N-Philes

Scurge: Hive

Posted February 13th 2007 by Stephanie DeSiena.

It's the year three hundred million and a nasty virus outbreak has a space station, which is orbiting a post-Armageddon Earth, on the brink of annihilation. A single operative is sent into a quarantined section of the ship to investigate the cause of this sudden disaster only to find that the source is an alien life form which threatens to invade the entire colony aboard the space ship and make them slaves. It's now the lone soldier's duty to eliminate the unwanted beasts and save everyone aboard the station. The first battle may be on the ship itself, but it doesn't just end there...

If this story sounds familiar to you, it's because there are a million video games, books, television shows, and movies that are more or less either variations or carbon-copies of its formula. It's cliché, it's dull, and frankly I just can't stand it anymore. Scurge: Hive's story is something like that. A female bounty hunter named Jenosa investigates a distress signal coming from a lab and is suddenly attacked by something called Scurge, which is an alien species, and she becomes infected with whatever Scurge is. She escapes the lab only to find out that the entire planet is infected with Scurge. Oh no.

The story is dull and sometimes really confusing, especially in the beginning of the game, which asks you to read through walls of text just to discover that Scurge is bad and it spreads quickly. There are things Jenosa can do to stop it, but she will have to traverse a Scurge-ridden planet to do so.

Now, since Jenosa is infected with Scurge, the game puts you on a timer. This is where the crossroad of the storyline and the gameplay itself gets interesting. At the top of the screen you'll notice a number that increases slowly to 100%. You don't want it to reach 100%, because at that point Scurge will take over Jenosa's body and she'll turn into one of those creepy alien thingies herself. It's fairly easy to avoid this through the majority of the game, as you simply need to find one of the save points that are riddled throughout the planet in order to reduce your Scurge level to zero. It's still an interesting feature, however, and can sometimes make the player distressed into thinking there won't be enough time to save Jenosa before completing a section of the game.

However, like I mentioned, it is fairly easy to avoid turning into Scurge scum. The game as a whole is challenge, save the laughably easy first part, as Jenosa starts out with a decent number of hit points, enemies barely do any damage to her, and when you defeat an enemy you collect little floating globs that regenerate your health anyway. There are harder difficulty levels present in the game which up the challenge a bit, but by the time you unlock them you may very well be a professional at the controls.

Speaking of controls, Scurge: Hive has an enormous amount of polish that makes its over-head view gameplay a breeze. Most of the game can be played by running, jumping, and shooting, which is a classic enough formula that it needs no further explanation. The movement is accurate, which is especially important in a fast-paced action game like Scurge, although in the beginning the camera will take some getting used to. Whenever Jenosa turns, the camera swings and shifts in order to give the player the largest view directly in front of her, which can be disorienting when you're surrounded by enemies and constantly moving.

One of the game's most significant features is the ability to get different elemental shots. Once you gain a new shot you can switch between your normal blast and the elemental blast by using a menu brought up by the R button. These new powers are presented to you as you reach enemies that are difficult to take down using your current arsenal. While these new powers make fighting certain tougher monsters a cakewalk, many of the shots will enhance other enemies' stats when shot. This means that you'll have to constantly switch between shots in order clear the area, which can sometimes be frustrating and tedious when in the heat of battle between all different types of enemies.

What makes Scurge a solid title is its overall design. There are puzzles in every section of this game which range from blatantly obvious to head-scratchingly stumping, and they help break up the manic pace and, more importantly, save the game from becoming completely monotonous. The enemies and Jenosa herself are all original and creative, especially some of the bosses, which are just about as threatening as 16-bit sprite bosses can look.

The graphics are absolutely stunning for a GBA game and are some of the best that the system has to offer. Every room is carefully detailed and everything is perfectly distinguishable. The color schemes are brilliant at times and the entire art direction is thoughtful. The special effects are especially well done, with transparency undoubtedly pushing the GBA's limits, mostly because I barely, if ever, noticed a drop in the game's framerate. It is honestly one of the best looking 2D sprite based games ever made.

Even as notable is the game's sound, which is entirely done by Jake Kaufman, who once told me personally that he considered Scurge:Hive to be his best work to date. He was smiling too, so I was inclined to take his word for it. However it's usually difficult to believe him, so I held out until I got a chance to play the game myself, and all I had to say was "Oh my God. Oh my God." Yes, I said it twice. From the second the first stage begins to the end of the last stage, the music is impressive and often-times catchy, and the sound effects are consistently perfect. There are different songs for each part of the game and the score overall never gets old. I would buy it on CD and listen to it in my car.

While there are a few rewards for completing the game on varying difficulty levels, even the most ambitious players might get sick of the game's run and shoot design eventually. It's stunning to look at, listen to, and control, but by the end of the game you might start wishing it would just be over with because of the monotony. Still, it is a good experience and one of the better adventure games in recent memory, so I recommend it highly to Metroidvania enthusiasts, or even to just those looking for something engaging to play on the bus.

Steady Beat - Infectious.

It's great. It would have been perfect if it weren't for the constant switching between shots, and if its story weren't so damn boring, but the gameplay and presentation more than make up for it. It was released as a budget title, so if anything in here sounds appealing to you then by all means, give it a try. You might be surprised.

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