Customer Reviews

Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Those were the first words that came through my mind after playing this game for the first 5 minutes!Wow!!I've played alot of action games,but this is definatly one of the best if not THE best.Being a huge fan of zombie horror,this game never let's down my expectations!There is blood splatter and flying body parts galore.You really have to play Evil Dead to understand how cool this all is.Let me tell you that from the first time you impale a zombie with your roaring chainsaw,you will be hooked!

Also this is definatly NOT a Resident Evil type game.By that I mean you don't just kill a few zombies and then the area is "safe".No,in Evil Dead the zombies keep coming back and you never know when or where they will pop out!Attacks are not just pre-determined;alot of the times they are sadisticaly random with a vengenance.While this may not appeal to some gamers,I thought it was alot more exciting.Another way to look at your countless legions of enemies,is a never ending supply of health,
magic,and most importantly AMMO!The fact that you get rewarded so to speak for killing the undead is a nice touch.

It's not all just killing and violence,(you can do that after you unlock arcade mode!)there is some puzzle solving but it's never really tedious or boring.It really adds to the story,like finding silver to close the diffrent vortexes or rescuing someone before they become a zombie's lunch.The only thing that I didn't like about this however,is that unlike Silent Hill,there
is no map to check point important areas in the game.This ultimatly leads to running around in circles and wasting ammo on zombies you wouldn't have to fight if you just knew were to go!
I did this many times just trying to find the police station, university,last vortex etc. etc.It's better to save your game after you get familiar with the surroundings.

Voice acting was great with Bruce,and his humor is definatly welcome when you are in the middle of a small zombie army.It's hysterical when you hear Ash messing up a magic incantation...
"nortious alumi.... ah crap!"There is also alot of "duke nukem" material with plenty of strip bars and well endowed women(the redhead talk show host!).Also nothing is funnier than fighting a zombie prostitute wearing garters!On a side note,the graphics are
very good and the frame rate is extremely smooth.

What's best about this game is that you can buy it brand new for a VERY REASONABLE price.I was actually kind of shocked!I can't see why anyone wouldn't like this game.Hopefully in the future there will be some god mode cheat codes available;that would make it even better!Now stop reading this and go butcher some zombies!!

All I can say is the Bruce Campbell voice overs are worth the price. The graphics are ok....the story is fun but short. The way it links to the films is awesome,instead of using an old story line. But all in all the price can't be beat,I'm still trying to figure that one out. Add this to your collection if your an Evil Dead/Bruce Campbell fan like me. The guy at the store that I bought it from said he hoped it was good...cause of the price. I said I didn't care.....he said thats what everyone else said who bought one, lol......I got the last one.

I'm not the biggest Evil Dead fan (The only one I can even remember is "Army of Darkness"), but I'd say this is a good game for fans of the series and for fans of horror games in general. In fact, I'd say it's much better than most other horror games.

The controls are pretty easy to use and you'll get the hang of them very quickly. The sound, both in the dialogue and score, is top-notch. Most people don't notice, but some of the background themes (like in Level 4) sound great and add to the visuals. Bruce Campbell is back to do the voice of Ash, and believe me, he does the best job anyone could possibly do. He's always there with hilarious one-liners that keep the game entertaining at all times.

The gameplay is pretty standard. You go through six levels (you even get to go back in time for two of them) solving puzzles and killing deadites. The large selection of weapons was also a nice touch. I won't spoil the story for you, but it's pretty good...good enough to be made into a movie in my opinion. The graphics aren't the best or anything, but they weren't that bad either.

But no game can be without flaws, so it's now time for the bad. The biggest complaint I have is that there's no map or any other kind of indicator to point you in the right direction. It's easy to get lost and it can sometimes take you up to 15 minutes to finally find the place where you're supposed to be. Not only that, but this is one of those games that's impossible to beat without using some kind of guide. The game gives you virtually no hints on how to solve the various puzzles or how to get access to certain areas. This last thing could either be considered good or bad, but the game is also very easy. I'm usally terrible at every game I play, but I was able to beat this in one day (it's not as short as I make it sound...I played it for the majority of the day and for at least six hours). When I fianlly beat the game, I had 6 health packs and 16 save tokens left, that's how easy it is. Although those searching for a bigger challenge might like Arcade mode, which is incredibly hard. Overall, if I liked it, I'm sure this would be an Evil Dead fan's dream.

Its difficult to know how to start this review, as i imagine that you'll have to be an Evil Dead fan to really 'get' this game. If you buy this game as, say, a fan of the horror genre of gaming and with no knowledge of the movie series then you'll probably wind up disappointed.

On the other hand, if you are a fan of the movies then you'll more than likely be absolutely delighted in the latest attempt to bring the old movie classic to the console. Unlike its predecessor 'Hail To The King', this game presents VERY different, almost comic-like characters and settings which i was initially apprehensive about, but the game manages to pull it off. The deadites move in a very exaggerated way, their blood spills as if it was a cartoon, and the cops trying to deal with all hell being let loose are complete retards. But in the end, its all these factors that help the game along. It doesnt ever try to be something its not - a quick read about its 'explore in between killing the undead' nature might lead you to think it was a Resident Evil clone but after 2 minutes of play you'll see it for what it is. Its nothing groundbreaking and nothing original, but it certainly holds its own.

One thing i particularly enjoyed about this release - and an improvement on the previous game - was that the chainsaw no longer needs fuel to work. Once you find it - pretty early on in the game - you can slice and dice deadites 24/7, and you'll always have atleast 2 weapons at your disposal thanks to the excellent 'two handed' combat system. Aswell as the now trademark 'quip' button (and lets face it - this wouldnt be an Evil Dead game without the ability to make fun of your enemies), there are some trademark moves such as the trusty boomstick-over-the-shoulder move.

Unfortunatly the game does have some bad points. You'll constantly be surrounded by buildings and doors but you'll very rarely be able to go inside without blasting a hole in the wall or finding a keycard (just so you can go kill the billion deadites that are waiting for you inside). And the game has some flaws in the logic department, too. For example, on one level you have to get inside a building via a big glass door - and you can smash the glass yet you cant go through it unless you actually open the door with the key card, despite the fact theres a massive gaping hole you could easily step through. And also, i imagine Ash to be the type of guy who likes to keep clean - so why has he been wearing the same outfit for 3 movies and 2 video games? And, more to the point, why was it ripped in all the exact same places BEFORE he even goes into battle? And why hasnt he had a replacement hand yet? The producers seem determined to stick to the 'movie' ash in term of design but, considering the comical humour of the game, i guess it can be forgiven.

Overall, its tiny flaws aside, this is a game that any Evil Dead fan will love (despite what several website reviews might say) so long as you dont mind the 'serious horror' of the original movie being chucked out of the window for the slapstick style of its sequels. 5 stars.

I thought this game was rather good. It combines the violence, gore and dry humour which you find in the films. Not to mention that Bruce Campbell does the voice of Ash (this will please some of you and some of you wont care less depending on what you think of Campbell). Personally I think this game is good, baby. You get to walk through the streets hacking up and shooting zombies with your chainsaw and trusty boomstick. What else could you possibly want? Well the graphics are pretty good too with no real glitches in the game. The use of the camera is also good as it allows you to fire your "boomstick" from over your shoulder in real Ash style. Although the game is a little linear (you are limited in where you can go) you still have no time limit and the run of pretty much anywhere. My advice, if you like Evil Dead, you'll like the game. So good, bad, You're the one with the gun!

This game is freakin' sweet. That's all there really is to say about this game.
The story picks up with Ash (voiced by Bruce Campbell!)Watching a show on the Occult, with a Proffesor Embridge discussing the Book of the Dead, which summons the evil spirits seen in the movie trilogy. On TV he plays the infamous tape of Proffesor Knowby which contains incantations from the Book of the Dead. The Deadtites show up, and its up to Ash to find a way to send them back. He enlists Embridge's help, but unfortunetly he has some alterior motives.
The game play on this is fairly tight. Combat with Deadites isn't very hard to learn and the weapons are interesting to say the least. The chainsaw arm is back. Boomsticks galore. Exploding shells add for some interesting effects when hitting a Deadite. The game employs a right hand / left hand combat system and rather good targeting. The camera generally gives good angles though there is the odd occasion where your vision is going to be obscured by the camera taking a weird position.
Level layouts are pretty good, though they require lots of backtracking to pick up items or finding a character. And make sure that the brightness is up on your screen, or you will get lost. Level four in the forest, would be impossible since the setting is so dark that you cannot see the path to the village.
This game is a bit of a guilty pleasure. With all the games out there that contain the same amount of violence, yet take themselves seriously, Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick is a welcome change. It encoperates all the campy fun from the trilogy, and is more fun than creepy, though it can have its moments. Adding Bruce Campbell into the mix makes it all the better. Don't miss a chance to play this game, it's worth the time.

I've been waiting for this game to come since the first one (well, there was an Evil Dead game before for Commodore64, but that's not a real game. Even though Hail To The King was), that, as you all know, was disappointing. Then I waited for this game reviews to come.. EGM said it was really bad, IGN said it was average... "Heck", I said... I'm gonna buy it anyways!
I'm glad I did, I'm glad I didn't listen to those critics! The game is awesome. I've been a fan of the Evil Dead Trilogy since I was a little kid and this game is what I've wanted... Of course it's not as good as the movies (if only Sam Raimi could be the game director, just like the Wachowsky brothers in Enter The Matrix...), but this is the Ash as you've always wanted. The funny yet tough guy, with all those one-liners! It's all in the game!
The graphics are average, there's nothing to complain about them, but don't expect Final Fantasy X or Silent Hill 3 in here, buddies (even though the animations are unbelievable, so perfect)! The soundtrack is pretty good, classical songs, nothing to complain, even though they're not composed by Joseph LoDuca (the guy who composed the trilogy's soundtracks). Talking about sound, the voice acting is also a great thing... Mainly because Bruce Campbell (Ash in the trilogy) does the voice of Ash in the game, which makes the whole thing much better. The other voices are pretty good, and there are subtitles as they speak. You can control the camera though the analog sticks, so the camera is not a problem in here. There's a big variety of weapons (chainsaw does not need fuel, and that's a great thing). The camera-lock mode on an enemy is awesome too, because you can shoot backwards with your trusty boomstick (among other weapons such as pistols). There's no problem with controls after all, you'll learn them in the first five minutes of gameplay...
So, you see, the game is highly entertaining if you are a fan of the trilogy... If you aren't, it will still be, but not as fun as if you were one, because you can finally control Ash in a very good game. It has six long levels thoughout the town of Dearborn, in Michigan - USA (now only in nowadays, there are also levels in the Civil War and in an Evil Dearborn). You can't forget that, as you finnish these levels, you unlock Arcade Modes, that have different missions, which makes the game challenge much more entertaining. Another thing: there are lots of hidden items throughout the game. Can you find them all? The coolest extra of all is here after you beat the first level. It is a video showing how the game was made, incluiding speeches of Bruce Campbell and the guys who made the game.
The reason I do not give this game 5-stars is because it is not perfect... It's not a masterpiece, though it is a highly-entertaining game that deserves your attention. You could buy it even if it costed 50 bucks! But this game costs 20 bucks! THQ is almost "giving" this game to you, you can't miss this oppotunity! This is one of the best PS2 titles ever!
If you want a game full of blood and gore (no game has more blood and gore than this one, believe me, as an expert gamer), with an amazing character, a great story, among other things... This is the game you've been looking for!
If you want to play a game as Ash, forget about Hail To The King. Just insert Fistful of Boomstick in your PS2 and be ready... because this is the king you've been waiting to hail.

By the price tag one should not expect the new top of the line action game. However for $... you get one hell of a game.

Evil Dead fist full of Boomstick is about Ash (Bruce Campbell) once again having to take on the legions of deadits brought to Dearborn Michigan after a moron proffesor plays the recording for the NEcronomicon on a local UHF station. The end result is that Dearborn is now overrun with Deadits. Not one to let that stand in the way Ash goes about slicing dicing and blasting his way through six levels of heavy duty action.

Now a lot of people heard this was a bad game, well to be honest the only magazine that said this was bad was Electronic Gaming Monthly. Every other magazine gave it a minimum of average to well above average. That seems to beat out the negativity 10 to 1. This is in fact a fun game, a little simple but the difficulty is enugh that it won't frustrate average gamers but still be enough of a challenge that even Vetrens will have some challenge every now and then.

If you are an Evil Dead fan just buy this game. With a [modest] price you get the campy horror, amusing one-liners and entertaining game play. Bruce Campbell is back as the voice of Ash, and he is obviously having fun with it. The game makers and Bruce put a lot of effort into pleasing the fans. This is just a fun game for Evil Dead fans and I couldnt be any more pleased with my purchase

I was a little apprehensive about buying this game even for its low price after all the poor critical reviews the previous Evil Dead games received. But thankfully, this is a solid, even without being anything groundbreaking, survival horror game.

You basically run around killing hundreds of deadites, who you can thin out but never entirely wipe out in an area, with shovels, your chainsaw and all sorts of firearms including your trusty boomstick. And along with these weapons you learn spells ( the possess deadite spell has a cool effect to it ). And there are a few puzzles to solve and big boss deadites to kill along the way.

The control is good, the story is humorous and moves along at a good pace, and there are enough deadites swarming you to make the game challenging. The only downside I have found so far is that when you die, especially before fighting a boss, there is dialog that you will have to sit and listen to that you can't fast forward through, making some encouters repetitive and boring.

I recommend this game to any horror / action game fan, it is a quality, good value game.