The dominant trend in this year’s harvest of video games is, without a doubt, licensing.  f a game isn’t a sequel to a successful game, it most likely features characters from television or motion pictures. With the success of games based on mega blockbusters such as Enter the Matrix and The Hulk, I was incredibly surprised to see Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick make its way to consoles off of the license of a cult classic movie franchise that hasn’t seen a release since 1993’s Army of Darkness. 

The Evil Dead film series became popular because of its excessive gore, campy one-liners, and an anti-hero in Ash, a one-handed ‘Normal Joe’ whose tongue is just a sharp as his arsenal of tool-shed weapons. VIS Entertainment and THQ bring all of these movie elements to the Xbox in Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick.

Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick is a third-person action shooter that doesn’t get frilly with RPG elements, vehicular or first-person modes, or multiplayer modes. It’s a simple slice ‘em-up and shoot ‘em-up full of action and excessive violence. In the game, gamers play as the sarcastic Ash, voiced by film counterpart and cult icon Bruce Campbell, as he hunts down the Necronomicon, a book with the power to raise the dead and teleport between times and dimensions. A local television station accidentally broadcasts the dead-raising incantations all over Dearborn, Michigan, unleashing the power of the Deadites (think zombies with attitude) all over town. 

Ash’s primary weapon is his chainsaw that fits perfectly on his right stump in the absence of his hand. With his left hand, Ash can wield a shotgun (his boomstick), a shovel, a flamethrower, the powerful gatling gun, and other weapons to dispense the onslaught of Deadites. A simple targeting system allows Ash to shoot enemies over his shoulder or at angles. The melee combinations with the chainsaw are limited, but will provide limited entertainment, like the UPN network. Ash can impale Deadites, lift them up into the air, and use his second weapon to finish them off, most impressively done with a shotgun blast to the temple of an enemy. Don’t expect to be riveted to the screen though, the combat gets repetitive quickly.

There is a minor spell system in the game that allows Ash to stun enemies, shoot lightning, and even possess a corpse. They’re not easy enough to pull off in combat, but do add a diversion from simple point and shoot. 

Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick is mostly hack and task – get to a locked door, kill some zombies, get the key off their dead bodies, and get through the locked door. This formula is more exhausted than a fat man chasing an ice cream truck, and becomes frustrating given the lack of clues, a mapping system, and variety. 

Fistful of Boomstick is fairly simple visually. The town of Dearborn isn’t incredibly detailed, and many of the buildings repeat.  Normally something like that can be overlooked, but when running back and forth through an undetailed town with repeating buildings, even the most spatially gifted will feel lost. The characters move well, but aren’t very well modeled. Ash himself doesn’t look much more human than the Deadites, and the in-game resemblance to Bruce Campbell is slim at best. The gore is moderately detailed, but gamers will still squeal with joy after lopping off an arm, bisecting a torso, and spilling blood. The cinematic cutscenes of the game are top-notch (if you can ignore some mediocre lip synching). Ash looks very much like the Ash of the movies, and they prove themselves to be entertaining and well presented. 

The sounds of Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick revolve around Ash’s one-liners more than anything else. Fans of the movies will take some pleasure in hearing Ash dish out, “How’s that hole in your head?” and other equally silly disses.  The music is very fitting but isn’t exactly something you’d want to listen to on your discman. Other than that, the sound effects are adequate.

There is a fairly interesting “Making of the Game” movie included in the game. Several of the developers talk about the making of the game, several clips from the Evil Dead movies, and great clips of the legendary Bruce Campbell. 

Evil Dead: Fistful of Boomstick is rated M for Mature with elements of Violence, Blood, and Gore.

Gameplay: 5.6

There’s not a whole lot to the gameplay.  Run around the town, slaughter some zombies, and get through some simple puzzles.  This isn’t going to keep intense gamers happy, but someone looking for a rainy day slaughter-thon may find this their cup of tea.

Graphics: 6.0

Aside from the cutscenes, the graphics are fairly plain.  There is an abundance of violence and gore, but the environments aren’t detailed enough.

Sound: 6.8

The main draw for Evil Dead fans is Ash, and Bruce Campbell doesn’t disappoint.  His campy one-liners are in classic Ash fashion.  The other sounds are adequate, but nothing extraordinary.

Difficulty: Easy

Finishing the game is simply a matter or putting the time in. 

Concept: 7.0

On the outside it may be a simple third-person action title, but to the fans of the Evil Dead series, it’s almost a sequel to one of the best cult movie franchises ever.  Campbell fans will have a riot watching Campbell talk about the game in the “Making of” featurette included on the game.  At a retail price of $19.99, it’s a decent bargain.

Multiplayer: N/A

Overall: 6.0

This game is specifically for Evil Dead fans.  Aside from Ash, the game doesn’t have a lot to offer hardcore gamers.  This is a budget title, and for under twenty bucks, its production mirrors the low-budget feel of the movies.