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 EXTERMINATION
Sony Computer Entertainment (SCEE), which also doubles
up as a game developing behemoth, has released Extermination,
a "panic action" (SCEE says that) thriller
that is a hybrid of a generic 3rd person shooter and
basic role-playing for PlayStation 2. Extermination
begins on December 21st, 2005. The United States' top-secret
facility Fort Stewart (in Antarctica) has dispatched
a distress signal. No one has been able to make contact
with the base ever since. Three days later, the RECON
Team Red Light is sent to Antarctica on an emergency
sortie code named "Operation Cold Limit."
Their mission: to investigate the situation, restore
the facility to operating condition and rescue any survivors.
Unfortunately, something goes terribly wrong and the
plane carrying Team Red Light crashes. Most of the passengers
are killed in the crash, the majority of the ammo is
lost and there are hordes of hungry monsters roaming
the base in search of anything that moves. One of the
few survivors, Dennis Riley, is a Special Forces operative
who must explore Fort Stewart, find out what's going
on and put an end to the madness. One thing that sets
Extermination apart from other survival/horror games
is the constant battle against a deadly virus. If a
monster attacks you, immediately check your health.
See the virus meter? That means you've been infected.
Depending on how much of the virus has spread throughout
your system, you may not be able to run or react as
quickly when attacked. There is a cure, but you can
only use it if you're near a vaccination chamber. A
glaring flaw is the mismatch of audio sync and character
lip movement, which kills in-game cinematics to a great
extent. The graphics are dark, gloomy, and varied in
their shades of grey. The game looks decent enough,
although it exhibits a bit of the infamous PS2 jaggies.
The sound effects and music are the title's strong points.
The weapons discharge and reload with accurate effects,
the music really heightens the tension of the already
claustrophobic environments, and the slither and sloth
noises the monsters make will give you the creeps. Although
it isn't the best game in the world, Extermination is
a good evolution of the horror-adventure genre. All
in all a decent buy at Rs 999 from Milestone Interactive.
- HANS TURLOW
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