The late aughts and the early twenty-teens have really been the “age of the zombie” on video game consoles. Be it the shit-your-pants shock and awe of RESIDENT EVIL or LEFT 4 DEAD, or the lovable camp of DEAD RISING and PLANTS VS. ZOMBIES, the representation for the undead populous has been on high, overshadowing vampires, ghosts, mummies, liche, and any other fabled spectre or monster that hasn’t been sucked up by Hollywood’s next “thing” machine.

There’s just something undeniable to us gamers about the tearing of limbs—the sound, the gore, the empathetic vulnerability—that ensures if you put some form of head-lopping limb-removal into the gameplay, we’ll shell out sixty bones a pop for a jaunt through whatever decaying backdrop houses these meat bags. This must’ve been the driving force behind Konami and Rebellion Studios latest attempt at draining players’ wallets, as NEVERDEAD (XBOX 360, PLAYSTATION 3) hacks and slashes its way onto the consoles of those itching for more appendage abatement. FANGORIA was treated to a special peek inside Rebellion Studios for the making of NEVERDEAD back in issue 303, and now we get to tear off our thumbs in button mashing madness with the final product.

NEVERDEAD boasts a main character that, while not actually a zombie, is quite undead after having suffered an eternal curse of immortality at the hands of a demon some five centuries ago. Apparently, the Renaissance was a popular time for the demon-hunting profession, and being married to a medium helps sword-wielding human do-gooders track down all sorts of imps and devils plaguing mankind. This is about as much backstory as we get for our horribly named hero, Bryce Boltzmann. Seriously, the guy’s last name is “Boltzmann,” as if that were the secret identity of his Marvel Comics alter-ego Bolt-Man, a master of all things construction. This awkward naming is just one example of a bizarre story that’s full of plot holes and disenchanting characterization that doesn’t necessarily get in the way of the game, but doesn’t do a whole lot to support it either. Our undead demon hunter Bryce has a human tagalong named Arcadia Maximille, an annoying liability who does your typical NPC work by getting trapped, needing protection, and making sweater-dresses look like your run-of-the-mill stripper ensemble (there are at least two cut scenes that end with a zoom right into her cleavage). Bryce and Arcadia work for some Fringe-esque division of the government, chasing down and destroying demons invading from another dimension. Demon invasions have been on the rise, so this chemistry-lacking duo put in some overtime by cleansing (read: demolishing) the local museum, asylum, subway tunnel, and other places that aren’t fun to explore after dark. Regardless of the disjointedness, NEVERDEAD is packed with enough B-movie dialogue, so common in Japanese-to-American game design, that it’s not without its charm. The game lays enough groundwork for a sequel (oddly, considering the “huh?” ending) that if you want to enjoy the game (and really, people should give original IPs a chance considering all the big-budget clones saturating the market), you can look past the technical issues as some sort of “rookie mistake.”

One of NEVERDEAD’s more intriguing design elements turns out to be one of its greatest weaknesses. The game plays out in the style of an over-the-shoulder third-person shooter, and Bryce is equipped with the garden variety of hardware (pistols, shotguns, SMGs, assault rifles) and a fold-out sword. While the guns shoot no different than other games in the genre, the sword mechanics are operated entirely by the thumbsticks and one trigger – using the trigger to aim, one thumbstick to move Bryce and the other to move the sword. Clunky at first, the lack of readily available ammo often leaves you with no alternative but the sword, so your Bryce will more than likely depend on his blade to do the talking. The sword concept seems like something that was a good idea up front, but never fully materialized into a meshed, actually breathable part of the game, and functions as more of an afterthought, which we know is not the case considering the sword was heavily showcased in previews. Much like sports games of early analog-stick generation consoles, the sword controls grow tiresome as the game wears on, especially considering how much you depend on them. Regardless, it doesn’t make you want to hate the concept, just wish it were better executed.

NEVERDEAD’s key feature (and probably its most ambitious concept) was to have a player that could not actually “die,” the most undesirable outcome in nearly all videogames that predate the title. Not only can Bryce not be killed, his limbs and head can separate from his torso both willingly and at random. While the “willingly” part can be extremely advantageous – rolling his head through tight corridors, tossing a gun-toting arm into the mouth of an enemy and shooting from the inside – the “at random” part can be extremely frustrating. With no health bar, Bryce will periodically suffer an attack to one limb that makes his body appear as weak as a Jenga tower. Reassembling Bryce can be done by either regenerating, which is based on a timed meter, or by rolling his head/body around until all of the limbs are collected. Often, this detachment happens in the heat of battle, so whatever ass-kicking blood-soaked groove you’ve gotten yourself into has to go on temporary hiatus while you “regroup,” so to speak. The worst part – an over-populated enemy called “Grandbaby” can vacuum up your head, causing one of the worst quicktime mini-game events to be your only way out. Press the button right, he blows up. Miss it, and Bryce’s head is stuck in this possessed Koosh ball “forever.” Forever? You’re kidding, right? No, it’s actually a way to get “a game over,” as Bryce so eloquently puts it.

A world on the brink of apocalypse is not without a cavalcade of colorful demonic entities, and NEVERDEAD’s art direction and character design give gamers a heaping plate of what-the-hell-is-that combined with oh-shit-that’s-all-teeth-and-claws. Definitely conceived from an eye for something you’ve never seen before, NEVERDEAD boasts hideous monstrosities that all come with cutesy handles, as if they were named by a preschool class. “Panda” for example looks like a beast born of Grape Ape, Andre the Giant, and some ancient Roman ruins. This hulking menace has one entire arm covered in stone cherubs. “Swordpig” has feet on the top AND bottom, and spiky appendages on each end. Unfortunately for the game, the greatest enemies are of the “boss” variety, and you spend most of the game fighting the same 4-5 drone enemies over and over. Each battle mirrors the last, where Bryce or Bryce and Arcadia walk into a room, the exits seal, and you have to battle a swath of demons that birth from an Audrey II-looking “nest” before you can progress. Hearing either character point out the fact that, yes, there are “puppies” gets real old, real fast.

Still, NEVERDEAD is not without merit, as the modern gaming climate doesn’t often open doors for something as original as an undead hero that can creatively dismember himself. Even though the controls are wonky, the story is a bit loosely constructed (if, at times entirely incomprehensible), and the level-by-level play offers more repetition than intrigue, the game itself is very likable if you want to like it. The enemies come hard and fast, the action rarely pauses, the blood and bullets are in excess…hell, it even has Megadeth on the soundtrack. If the powers that be see fit for a sequel, I say bring it, but bring it refined, because NEVERDEAD’s most redeeming quality (originality) isn’t enough to carry weight in a market demanding game mechanics that don’t make you want to lose your head.

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