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Clive Barker's Jericho

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7.1 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 25 critic reviews
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Based on 92 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Codemasters

Developer: Codemasters

Genre(s): Action, Adventure

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Release Date: October 23, 2007

Summary

An unflinching realisation of a Clive Barker nightmare for next-gen console platforms and PC, Clive Barker's Jericho is a supernatural horror concept with story by the master mythmaker, novelist and filmmaker Clive Barker. Jericho deals with the mysterious reappearance of a lost city in a remote desert. When a form of evil that goes right back to the dawn of days resurfaces from there, a Special Forces squad, trained in both conventional warfare and the arcane arts, is sent in. Their mission: Hunt down and destroy the evil that lurks at the heart of the city before it destroys humanity. Jericho is designed as an action horror title that ups the stakes in visuals and phantasmagorical special effects. Mingling the darkest elements of Barker’s horror fiction and films with an ambitious, age-spanning story, aimed at mature gamers, fans of Clive Barker and horror fiction enthusiasts. [Codemasters]

Also On Metacritic

GAMES: Clive Barker's Undying

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

GameTap

Unlike many squad-based shooters that don't require the use of the whole team, Jericho's premise relies on it. What's equally important is that each character is genuinely worth playing.

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GameDaily

One of the best horror games to come out this fall, with horrifically imaginative creatures and dark, blood-covered environments.

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Play Magazine

I would've enjoyed more variety in the enemy fodder, but what's available is certainly creepy and intense. Clive Barker should develop more games. [Nov 2007, p.65]

GamerNode

A solid shooter marred by poor design. Excellent visuals and some fine FPS gameplay are to be had in Jericho, but I wouldn't pay full price for it.

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Jolt Online Gaming UK

Jericho is definitely a case of inventive design married all-too-unhappily to old school thinking, and the result is a game that is almost fatally broken.

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GameStar

The developers' love for detail, which is apparent in the characters of the Jericho team, is missing otherwise: the levels are linear and sometimes monotonous, the enemies always act the same way.

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ActionTrip

I guess I would recommend it to Clive Barker fans. Bear in mind that there are obvious drawbacks to it, too. If you can live with the abovementioned issues (mostly concerning the tedious elements in the level design and its appearance), you will find stuff that you can like in this one.

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Destructoid

I can't promise you a perfect horror FPS in Jericho, in fact I can promise you that it won't be, but somewhere between the dense oppression of its atmosphere, the unapologetically, almost decadently horrific nature of its production design, the satisfaction of its gameplay when it's firing on all cylinders, and some rather broken protagonist characters who I was surprised to grow rather attached to by the end despite the script not making the most of their backstories, I find myself unable to write it off.

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YouGamers

Ironically, the story is better-suited to a summer Hollywood horror flick, and it falls flat as a premise for driving action in a video game. With a number of great releases on the horizon, there's no reason to let this aberration anywhere near your hard drive.

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PC Format

Utterly unremarkable. [Jan 2008, p.72]

PC Zone UK

The action is quite a laugh and oddly refreshing. But it repeats and repeats and repeats. [Dec 2007, p.78]

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GameSpot

Poor level design poisons Jericho's awesome but unrealized potential.

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PC Gamer UK

If the AI worked as it was intended, and if there was a cover system beyond "stand behind that pillar and the splash damage 'might' not kill you," Jericho would be great. But it doesn't, there isn't, and it's not. [Dec 2007, p.82]

VideoGamer

On one hand it's a near-broken video game, packed full of so many gaming no-nos that it ought never to be spoken about again, but on the other it's original, atmospheric and sickeningly good fun.

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Cheat Code Central

Jericho doesn't really bring anything new to the gaming world.

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Game Informer

If broken gameplay mechanics and community college acting didn’t weigh down the game, it might actually be worthwhile.

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Game Almighty

Jericho shows a great deal of thought put into the final product, but it just doesn’t rise above its own problems, unfortunately.

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GameSpy

For fans of Clive Barker, Jericho could provide some degree of entertainment, and as we stated at the beginning of this review, it's not totally devoid of rewards. At the same time, it's difficult to recommend a game with so many lackluster elements in a world full of Gears of Wars and BioShocks (both of which managed to be scarier than Jericho).

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PC Gamer

The end result is just to routine to be scary. [Holiday 2007, p.84]

IGN

Instead of getting caught up in the struggle against a demonic force that threatens the continued existence of your race, you're left with tacked-on squad elements, poor friendly and enemy AI, repetitive encounters, and unabashedly linear levels. Jericho has a few memorable moments, but they're not worth the cash.

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Gamer 2.0

The sheer number of things that had to go wrong to keep Clive Barker’s Jericho from being a raging success is almost unbelievable, because when it comes right down to it, this game had the makings of a real hit. The fact that the credits roll at the exact same moment you finally find yourself on the edge of your seat cements the overall feeling of incompleteness the game gives off from the beginning.

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GameShark

So what you have is by the numbers, lead you by the nose shooter with decent graphics, some neat special powers, and a crazy (but still kind of cool) Clive Barker story—that isn’t scary in the slightest. This is perhaps the game’s greatest failing: it’s just not scary.

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Edge Magazine

The game's failure to monopolise on its squad dynamic relegates it to a shooter-by-numbers, and its appeal is then further undercut by the fact that, while Barker clearly has a sense for the grotesque, it is the only note that Jericho plays. [Dec 2007, p.91]

Game Revolution

Given how much repetition is in the game, one would think it was much longer than its six to eight hour length. The lack of any kind of multiplayer hurts it further. And the final stake to the heart is the appallingly abrupt and inconclusive ending.

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G4 TV

The action and violence are satisfying enough to make the game marginally recommendable, but only barely. Add in the complete lack of any multiplayer options, a terrible ending, and Clive Barker’s Jericho feels like a game where the good parts are overwhelmed by the shortcomings.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 7.1 (out of 10) based on 92 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Claudio B. gave it a10:
Sure this isn't the best FPS ever (more on that later), BUT, my friends: a) the plot, the visual & the mood come from Clive Barker, a writer that I personally adore: to be honest the idea of an ancient evil radicated into the history of man so that you can change scenario with a meaning sounds good to me, while you go deeper you go past historical eras and forgive me but this is a fantastic idea; at the same time, you can (and must, to survive) control a whole squad with specific weapons and powers and this is also a great idea (instead of "oh i've found a new great weapon" of the others FPS!); b) levels are linear, enemies come out from spots...but when they do so, emerging from the myst, or a dark tunnel, well, my heart always lose a beat or two: I really don't understand other comments all over the net, this game scares me! (but again maybe its ME); always after a combat I think "wow thanks god there is a save point-that one was pretty hard"; c) bad things: powers aren't always easy to use (you have to place the character with extreme care, in THAT place and not two millimetres away!), an open ending (eh eh, space for a sequel-that's business my friends) and -but that's MY problem- the language translation in italian (totally sucks, I just play in english). To me, this game rocks: if you read Barker, buy it; if you enjoy a game with a marvellous mood, great characters and great plot and don't mind little repetitive schemes... buy it! It's worth it.

Peter gave it a7:
Jericho is more fun than most people give it credit for, I think. The combat may be repetitive and the colors banal, but the unique weapons and abilities of each squad member held my interest through to the end. To be fair, I picked it up at Gamestop for only $10. If you can get a deal like that, Jericho is worth it. Don't pay more unless you really like occult shooters.

Obi wan gave it a9:
At first the controls seem a little clunky, as you plough your way through the array of monsters and hi res environments. As you get to know the controls, moving people around and utilising the various team based tricks to complete a mission you start to get into the adult storyline which i found refreshing. I found you really have to gel with the style of game but if you do you'll be glad and soon find the evenings vanish. The use of in game scripts and cut sequences worked well with the in game as a whole and added to the sense of story, although i'll admit some area needed a little more work. There is also real use o f team based combat as well as the odd single and sub sets of the team, having said that i did tend to stick to a few members but definately found them all useful along the way. Including that consession i seriously suggest this game, especially at today's prices.

Nigel U gave it a1:
Put simply does not work. The PC port does not work under Vista. Got it for £10 retail, and imo was ripped off. If you remap the keys you can no longer press left or press right when required too. This means you spend about 30 minutes dying around 400 times falling off the ledge before you realise your key mappings dont work. The next time this occurs you are unable to use any keys for left and right (remapped or otherwise). Combined with multple reload bugs where characters get stuck on the environment meaning you cant reach checkpoints and need to reload, this is just about the worst port I have ever seen. Would give it 0, but the graphics are quite good. Frustrating and rubbish.

Resse gave it a7:
The Game itself is actually really great. Lots of fun and I think, that the system of more or less free character control is very innovative. the negative points, that drop the rating are: - no real end sequence (-1 point) - often very hectical fights without the possibility to control the team into the right direction (-0.5) - defined savepoints <= damn console games (-0.5) - death or live situations are very annoying (-1) I had much fun with the game, but can't give more than 7 points for it.

Shane B. gave it a10:
This game is visually stunning. its beautifully made. ive played few games like it. it is truly an amazing game.

Aeschylus gave it a9:
The first squad based shooter in which characters are actually "individuals". Now, place this inside an exhilirating crimson red carnival ride through Hell with Z-Grade scripted events that have the cheesiest one-liners this side of Predator. How the hell could you not have a good time with this game? THIS GAME IS BEYOND QUOTABLE. If you're a fan of 80s action films, and have the faintest interest in Barker's gothic creations, do not question a purchase. The imagination present in character design is very impressive. The environments are a little drab and smoldered beneath the dark skies of a hellish landscape, but they still work in the context of Barker's imagination. The little details in the special fx make this game even more appealing to the eye. Some of the special powers come off weaker than others, but the way they're executed is excellent across the board. Particularly, the ghost bullet, which allows you to control the trajectory of a bullet through several enemies at once. The variety of weapons at hand is solid, nothing particularly new, but solid. However, special mention needs to go out to the slow motion katana slices and the sniper rifle equipped with grenade rounds. All in all, a highly entertaining ride that ends too abuptly. One point shaved for the ending.

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Clive Barker's Jericho

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