 The source of all that is good and all that is bad. You're hired to open Pandora's Box. Why you think that's a good idea, no one will ever know. Either way, you end up unleashing a horde of mythical beasts that proceed with annihilating all life on Earth. Now you're the only man who can stop the invasion and put everything right.
1. Gameplay
When I first saw this game released, it was difficult for me to imagine how it could fail. It was a first person shooter set in London where the player has to battle mystical creatures released by Pandora’s Box. And while this game did exceed my expectations, that isn’t really saying much. Unfortunately, the critical reviews kept me from even attempting this game for quite some time, and all of the problems they cited are definitely true.  It's strange to find a game that can have so much going on, yet feel so constrained. This game’s story is very simple. A crazy scientist / government guy tricks you into opening Pandora’s Box (always a good idea) so that he can use its power to take over the world. You spend the entire game making sure that doesn’t happen. That’s really it. There are a few other characters and one other major organization, but they are pretty much irrelevant next to you. Governments and militaries everywhere seem to have vanished from the face of the Earth, replaced by shadowy NGOs.  I still don't really know who these guys are. The only thing this game really excels at is its mediocrity. The story is interesting, but doesn’t live up to its potential. The characters aren’t memorable, but aren’t grating. There is a small variety of weapons, almost all of which will be underpowered against most enemy types. There are a small number of different enemies, most of which are very predictable.  If it's on fire, pour water on it. I played this game hoping to gain more insight into what makes a bad game, but unfortunately I couldn’t even get that. This game isn’t bad, not like truly bad games. It’s just bland. There were no epic moments, nothing that stood out to me that would make me want to tell my friends to try this game. It was clearly designed by a smaller development studio, but in the end it felt like I was playing a concept more than a finished product.  Good idea, poor execution. The one thing I managed to take away is that, while gamers are willing to forgo amazing graphics if there is something else to draw their attention (like a great story), smaller development studios need to actually take advantage of this fact. When they don’t, you get something that doesn’t excite, excel, or captivate on any front. There isn’t a “niche” for this game because it doesn’t play to any niche.  Just like this random British possible romance interest. Oh, and sequel baiting at the end only works if your game does well enough to warrant a sequel. You don’t have to write a story that requires a sequel. If a story is properly finished, there will be other areas that the writers can cover or work on in a sequel.
The campaign took me less than six hours to beat. This was extremely short, and only compounded by the fact that no one is playing the multiplayer. Fortunately though, I didn’t mind too much. The game was interesting, but I was getting bored towards the end. It didn’t seem to present anything new, so there’s definitely no reason to go back and replay it.
This game was not particularly frustrating. All of the enemies could be taken down with enough firepower, but some were definitely stronger than others. This was especially true for the minotaurs, who would often take an entire magazine (200 rounds) at near point blank from a machine gun before they went down. Fortunately, these baddies weren’t around very often, so they didn’t get too annoying. The only other somewhat difficult enemy was the Kraken, who had to be killed in a very specific pattern while the player avoided the tentacles. This wasn’t always as easy as it sounded, since often the tentacles would smash me and kill me in a single hit.  Rocket launchers were a necessity in this area. There were also a few bugs that nearly broke this game for me. The first came up right after dealing with the Kraken. I was stuck in an endless loading screen a number of times before, after redoing the Kraken fight a number of times, the problem somehow resolved itself. Another time I stepped into the last elevator and almost immediately fell through the floor. I wasn’t the only one to experience this issue. Fortunately, gamers have posted solutions in the forum, so I was able to complete the game. 2. Parental Notices
Violence is the most prominent element of this game, but that isn’t exactly saying much in this case. The player will have access to some weapons, most of which are firearms. Hits on enemies will result in a decent amount of blood provided the player is close (which will be most of the time).  Getting screenshots of this blood, though, was not easy. Decapitation will be a very common element. The werewolf enemies must be killed via decapitation. Otherwise they will simply get back up after a short while and start attacking the player again. However, this is one case where the graphics severely limit the normally graphic nature of the violence. The player will decapitate these enemies, but it never feels gruesome. It’s difficult to describe, but the game doesn’t seem to put any emphasis on the malice or hatred for these enemies that would be necessary to complete these acts. It’s not that it purposefully downplays it, it’s more of it just ends up being part of the experience. The player wouldn’t normally decapitate these enemies if it weren’t for the mechanic that the game decided to include, so as a result the decapitation is quickly completed and the player moves on without feeling anything significant.  You don't say.... There are other times when decapitation becomes a bit more obvious, and goes beyond what I stated previously. For example, when the player is introduced to the werewolves, the wolf bites off a police officer’s head and throws it at the camera. This was a stark contrast to the rest of the game because it felt like the developers simply included it as part of a poorly executed shock factor.  Catch! Blood will also be present in other areas of the game. The player might find corpses or injured civilians in the environment. The civilians might moan in pain, but they are only in a few areas.  I've had worse. Some of the corpses bear signs of significant violence (or decomposition, it’s difficult to differentiate the two in this game).  I believe this is decomposition as a result of violence. On very rare occasions, the player can see enemies or civilians caught on fire. I was never given a weapon to light enemies on fire, though, so I only saw these in a select few areas.  I'll take my toast to-go!
Sexuality is not a factor in this game.
Substances are not a factor in this game.
Gambling is not a factor in this game. 3. Other Factors
There are no modding tools available for this game.
Religion plays a minor factor in this game. While there will be some religious references, there is no particular religion mentioned at all in this game. The player will be given powers by Pandora’s Box, but the history of the box is never discussed.  Which is a bit of a shame really. There is one section where the enemy is held up in a monastery or church of some kind, but religion in this area is never explicitly mentioned. It is clearly designed to be a Catholic church (there are crosses and a statue of Mary), but this is only included as decoration.  She sees what you did there, and she does not approve.
While law enforcement is briefly present in the game, the creatures quickly eliminate them. As a result, anti-law is not a factor in this game.
There is a multiplayer portion to this game, but no one is playing it. As a result, the online community is not a factor in this game.
There will be sections where the player has to leap far distances to cover gaps, but these are very few. The main character also has an extremely short vertical jump, so performing any extreme actions falls more to the environment rather than the main character’s abilities.
The player is given magical powers by Pandora’s Box. He will have to find and use “animus” on a regular basis. Not only does it restore his health, but he can use it to send a pulse of energy to stumble enemies and, later in the game, use it to control enemies.  I have the poweeeeeeeer! However, the magical abilities never go beyond this. The player will consume animus in the area by calling it to him in a colorful stream of energy, but he will only be able to regularly use it to pulse out or heal himself. And often it is much more important to conserve animus since it is the only source of health in the entire game.  Well that's disappointing. Parts of the environment will include magic as well. These almost always have to do with Pandora’s Box, which creates some sort of magical storm using the animus energy.  That's not special. I can make that happen with two coke bottles and some water. Most of the creatures the player will face will also be magical in some way. This is especially obvious with the flying tiny pixie things.  I think it's supposed to have arms, but maybe that's part of the magic.
There are no other factors involved in this game.
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