Pariah

by HIP Interactive

Product Features

• Use the Use the Weapon Energy Core feature to upgrade your 7 weapons to suityour unique gaming strategies
• Roar through the vast wastelands of Earth crushing enemies under your treads
• Ultra realistic, fast paced gameplay in 18 single-player levels and 13 multi-player levels
• New twist on multi-player action in the all new exclusive Front Line Assault mode -- plus Capture-the-Flag, Death Match and Team Death Match for up to 16 players

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000784XGM
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches ; 5 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: May 5, 2005
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,218 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

CAN YOU SURVIVE New Twist on the Classic Multi Player action Create unlimited Battlegrounds,

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Pariah", May 26, 2005

By 

-- "--" (Gondor, IN) - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Pariah (Video Game)

Let's face it, the press has been kind of hard on "Pariah," an Unreal-powered shooter that admittedly lurks in the shadow of games like "Halo" and "Far Cry." That said, in reality there are more reasons to recommend the game to first-person shootists than there are reasons to condemn it, as it's quite a worthy sci-fi effort once you get past its laundry list of problems.

"Pariah" starts out with promise aplenty. A mysterious ship transporting a cryogenically frozen woman crash lands on Earth, which as a planet is now the refuge of criminals and mercenaries. Shot down by unknown attackers, Dr. Jack Mason and said token femme seem to be the only survivors, but as luck would have it she's infected with some kind of super-virus that could be all kinds of trouble in the wrong hands. And, as is par for the course with these things, the wrong hands are certainly trying to claim her so that they can harness the power she possesses. It's seemingly up to Jack to forego his Hippocratic oath and thwart these evil ambitions by killing lots and lots of bad guys. After that, the story gets quite muddled and certainly wouldn't be one of the game's stronger points except for an ambitious twist at the end that breathes fresh life into something that seemed virtually D.O.A.

In terms of gameplay, "Pariah" flirts with a few innovations that truly are interesting. First, the hero character's medical background makes him adept at healing himself. The tool he uses for this task is located in Jack's inventory alongside his weapons, and is in fact used like a weapon, complete with ammunition that must be gathered to make it of any further use. When selected a quick pull of the trigger initiates the healing process. The fact that this item is used much like a weapon and cannot merely be summoned with the press of a button for an instant resurgence of health adds a strategic element to the game's firefights. Run in with guns blazing and you'll die almost every time because using the medical tool is a deliberate and time-sensitive process. Not only does this fit in extremely well with the hero character's profession, it's a unique spin on health recovery in the FPS genre that I hope to see again in other games. It promotes an attack and retreat philosophy similar to the regenerating shields in "Halo" (which is no doubt the source of inspiration).

Second and perhaps even more importantly, "Pariah" offers several satisfying weapons, each one with no less than three available upgrades (apart from the useless melee weapon and an energy canon found late in the single player game). Upgrading these weapons further adds a dose of strategy, pure coolness notwithstanding. But because you never accrue enough points to enhance each weapon in your arsenal, there is the aforementioned strategic concern. Do you upgrade your shotgun to deal maximum damage to your opponents in close quarters, or do you enhance your more well-rounded assault rifle instead? The choice is yours, and these upgrades really do make a discernable impact on how punishing said weapon becomes as you near the end of the game. Again, this is a feature more shooters should pay rapt attention to.

Apart from these innovations, however, "Pariah" is fairly derivative in its structure, owing a tremendous debt to the aforementioned FPS hits "Halo" and "Far Cry." The game's drivable vehicles are testament to this fact, but add little to the experience thanks to their poor implementation and less than stellar driving mechanics. On top of that, many of the game's levels are boilerplate science fiction and offer little in the way of originality. That said, a few of the missions do stand out as particularly enjoyable - primarily two later ones which take place on board a speeding train and a flying carrier ship respectively. It's just that the art direction, which envelops the enemies as well as the landscapes, is just so bloody trite.

Clichés aside, the game sure is pretty. It takes the aging "Unreal II" engine to the max, and despite a few polygonal jags here and there, it ultimately provides some pretty sumptuous eye candy on the Xbox console. The sound effects are equally excellent for the most part. Weapons discharges in particular really enhance the sense of power each weapon emits.

Unfortunately, "Pariah" is chock full of bugs. On at least three occasions I slipped through the very floor and fell to my death. In no way shape or form is this acceptable in a supposedly finished product. Another grating issue is collision detection, which is spotty at best. Sometimes you can shoot a baddie three times and drop him dead where he stands, while other times your enemies seem to absorb your attacks and keep on coming without regard. Their herky-jerky movements, a holdover from "Unreal II," compound the issue, making them more difficult to drop than they should actually be.

Another negative feature on loan from its big brother is the overblown rag doll physics present in "Pariah." When reacting to explosions, the aerial death spins of your opponents can be quite satisfying, but when merely shooting them to death they drop to the ground, bending at angles so awkward you know there's nothing even remotely resembling a skeleton anywhere inside of them. It's as if they've all been stuffed with rice. Add into the mix an automatic weapon switch that can put a rocket launcher in your hands at close range when you just used up the ammo for your assault rifle, an insanely unpredictable check point system, and vague mission objectives such as "disable the turret," and you certainly can't order "Pariah" without its fair share of lemons.

In the end, though, "Pariah" softens its hard edges with a few key features that really should become the fashion in shooters, as well as decent production values, slick, responsive controls, and a story that redeems itself with a ballsy conclusion. As far as FPS games go, "Pariah" is far from king of the hill, but just as far from the bottom of the junk heap. If science fiction shoot `em ups are your bread and butter, you'll feel right at home here.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great game that gets way too much crap, June 19, 2007

By 

stephen campbell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Pariah (Video Game)

I'm a guy that swears by the unreal series (particularily the original unreal and the return to na pali mission pack) so when I heard that digital extremes did another FPS, I immediately went to amazon and ordered the game.



it was only AFTER I ordered the game that I found out how much crap this game gets - and now after playing it, I wonder why there are a lot of bad reviews for it.



most of the crap it gets is for the storyline - which, I thought, was excellent. you just need to get to the last level to really understand what's going on. you're INTENDED to not have a clue until the end.



anyway, onto the gameplay...I love it. weapons are great, levels are great, and this game introduces a few cool new aspects of gameplay to the FPS scene. also, the drop-in/drop-out 2 player coop is really awesome. the only reason I gave this game 4 stars was because of the multiplayer aspect of the game. there were far too few maps - if there were more, this game would definetely rank up there with some of my favorites.



so...yeah. in a nutshell, I highly recommend this game.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pariah, the best fps' since Doom 3, June 21, 2006

By 

McReaper_119 - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Pariah (Video Game)

Pariah has been beaten down time and time again, but the funny thing, is that it gets back up every single time. Many people say it sucks even if they haven't played it but the truth is they have no freaking clue what they are talking about.

The graphics are insanely good and the characters are way better than Halo or Halo2 COMBINED. It is a much better game than both Halo games as well.

After playing this I really think that first person shooters will actually have GOOD stories of wich Halo greatly lacked.

Multiplay is a little crazy and I only like to play it to see what kind of maps people can come up with.

I love this game and would choose it over any other fps out there. WAY, WAY better than Halo 1 or 2. I never want to put the controller down when I play this game.

Ratings

Graphics:10
Sound:10
Replayability:8
Controls:9
Drawn In Atmosphere:10
Fun:10
Multiplayer, Co-Op:10, Multiplay:7
Overall:9.25

Adios, and I'll see your maps on Xbox Live.