Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick - PS2

Now this is an Evil Dead video game. No more of that crap where they tried to make the series into survival horror with a ripoff of the RE engine and limited ammo and fuel and horrible fighting controls. I enjoyed the first game, mostly to due to cut scenes and Bruce Campbell's voice acting, but the rest of the game was pretty terrible.

This time around, however, the team behind the game licensed a good engine and gave us what we wanted-Ash kicking lots of undead ass all over the place. Sure you have an ammo supply for most of the weapons but it's plentiful and easy to find. The chainsaw has infinite fuel and lets you kick some major ass without worrying about running out of gas in the middle of the fight.

The story revolves around Ash, fresh from saving the world...again, sitting in a bar and watching on TV as a professor and talk show host unwittingly play the tape that revived the deadites in the films and unleash their evil across town. It's up to you as Ash to stop it so you arm up and set out to rescue folk and kick butt and solve some simple puzzles along the way. Nothing too difficult or detracting from the ass-kicking.

Most of the upgrade weapons you get are actually useful too, on the firearm side that is. You might use the flamethrower and gatling gun a bit instead of your chainsaw but you'll rarely ever use the leecher or exsanguinator unless you're really in dire straits or just want to screw around. The boomstick was my weapons of choice but the hand cannon comes a close second for taking out the smaller Deadites. For the bigger monsters you may want to use explosive ammo or dynamite.

The game is short, so be prepared to beat it quickly and with little problem if you conserve ammo and learn to dodge groups of enemies and pick them off as you run. The arcade mode offers some replayability as you hunt down the living dead with varied weapons and to complete different goals.

I love this game. If you're a fan of Evil Dead, rejoice! Pick this game up, strap on a chainsaw and get ready to save the world from dead things.