Customer Reviews

Scurge Hive

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4 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

Scurge: Hive puts you in the role of a female bounty hunter in space named Jenosa taking on alien parasitic organisms. Yes, that's Scurge: Hive, not anything with the word Metroid in the title. Despite the derivative storyline, Scurge: Hive for the GBA provides some great action and shooting elements that fit right at home on the GBA. The overhead isometric view of the game provides for plenty of fun shooting elements to go along with exploration and puzzle solving. Throw in some memorable boss battles to go along with the fluidly animated and colorful graphics and you get one of better action/shooters to come out on the GBA in a long time. What stops Scurge: Hive dead in it's tracks from being an instant classic is that you will backtrack a lot, and I mean a lot. Combine that with the fact that the shooting and puzzle elements will eventually get boring the longer you're in the game, and that stops Scurge: Hive from being a must own. Not to mention that there is a time limit tied into Jenosa's health, which you must constantly find medical stations to refill, which will either add degrees of challenge or frustration depending on the gamer. That aside though, Scurge: Hive is still a great game for the GBA that should be checked out by those still holding on to their GBA's and craving some solid action. The game is also available for the DS as well, which has the advantage of showing more on the screen as well as displaying the area map at all times. If you own a DS and want to check this game out, you may want to go for that version for those reasons alone, but if you want a cheaper game, the GBA version is sufficient.

I've seen quite a few copies of this game, going from one GameStop to another in search of a GBA game to spend my store credit on. Seeing this game almost everywhere, two thoughts came to mind: 1) "Man, this game must suck," and 2) "Why did so many people buy it in the first place?" After looking at some reviews, I took a chance and bought "Scurge: Hive" for the GBA. Best 5 bucks in credit that I've ever spent.

This is an action RPG best compared to the likes of "Metroid;" in some ways, it's almost exactly like "Metroid." You play as Jenosa Arma, a bounty hunter with a freakishly long ponytail, sent to the planet Inos to infiltrate a research lab after an attempt to contain a parasite called the Scurge goes awry. Starting out with just a pea-shooting gauntlet, you fight a bunch of enemies--and I mean a LOT of 'em--while exploring each level, which takes quite a toll on your health bar. But when killed, these enemies give off balls of green goo that refill your health, increases your hit points, and even improve your rank. And that's just for starters.

Before you even make it through the first level, you're suddenly infected by the Scurge. A gauge appears at the top of the screen to show the rate of infection and if it reaches 100%, you'll transform into the Scurge itself and the game ends; basically, it limits the time you have to explore a level. To prevent this, you have to access sick bays that are located throughout the game in order to keep the infection down. These also serve as save points in the game. But having to go back and forth to a sick bay to keep your infection low can get pretty frustrating. Luckily, you can activate a map with the Select button to keep from getting lost.

Needless to say, this game puts a lot on your plate. When you're not uncovering new weapons, you must accomplish various tasks in order to advance in the game. You also have to find special security cards in order to open certain doors. And then there's a horde of boss characters with their own specific strengths and weaknesses. Even moving around the isometric platforms is a chore. Add the little buggers that are already chasing you, and you've got a game that's tough to beat--even at its lowest difficulty setting.

"Scurge" is also available for the Nintendo DS. This is exactly the same as the GBA port save for a map provided on the touch screen. When choosing between both versions, the choice should be clear for GBA owners. For DS owners, it comes down to whether you want added convenience or a cheaper game. Either way, you can't go wrong with this challenging title.

This game is rated E10+ for ages 10 & up: Violence.

Very good basic game layout, but the user controls just suck. Way too much diagonal movement and aiming is required, and combined with holding the L and R buttons. Simply unacceptable. More a test of finger olympic skills than fun. To make matters worse each level is timed, and some levels leave little to no time for a single finger error. And then add that these "olympics" areas (where the door locks behind you no less) are several rooms from the save area so you must keep repeating and repeating and repeating. Many rooms can not be traversed without dying multiple times anyway, you have to memorize where the traps/monsters are. Get Metroid instead, it is done right. Too bad that the game design of Scurge gives intense action, but they totally ignored the capabilities of the platform it plays on. Some designers get around the problem by allowing the remapping of the control pad to move diagonal on the compass points, not Scurge and it absolutely ruins the game and will halt your progress permanently.

I just finished this game finally (it took me about 18 hours!), so I thought I'd write a quick review. Firstly the graphics and sound were excellent, and some of the best I've seen and heard on the GBA. The gameplay consists of lots of shooting, jumping and exploring. The main character, who is very nicely animated, is contaminated from the start of the game which means there's a permanent 'timer' counting down to her death which is reset in numerous save rooms. I though this might be irritating initially, but it didn't bother me during the game. The fact that the save rooms are common means that Scurge is a good game to play in short intervals of 10-15 mins. Some people comment on the isometric perspective and awkwardness of diagonal movements. This did cause some problems in places, but it didn't spoil the game for me. The advantage of the perspective is that the rooms you explore feel much more real than if it was a 2D game and this does improve the atmosphere a lot. As you progress through the game, the action becomes very intense. You have 3 guns meant for killing 3 different types of enemy (energy, organic, robot), but late in the game you're often attacked by all 3 types at the same time so you have to quickly cycle through your weapons picking out the right targets. The enemy attacks are continuous through the game (the aliens respawn when you leave a room), but the variety of aliens keeps things interesting. The final boss stage is especially intense, but it leaves you with a sense of achievement when you're done.

A poor Metroid knock-off in every respect, the only thing differentiating this game (the top-down perspective) actually ends up being a detriment. While having a third axis to traverse does add something to the exploration aspect of the game, all the other elements are lacking. Enemy design is uninspired, the main character's hair is almost seizure inducing at all times, and aiming can be clunky because the three dimensional environment doesn't really feel right with the d-pad.

All in all, I really can't think of anything good to say about this game. Children of Mana and Lunar Knights are two good alternatives if you're looking for this style of play, but I'd recommend staying as far away from this game as possible, it'll only disappoint.