I Am Alive

To me Xbox Live Arcade Games (and their PS counterparts) are a bit of a mixed bag. Some resemble what I see as ‘arcade games’, like Worms, Uno and so on, whilst others, such as Alan Wake: American Nightmare seem to be ‘proper’ games but sold in a smaller package. I Am Alive fits in to the latter category. Having being in development since 2008, I was surprised to hear it would not get a full release and instead be purchasable online making me doubtful as to whether it could live up to all the expectations. Overall, despite not being a game I’d usually pick up, I was pleasantly surprised by the experience.

The concept for the game is intriguing if unoriginal. Set in a post-apocalyptic world after a mysterious ‘event’, you play an every-man in search of his family in the fictional American city of Haventon. The story is told through sequences on a recordable camera which the character carries with him.

Upon arriving in the city you are greeted with a seemingly desolate world filled with collapsed buildings, abandoned vehicles and human remains. Dust covers everything and plays as a hazard on the lower levels of the city during storms filling the air and forcing you to climb higher in order to survive. The game engine does a decent job of bringing this world to life with some stunning backdrops and the constant use of grey and grainy pallet makes you feel this sense of abandonment.

Indeed the game is all about survival in this hostile environment. At the top of your screen you have your stamina and your health bar. Stamina goes down when your character performs strenuous activities such as climbing, fighting or running and health decreases when injured. Both can be filled with items such as health packs and soda cans however such items are rare meaning you have to ration what you use and plan out every situation before attempting it. This does become easier at the later stages though as gather more and more items.

You are also equipped with a pistol, a machete and eventually a bow, to defend yourself from hostile survivors, but again, supplies such as ammunition are severely lacking. You certainly can’t go in guns blazing but instead have to use surprise and bluffing. On some encounters, I found myself without any bullets but could still hold off enemies by pointing my gun at them and forcing them to their knees in order to pistol-whip them- they didn’t know it was empty.

Despite the devastation, not everyone has become a machete wielding cannibal lunatic. Decent folk can be found, some of whom may provide you with a few supplies. Scattered around this world are other survivors in need of your assistance: some simply requiring a bottle of wine to help pass the time or whilst others are being held captive by the sadistic and hungry crazies. These moments are imaginative but give a realistic depiction of this bleak world. Each time you decide to save someone you are rewarded with a retry – essentially a life point that can be used if you die at any point.

Perhaps this sort of thing isn’t my forte by even on normal setting I found having to use retries. Having said that, the game mechanics, whilst they work for the most part, aren’t as intuitive as they could have been and leave the player feeling a little frustrated on occasions.

All in all though, Ubisoft Shanghai should be commended for their efforts to create this end of the world scenario which, ignoring a few hiccups, is worth your time and money especially considering it is just an XBLA game.