There's a fine line between a scary horror film and a corny horror
flick. That same line exists in the gaming industry as well. While
Gathering of Developers' Blair Witch Volume I: Rustin Parr was a
spooky romp through Burkittsville in search for the truth behind the
abduction and brutal murders of seven local children in the year
1941, Blair Witch Volume II: The Legend of Coffin Rock is just the
opposite. It's not very scary and it's not much of an adventure. It's
nothing more than a predictable and formulaic action title that
does little to continue the mystique and myths of the Blair Witch.
Blair Witch 2 recounts the incident at Coffin Rock, one of the
legends described in the original film, The Blair Witch Project.
Coffin Rock is a small outcropping of stones overlooking a tranquil
creek in the woods outside of Burkittsville, Maryland. The tale
describes five men who were sent out to the woods to find a lost
little girl. Their bodies were later found bound to one another in a
circle about the rock with strange markings carved on their faces
and their entrails scattered in some cruel ritual.
This supernatural tale is once again set in the town of Burkittsville,
Maryland, this time in the year 1886, during the Civil War era just
before the legend of Coffin Rock unfolds. You play the role of
Lazarus, a soldier suffering from amnesia who is found in the
woods by a young girl named Robin Weaver. The young girl and
her grandmother take you into their home to tend to your injuries.
When young Robin disappears into the woods one day, a search
party is formed to help find her. Robin's grandmother doesn't seem
to think the search party is going to survive the unearthly force that
resides in the woods, as she proclaims that you are the only
person who can find the little girl. Taking into consideration the
woman's good deed towards you, you agree to try your best to find
young Robin as you venture off into the haunted woods to unravel
the mystery surrounding the girl's disappearance.
Each scene in Blair Witch 2 is broken down into two elements, the
past and the present.
Just about every area you visit triggers a flashback to the year
1863, as you gradually recall your past as a soldier in the Civil
War, sent out to capture rebels who have been stealing food and
uprooting train tracks. These flashbacks essentially make you visit
each location twice. Despite such sequences, the story rarely ever
gets confusing, mostly because it's not a very in-depth tale to begin
with. Each scenario unlocks a little bit more of the mystery
surrounding both the woods and your amnesia, but the payoff at
the end of it all is unsatisfying. The game progresses in a series of
cut-scenes and moments of action or combat. At the beginning of
the game, there's a lot of dialogue to wade through and you'll find
numerous scripted sequences throughout the game as well. The
biggest problem with the game is the fact that not only is the
dialogue scripted, so is the action. You won't be allowed to leave a
scene without having picked up every useful object in the area,
just as you can't skip any dialogue and progress to the next
location. The entire game seems to flow the way it wants too, with
little too no input by the gamer. It feels like you're simply
triggering the next scene in the story, rather than dictating the
tale. In other words, there's absolutely no freedom in Blair Witch 2.
Whereas the first Blair Witch title focused more on storytelling with
only a select number of action sequences thrown in, Blair Witch 2
is much more action-oriented. Besides taking away from the story
in general, the excessive and often forced action sequences also
tend to expose the flaws of the Nocturne engine. Those of you who
experienced either Nocturne or Blair Witch Volume I are
undoubtedly familiar with the limits of this visually stunning
engine. For starters, the camera angles are absolutely atrocious.
The game is constantly changing the view to create a movie-like
experience, but it doesn't work particularly well in third-person
games, especially when the controls are more than a chore to get
used too. The mouse is used for turning and aiming while the
keyboard is used for actual movement. Combine the two together
and it's virtually impossible to react to an enemy behind you with
any kind of precision or success. It's frustrating to say the least.
Blair Witch 2 also introduces a number of new enemies to the fray,
each unique to either Lazarus' flashback sequences or the present
year. Soldiers, guard dogs, twanas and ghosts are just some of the
baddies you'll come across throughout the game, but I can't quite
figure out how a ghost can be killed with a gun.
Despite the use of the Nocturne engine, Blair Witch 2 is almost
impossible to immerse yourself within. The visuals are definitely
breathtaking, particularly the environments, although the
character animations and textures aren't consistent throughout the
game, and the shadow effects are incredible. Graphically, there
are very few complaints but the sound doesn't follow suit. In Blair
Witch Volume I, the audio was spectacular and helped create an
eerie environment with the use of sound effects, music and voice
acting. In Blair Witch Volume II, the voice acting has gone
downhill and the sound effects are abysmal at times. There's no
consistency and the end result is a game that just isn't spooky,
particularly when you know something is going to jump out at you,
which is the case here in Blair Witch Volume II.
Blair Witch Volume I succeeded because it told a spooky,
compelling tale and blended in moments of action and horror. It
was a genuine gaming experience that sparkled visually and
aurally. Blair Witch Volume II is just the opposite. The story unfolds
in a predictable and formulaic way, the action scenes are
excessive, and the constant use of flashbacks all contribute to a
game that is uninteresting on many levels. Coming off what I
thought was an excellent start to the Blair Witch series, in Rustin
Parr, Legend of Coffin Rock is scary for all the wrong reasons. The
third and final volume of the Blair Witch trilogy, entitled Blair
Witch Volume 3: The Elly Kedward Tale, is due out later this
month, let's hope the final volume can help erase this
disappointment and end the series with a bang.
[ 28/50 ] Gameplay
[ 05/10 ] Plotline
[ 08/10 ] Graphics
[ 06/10 ] Sound
[ 04/10 ] Control
[ 09/10 ] Bugs