Evil Dead: Regeneration: Ash Gets a Little Help Company: THQ I recently had the opportunity for a little hands-on time with THQ's latest zombiefied offering, Evil Dead: Regeneration. Bruce Campbell is once again voicing the inimitable Ash as he battles the forces of dead let loose by the Necronomicon. Only this time, Ash has some help. He is joined by a runty sidekick named Sam, half human (well, sorta) and half Deadite. Think of him as a partially rotting Joe Pesci. He's mouthy, he's rude, he's annoying and he's dead! So anyway, Ash has got his trusty boomstick and his chainsaw, which he has permanently attached to what used to be his hand. He can hack 'n slash or shoot enemies and when he wears them down sufficiently, an ominous green cloud appears over them indicating its time for a finishing move. Click the Triangle button and Ash does any number of moves on them using the shotgun, the chainsaw or both. If you don't finish them off, they get back up and start at you again. There's also some sort of rage meter that fills up as you whack enemies. When it gets full, you turn into a Super Ash of sorts and you can wipe out the competition quickly. So where does Sam (or runty or stubby) fit into all of this, you may be asking? Well, the demo really didn't go into how he came to join Ash, but the cool thing about him is he can die over and over and always regenerates. Kick him into a wood chipper and he regenerates. Launch him into a furnace and his flaming body helps to blast through a wall. You'll even take over his body at certain points to get to hard to reach areas. At one point, Sam has to capture a spirit to give as an offering to a creature guarding the way out. It is up to Ash to guard him on his run back. Of course, they throw everything at you from skeletons to zombies and even a bad-assed wraithy boss type. If you are looking for a highly intellectual gaming experience, look elsewhere. But if you are looking for a fun hack 'n slash chock full of typical Bruce Campbell one-liners and hordes of the undead, check out Evil Dead: Regeneration scheduled to hit stores on 9/13/05. -Psibabe, GameVortex Communications AKA Ashley Perkins Related Links: THQ's site Evil Dead 3 official site