Double_Wide reviewed I Am Alive for the PlayStation 3...

...and gave it a 8.0.

I can't really pinpoint what exactly initially drew me to I Am Alive. Maybe it was a combination of a desire for a change in pace or the intrigue of it mysterious nature. I'm not a fan of survival games in general, so I wasn't sure if I'd actually finish this (despite being a commitment whore). This game's storytelling and gameplay surprisingly held my interest from beginning to end.

I Am Alive is a well-executed combination of a survival and open world game. While the game lacks any sort of visible morality system (there actually is one), you are constantly confronted with difficult decisions from the very beginning of the game to the end. Not just choices that can mean life or death for yourself but those that can mean so for someone else or just what's best for conserving the very limited resources that you have. Your character is the epitome of the "everyman" (besides his amazing parkour expertise) and has limited stamina health. Throughout the game, you must periodically maintain both in order to survive…and the items to do so are just like everything else: limited. So when you come upon many of the various side objectives to give over these items to help someone else, you must do so with caution. Many times you are rewarded by these encounters with "retries" (the amount of times you can die without having to start the entire section over) and other times with very resourceful things like weapons and ammunition. Which again, is another this to consider: when surrounded by multiple foes…who do you shoot? Who do you stab? Do you do either and just call their bluff? Making the wrong decisions will cost you valuable resources such as ammo which then makes the next standoff that much more difficult to survive. Make the right decisions and you can gather enough resources from that particular situation to breeze through the rest of that level's section. This is what I loved the most about I Am Alive, those thought provoking situations that make you come up with the best strategies on your feet. It makes you always consider the long term consequences over the short term gains (the real secret to making it through this game).

Another thing that I liked is that some of the decisions you make can leave you questioning your own moral compass. I remember shooting a lady who drew a gun on me and told me to get back. I went with my initial reaction which was to shoot her with the one bullet that I had…about 5 minutes later after claiming nothing but a single replacement bullet, I found myself questioning was that really worth killing the woman over. If I had just walked away, would she have left me alone due to just trying protect herself like a similar encounter I faced prior? See, mind games like that is what kept me interested all the way through. Lastly, there is stamina/health draining poisonous dust clouds everywhere in the game which you have to make a decision on how long to travel in before finding a place stop and find clean air in before continuing. Health is important for obvious reason but stamina is just as if not more important in I Am Alive. Stamina is what is need to climb and remain on structures. How much you have at a given time and your overall maximum will determine your ability to structures that are necessary to your progress. Think Assassin's Creed building climbing but with a varying time limit.

*POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT*

The story felt very random. I mean that in sense that, it felt as if there was a beginning and an ending but I, the player somehow got drop somewhere smack dab in the middle. You play as an unknown male who has traveled across country on foot after surviving a catastrophic event that has left the majority of the US in ruins. One year later, he finally makes his way home only to find a letter from his wife stating they have been evacuated elsewhere. So, his journey to find this place is what sets the game's events in motion. I Am Alive is just as much of a mystery from beginning as it is to the "ending". Nothing is hardly ever revealed about the source of "The Event" (besides it being a combination of back to back earthquakes and dust storms) or things that transpired during the early parts of the main character's cross country journey. We never even really find out who he is or his fate. This seemed to have been purposely done but I still have yet to understand why and just ends up making the game seem…well…pointless. Visually, the game's environment is impressive and character models are decent. It does a great job at capturing the gloomy apocalyptic mood that the game was going for. The music does an excellent job of building the tension during confrontation scenes and the voice acting was on point.


My Breakdown:


What's Good:

… Overall, a very different and interesting experience
… How much strategic decision making played into the game
… While not having any visual morality system, still being able have the same psychological effects that one would have
… Excellent rendered environments
… Fitting music
… Decent amount of challenge
… Exportable environment

What's Not-So-Good:

… Some times where to go or how to proceed could be ambiguous
… Never knowing if you could ever return to some locations to help survivors encountered

What's Bad

… The story doesn't have a beginning or end
… We don't ever really know "who" we are playing as
… No real character development…just random people in the same awful predicament

In all, I Am Alive is a game that merits solely rests on its awesome gameplay but I will admit that it isn't for everyone. I'm not sure what to even conclude about the story other than it was done in a way that I have never experienced. I can't say that it was a good thing for me but it may work for others. Definitely play at your own discretion.

Get the full article at GameSpot

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