Introduction
"You'll puke with pleasure, you'll vomit with excitement, you'll shit with fear!"
- ILLBLEED teaser
The title of the thread could've also been something like "When is a bad game worth playing? When it's ILLBLEED." Because ILLBLEED(spelled in all caps) is a pretty bad game. But any game that promises to make you shit with fear has to be worth a look at, right?
As it happens, ILLBLEED will not make you shit with fear. It's not a scary game at all, really. It's actually a comedy that pretends to be a survival horror game. This was a weird experience for the me-of-nine-years-ago, who was very much into Silent Hill, and had no idea that this game was the exact opposite of that. ILLBLEED will not make you ponder the meaning of life, but it may make you laugh as the voice actors try their damndest to mangle their lines. That being said, the game is surpringly tense. Your first go-round through the game will be pretty nerve-wracking, being that you could stumble across something that will kill you at any time, and you'll have no idea how to go through the game safely.
TRAPS
Your main problem in ILLBLEED won't be the monsters you encounter, but that each level has been filled with traps that are waiting for your careless self to set off. The main thing that the gameplay consists of is detecting and defusing traps. It's an interesting concept; having the main enemy be the environment itself while the enemies are secondary.
STORY
Some teenagers find themselves trapped in a murderous amusement park. They have to get out. That's pretty much the main story in a nutshell. But the main story really isn't the draw here. Rather, it's the bizarre scenarios and dialogue that were thought up for each of the levels that take precedence. There are six levels in the game, and each has its own separate story to tell. These short stories don't have anything to do with each other; they're all stand-alone. Think Creepshow.
CHARACTERS
Eriko Christy
(From the manual)Head of the Horror Movie Research Club. Her parents operate a traveling haunted house which they dub "The Horror Caravan." They forced her to watch only horror movies since the age of seven. This made her a genuine horror kid. Last year she appeared on a TV quiz show featuring horror movies. With her knowledge and concentration, she easily won. She also starred in a movie called "Killerman VII - Killerman goes to Japan," which introduced her to the acting world.
(My note)The manual contradicts the intro to the game, which says that her parents divorced when she was six. This is the type of quality that you can expect from ILLBLEED.
Kevin Kertsman
(from the manual)He is a classic horror movie fan, as shown in his devotion in Hamar Pro's "Dracula Series." Any horror movie made after the 1980s, which we call splatter films, he despises. He has a reputation of being laid back. He has a profound knowledge of middle-age legends, which contributed to his high grades in history class. Kevin is 17 years old. He has all-around average characteristics.
(my note)Kevin has a little more stamina than Eriko, but aside from that their stats are the same. Like every other character besides Eriko, he will fall on the ground and crawl around for a while before getting up when surprised by an enemy. There isn't a particular reason to use him.
Michel Waters
(from the manual)She is spiritual by nature. Her ability earned her an award from the Spiritual Capacity Association. She like horror movies that contain evil spirits and is involved in studying them. She is most passionate about spirits overtaking people and the ritual of exorcisms. She volunteers in helping drive evil spirits from children with strange sicknesses and is popular among them. Michel is 17 year old. Her adrenaline is the highest of all the characters, but her physical strength is the weakest.
(my note)If you want to tag absolutely every possible hotspot there is, then stock up with adrenaline-boosters and use Michele. Her advantage becomes apparant when crossing through a trap-packed area. Don't bother using her for battle-heavy levels. Probably the level that's she's most suited for is Killer Department Store, as it is the longest in the game and chock full of traps all the way through.
Randy Fairbanks
(from the manual) Recently joined the horror club. He is a typical American horror movie fan, who prefers the female roles in splatter films more than an interesting plot. His room is filled with horror villain collectibles. He recently purchased a chainsaw for $10,000 which was used in an actual movie. It is his most treasured possession. Randy is 16 years old. His physical strength is the highest of all the characters, but his adrenaline is fairly low.
(my note) Randy is the opposite of Michele. He's got the least amount of adrenaline, and the highest amount of stamina. Levels with lots of fighting would be ideal for him, and not levels with lots of traps. Randy is the only character that has an alternate mode, that bring "Brainless Randy". Brainless Randy has zero adrenaline, and has different animations and voice acting.
More characters to be filled in as we rescue them.
VIDEOS
*note: videos 30 and on may be considered NSFW*
Part 1 - Special Invites - Youtube - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 2 - The Homerun of Death - Youtube A, Youtube B - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 3 - Hotel Minnesota - Youtube A, Youtube B, Youtube C - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 4 - Mr. Banballow, I presume? - Youtube - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 5 - vs. Banballow - Youtube A, Youtube B - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 6 - The Revenge of Queen Worm - Youtube A, Youtube B, WeGame(Polsy)
Part 7 - Last Request - Youtube, WeGame
Part 8 - Regicide - Youtube A, Youtube B, WeGame(Polsy)
Part 9 - Woodpuppets - Youtube A, Youtube B, WeGame(Polsy)
Part 10 - Why Would You Do That - Youtube A, Youtube B, Youtube C - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 11 - TREE. - Youtube A, Youtube B - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 12 - Killer Department Store - Youtube A, Youtube B, WeGame(Polsy), Stagevu
Part 13 - Mr. Meat's Steakhouse - Youtube A, Youtube B, WeGame(Polsy), Stagevu
Part 14 - Kid's World - Youtube, WeGame, Stagevu
Part 15 - Mary - Youtube A, Youtube B - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 16 - The Richest in Nebraska - Youtube - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 17 - Killerman - Youtube - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 18 - Prop Storage - Youtube A, Youtube B - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 19 - The Morgue - YoutubeA, YoutubeB - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 20 - Case Closed - Youtube - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 21 - Toyhunter - Youtube A, Youtube B, Youtube C - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 22 - The Alcatoyz Redemption - Youtube A, Youtube B - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 23 - ZODICK - Youtube A, Youtube B - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 24 - Michael Reynolds' Museum - Youtube A, Youtube B - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 25 - Bosses n' Such - Youtube - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 26 - Brainless Killerman - Youtube A, Youtube B, Youtube C - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 27 - Speedrun the 1st - Youtube - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 28 - Speedrun the 2nd - Youtube A, Youtube B - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 29 - Speedrun the 3rd - Youtube A, Youtube B, Youtube C - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 30 - Speedrun the 4th - Youtube A, Youtube B, Youtube C - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 31 - Speedrun the 5th - Youtube A, Youtube B, Youtube C - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 32 - Speedrun the 6th - Youtube A, Youtube B, Youtube C - WeGame(Polsy)
Part 33 - True Ending - Youtube A, Youtube B, Youtube C - WeGame(Polsy)