Most Evil Dead fans have probably pondered what would've happened to Ash had he not been whisked back in time to fight an army of darkness after slaughtering his demon-possessed companions in that cabin. They've probably wondered what would have happened had the chainsaw-toting amputee been incarcerated for those murders, taken to an asylum, and introduced to a half-man, half-deadite midget he could kick around for his own amusement. Well, Regeneration has those long- sought answers.
Like Fistful of Boomstick—the last attempt to cash in on the Evil Dead trilogy's booming cult status—Regeneration features the comic dialogue of B-movie hero Bruce Campbell. But unlike that previous atrocity, this title almost manages to coast on humor alone. There's little to do other than repetitive running and gunning, but the addition of Ash's diminutive sidekick (emphasis on "kick") helps the game evoke the spirit of the films. It's still far from great, but compared to its predecessors, it's king. Hail to the king, baby.
NHL 06 (E) (3.5 stars)
EA Sports
PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube
2005's NHL had more fights than a Mortal Kombat game, and this year's version manages to tone down that aspect and tweak a few others. But the best improvement over last year's installment is simply that the player lockout in the real NHL has ended, allowing NHL 06 to emulate an actual season, though I'm not sure EA Sports deserves credit for that.
SCOOBY-DOO! UNMASKED (E) (3.5 stars)
THQ
PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube
Here's a baffling mystery for Scoob and the gang. We've stumbled upon a Scooby-Doo game tie-in that doesn't suck. How can this be? Well, let's split up and look for clues. Jinkies! It appears that this impressively cel-shaded platformer does a remarkable job of capturing the feel of the TV show, complete with whacky, spontaneous costume changes for our canine hero that come with unique abilities to add variety. The levels still eventually feel repetitive, but fans of the show are used to that.
MEDIEVIL RESURRECTION (T) (2.5 stars)
Sony Computer Entertainment
PlayStation Portable
This isn't the PSP's first resurrection. Since its launch, Sony's handheld has been digging up every dead franchise from Wipeout to Twisted Metal to fill its library, so it was only a matter of time before the bones of Sir Daniel Fortesque were exhumed and reanimated. But unlike the aforementioned titles, MediEvil has decomposed quite a bit since its PS1 days.
Matthew Scott Hunter has been known to mumble, "Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start" in his sleep. E-mail him at
[email protected].