The premise of the game is simple: find the “Book of the Dead” (bound in human skin) before it takes over everything on the planet. Evil doers are around every corner, and Ash (the main character of the game) has to use his usual arsenal of weapons to destroy the Deadites that are out to kill all that lies in their path. Ash needs to escape from a mental institution and move through cemeteries and other areas to defeat the evil, turn the area of Sunny Meadows back into the safe haven it once was, and protect his beautiful female lawyer from harm’s way. Having a hand that can wield a shotgun and other firearms, and another arm that fits a chainsaw (Ash had to cut off his hand when it became possessed by the book), the gamer knows senseless violence is sure to follow. A funny twist on the game is Sam, Ash’s half-Dead sidekick that helps him fight evil throughout most of the game. This duo has a good time making fun of the situations that they encounter, and are a pleasant surprise

The controls for the game are extremely simple for any type of gamer to pick up. What makes this even better, is as you follow the storyline and feel like you are part of the movie as it unfolds, the stress of going through the same scene over and over are almost nonexistent. This is because the game is not overly difficult. Why? Because just like in the movies, dead people are not very smart or extremely fast, giving the gamer plenty of time to move out of harm’s way and focus on the buttons they need to press. Moves are simple: A button to jump, B button to slash your enemies with the prosthetic weapon (chainsaw, harpoon gun, flamethrower), X button shoots your firearms, while the Y button executes the “finishing move.” What is the finishing move? The unbelievable catastrophic bludgeoning scene where the hero finishes off a weakening opponent in a glorious manner. Moving Ash (and Sam if you are controlling him) is done with the left thumbstick, while the right moves the camera angle. I found the camera angle difficult to work with when moving Ash around, as a matter of fact, I tried to use this control as little as possible. Triggers are used to defend against attackers, and manually control the aim on your firearms. If you have a dexterity problem with the updated fandangled controllers of the future, don’t worry … just by using the thumbstick and the four buttons you will be able to maneuver through most of the game as if you were on your couch playing your Sega Genesis.

Any game that begins with a seizure warning in the directions when playing has to have loads of action and movement to it. The graphics, art and sound on the game are not going to knock anyone off their recliner, which is why I didn’t mention them too much. What a gamer (especially a horror movie fan) will find is a game that captures you in a scary movie type of way. Playing at night (usually my only gaming time to play) put me in the frame of mind of a 17-year-old watching a horror movie. Jumping out of my seat at some of the heart stopping surprises (walking down a quiet hallway early in the game and a radiator blows for no reason) gave me a sense of really being immersed in the game. It gave a fun feeling in the house that made me chuckle at the fact that everything in the room I was sitting in became alive. Ash and Sam’s wisecracking banter was another enjoyable part of the game, which kept true to the whole sarcasm that made the movie series (and Bruce Campbell) so popular. This game is good for anyone who loves the Evil Dead series and does not take gaming too seriously. Though it is fun to play at any level, there might be other games that would be a little more worth a purchase than this one. My suggestion, come Halloween time or any time you stop by the video store to rent a horror flick, make a change and rent a horror video game: same concept, same gore, except you are now in control of how the story goes. And your girlfriend on the couch can call yell at you and say, “Don’t walk into the dark cemetery by yourself dummy.”