MediEvil: Resurrection

MediEvil Resurrection
Cover art
Developer(s)	SCE Studio Cambridge
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
Director(s)	Piers Jackson
Artist(s)	Mitch Phillips
Writer(s)	Patrick McCarthy Martin Pond Dominic Cahalin
Composer(s)	Andrew Barnabas Paul Arnold
Platform(s)	PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita
Release	PlayStation Portable PlayStation Store
Genre(s)	Action adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player, multi player

MediEvil: Resurrection is a 2005 action-adventure game for the PlayStation Portable and is the third installment in the MediEvil video-game series. It is a reimagining of the first installment in the series,MediEvil, with many alterations to the original structure and content, such as the "Anubis Stone" sub-plot which never appeared in the original. Many things such as level design and characters were changed drastically, and some levels from the original were removed altogether. New levels and characters were introduced, the cutscenes are completely original, and the game was given a much more comical, cartoon-like style as opposed to the Gothic horror-comedy of the original. The soundtrack is also completely orchestrated, and half of the themes from the original were removed while new themes were created to fit with the new levels. Also, unlike the original, there is no alternate ending; Dan still goes to the Hall of Heroes regardless of whether he collects all of the chalices. The game also features a variety of voice talent, including Tom Baker as the narrator and the Grim Reaper.

It was released as a PSP launch title on September 1, 2005, in Europe and on September 13, 2005, in the United States. It was made available for download from the PlayStation Store in Europe on May 29, 2008, and in the United States on June 26, 2008.

Gameplay

See also: Gameplay in MediEvil

Gameplay is similar to that of the original game in which players control Sir Daniel Fortesque as he travels through Gallowmere in order to stop the evil Zarok. Dan can utilise a variety of weapons, including melee weapons such as swords and axes and ranged weapons like throwing daggers and crossbows. If Dan defeats enough enemies to collect the Chalice of Souls hidden throughout each level, he will be able to travel to the Hall of Heroes where a legendary hero will reward him with a new weapon or other helpful items. Dan possesses a single life bar throughout the game, which can be sustained by collecting Life Bottles throughout the game which can be replenished by energy vials and Life Fountains. The PSP version also includes some exclusive minigames which can also be played in multiplayer.

Plot

The game starts out as a narrative, telling the player about the fictional English Kingdom of Gallowmere, set in the 13th century. The game puts the player in control of Sir Daniel Fortesque : a brave (according to him) knight who, despite his tales of gallantry, was the first to die during the battle against the evil wizard Zarok ; he was hit in the eye by an arrow in the first charge of a battle with Zarok's undead armies back in 1286.

One century later, in 1386, Zarok returns, casts a spell which curses an eternal night upon Gallowmere, robs the citizens in a nearby village of their souls and awakens his undead army. Sir Dan is then woken up by Al-Zalam, a genie who Zarok robbed of his powers and cursed to reside in Dan’s skull (which shall never be lifted until Zarok dies). Unable to go to the Hall of Heroes in death due to his failures in life, Sir Fortesque sets out from his crypt to exact his revenge upon Zarok, free Al-Zalam from his head and "prove himself a true hero" now that he has been given a second chance.

After finding a way out of the cemetery, Dan comes across Death. After talking, Death tells Dan about how to defeat Zarok. He must collect all four pieces of the Anubis Stone, an artefact that was used in the battle a century ago. The first piece is buried in the same cemetery where Death was encountered. The second piece is held by the Mayor of the Sleeping village, who gets captured by Zarok and his Boiler guards and is later released by Dan. He tells Dan to find the Shadow demon claw (used to wake up the Shadow demons). The third piece is in the possession of the witch of Punpking Gorge. She wants Dan to defeat a large Jack-o-lantern like monster. The last piece is in the castle of King Peregrin. Soon, after finding all four pieces, getting through the rest of Gallowmere and making his way to the entrance of Zarok's lair, Dan goes inside, where Zarok is waiting. There, Zarok sends out his regular minions, then his champion Lord Kardok, a zombie centaur wielding a bow. Once the minions and Kardok have been beaten, he sends out his fleet of Fazgul warriors and then states that they are all immune to mortal weapons. While doing this, Dan fixes the pieces of the Stone, then holds it up to the sky. This summons the souls belonging to the soldiers who fought in the war. Seeing that they are all ghosts, their weapons will affect Zarok's warriors, so they charge straight towards them and start fighting while Dan keeps his side alive by zapping them with some of the Stone’s energy (if the player fails to do this, Zarok's side will gang up on Dan and finish him off, resulting in an immediate game over).

Once Zarok's side lose, Dan's warriors cheer while turning into health vials that Dan collects to get as much energy back as possible (he loses it while using the energy on his side). After the Fazguls fall, Zarok has nothing else left to fight Dan with. Then, Zarok taunts Dan by asking him about creatures that slither. He soon finds out that snakes scare Dan, so he transforms into a giant cobra in a last ditch effort to defeat Dan. The two fight, with Dan ending up victorious. Zarok then melts into his normal form while admitting defeat.

Zarok then states that if he is to fail, then all shall perish and Sir Dan will never leave his lair. He then emits a shockwave with the last amount of magic he has, which makes the lair cave in and the volcano that its built over start melting everything in its path. Dan runs for his life but trips and is knocked out. Afterwards, a giant statue resembling Zarok falls on top of him.

Al-Zalam then finds out that he is finally free and powerful again, so he flies off. Dan wakes up and tries to get away, but is soon trapped on a piece of debris, slowly getting eaten away by the lava. Luckily, Al-Zalam spots Dan, grabs his hand, and takes him back to his crypt while daylight returns and the stolen souls return to the people. Once inside, Al-Zalam drops Dan, the two wave goodbye and Dan returns to his eternal rest.

Dan then gets taken to the Hall of Heroes. When he arrives, the rest of the heroes have come to life and have prepared a feast, ready for Dan’s arrival. Once Dan sits down in the chair prepared for him, one of the heroes fills up a goblet with wine; Dan then unsuccessfully drinks it, shrugging his shoulders as the wine falls through his skeletal body and lands on the floor. His transparent statue then becomes solid, and the other heroes cheer and applaud him for finally having the courage to defeat Zarok once and for all. The game then returns to the narrative, which states the epilogue and also hints towards Zarok returning in a sequel, and then the credits roll.

Development

Development of MediEvil: Resurrection began in 2003. Despite the success of the original, the PSP game was not created by Chris Sorrell or the original PS1 team. Sorrell had stressed to his studio management that he would love to direct the PSP game and bring MediEvil up to date, but the license to the 24 (TV series) had become available to Sony and he was instead instructed to direct the video-game adaptation 24: The Game. Since the release of MediEvil: Resurrection, Sorrell has expressed disappointment with the changes to the game and the fact that his superiors did not allow him to direct it.

Piers Jackson was instead appointed as the director for MediEvil: Resurrection. Mitch Phillips, who was the character animator for the previous two installments, was appointed as lead artist for the game. He and the soundtrack composers, Bob and Barn, were the only people from the original team to return. According to Piers Jackson, the thrust of the design was to produce a title that could showcase the full abilities of the PSP, including its built-in Wi-Fi capabilities. Jackson also stated that everything about the game was different from the original MediEvil. Whilst they had taken the basic story and some of the locations from the original game, all the code, graphics and voices were different and they expanded the plot, added mini-games, multiplayer facilities and a PSP-friendly save anywhere function. He also said that they had preserved ideas that they thought worked well in the original, though their use had been altered or repositioned to keep the game fresh even to those who had played the original. The addition of the Anubis Stone sub-plot was to strengthen the story arc and the creation of Al-Zalam was to act as Dan's internal monologue and the player's guide.

Characters

Sir Daniel Fortesque, a.k.a. Sir Dan (Voiced by Jason Wilson): The captain of the guard who fell in the first wave of arrows at the Battle of Gallowmere. He was unknowingly resurrected by Zarok 100 years later and has been given a chance in death to prove himself to be the hero he never was in life.

Zarok (Voiced by Paul Darrow) : Evil sorcerer who was once part of King Peregrine's retinue and was banished for meddling with the dead. Defeated at the battle of Gallowmere, he returned 100 years later to plague Gallowmere once again.

Al-Zalam: Supposedly a powerful Genie from the east whose powers were stripped by Zarok, now a bothersome squatter in Sir Dan's skull. He offers advice to Sir Dan and tries to pull off jokes when he gets the chance and he speaks with a Spanish accent.

Death (Voiced by Tom Baker): The Grim Reaper himself appears in the game. He is extremely frustrated with Zarok's raising the dead all over, making his job quite difficult. He is fond of Sir Dan and is sort of a father figure to him.

Stone Gargoyles: These normally lifeless statues come to life when approached or struck with one of Dan's weapons. The green gargoyles offer advice but generally make abusive comments towards Dan. The red gargoyles act as vendors for ammunition and repairs and do not much resemble those found in Gothic architecture, looking rather more like cartoon characters.

Canny Tim: The first hero Dan encounters in the Hall of Heroes. He gives Dan the crossbow when he first sees him and then gives him his favorite crossbow; the inventory selection calls the second crossbow the "Hero's Crossbow".

Woden the Brave: Among the first heroes encountered in the Hall of Heroes. He gives Dan the Broad Sword and Hero's Sword. You can also purchase (presumeably) another one of his weapons, Woden's Brand, in Gallowmere Plains for 8 Carnival Tokens (Obtained by completing all the minigames fully, or cheating). He has a close rivalry with Dan.

Karl Sturnguard: The Sixth hero encountered in the hall of heroes, and the last if Dan collects all the chalices. He gives Dan his magical shield when he first meets him and a Life bottle when he meets Dan again. He speaks with a German accent.

Soundtrack

The music is split into two halves. The cues from the first half are largely reminiscent of a select number of cues from the original game (1 track from the second game was also used), with the addition of extra thematic elements to strengthen and tie them together. The other half of the music is totally original, and written exclusively for this iteration of the franchise. All the music was performed live. The orchestra consisted of around 80 players and was made up of members of the Prague Philharmonic and recorded in Prague on the Barrandov Recording Stage. In addition the score benefits from a 32 piece choir, also recorded in the same venue. This follows in the tradition of Sony Cambridge's previous orchestral game Primal which was also recorded there by the same performers.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate scores

Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	68.96%
Metacritic	66/100

Review scores

Publication	Score
Edge	5/10
Electronic Gaming Monthly	6.2/10
Eurogamer	4/10
GameSpot	6.1/10
GameSpy
IGN	7.3/10

MediEvil: Resurrection received mixed reviews upon release. The game holds average rankings of 66 on Metacritic and 68.96% on Game Rankings. General complaints from reviewers were directed at the camera control, which was cited as being particularly poor during combat sequences, and occasional frame rate drops. The combat was also criticized for its awkward hit detection. IGN gave the game a 7.3, praising the graphics, soundtrack, and content but said that the fighting mechanics needed work. GameSpot gave the game a 6.1, stating "The game hasn't aged well, and although it has plenty of personality, the maddening camera control and broken combat mechanics quickly spoil the fun". GameCritics was one of the harshest reviewers, giving the game a score of 4/10 and stating "I honestly do think that Sir Daniel Fortesque is a good character with potential, but I would have much rather seen an all-new game with a nod towards current methodology than a rehash of something that honestly wasn't all that great in the first place".

Chris Sorrell and Jason Wilson, co-creators of MediEvil, have also expressed disappointment with the game. Neither of them had any involvement with MediEvil: Resurrection, and when they were asked about the game during an interview with RetroGamer, Jason Wilson said, “It was a strange feeling to see something you loved being remade by others. I now know what all those directors feel like when their movies are remade.” Chris Sorrell said that he was disappointed by the redesign of the game and how there were a number of aspects to MediEvil PSP that weren't really what he would have chosen. He did say, though, that the development team did an impressive job creating the game considering the time constraints they were up against.

The game did receive fairly higher reviews from several sites. Critics unanimously praised the game’s graphics, soundtrack, voice-acting, and over-all content for the PSP. Game Over Online countered arguments by many critics, stating that although the camera issues and combat problems complicated several things, the game itself was still more than adequate as a basic platformer and awarded it a 7.7/10. Gaming Illustrated gave it an 8.2, saying that it was a solid title whose best features include the humor, story, and amount of modes the game had to offer.

External links

• MediEvil: Resurrection at MobyGames
• Official MediEvil Resurrection website