Martian Gothic: Unification

If you mixed Resident Evil and System Shock 2 with an unhealthy dose of crapness, you'd probably end up with something like this. Taking control of three characters, you must wander around a space station (which has some beautifully drawn locations), trying to solve the mystery of why the crew has been butchered.

In an inspired stroke of unoriginality, you soon find that the culprits are a bunch of zombies intent on adding you to their victim list. The animation is laughable, and completely detracts from the wannabe-shit-your-pants atmosphere. What's more, the whole thing is made even more unscary because it's so hard to die, a problem caused by the enemy Al, which verges on incompetent. Throw in some unconvincing dialogue and you're left with a game that has little going for it, even at this price.

Overview

What awaits the three member investigative team who, after plunging through space, land on Mars and enter the eerily silent Vita 1 base through separate airlocks? Their assignment is to discover the reason for the radio silence that has fallen over the base, constructed on the planet to investigate Martian bacterial life. The secondary directive the team has received is the enigmatic last message received from Vita 1 base: "Stay Alone, Stay Alive." Physically isolated, but not completely alone thanks to radio contact, they enter the base unprepared for the horrors that await them there.

Gameplay, Controls, Interface

I was a bit disappointed to find that playing Martian Gothic felt a lot like playing Capcom’s Resident Evil. Ultimately, most of my time was spent running around either dodging or shooting zombies (or getting chewed on by them all too often). The atmosphere was much the same as in Resident Evil with the distinction of being on Mars and having metal corridors.

The intro to the game was somewhat uninspiring, but I went into it hoping for something exciting and engrossing. However, I was willing enough to forgive the weak intro if they could provide more in the gameplay. In the end, I never really got over the uninspired feeling, except when moments of extreme frustration set in.

The ability to switch between three characters was a redeeming feature and was of some entertainment value by itself. The main characters Karne, Kenzo and Matlock (the token female who is trapped in her airlock for the beginning portion of the game) are separated on the base, but can communicate using their radios and pass items using the handy vacuum tubes positioned around the base. The ability to change characters and areas at will, allowing for different scenery and experiences, provides a bit of a refresher when needed. Some of the puzzles were entertaining and, in the beginning, distracted me from the less redeeming features, yet, later in the game, were inadequate to keep my attention.

The inventory screen was very limited and dropping things was not an option, requiring the characters to store things in assorted places around the base. The personal lockers in the airlocks have only four storage spots, making them virtually useless. The constant search for ways to pick up the items you need and get rid the ones you don’t need yet was an unnecessary distraction, probably intended to make the game "challenging," but succeeding only in increasing the frustration level considerably. The map was also more of an annoyance than an asset as it was hard to read and did not seem to accurately display the layout of Vita 1 base.

The controls and viewpoint were probably one of the most irritating features of the game. While the zombies roamed in predictable patterns, I still found myself constantly being caught by the undead due to the inconsistent directional control and the ever-changing viewpoint that I had no control over. I believe these two "features" were added in to increase the suspense and, in a respect, they succeeded, but mostly it added to the frustration and I found myself needing to play other games frequently to sooth my temper. This need to switch is probably the strongest comment on the game. When you have to play someone else’s game periodically to keep yourself from trashing this one then someone, somewhere, did not do their job adequately.

Audio

The voice acting throughout the game was rather unconvincing and I found Kenzo to be especially annoying and bored sounding. Karne, however, was not bad as far as emotion went, but the script was rather weak. Initially, some of the sound effects, such as the eerie moans in some of the hallways, were chilling and added much to the atmosphere. Eventually, however, most of the sounds, and especially the footsteps, became very repetitive and I began tuning them out.

Graphics

The graphics in Martian Gothic were average, almost on par with Resident Evil (released in 1996). They were consistent between cut-scenes and regular gameplay, avoiding the disappointment that can come with returning to average gameplay after a spectacular cut-scene, but were generally nothing special. For a low cost game such as this, the graphics are what you should expect.

Bottom Line

In the end, Martian Gothic is not a game I would recommend for most people. The storyline definitely had its intriguing qualities and some of the features were enjoyable, but it was nowhere near original enough to overcome its shortcomings. The audience who would most benefit from this inexpensive game would be those who greatly enjoyed Resident Evil and would like try out a similar plot out of a sense of nostalgia.

Overview

What awaits the three member investigative team who, after plunging through space, land on Mars and enter the eerily silent Vita 1 base through separate airlocks? Their assignment is to discover the reason for the radio silence that has fallen over the base, constructed on the planet to investigate Martian bacterial life. The secondary directive the team has received is the enigmatic last message received from Vita 1 base: 'Stay Alone, Stay Alive.'? Physically isolated, but not completely alone thanks to radio contact, they enter the base unprepared for the horrors that await them there.

Gameplay, Controls, Interface

I was a bit disappointed to find that playing Martian Gothic felt a lot like playing Capcom's Resident Evil. Ultimately, most of my time was spent running around either dodging or shooting zombies (or getting chewed on by them all too often). The atmosphere was much the same as in Resident Evil with the distinction of being on Mars and having metal corridors.

The intro to the game was somewhat uninspiring, but I went into it hoping for something exciting and engrossing. However, I was willing enough to forgive the weak intro if they could provide more in the gameplay. In the end, I never really got over the uninspired feeling, except when moments of extreme frustration set in.

The ability to switch between three characters was a redeeming feature and was of some entertainment value by itself. The main characters Karne, Kenzo and Matlock (the token female who is trapped in her airlock for the beginning portion of the game) are separated on the base, but can communicate using their radios and pass items using the handy vacuum tubes positioned around the base. The ability to change characters and areas at will, allowing for different scenery and experiences, provides a bit of a refresher when needed. Some of the puzzles were entertaining and, in the beginning, distracted me from the less redeeming features, yet, later in the game, were inadequate to keep my attention.

The inventory screen was very limited and dropping things was not an option, requiring the characters to store things in assorted places around the base. The personal lockers in the airlocks have only four storage spots, making them virtually useless. The constant search for ways to pick up the items you need and get rid the ones you don't need yet was an unnecessary distraction, probably intended to make the game 'challenging,'? but succeeding only in increasing the frustration level considerably. The map was also more of an annoyance than an asset as it was hard to read and did not seem to accurately display the layout of Vita 1 base.

The controls and viewpoint were probably one of the most irritating features of the game. While the zombies roamed in predictable patterns, I still found myself constantly being caught by the undead due to the inconsistent directional control and the ever-changing viewpoint that I had no control over. I believe these two 'features'? were added in to increase the suspense and, in a respect, they succeeded, but mostly it added to the frustration and I found myself needing to play other games frequently to sooth my temper. This need to switch is probably the strongest comment on the game. When you have to play someone else's game periodically to keep yourself from trashing this one then someone, somewhere, did not do their job adequately.

Graphics

The graphics in Martian Gothic were average, almost on par with Resident Evil (released in 1996). They were consistent between cut-scenes and regular gameplay, avoiding the disappointment that can come with returning to average gameplay after a spectacular cut-scene, but were generally nothing special. For a low cost game such as this, the graphics are what you should expect.

Audio

The voice acting throughout the game was rather unconvincing and I found Kenzo to be especially annoying and bored sounding. Karne, however, was not bad as far as emotion went, but the script was rather weak. Initially, some of the sound effects, such as the eerie moans in some of the hallways, were chilling and added much to the atmosphere. Eventually, however, most of the sounds, and especially the footsteps, became very repetitive and I began tuning them out.

Bottom Line

In the end, Martian Gothic is not a game I would recommend for most people. The storyline definitely had its intriguing qualities and some of the features were enjoyable, but it was nowhere near original enough to overcome its shortcomings. The audience who would most benefit from this inexpensive game would be those who greatly enjoyed Resident Evil and would like try out a similar plot out of a sense of nostalgia.