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While the Spawn comic-book series may have broken into films,
animated series, action figures and much more associated merchandise, its videogame legacy
is much more forgettable. Only in recent years has Spawn
managed to prove himself a draw worthy of console releases of note, with his appearance as
the exclusive character for the Xbox’s rendition of Soul Calibur II and Spawn Armageddon – the first 3D incarnation of
Spawn – and he comes to life in his
hellish monstrosity.
The title is set-up like your average 3D hack-n’-slash. You progress through
various enclosed environments destroying anything that moves and then, when they’re
dead, destroying everything that doesn’t. Spawn
is armed with a variety of weaponry – his infamous Axe obviously makes an
appearance, and is accompanied by extendable chains-like-limbs, Hell-Powers and a score of
bullet-based firepower. Your entire arsenal is upgradeable, albeit to a limited degree,
whilst your Hell-Powers will drain their obligatory Meter far too quickly, a discerning
construct when both health and Necroplasm (Hell-Powers recharges) remain elusive at the
best-of-times. Generally your best weapon is the chains, which aren’t upgradeable but
remain effect from the first Level throughout.
Luckily, the storyline remains a pull throughout –  appearing almost as an expansion of the
comic-book. You’re prior knowledge of the series is mostly taken for granted,
although fans of the series have a compendium like no other before. Hidden comic-books
throughout the game combine to unlock concept art and all manner of goodies. Whilst this
has became the standard for most similar releases, the lack of health power-ups will often
send you hurtling back to the start of the level, enabling you to collect any goodies you
previously missed – a double-edged sword, if you can remain interested long enough.
The hook that could keep you in is that the enemies are actually fun to kill, with the animation for deaths
constantly being impressive – with the exception of the weaker enemies. Bosses range
from incredible to incredibly annoying – but I’m yet to find a
hack-n’-slash on this generation which doesn’t feature such drastic variation in
design.
The title moves smoothly and easily draws parallel with today’s average, while
a fully-controllable 360-degree camera helps to immerse you in what can often be fairly
bland environments. Running on the Xbox’s hardware, there are always plenty of
enemies on screen without any slowdown and the special-effects are impressive for the
system.
Throughout the title’s high and lows it remains consistently enjoyable.
Annoying at times and mildly inventive at times – a conundrum which becomes the
catch. With the sure ability to entertain any Spawn
fan, and possibly bring some of the uninitiated to the fold, Spawn Armageddon has crossed a line which no other Spawn title has achieved – being memorable.
Hack, slash, kill, run, hack, slash, kill, run – enjoy!  |
