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The Suffering: Ties That Bind
Score: 94%
ESRB: Mature
Publisher: Midway
Developer: Surreal Software
Media: DVD/1
Players: 1
Genre: Shooter/ Action/ Survival Horror

Graphics & Sound:
The Suffering: Ties That Bind takes the style and feel laid down by the game's predecessor and fixes a few of the complaints that I've heard about making it an even better addition to the survival horror genre.

Though Torque is no longer held captive on the Carnate Island correctional facility, his settings in the dark underbelly of Baltimore seem to be just has grimy and dingy as before. Each location, from the underground tunnels to the dead end alleys help to give you the feeling that you are surrounded, closed in and all alone. Though the textures and environmental models still seem to be a bit rough and tiled, the darker atmosphere definitely lends itself to hiding these slight blemishes.

From the hideous Malfactors to the dogs and people, the character models of Ties That Bind also do the job. All-in-all, these characters look nice, and as long as you don't get too close (which shouldn't be a problem for some of the enemies), you won't really notice the sharp edges and angles that makes up their faces and bodies.

Audio-wise, The Suffering remains a heavy hitter. The music is low and hits just the right notes to leave you uneasy and on edge, while the voice acting is spot on. The game's sound effects also go a long way into pulling you into the horror-movie feel that permeates this game. From the usual effects like gun shots and knife slashes to the quick wind-like sounds that are made when Torque has his brief visions -- it all adds to the game's feel of anticipation and uneasiness.


Gameplay:
The Suffering: Ties That Bind starts off as a flashback to five years previous when Torque was first transferred to Carnate Island. While sitting down playing a harmless game of chess, he finds himself surrounded by thugs of a new criminal kingpin, known only as Blackmore. Before the gang has a chance to beat him (you) to a pulp, the alarms sound and chaos breaks loose. As you and your buddy (your chess partner) try to get to safety, you will fight thugs, inmates and the monsters Torque faced in the fist game. This mode does more than act as a prologue to the game, as it also acts as a tutorial.

Back in the present, Torque is on a boat escaping from Carnate Island. As he comes to the Baltimore shore, he sees visions of his dead wife, Carmen (who will show you where you need to go throughout the game). Once docked, Torque is tranquilized by some local authorities and taken to an unknown facility. As you are carted off, you hear people refer to you as possibly being something called "The Prime".

While being lectured to (and still strapped down), something "breaks out" in another part of the facility and you are left alone with two guards. The lights flash and suddenly both guards are dead, blood is all over the walls and you are free. Thus starts Torque's second adventure against the other-worldly creatures dubbed Malfactors.

The purpose behind the first Suffering game was to create a survival horror game that didn't rely on the fixed camera gimmick to keep your heart up and you creeped out. Ties That Bind continues this strategy and executes it well.

In other survival horrors, it is easy to make the user see only what the developers want them to -- they know where the camera is/will be. Here, the gamer has the ability to look whereever he/she wants to, and that can ruin most horror effects. After all, it's the best horror movies that only give you glimpses at the monster and don't show you it's full form until the end. The Suffering will have you crawling through tunnels when something runs past the opening, or have blood flying across the other end of a hall has you turn the corner or keep you locked behind a door as you hear someone scream followed by a cackle. All of these effects, combined with the low-light, shadow-filled environments, allows your imagination to run wild and expect the worst.

Since Torque is no longer confined to a prison, the enemy types aren't confined to execution styles like in the previous game. You will still face quite a few of the Malfactor types from Carnate Island, but they will be supplemented with creatures created from other gruesome deaths. New Malfactors include a bloated glutton of a creature capable of eating anything and a slow moving zombie-like monster resulting from extreme drug addiction.


Difficulty:
The Suffering: Ties That Bind has four difficulty settings ranging from Easy, Medium, Hard and Impossible. I found that each of these settings were pretty accurate. Though the amount of enemies didn't seem to vary between difficulty modes, the ease at which I could dispatch my foes was noticeable.

I found that Easy and Medium settings allowed me to progress pretty easily through the game, while Hard was more difficult and Impossible was just that.


Game Mechanics:
The Suffering: Ties That Bind has two control schemes: one for Torque in his normal mode and the other for his pumped-up, berserked-out Insanity mode. One of the control scheme alterations that should appease some of the complaints from the last game is that now, you have a dedicated button for turning the flashlight on and off. Once you find the much used device, all you have to do is click the R3 button to toggle the flashlight's power.

To attack, you tap the R1 button, jump with the R2, open doors and use objects with the X and grapple with the L1 button. When you need to reload, all you have to do is tap the down D-Pad button and switch between your weapons with the right directional button. Hitting the Triangle button transforms Torque into a giant monster and then you switch to a melee-heavy Insanity control scheme.

In this mode, you impale your enemy with the L1 button, attack with R1 and use a special attack with L2. When in this mode, you move fast, the camera is blurry and the action is non-stop.

Fans of the original game should definitely pick this game up, as it continues the anti-hero's story with the same atmosphere and flare of its predecessor. If you haven't played the original -- then you might feel a little lost starting in the middle of the story, but it shouldn't take you long to get caught up on what matters. Like The Suffering, Ties That Bind is a great addition to any survival horror fan's media shelf.


-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications
AKA Chris Meyer

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