Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Disappointing"

When I first saw the trailer for this game titled "I Am Alive", I immediately thought "Oh hey, another Apocalypse survival game!" then I thought "This could be really hit or miss." Granted that the game went through many, many changes during development, such as the main character and backstory, the clues seemed to remain constant about what this game was to be about; survival. As new information came out, I, as well as others, became skeptical about the game. Nevertheless, it came out, and what's to say of it? Eh, it's decent, but many parts feel left out or unchecked. All that aside, it's a good play if you've got some points to spare.

Storyline: 7.5
Storylines for the survival endtime genre rarely vary, so is to say for I Am Alive's plot. You play as Adam, who the player finds out is mostly down-to-Earth and is looking for his wife, Julie, and daughter, Mary in fictional Haventon, though hope seems low. Soon enough, he finds a somewhat daughter-figure named Mei, who has been separated from her father. Adam's goal is to now both look for his family and trying to reunite Mei with her father. It's an emotional premise, but it is less than apparent during the gameplay, and often times you tend to be more concentrated on other matters at hand than what you're working for.

Gameplay: 6.5
If you've played Assassin's Creed, Uncharted and/or inFamous, you know the drill; climb, climb, jump, climb. Of course, it has a few little add-ins to it. Stamina is now a matter, which is actually quite the interesting twist that adds both good challenge and suspense, and is most of the times flawless. On the other hand, climbing and walking, along with aiming and grappling can be somewhat clunky or stiff, along with the combat system, which brings us to another point; the enemies. There are only two difficulties in the game, and though you almost rarely face off between enemies, many times you will realize that you lack the materials needed to smoothly defeat your foe, such as bullets, aid and energy. This makes combat hard to swallow and often times too difficult, past the point of realism. Also, many probably would have wished for a more freeroam kind of gameplay, though there is little to be had here. All in all, it's a moderately good twist to your average climber.

Graphics: 8.0
The graphics are actually one of the games better features, really. Though they may not be up to par with games like Skyrim or Crysis, the game shows a wide and vast landscape of pure and udder destruction. Many times, it can often set your mind on more imaginative and insane thoughts on the world to be. On the other hand, there are a few graphic glitches here and there, but often times, the landscape is quite the sight to behold. Sadly, it does make you want to have a somewhat more freeroam gameplay, though it lacks that indeed.

Audio: 7.0
Many times there is lack of music, which is fitting for a game where supposedly nothing is left in this town of Haventon, but apart from the score in the title of the game, there isn't much to offer besides a few tid-bits here and there. The voice acting varies. At many times, Adam's voice acting is pretty good to decent, while the other characters in the game either sound rehearsed or just not very full of substance. Either way, it's bearable, not great, but bearable.

Overall: 6.5
I Am Alive gives a compelling storyline, interesting new gameplay and often times a great prediction of tragic proportions in a average ordinary city. For it's price, it is not fully worth the money. It gives a good playthrough, though many of its flaws seem to facade much of people's expectations, often times leading to major disappointment. Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty alright game, though it could use much improvement. if you've got a spare 1200 Microsoft Points though, you might want to consider this for a quick playthrough.