Heart Of Darkness

Name: Heart of Darkness
Platform: Playstation
Year Released: 1998

Storyline
You control Andy, an average child with a penchant for inventions and who is terrified of the dark. One day Andy, and his beloved dog Whiskey, are in the park when a solar eclipse occurs and Whiskey is taken away by an unseen creature. Andy must now travel to the Darklands, fight various shadows and creatures through many levels and get his dog back.



Gameplay
Heart Of Darkness is a cinematic platformer with a linear storyline. You can make Andy run, jump, or climb objects to progress through each level. He can attack or defend by either using his plasma cannon, or by throwing magic energy, depending on which level you're on. As there is no healthbar, a single mistake would result in his death and you having to start from a previous checkpoint that, fortunately, isn't too far behind. To take some of the pressure off, Andy has an unlimited number of lives, so you don't have to worry about dying repeatedly... which i think is a fantastic feature considering the fact that you die so easily. The levels are varied and flow seamlessly into each other with the aid of cutscenes.



Pros
Very interesting storyline! Seriously, even though it's not exactly new, the way they integrated the gameplay into it makes it still fresh. I like the fact that you're not only supposed to just mindlessly run and bash your way through monsters, but you can swim, scale up walls and other actions so it doesn't become monotonous. The monsters are varied and creative, as are Andy's ways of dying. I found myself occasionally "committing suicide" just to see what it would look like.



Cons
The game is way too short!! And there is no lifebar, so every mistake results in death. While the colours are vivid and nice, the graphics fall below standard, especially considering the fact that this game took 6 years to make. However, all in all, this was a good game and I would totally play it all over again. And below is an example of all the verrrrrry creative ways in which you can die: