Clive Barker's Jericho

By Dave McCarthy Published 19 July, 2007

Clive Barker's squad based apocalyptic gore more like.

The chaps at Codemasters hope that Jericho will be the start of a longer term collaboration with Clive Barker. On the evidence of the most recent demonstration of the game, it looks like a collaboration that will get off to a good start. It's a game that basically consists of squad-based apocaplyptica, complete with generous gobs of viscera splattering the camera, plenty of wisecracking banter between squad-mates, a mysterious and baroque sense of gloom and plenty of glistening gun metal and fancy lighting effects penetrating the murky shadows for good measure.

As the name suggests, the concept and storyline come from the mind of Clive Barker - the creative visionary behind such works as Hellraiser and Imajica. Which means that, as horror sub-genres go, it's about the grotesque and bizarre rather than the psychological or survival. This is a game that's about action, not stealth, and pretty intense action at that. It's also a game about imaginatively aberrant places and people: there are inter-dimensional rifts, supernaturally fat men puking bloody entrails straight from their stomachs, ancient evils, and a narrative that stretches all the way back to God's Firstborn creation. And viscera. Did we mention viscera?

But at its bloody, palpitating, heart, it's a squad-based first person shooter. All of the conventional squad members are there: the deadly female; the gruff captain; the big bloke with big guns. But each one is given a paranormal twist, because the squad in question is a seven-strong team of US government operatives, tasked with protecting state interests from paranormal threats. The members of The Department of Occult Warfare include Lt. Abigail Black, a sniper whose telekinetic powers enable her to steer her bullets, or to shove enemies (or objects) back. There's Sgt. Billie Church, a close combat specialist who can also cut her hands open to perform magic with her blood. And Sgt. Frank Delgado, the big guy with a big gun, and also the ability to shoot flames from his fist. And finally there's that gruff sergeant, Ross, whose special power is that he's dead.

'Clive Barker's Jericho' Screenshot 1

One thing that wasn't covered in the demo is the way two team-mates can combine powers.

And that provides the basis for the biggest twist of all: you get to take direct control of each squad member, whenever you want. After the initial few levels, instead of simply ordering your team-mates around, as you would in one of the Tom Clancy games or so on, Ross can actually take possession of each one, allowing you to dive in and switch between them at will - a bit like Brute Force on the Xbox.

Of course, with such an array of talents at your disposal things could get confusing, but playing through the demo gave a sense that a little learning will be all that's required to get to grips with the body-hopping mechanic. Certainly you'll need to get used to it, because the demo starts as it means to go on: with relentless hordes of undead providing the basis for intense and hectic action. The premise is that your squad has gone in to investigate a burst of supernatural activity originating from a modern city built on an ancient site called Al-Khali. Over the course of the game, you'll go back through history to discover the precise ways in which the site has been a hotbed of psychic goings on since the dawn of time, till you eventually find your way to the ultimate evil behind generations of supernatural depravity. Specifically, Ross and his men (and women) are transported through a Breach - a dimensional rift - from modern-day Al-Khali, to Al-Khali as it was in World War II and thence to the times of the Crusades, the Roman Empire, and even the Tower of Babel.

'Clive Barker's Jericho' Screenshot 2

Cassus Vicus: a supernaturally fat renowned pervert.

The first demo that Codemasters show off takes place during the Crusades, with your squad headcount temporarily down to three (or four if you count the disembodied Ross). It opens with a good example of the way paranormal powers will work in the game as Black takes out three zombies in a row by steering a bullet (in bullet time, of course), before clearing out a blocked passageway by blasting the rubble out of the way. It also demonstrates the technical polish - the sophisticated lighting that shows off the game's impressive level design and architecture - and the way the squad-hopping feature allows for lateral puzzle solving, as Church heads off on her own to find the lever that opens a door to allow the rest of the party advance. It also shows off a QTE style mechanic as she scales her way down a disused well and grapples with a zombie up close by means of rhythmic button presses. But above all it shows off the game's unrelenting intensity, as wave after wave of undead nastiness besieges the squad.

That intensity is maintained during the second part of the demo, which moves the action back in time to Ancient Rome. This demo sees a restored seven-strong squad took on swooping, evil-looking birds in a massive coliseum full of more zombie types at the whim of Cassus Vicus - a 'famously obese pervert and cannibal' who we get to meet in the third part of the demo: a boss battle showdown against Cassus Vicus himself - a grotesquely obese monster, suspended from chains and defended by a 14-foot tall gladiator, though also capable of defending himself by sending a torrent of viscera spewing forth out of his disgustingly oversized belly.

'Clive Barker's Jericho' Screenshot 3

Jericho is gory nastiness from start to finish.

That disgustingly oversized belly is rendered using the developer's own proprietary engine, and it's impressive stuff. Indeed, the game looks surprisingly good for a game that's being created by a Spanish developer with just one game to its name (or someone else's name, actually: American McGee presents: Scrapland), and although it was shown off alongside the higher profile Turning Point, it was arguably Jericho that impressed the most. Clearly the success of the finished product will rest on how well the learning curve is implemented, and how successfully the game's difficulty is balanced against its intensity. But the combination of relentless action, squad-based supernatural abilities, and Clive Barker's feats of imagination is an enormously promising one.

Picture of Dave.

About Dave McCarthy

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Comments (67) Latest comment 4 years ago

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

  • lost_soul #1 5 years ago

    Ah, nothing to do with the TV show :-(

  • menage #2 5 years ago

    I don't know what the deal is with this game. But it's certainly not something I'm looking forward to. The only thing making it different is buckets of gore.

  • Freelancepolice #3 5 years ago

    griiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnd

  • ZuluHero #4 5 years ago

    I got scared playing doom 3 - so i'm leaving this well alone. There was a time where i was a horror game junkie, but as i get older and games get more visual and realistic i find that my nerves really can't take it anymore :)

  • Dizzy #5 5 years ago

    I think a big "Meh" is in order here.

  • Draqule #6 5 years ago

    "I think a big "Meh" is in order here."

    Do you perhaps have a blog or an RSS feed?.....I'm looking to cancel my subscription to Edge.

  • mingster #7 5 years ago

    are you all mad this sounds excellent goes to top of my most wanted asap

  • cyacomini #8 5 years ago

    Should have made a 'Pin Head' game instead.

  • Spanky #9 5 years ago

    Same clive barker who was responsible for the amazing brooding horror films such as Hellraiser and Nightbreed... oh right they weren't amazing or brooding, shlocky makeup messes... thas right.

  • Eraser #10 5 years ago

    Clive Barker's Undying was an excellent game though

  • Wolfman #11 5 years ago

    I you have ever played Clive Barker's Undying you will realise that it bodes pretty well for Jericho. Undying was one of those games that few played but infact was damn good.

    Not on top of my most wanted list but in my keeping-an-eye-on-it list.

    -wolfman

  • funkstar #12 5 years ago

    whats with the use of 'viscera' in this preview? someone needs a thesaurus :)

  • Wayne #13 5 years ago

    I *want* sooo badly for this game to be good. However, I don't like console FPSers, I don't like tactical shooters, and I don't like squad based games.

    It aint looking bright.

    But Barkers is ace! I'll buy it regardless.

  • mingster #14 5 years ago

    hellraiser was cool.. undying was good..
    lots of action.. gore.. horror.. all sounds perfect to me.

  • lefizz #15 5 years ago

    I have to saying that the line 'Indeed, the game looks surprisingly good for a game that's being created by a Spanish developer with just one game to its name' is basiclly borderline racist. The suggestion being the fact it looks good is surprising not only because the developer has one game under there belt but also becuase they are spanish. That bloody shocking peice of journalism is this day and age, I mean Spain has been a democracy for over 20 years and a very fast growing one at that. Treating them like some third class seconbd world country is just wrong. If you think that all Spain has to offer are cheap apparentments for pissed up brits on the costas you are about a millions miles fromt he truth.

  • lambtron #16 5 years ago

    "I have to saying that the line 'Indeed, the game looks surprisingly good for a game that's being created by a Spanish developer with just one game to its name' is basiclly borderline racist. The suggestion being the fact it looks good is surprising not only because the developer has one game under there belt but also becuase they are spanish. That bloody shocking peice of journalism is this day and age, I mean Spain has been a democracy for over 20 years and a very fast growing one at that. Treating them like some third class seconbd world country is just wrong. If you think that all Spain has to offer are cheap apparentments for pissed up brits on the costas you are about a millions miles fromt he truth."

    I think (just maybe) you've misread this and that he was implying that Spain isn't exactly noted for first class dev studios. Of course its entirely possible that he is in fact a card-carrying member of the BNP with some kind of bizarre hatred of the Spanish but I'm thinking my theory is probably more likely ;).

  • dog #17 5 years ago

    @ lefizz

    lol... you're spanish aren't you?

    and lets be honest, spain is really, really not famous for its hi profile game output....

    so i think it is a little surprising to hear of a demo from a hardly known inexperienced spanish studio which looks really interesting.... not racist, but worthy of comment :)

  • dfunked #18 5 years ago

    Is it just me or does the monster in the last pic look like it has a cock for an arm...

    Just me, then:D

  • Raziel #19 5 years ago

    'Indeed, the game looks surprisingly good for a game that's being created by a Spanish developer with just one game to its name'

    Lefizz, I'm sure you made the same comments against lines like this when the same was said about the Dutch developer Gurellia (sp?) when they first showed Killzone?

    The fact you get worked up over a quote like that, that means no harm, makes YOU the borderline racist.

  • SBfistfun #20 5 years ago

    @Raziel

    ZOMFG, you racist!

  • lefizz #21 5 years ago

    Raziel go fuck yourself

  • LeD #22 5 years ago

    Game sounds promising. Pity it's probably going to be ruined by incompetent spaniards.

  • SniperWolf #23 5 years ago

    Not racist just the truth, Spanish people make shit games but this one looks good. That's all he's saying.

    It's like saying Mexicans are lazy, black people like chicken, and a lot of people from the middle east are nuts,

    not racist, just the truth.

  • Rodney #24 5 years ago

    @ lefizz
    'go fuck your self'

    What a beatifully constructed arguement. How can anyone compete against such elequence and logic

  • Rodney #25 5 years ago

    Shit I just first broke my 'spitefull comment on forum' virginity

    What have I become!

  • kangarootoo #26 5 years ago

    @Raziel

    "The fact you get worked up over a quote like that, that means no harm, makes YOU the borderline racist."

    That is just nonsense. Reading too much into something is one thing (which I think is probably happening here), but I'm not quite sure how you equate someone being oversensitive to them being racist.


    @SniperWolf

    Nob.

  • Ludwig #27 5 years ago

    Whatever happened to Pyro Studios?

  • Turambar #28 5 years ago

    >I mean Spain has been a democracy for over 20 years and a very fast growing >one at that. Treating them like some third class seconbd world country is just >wrong.

    The term second world referred to communist states under soviet influence so it is no defunct. Despite any minor influence the soviets may have had i don't think spain was ever actually in this category.

  • lefizz #29 5 years ago

    kangarootoo thanks you.

    Sorry if i went up a bit but Raziel was talking such utter offensive twaddle that i exploded on the keyboard.

    And no I am not Spanish

  • Azazel #30 5 years ago

    squad-based apocaplyptica

    Cello simulator?

  • lefizz #31 5 years ago

    Turambar I stand corrected. The definitation in my head for that term was incorrect and based on the fact it was a dictatorship, have read the defintiton I can see i am wrong.

  • lambtron #32 5 years ago

    "squad-based apocaplyptica

    Cello simulator?"

    Only possible with the power of teh Cello ;)

  • kangarootoo #33 5 years ago

    @lefizz

    I figured you were likely not spanish (just based on the probability really). Funny how some people assume that if someone is defending something, they must have a direct connection with or investment in it.


    @Rodney

    "Shit I just first broke my 'spitefull comment on forum' virginity
    What have I become!"

    It gets easier every time, but believe me when you close your eyes at night you can still remember every face, and they never stop screaming.

  • Dizzy #34 5 years ago

    "spain is really, really not famous for its hi profile game output.... "

    Woah dude...

    One word: Indescomp

  • Wayne #35 5 years ago

    Is spanish a race?

  • w00t #36 5 years ago

    Indescomp?
    Edited by 1 at 19/07/07 @ 13:36

  • urizen #37 5 years ago

    "Game sounds promising. Pity it's probably going to be ruined by incompetent spaniards."

    glol!

  • aldo_14 #38 5 years ago

    Y'know, the 'surprising' bit might have nothing to do with the 'Spanish' bit and everything to do with the 'only one game bit'. Perhaps, even, the 'Spanish' bit is letting you know a bit more about the developer in general.

  • SomaticSense #39 5 years ago

    Ok, getting back to the game..........

    Spanky "Same clive barker who was responsible for the amazing brooding horror films such as Hellraiser and Nightbreed... oh right they weren't amazing or brooding, shlocky makeup messes... thas right. "

    Call me shallow then, but being a FPS nut and a fan of the 'Barker-esque' mood established in his books and the Hellraiser films, I'm massively looking forward to this.

    Never played Undying, but as long as the basic gameplay mechanics aren't fucked, and it doesn't suffer stupidly unfair AI, then I'll be well satisfied.

  • lefizz #40 5 years ago

    I would say that 'Spanish' was a race though the spanish might not. They would far more likely say they were castiliana, gallician, andalucian, basque or catalaunian.

  • kangarootoo #41 5 years ago

    @Wayne

    I don't think any definition is as clear cut as a passport application form might suggest :)

    Its really a matter of what level of detail and division you want to put in place. Its all just mixed together DNA really, any divisions beyond that are of our own creation.

  • sem1604 #42 5 years ago

    plus Ex-Pats and British Criminals in hiding.

  • Strifer #43 5 years ago

    People who are, quite literally, taking a dump on the game before actually playing it have never played Clive Barker's Undying. He did wonders in that game and he wasn't even with that team from the beginning.

    And Undying wasn't exactly a graphical masterpiece, but it still managed to scare me shitless multiple times. Damn you Howlers!

  • dominalien #44 5 years ago

    I'm not Spanish, but I'm working in Spain right now in a company that makes games and I must admit the people here are very competent. Spanish people.

    OTOH, being surprised by very high quality coming from a studio with just one game under its belt seems pretty normal to me.

  • El_MUERkO #45 5 years ago

    ban this sick filth!

  • Dizzy #46 5 years ago

    >Indescomp?

    You a gamer?

    Probably a young kit then ;) Google Indescomp and ZX Spectrum :)

  • mezzomorto #47 5 years ago

    "If you think that all Spain has to offer are cheap apparentments for pissed up brits on the costas"

    Not sure about the Costas (try to avoid them) but Madrid certainly does n't offer cheap appartments to anyone nowadays, what with the state of the property market (and ridiculously low wages) be they Spanish or "guiri".

    Pyros is about the only homegrown games developer with some kind of decent international track record

  • samadriel #48 5 years ago

    "Whatever happened to Pyro Studios?"

    Commandos 3.

    *sigh*

  • lefizz #49 5 years ago

    Dont talk to me about high housing costs and low wages, i bought a place in madrid 18 months ago and am still tryign to find a job that will pay for the morgage when we finally move.

  • lefizz #50 5 years ago

    In my job I am looking at swapping a 40k job in lodon for a 20k euro job in madrid. Pathetic doesnt even cover it

  • Strifer #51 5 years ago

    Guys, WTF? Because we should be discussing Jericho, not Spain.

  • lefizz #52 5 years ago

    oh yeah lloks like a croos between doom3 and condemend, snore. Falls asleep

  • RickHard #53 5 years ago

    @samadriel

    I agree. Commandos 2 was a real gem though. One of my all time favourite :)

    btw, I am spanish and I do know that spain is certainly not home to the best developers. Still, the article could have been more subtle...

  • Xerx3s #54 5 years ago

    What have I become!

    Join the dark side and we shall achieve great deeds! \0/

    Game looks good though, really expecting a lot of this.

  • Spanky #55 5 years ago

    "Call me shallow then"
    Naw i won't, at the time i also loved Hellraiser but looking back at it it was patently obvious that the only thing that made it stand out from 976 evil, Trick or Treat and it's ilk was the Cenobites, the story itself was mince. I love the cenobites but it seems to be the only thing he's created of any worth. Well and the Tapping the Vein comic... that was full of filth ;)

  • Apollo #56 5 years ago

    Undying Rocks :-)

  • Wayne #57 5 years ago

    I absolutely loved The Great And Secret Show.

  • tafkap #58 5 years ago

    I urge everyone to read the Books Of Blood. Then you'll understand how good Clive is, or at least was. I've never read such imaginative short stories, and I've consumed almost everything the horror genre has to offer.

    As a Clive Barker-related game, I'm interested by default. I hope it lives up to this preview.

  • absolutezero #59 5 years ago

    Im going to divert hugely here and say the best of Barkers work is his series of kids books, Abarat.

    Which im waiting to be bloody finished you lazy sod.

  • Calgon #60 5 years ago

    From playing his Undying game, Barker appears to have a knack for Horror in general and his style translated well into that game(a horror writer and film producer thats actually decent at producing games too? excellent I say), it was genuinely entertaining, well paced and as some have said, had plenty of things in it that could make you jump. Some of the scenes(not cutscenes... well laid out rooms/environments with set peices in or scripted events) he set out were great and moody too.

    I do love Horror when done right, not sure about the Hellraiser films but thats me(wouldnt say they were bad though), this will go well with the new Resi in peoples collections, assuming you like the horror genre(there doesnt seem to be enough of them around really...), Im looking forward to seeing how this game ends up.

  • Scimarad #61 5 years ago

    I loved Weaveworld and Imajica when I read them but he does tend spoil the fantastic ideas he has by trying to be as revolting, grotesque and twisted as humanly possible:-)

  • whome #62 5 years ago

    Hellraiser = "shlocky makeup messes..."

    oh brother, as Horror films go it's a classic, ok all the sequels are shlocky make up messes but the first is a gem.

    this looks great, did read he had already agreed to do more.

    oh and his most recent books (Abarat series) are superb.

    Edited by 1 at 19/07/07 @ 21:13

  • bionutz #63 5 years ago

    Yep looking forward to this one. Undying was damn good, visuals, acting, atmosphere, story, excellent.

  • pinkio #64 5 years ago

    Undying .... in the dark ..... with headphones ........ one of the most terrifying game experiences possible!

  • Vandrius #65 5 years ago

    I want to slice open super-fat-dead-man-suspended-by-chains belly!!!

  • Grumpycrab #66 5 years ago

    Based on Undying I've taken a punt and preordered this. I think its probably 50/50 whether it'll be any good or not.
    PS. £17.99 +quidco at Blah.

  • Antwandemarco #67 4 years ago

    @wayne: the great and secret show rocked!

    I just won Jericho from a magazine competition..ZING!