[h2]Overall: 7/10[/h2]
[h3]Story:[/h3]
The story sucks. Point, blank, period. From the very start it was obvious that the narrative wasn't going to be a major focus, and honestly, I didn't have a problem with that. The real issue, then, is that the game doesn't even attempt to make sense on a surface level.
The entire narrative can be summarized in a single sentence: [spoiler]a cartoonishly evil businessman kills you, kidnaps your girlfriend, and an ancient spirit resurrects you so you can embark on a literal God-like rampage to save her.[/spoiler] That's seriously the extent of the story, as this game never stops to provide meaningful exposition, develop characters, or establish any stakes beyond "go kill the bad guy." Everything exists purely as a vehicle to move you from one area to the next.
Unfortunately, the writing itself doesn't do the experience any favors either. I can absolutely appreciate campy, self-aware humor when it's executed well, but I found the dialogue here to be EXHAUSTING throughout the entire roughly 6.5-hour runtime my playthrough took. The script feels drenched in irony poisoning, repetitive cliches, and plot holes that are never even attempted to be acknowledged. [spoiler]Why does Marlow barely react to being murdered, resurrected, and suddenly granted god-like powers? Why does Marlow immediately have a casual banter relationship with this ancient Mayan spirit (while his girlfriend is currently kidnapped, nonetheless)? How does Heng Long somehow possess an army of literal hundreds of helicopters and massive industrial excavation sites scattered throughout a Central American jungle without attracting any government attention whatsoever?[/spoiler] None of these questions are ever remotely addressed. Instead, most of the downtime that could have been used for exposition is spent listening to Marlow and the Mask trade banter that simply isn't clever or funny enough to justify how frequently it occurs.
The biggest redeeming quality of the narrative is [spoiler]the cliffhanger ending, which sees Marlow, Eva, and the Mask transported centuries into the past to an active Mayan civilization as European ships loom on the horizon.[/spoiler] Ironically though, I found this interesting not because of any emotional investment in the story itself, but because it made me wonder about the gameplay possibilities a sequel could have explored.
[h3]Gameplay:[/h3]
The gameplay is easily the best aspect of the game. Now, the combat doesn't reinvent the hack-and-slash wheel by any means, but it [i]DOES[/i] understand its inspirations and scope, offer a respectable amount of variety for its runtime, and ultimately succeed at being a genuinely fun experience. My personal favorite weapon was the Forsaken Sting because of how quickly you can build massive combos, but I also appreciated how each of the three other weapons unlocked throughout the game brought their own unique flavor and playstyle to combat. Combined with the various magic abilities, there was just enough mechanical variety to keep things engaging from start to finish.
Beyond the combat itself, this game's set pieces are surprisingly entertaining despite their obvious low-budget nature. In particular, I had a great time with the helicopter/plane flying segments (which are both essentially just Galaga gameplay) as well as the turret and on-rails shooter sections scattered throughout the campaign.
My biggest gripes were the puzzle sections and the platforming, though that's mainly because I've never been particularly big on those mechanics in games in general. I can appreciate that the developers wanted to avoid making the experience feel like one hack-and-slash arena after another, but I personally felt like there was a little too much platforming overall, and that the puzzles disrupted the pacing more than they enhanced it.
That said, although those moments definitely began to wear thin on me toward the end of the game, I never felt like any particular gameplay mechanic overstayed its welcome. By the time the credits rolled, I was content with what the experience had delivered. I wasn't blown away, nor was I left wanting significantly more, just adequately fulfilled.
[h3]World:[/h3]
The world/level design honestly surprised me, and I ended up enjoying this part of the game much more than I initially expected to. There's no denying that it's an exceptionally streamlined and linear experience, with levels that primarily exist to progress the game forward, but it's the setting itself that really won me over.
I started off feeling fairly underwhelmed during the first hour or so because of the heavily industrial environments and seemingly uninspired facilities that dominate the opening section. At first, I was worried the entire game would just be full of a variety of generic factory aesthetics, but my opinion did a complete 180 once I saw the overgrown ancient temples, the "Descent into the Maelstrom", and the snowy mountain peaks, all of which gave a surprising amount of visual variety and identity as the setting began leaning harder into its Mesoamerican influences.
I also appreciated that the developers chose a Central America inspired setting in general since it's a region that isn't explored nearly enough in gaming. Even with this game's heavy sci-fi elements/exaggerated action-movie presentation, it maintains a distinct geographical and cultural profile that makes it stand out.
[h3]Visuals:[/h3]
The visuals/graphics are very dated. It's not intolerable by any stretch of the imagination, especially during most of the gameplay where the camera serves a more cinematic purpose than an involved one, but being that this was a budget title back when it launched, the graphics simply haven't aged that well, even compared to other games from 2013.
That said though, I was really surprised by how much I ended up appreciating some of the scenery. This game frequently uses wide camera pans and dramatic angles to showcase its sprawling jungle environments, ancient temples, and industrial ruins, and these views often do look surprisingly impressive. The sense of scale created by these areas does a lot of heavy lifting to help sell the over-the-top B-movie action atmosphere. Unfortunately, the illusion starts to fall apart whenever the camera starts to close in. The handful of fully animated cutscenes feel painfully stiff, with awkward facial animations, rigid character movements, and an overall dated presentation.
Furthermore, I was pleasantly surprised to see ultrawide resolution support available in the graphics settings, but that excitement was short-lived once I realized the feature wasn't properly optimized. While the image itself wasn't stretched, the UI gets severely cut off, and in certain situations important gameplay prompts were left off screen, making the option more of a liability than a welcome bonus.
[h3]Music/Sound Design:[/h3]
The music/sound design is nothing to write home about. The OST does its job of matching the gameplay's fast-paced action and constant spectacle well enough, but very little of it ever left me feeling genuinely excited or impressed. For the most part, the music is made up of generic, cliche action tracks that sound exactly like what you'd expect from an early 2010s action game, making most of the OST feel interchangeable and forgettable. Despite this, there are occasional scenes where the soundtrack incorporates heavy tribal percussion/traditional drum rhythms that help tie the audio experience back into the game's setting, and those instrumentals stood out far more while actually enhancing some scenes.
Sadly, the sound design is even worse. Weapon impacts, environmental effects, and combat audio all feel serviceable, but the real weak point is the voice acting. The performances are consistently unimpressive, often coming across as corny, forced, and lacking any real emotional weight, and most of the time it's more annoying than entertaining.
