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The absolute creepiest of all...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: October 10, 2004
Author: Amazon User

One warning up front: this game is not for people who don't like horror movies. Actually, it's even scarier than a good horror film, since you are interacting with the subject matter and the monitor is right in your face. "Undying" is definitely the creepiest, most frightening gaming experience I have had in 25 years of playing computer games. The game is not great, but it does a number of things well.

Gameplay: You are called to Ireland in 1923 to help a friend who believes that he is being haunted by his four cursed siblings (all dead). You start at the family mansion with a revolver and a single spell as you track down clues. From there, you go on to a mausoleum, monastery, pirates cove, two other planes (Oneiros and the Eternal Autumn), and a few other places to confront each sibling. The most frightening scenes take place in the mansion and the monastery, with monsters jumping through windows, coming out of the floor, and falling from ceilings. And there are a lot of nice touches that will get you, such as the scry spell that lets you see some disturbing images that are not apparent to the naked eye. You can't trust any mirrors, windows, or even candles. The enemy AI is among the best I've seen. Monsters attack in packs, dodge, hide behind things, and generally try to shock the hell out of you. The atmosphere for at least the first half of the game is incredibly creepy and foreboding, largely due to some good visual effects and some truly excellent sound work. There were many times that I found myself paranoid about being in a well-lit room with only one door. You can just imagine the feeling of being in the bottom of a dark dungeon, surrounded by all sorts of disturbing sounds and enemies with no exit door in sight!

Unfortunately, all is not well with "Undying." While the control scheme is clear and probably typical for first-person shooters, it can be hard to cycle through weapons and spells during combat. Also, the quality of the storyline takes a nose-dive about halfway through. The game has a five-star beginning and a one-star ending. The first third of the game (the Lizbeth chapter) is superb and well done and is easily the best part of the game. The last chapter (Bethany) should not have been included, since the use of cavemen (yes, cavemen) was really just silly and had no place in a horror-themed game. The last encounter involving an unexpected opponent was unnecessarily hard (on medium difficulty setting) and downright ridiculous. Thankfully, there are not many jumping sequences in the game, but there are a few that are truly frustrating. I would advise anyone playing this game to have a walkthrough guide handy (there are good ones at www.gamefaqs.com and www.gamespot.com). Although you can't really get lost in this game since it guides you by locking you out of certain areas, there are 5-10 places that you can get stuck. Generally, I only needed a walkthrough to find a few well-hidden secret passages and to figure out the tricky combat patterns required to defeat two of the bosses.

Regarding technical matters, the game comes with a nice well-written journal, in addition to the in-game journal. You can't save the game at the exact spot that you want, but instead only at the last loading screen. It took me about 35 hours to complete the game on medium difficulty. I found no bugs in the game after patching it, but it still crashed to desktop a few times during the loading of auto-saves.

Graphics: Good, but by no means great. Character/monster models are convincing and architecture and landscape are done well. Lighting effects build atmosphere, and there are some very nice special effects. The big problem with graphics is how the natural environment is rendered. Some bodies of water and all skies are just awful. There is nothing worse than hearing the howling wind outside just to find that the sky looks like a first-grader's watercolor painting. Except for these issues, graphics are quite adequate.

Sound: This area deserves 5 stars. Whoever did the sounds for this game knows how to scare people. The music itself is good and can be intense when it needs to be, but the sound effects are truly amazing. All of the things that you would expect in a horror game are there, including howling wind, monster growls, shattered windows, dripping water (or blood), and hideous laughter that comes out of nowhere. However, there are a few things that you won't be expecting, such as the playful laughter of children in a room that has a known history of grotesque happenings. The sound people did a fine job on this game.

In sum, I recommend "Undying" to anyone who likes horror-themed entertainment and first-person shooters. While it will frustrate you in a few places and the storyline ends with a whimper, the overall package is good enough to warrant many hours of your time.

Excellent, scary and glorious

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: March 12, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This is an EXCELLENT game.

First, fantastic graphics and sound. They have done wonders with the engine, which was already great.

Second a good story, just the right amount of thinking and getting involved.

Third, YOU WILL KNOW FEAR. They have really captured the fear quality of horror movies .. ok imagine using a six-shooter to shoot at a charging warewolf, and having to reload as it charges! You have to be accurate with every shot, because you've only got 6, and that nerves of steel under fire is a great part of the game.

It is a really good game, I recommend you take a look at it.

An impressive journey!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: August 09, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Clive Barker's Undying is a truly wonderful game. Combining wonderful elements of horror (remember playing Alone in the Dark for the first time?), quality graphics, terrifying sound and music, and most importantly, a huge and intriguing area to explore, this game derserves every praise it can muster.

Undying puts you, the player, in a mansion with the intention of saving an old friend from his dead siblings. The suspense build-up is wonderful, and even being led through the creaking old house (complete with groaning rafters and gusting wind) by the maid at the beginning is truly eeri.

But while the mansion itself is wonderfully scary, I particularly liked the other locales. I rarely hear mentioned (in reviews) the coolness of exploring the surrounding (beautiful) Irish countryside and finding ancient mausoleums, deserted grave yards, and burnt-out monastaries. In a really fascinating sequence, your character must find three amulets in the extensive ruins (including very creepy catacombs) of an old monastery, and then use them to transport back in time to when the structure was still whole, and inhabited. The other worlds, too, are fascinating and varied, ranging from an other-worldly land of magic to a strange 'Eternal Autumn' that reminded me of the Planet of the Apes landscape.

The spell and weapon system is nice, if a bit awkard at first, and the variety of both is ok. The effects are done nicely as well, and the variety of smoothly modeled beasties is striking.

All and all this game is mightly impressive. It takes you on a enthralling and lengthy journey while managing quite a few thrills along the way. Highly recommended!

Chiller of a Game!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: February 06, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Wow! Where to start! This game is absolutely one of the best FPS single player adventures of all time. The graphics are stunningly beautiful all through the game. If this is the Unreal engine as some have said, all I can say is that Unreal never looked near as good as Undying does. The soundtrack of the game will give you chills the way it compliments the game. The load times aren't nearly as bad as some previous reviews make it seem. Clive Barker has written an amazing storyline for this game and it was extremely well developed. One of the things that always hurts FPS games is when the storylines are not developed enough. This game is so scary at times, I had chills up and down my spine while I explored the monestary and believe it or not I was scared to go into the dark areas of the monestary. I have never felt like that in any game I have played. I think the Monestary Past level is probably the best rendered level I have ever seen in any game, it was absolutely breathtaking and incredible to explore too. This game is awesome all the way around. If you haven't played it, don't wait another second. If I had known how good this game was when it first game out, I would have gladly paid full price for it. It's that good!

Stunningly Original horror/first person shooter game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: February 15, 2002
Author: Amazon User

C'mon you lot. You are always complaining that there aren't enough original games out there. But if you don't buy 'em they won't be able to make them, so please go out and buy this one.

It's an intelligent, engrossing game that just gets better and better as you work your way through the levels. At the start I didn't realise how big this game was. There are a lot of levels, and although you go over some of the same territory, it's always under different circumstances, with different aims and goals.

One thing to note about this game, the sounds are amazing! I particularly liked the storms and the sound of rain on a tin roof, not just stock sounds stuff here.....you would have sworn it was really raining, you could hear the steady drops, and the loud splashes as a body of water was knocked down from the guttering. Why am I raphsodising about the rain? Just because its an example of the excellent attention to detail show by the creators.

When I said this game gets better and better as it progresses, I mean it. Strangely, the first level isn't that interesting, to the point where I can see some people might give up on it. Weird. But make it to the second level, and you are hooked. Most of the levels are a real surprised, incredibly varied (most games tend to make levels that look much the same) The level I likes the most was the monastary. You explore the ruins in the present during summer, and then travel back in time to it's heyday, during a pelting snowstorm. (the weather effects are amazing, did I mention that?) I also enjoyed the final levels, climbing higher and higher in autumnal mountains, over steams and waterfalls, until you are above the clouds. Very cool! Ok, the levels in the crypt, graveyard, mauseleum, and oneiros also should rate a mention, also the smuggler's caves.

The only thing I would have liked is for there to be a little more detail in the rooms, and for there to be more interaction with living people in a "safe" space. I feel that in any medium, the horror genre works best when the horror part is broken up by times when you can take a breather, explore the surroundings in safty, make discoveries that are importent to the plot, and interact with "ordinary" characters. I found myself wanting to go back and talk to my friend, and to the lighthouse keeper, the only two really normal people in the game (the servants aren't really that normal, they could have been depicted a lot better)

The scrying was fun. When you are scrying you see things, well differently. Great idea!

Really scary game. You find yourself looking around a lot nervously. Loads of different monsters, spells, and weapons, but you never run out of stuff. It's also based on one of the best engines around. Even if you don't usually like games, if you enjoy literary style of horror you will enjoy this.

Great spooky game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: March 31, 2003
Author: Amazon User

There were several "Oh ...!!" moments in this game. That is, I was so engrossed in the atmoshpere of the game that when attacked I would be startled. Just like a horror movie that I was staring in. Really cool. Wish there were more types of these games out there.

Experience the horror!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: February 27, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Have you ever want to watch a scary movie? Well, how would you like to be in one. UNDYING is a game that will make you freak out in your own bedroom. You'll start to hear things even after turning off your PC. When you watch a movie, it would be much more interesting if you were in the story. Clive Barker knows that for people to see his world this is the best way to not only show it but experience it. You'll roam this huge mansion with creepy rooms, stairways, pictures....

I've played alot of games but to tell you the truth, I've never played a game that makes me sit soo tight in my seat. Once you start playing, you'll wish your computer doesn't have a sound card.

So buy it, and trust me, you'll enjoy the hell out of it.

Good and scary!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: March 16, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I'm in the middle of this game, and I can't tell you how many times I have jumped out of my skin as a new,horrid creature suddenly looms in front of me! I actually have a chill down my spine as I am traveling around the very eerie places this game has to offer. The graphics are wonderful(very creepy!!), and the sound effects are quite unnerving. I am playing on a P4,with 128 megs of RAM,and the game has run flawlessly. Anyone who loves a good shooter, and a good adventure, will appreciate all that went into this game. Now...back to the haunted grounds of the Undying.

It really is scary.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I'll just echo what others have said here. I'm just now finally getting a ways into this game five years later. Primarily because 5 years ago, this game was just too complex for me to play, and my PC couldn't handle it well either. For an FPS-type game, it actually has a pretty steep learning curve, what with all the spells and knowing what to do with them and how to even access them. But if you're patient enough and read the manual, you'll be rewarded with a very fine game, as others have already mentioned.

The only thing I'd like to add here is that I am successfully running this on an XP w/SP2 machine. Took the game out of the box, installed it with no patches, and it plays smooth as silk. My specs are AMD 2600+ with a gig of ram and an nVidia 7800GS w/ 256 video ram. Take that for what it's worth, as I'm just providing it for reference and I'm sure it'll run on much less.

The REAL "fear factor."

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: October 02, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Clive Barker's Undying is yet another bold step in a new genre for the PC Gaming market: First-Person Terror. This game drips with atmosphere and fear; at times I was deeply afraid to open the next door, or too busy running from a violent ghost to keep track of where I was going. There's just so much to love about this game: the beautiful settings, the involved story, and dynamic gun-and-spell weapons system; I could go on like this forever. Only one other game is in the same rank as this title: System Shock 2. Bottom line is that if you want a game that will grip you even after you stop playing, buy this under-appreciated bad-boy.

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