Evil Dead: Regeneration (PlayStation 2) review "The Evil Dead series is one of those things you either get or you don’t. You either love it or you hate it. I, personally, love it. I even sat through “Bubba Hotep” because I’m a huge fan of Bruce Cambell. Sorry if I’m talking about things you’ve never heard of, but I just assume that a majority of people who would want to buy this game already know what Evil Dead is. Sadly, even the most loyal of fan boys are going to be disappointed with Evil Dead: Regeneration. I’m afraid to even imagine the ..."

The Evil Dead series is one of those things you either get or you don’t. You either love it or you hate it. I, personally, love it. I even sat through “Bubba Hotep” because I’m a huge fan of Bruce Cambell. Sorry if I’m talking about things you’ve never heard of, but I just assume that a majority of people who would want to buy this game already know what Evil Dead is. Sadly, even the most loyal of fan boys are going to be disappointed with Evil Dead: Regeneration. I’m afraid to even imagine the reaction of the action freaks.

From beginning to end, this game is torture.

First off, unlimited ammo and an irritating, half-Deadite sidekick Sam (who looks a lot like a rotting, miniature Tony Soprano) should not garner a reason for Cranky Pants to make a sequel or give you reason to buy one. Sam is funny, but this game lasts longer than the two minutes where you might find him fresh. Hoping for something new?

Sorry. It’s all downhill from here, baby.

Evil Dead has never been known for intricate plots, so I was not surprised that Regeneration's opening sequence started in exactly the same way as the others. But rather than dive deeper into the mysteries of the Necronomicon, Regeneration only treads on an already shallow storyline. Calling it formulaic is a compliment; this game’s story is almost a mirrored image of the last one.

But redundancy dominates the entire game, not just the story—forcing you to complete the same tasks of collecting three spirits to open a door and ride a giant Deadite to break through a roadblock every level. It’s like playing solitaire in different rooms. The background changes, game stays the same. No wait, sometimes you have to kill the giant, other times he just dies.

That’s different, right?

The only upside to this debacle is Bruce Campbell, as he once again lends his voice and (younger) likeness. His attitude is more charismatic than ever, and the graphics do his wonderful facial expressions justice. Like normal, he has a multitude of catch phrases to back up his butt-kicking persona, but even that is not enough to replace a dormant soundtrack. The only sound is banter and a few cheap noises one might find on a Halloween album.

Fascinating.

Being a huge fan of the movies, I should be the first one to back anything “Evil Dead.” But I’m not cruel or crazy. This game was not worth the twenty dollars I spent on it. It wouldn’t even be worth ten. I bought it in hopes for something new, but it seems like Cranky Pants lives in a fictional world where no one tires of a bland story line, boring cheap levels and a complete lack of effort. If you have Hail to the king or Fistful of Boomstick I would suggest sticking with those if you’re itching to punish Deadites. It seems like only the title has changed here.

Community review by True (December 23, 2005) A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.