If you mention that word “survival-horror,” gamers will immediately think of the slow pace of admittedly creepy titles like Resident Evil and Silent Hill.  In those games, you’re left with a few firearms and a miniscule amount of ammunition to manage with – half the scare is worrying whether or not you’ll have enough bullets to take down the upcoming boss.  Unfortunately, those games tricky control schemes, slow pace, and relative lack of deep gunplay make the action genre’s mediocre titles look more exciting, at times.

Enter, then, The Suffering.  The game, now available on PC in addition to Playstation 2 and Xbox, focuses much more on action – while still keeping you shivering with a number of creepy innovations.

For one, the monsters are absolutely fantastic.  Resident Evil’s zombies can be creepy in the appropriate scene, but for the most part they are somewhat plain – a complete contrast from the creatures The Suffering boasts.  Developed by Stan Winston Studios, who has worked on some exalted sci-fi/horror films in the past, each gruesome creature reflects some sort of torture.  There are creatures with blades for limbs and click along the floor, but will also jump high and climb along the ceiling.  Another beast, representing lethal injection, has a body that is stuck with syringes and tries to murder you with them as well.  Every time a new creature is introduced, the hair on the back of your neck will stand up.  You’ll be whimpering “Do I really have to fight that thing?!”

Of course, none of these creatures would make much difference unless tearing them apart is actually fun.  Thankfully, the gameplay isn’t half bad.  It’s certainly faster paced, and there’s a lot of ammunition at your fingertips that enable you to take out all of the baddies.  You’ll have a great repertoire of guns, including pistols (or dual pistols), shotguns, grenades, and tommy guns.  Aiming is presumably made a bit easier with a mouse instead of a joystick, so there are no real control problems.  The camera is decent, but you can also jump into a first-person mode if you so desire.  Although slightly clunky, it serves its purpose.  All of the shooting can become tiresome, especially as you’re forced to sometimes take out large groups of enemies at one time before moving on.

Fortunately, every time you take out a foe, your insanity meter will fill up a little more.  When it’s full, you have the ability to go into “Rage Mode”, where your character transforms into a gigantic monster that will be able to pile up bodies in seconds.  The game’s not all carnage; there are also a number of puzzle elements that may not be quickly solved.  These elements offer a change of pace from being constantly trigger-happy, and are welcome additions.

The storyline, though slightly cheesy, offers more than enough reason to play.  The character you play has been taken to prison for supposedly killing his family, although whether or not you’re guilty isn’t apparent at the game’s outset.  Everything goes crazy when, a few short minutes after you are locked up, the jail is attacked by the bizarre crew of creatures.  The opening cinema is fairly well done, but a lot of the story is presented in real time during the rest of the game, which works just as well.  Sometimes you’ll miss an important event, but hearing only the audio can be just a scary, or even scarier than seeing it unfold before you.  In fact, you’ll have quite a few opportunities throughout the game to exercise your moral – or not so moral – behaviors.  You’ll encounter prison guards (who didn’t exactly treat the inmates well in the past) and other people strapped in to torture devices, and it’s up to you whether to hit the switch or not.  Making these decisions actually affects the outcome of the game, which is a very cool touch.

The graphics do a good job of portraying the atmosphere of this prison.  Although they aren’t out of this world, the art is good enough to keep you going, especially considering the monster designs.  There are some rough edges; the game is not void of blurry textures, sharp polygons and a little slowdown.  As a whole, though, the game is quite fluid and the good animation, art, and lighting make the game easy on your eyes.

The game’s audio only improves the atmosphere.  Voice acting is a little bit off at times, but for the most part comes across as decent.  Sound effects are excellent, from the frightening sound of metal tapping along the floor to a monster’s brazen call from the darkness, and the desperate screams of those being attacked.  The music in the game is also good, adding to the horror without ever becoming too intrusive.

The Suffering is, in short, a very good game.  There are no major problems with the game, although it may lack a certain layer of polish that the big-name survival horror titles offer – namely, all of the shooting can get a little repetitive.  Fortunately, thanks to some mixing-up of the gameplay (it’s not all guns firing!), an excellent atmosphere, a good storyline, and different endings depending on your choices throughout the game, The Suffering is a title that’s well worth playing.

Gameplay: 8.0

A little repetitive, but fun, shooting at really cool creatures makes up the bulk of the game.  But since you can also change into a monster, solve some tricky puzzles, make some decisions that shape your outcome, playing the game never becomes a chore.

Graphics: 7.5

Though perhaps not technically impressive, with some blurry textures, pointy models, and so forth, The Suffering’s art, and the mood of the game (thanks to great lighting) never make it look too bad.

Sound: 9.0

Sound in the game is excellent, with good music and really great sound effects.  The voice acting can be great, but it is slightly mediocre on occasion which does detract slightly from the game.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 9.0

Instead of taking the slow, easy route of most survival-horror games these days, The Suffering offers a fun action experience while keeping its horror elements intact.  There aren’t many, if any, other games out there that have managed to do this.

Overall: 8.6

The Suffering is, quite simply, a good action game with some great scares.  It has its problems, but none of them are major, and shouldn’t keep anyone from playing the game if they’re slightly interested, or bored with the other horror games available today.  Check it out.