Gaming Target - Xbox: Run Like Hell

Written by Nick Doukas on April 04, 2003

First Impressions: NoЕnot the Pink Floyd songЕ

I've always been a sucker for films like Aliens and Starship Troopers. Something about futuristic, high-tech military weapons and gear pitted against bio-organic monsters makes me all tingly inside. Run Like Hell looks to be one of those games that sets off the tingle meter nicely. Recently released for the Playstation 2, RLH is coming to the Xbox this month with some nice upgrades and extras exclusive to Microsoft's console. There's even downloadable content slated to be available through Live. Let's have a look, shall we?

Run Like Hell places you into the role of Nick Connor, a decorated war veteran who's recently been assigned to a desolate mining station in deep space. As Nick and his partner Amanda return from a routine mission, they find nearly everyone on the station either dead or dying, wiped out by a vicious and cunning alien race. As the game begins, Nick will need to find survivors, discover why the creatures are on the station, and wipe them all out.

Throughout the adventure, you'll control Nick as you make your way through the dark and foreboding Forsetti Research Station, facing down alien fiends ranging from Brutes (huge, terrifying beasts that look like a cross between The Incredible Hulk and an Alien warrior, with just a dash of the Predator tossed in for good measure), to Cutters (fast, deadlyЕand sporting blades for arms). Mutations of these fiends will haunt Nick as the game progresses, and dispatching the creatures will require some creative thinking, as well as deadly weaponry, to guarantee survival. In-between killing aliens, you'll need to use your wits, as certain sections of play consist of mini-games. One such sequence sees you running from a Brute. As you tear down a dark passageway, you'll need to press face buttons in order to manipulate Nick as he reaches different obstacles. Combat will have you locking onto foes and unloading everything you've got into their scaly hides, and an auto-targeting system insures that you'll be able to take on roomfuls of them without breaking a sweat.

Run Like Hell looks good, with solid character models, inspired alien design, and environments that drip with atmosphere. Long, dimly lit hallways, labs and crews quarters that drown in bleak shadows, and an overall creep-out factor that reminds one of The Thing, John Carpenter's horror masterpiece of isolation and paranoia. Which is exactly what you'll be (paranoid that is), roaming the blood-spattered hallways of the Forsetti, wondering which freak will attack you next, and just what that screeching noise behind you was.

Since Run Like Hell takes a very cinematic approach to the design of the game, the extensive cut-scenes that move the story along are tightly scripted, and brimming with detail. The developers have assembled a highly impressive voice cast, with Lance Henricksen voicing Nick Connor, and Michael Ironside (the voice of Sam Fisher in Splinter Cell, and of course, Lieutenant Jean Rasczak, the tough battlefield leatherneck from Starship Troopers) undertaking the role of Commander Mason. RLH also features veteran character actors Kate Mulgrew, Clancy Brown, and Brad Dourif.

The Xbox version will feature 5.1 Dolby Digital support, and is also slated to include an extra level, several new creatures, five additional rooms and Xbox Live support in the form of downloadable content (mini-games, new skins, and a few other goodies yet to be revealed). In the words of Gary Dawson, COO of Interplay Entertainment: УThe enhanced Xbox version has allowed the development team to create a more intense sci-fi experience for fans of the genre. We're sure gamers will be excited with the added features and content.Ф Sounds pretty good to me, but then again, don't Xbox owners always get the good stuff?! Overall, Run Like Hell is shaping up to be a solid addition to the Xbox library's action/adventure category, and is certainly worth a look for fans of the source material.