month ago

    @johnson81 where to begin? There are the usual ones of course - the Resident Evil and Silent Hill games. If you want something a little different, you could try 'The Path'. 'Deadly Premonition' (which I think was mentioned in the review) is very good, despite having quite a few shortcomings. The original 'Condemned' is very good, but I personally didn't like the sequel very much at all. Though I personally was quite disappointed with it, lots of people liked 'Alan Wake', so that might be well worth a look. Hmm what else? Have you ever played 'The Suffering'? Another good game with a poor sequel. It depends what platforms you're able to play on. If you have a GameCube or Wii, then 'Eternal Darkness - Sanity's Requiem' is an excellent game, or if you want a bit more of a challenge, then how about 'Call of Cthulhu - Dark Corners of the Earth'? I could probably go on, but I won't.

  • bad09 #128 1 month ago

    @eddiehitler

    After they totally ruined condemned with that arse of a sequel I doubt you'll ever see a third game sadly. You are right though C1 was one of the best horror games I've ever played.

  • JohnnyNoir #129 1 month ago

    hmm. probably why its Ł7 psn game instead of a full price game

  • Slipstream #130 1 month ago

    Having played the demo I can say this game is rather bad, but also rather compelling! being chased around by a zombie andh having another NPC screaming at me to run for my life was hilarious especially since...

    A.) My weapon had broke so there was no way of defeating this single enemy and...

    B.) I had no where to run to, so everytime I ran past the NPC he would shout "Run for your life girl!" or something and the zombie would be totally oblivious of him. xD
    In the end Lana ran out of breath and was beaten to death...

  • johnson81 #131 1 month ago

    @ scruffpuppies & Bulbatron

    Thanks for the recommendations. Got most and completed Resident Evil games. A mate has Silent Hill 2, which I've heard is great. Finished The Suffering on the Xbox, can't remember much of it though. Deadly Premonition & Alan Wake have been on my radar but I've never gottten around to buying them.

    I actually own Eternal Darkness but never finished it. Call of Cthulhu & The Path are on the list now. I have Forbidden Siren on PS2 import but never finished that years ago. I think that takes me to about 15 games to play and that doesn't even include the Wii. I think my gaming tied up for the next 6 months.
    Edited by 1 at 12/01/12 @ 14:48

  • Kami #132 1 month ago

    Having bought it and played it, I don't think it's quite as bad as this review makes out. Yes, it's clumsy at times. Yes, it's got glitches. And yes, there are more than an acceptable amount of instant death mechanics that really shouldn't have gotten through. But it's reasonably pretty, very atmospheric and a damn slight scarier than Homecoming was.

    But with such a reliance on trial-and-error and instadeath should you screw up, especially with such a clunky checkpoint system, does mean this is hard. Like, very hard. Redoing whole stages hard.

    Some will love this return to serious challenge. Others will break their controller in frustration.

    I think this is a marmite game. I quite liked it, actually. Nothing amazing, no, but for 800MSP, I've played far, far worse...

    Daggerdale, why u no go away?!

  • Violator #133 1 month ago

    No good :(

  • DanWhitehead #134 1 month ago

    @Kami "Some will love this return to serious challenge. Others will break their controller in frustration."

    If I thought the challenge was deliberate I probably would have scored it higher, but it just feels like broken ideas banging into each other and leading to frustration. Dark Souls it ain't.

  • Kami #135 1 month ago

    @DanWhitehead; Well, quite. I'm not saying this should be an 8 or a 9, because it relies a lot on instadeath which, whilst fun for a while, can get annoying when the games gets too vague, especially with the checkpointing system.

    But with that said, I've played Daggerdale. Which redefined what utter crap really is for me on XBLA. Amy is flawed, doesn't execute its ideas terribly well and yes, it's not original, clever or particularly polished. But it's so way way ahead of Daggerdale that I simply cannot agree, Amy for me is a 5 - functional, nice ideas and nice concept let down by shonky glitches and not-so-good execution.

    But with all that instadeath and not very good checkpointing, I can see why some will hate it. I can only say I actually rather liked Amy - no, it's not anything special and no, it's not great. But y'know... just thought I'd say that I liked it. Not loved it, not recommending, but had some good times last night with it.

    It could have been better. SHOULD have been better. But it isn't. But I just can't agree with the 2.

    But then, you guys gave Daggerdale a 7. Wouldn't be the first time I've facepalmed at how much I disagree with a score here.

  • Bulbatron #136 1 month ago

    @johnson81 More suggestions:

    http://www.eurogamer.net/forum_thread_posts.php? thread_id=109292

  • mcreddie #137 1 month ago

    WHAT DID I SAY

  • LEONOFDEATH #138 1 month ago

    This should have been good. :/

  • Murton #139 1 month ago

    Was looking forward to this, then it missed the release date and it slipped my mind then reappeared and I thought "oh yeah, this looked good" then it release for 8 quid with no demo. Been on a load of overtime this weekend but had the weekend off so was going to get it tonight, guess I won't bother now, but should it appear on a sale for a couple of quid I'll give it a punt, until then...

  • juliankennedy23 #140 1 month ago

    @silversun I got stuck on the environment while playing the demo and had to restart. I understand from some the game gets worse. Needless to say a 2/10 seems accurate.

  • EmiliasHorse #141 1 month ago

    I wasted an hour of my life downloading the XBLA demo. Thank god for demos.....

    I watched a video of this last year and thought with some serious spit and polish it could turn out ok.....ishhhh. I played the demo until I died dragging Amy through a room full of zombie things, I got stuck on the scenery... when I realised the checkpoint was a good 10 mins of game time back I did the only thing anyone could do. I returned to the Xbox home screen and promptly deleted the game, 2/10 is actually 2 too many in my opinion.

  • kalstrams #142 1 month ago

    Not a surprise for a game that was nowhere to be found before release.

  • JHo #143 1 month ago

    For those of you looking for an excellent "Survival Horror" title might I suggest the incredible "Dead Island" from Techland? I've played every survival horror game in existence and still can't believe the sense of dread and adrenaline I get from Dead Island.

    Those fuckers REALLY want you dead!!

  • JoeGuy #144 1 month ago

    He sure took a 'hot steaming pile of Amy' all over that game...

  • Kew1Melon #145 1 month ago

    That write up has just sold it to me, defo on my wishlist for 2012 :cool:

  • ant72 #146 1 month ago

    I can only hope that the reason Flashback has been pulled from the App store, is that Paul Cuisset is now turning his attention to more important things :)

  • hybridial #147 1 month ago

    @ghostgate2001

    Haunting Ground was in no way an also ran, I consider it legitimately one of the best survival horror titles ever made. Not really its fault that survival horror games even back then were largely not appreciated.

  • danger.to.others #148 1 month ago

    I see many holes in this review.

    First, if the subtitles are messed up, there's an easy fix. The options. Simply turn them off. I played the game with them off from the beginning, so I had no problem there.

    Swinging camera you can't control? Did your hands have the shakes or something? The camera only tends to swing at obvious parts occasionally, such as if you take a corner where the camera can't fit and it changes angle a bit, just like most third person games.

    Animations are stilted, this is true. But while Amy may not be 2012 cutting edge, the animations are equal to Heavy Rain or any Silent Hill or Resident Evil.
    So yeah, animations are old, but nothing a survival horror fan isn't used to.

    As far as you getting hit, the gameplay makes me think of Silent Hill 2 and the same way they're trying to remind you you're not playing as Rambo, you charge in to fight, yeah, you'll get slapped silly and even likely die. Try running once and a while.
    Although, again, if that's more frustrating than fun to some, you have the option to turn down the difficulty. You should have no problem killing away on easy.

    And then the reviewer insinuates that checkpoints are so far away you could lose up to an hour of lost time. That is simply not true.
    The worst spaced checkpoint could lose you 10 to 15 minutes. Which makes me question if the reviewer actually played the game.

    In fact, all the "professional" game sites beat poor Amy to hell in reviews and sound almost exactly like the review here. And yet few of the points are accurate to the game.
    It's one thing to say you didn't enjoy the game, it is your review, but quite another when you present features in the game to possible buyers that don't actually happen or are embellished to the extreme or even can be fixed in the options so they aren't an issue at all.

    Amy is not cutting edge. It is a Heavy Rain (in tone) meets Silent Hill 2 (in atmosphere and gameplay). It has old style controls that work perfectly fine for those who've played those games and would frustrate those who play only shooters.
    It released for ten dollars (I'm in America) and is an old school throwback to the Silent Hill days. Survival Horror fans, given the price, it's worth the trip. It won't blow your mind, but it's not terrible game reviewers across the web have painted it as. It's around a 7 out of 10, fans of the old days should like it and certainly get ten dollars worth.

    I know this is only videogames, but can't reviewers at least attempt SOME professionalism?

  • frod. #149 1 month ago

    It's ok to enjoy a shit game btw.

  • Ranger101 #150 1 month ago

    I think this part of DSP's playthrough says it all:

  • tankboi #151 1 month ago

    Ouch.

    I was going to say 'surely it cant be that bad'...but then I noticed a giant mutant creature wrapped in chains in the video. FFS.

    Seriously, can someone hire me as an art director? I promise I will deliver a much more original style for 1/2 (OK 3/4) of what you are paying your existing one.

    Lots of teeth trying to escape the face too...seriously, come on guys :/
    Edited by 1 at 18/01/12 @ 13:22

  • saku_luk #152 1 month ago

    Seems like on PSN you can change your rating... I just did, from 3 to 2 stars and it was updated....
    Edited by 1 at 18/01/12 @ 18:46

  • Psychotic_Mike #153 4 weeks ago

    Personally I hate survival horrors they are all the same! zombies, zombies zombies what the heck is up with that.... its like watching those stupid 80's horror movies that had no plot at all, just hacking and slashing till the end, no meaning whatsoever...It's crap like this thats killing the genre, I miss the originality the mystery, having a good story.

  • Silentassassin #154 4 weeks ago

    how many zombie games are they going to make!!! all games are about zombies !! i think maybe EA is going to make need for speed zombies too !!!

  • TheMillionDollarMan #155 4 weeks ago

    I know a girl called Amy...I'd probably give her 1!

  • Kalak #156 3 weeks ago

    @Silentassassin "...i think maybe EA is going to make need for speed zombies too !!! ...."

    GREAT IDEA !
    ;-))