by: Corey Peace

October 05, 2005

Murder, torture, suicide, riots, hangings and bloodthirsty demons from the deep reaches of hell. All very powerful and emotional words, but also all words that help describe Midway’s latest gore-fest, The Suffering: Ties That Bind. Prepare to enter the hell-spawn infested world of a little place called Baltimore, Maryland. This is exactly where the original Suffering ends and exactly where The Suffering 2 begins. So with pretty entertaining gameplay, impressive visuals and a really nice “cool” factor, keep reading to find out why this trip to Baltimore is recommended…for most.

Story
When we last left Torque from the original Suffering, he was escaping the Alcatrez-like prison known as “Carnate Island,” and crossing the Atlantic ocean back towards Baltimore which is were Carnate Island is operated from, and also where our “hero” lives. You return only to be intercepted soon before you reach the dock by a group of militaristic/SWAT group of officials who were sent to inspect the situation back on Carnate Island. You are then immediately taken in and questioned by a high ranking official by the name of Jordan who is wanting to know a lot about what happened back at the prison but is aware of Torque’s…abilities. All goes wrong of course, as the mysterious man thought to be behind the hell-spawns, Blackmore, shows that his “wrath” has reached from the prison and onto land where it does not take long for Baltimore to become completely infested. As you are being interrogated your captors are attacked by the demons, which gives you the perfect opportunity to escape thus throwing you into the true beginning of the game. Here you begin your journey again as you try to find out the connection between the death of your family and how Blackmore is involved, and what in the world is really going on.

If anything, this is the most disappointing part of the game because there is obviously a great back-story and interesting concept, but the game delivers the whole package fairly poorly by not exatcly describing everything that goes on in the game and what happens for what reasons and so forth. So, because of this, the game will keep the average player lost and in the dark but any fans of the first Suffering shouldn't have too much trouble.

Gameplay
Personally, I would like to give Midway a hand because I am really impressed with how they took on the engine for this game as compared to the first title in the series. While, there really isn’t too much difference in the actual engine, there are enough slight improvements in certain areas where you can notice, take advantage of, and enjoy. The most noticeable difference for fans from the first game is the way Torque moves, as his movement mechanics have been tweaked a little bit but improved on greatly. Also new is a streamlined inventory system, which very quickly becomes user-friendly to the point where you just don’t think about changing you weapons or whatever you need to do in the heat of battles or action. There is also a enhanced AI system, which is tolerable for the most part but every now and then you will encounter the idiotic human enemy who will get within melee range of you and not even do anything. This is not true for the monsters however as they are constantly moving death traps who only seek to see your guts spilled all over the street! You now have, in a way, the ability to choose the outcome of the game by making certain decisions, whether or not you do certain things or if you kill or let live the innocent.