I am Alive is a rarity in the gaming world, one that tries to scare me, not with monsters, but three generic bad guys and a single arrow for my bow. This simple game has a crazy way of giving me more anxiety than most horror titles. It deals out these moments of vulnerability through the use of one of the most primitive and effective tools in gaming, limits. By giving the player limits you force them to think through problems that most games in this generation simply allow you to shoot through. By giving you incredibly limited amounts of ammo, supplies, health, and even strength you can create games like this, ones that make you cautious to go across a street.
This game starts with your character, Adam, arriving home in search of his family after spending a year crossing a post apocalyptic united states on foot. The world is a collection of mostly climbable disheveled ruins occasionally shrouded in a poisonous dust. The decrepit state of the world is blamed on what is only vaguely called the event. You learn during the opening stage that your character is quite the climber but that his stamina is like most men, limited. You must manage your characters efforts correctly in order to survive, anything but standing and walking depletes your stamina which will only regenerate when you stop running, climbing, jumping, or in a lot of cases holding on for dear life. Simply standing in the toxic fog covering the city streets will also peck away at your stamina. An anxiously paced soundtrack can be heard growing stronger in the game like the cold fingers of death tickling your spine as your stamina depletes. You can keep climbing after your stamina is gone, but this extra effort comes at a high cost; for every second that you over exert yourself, your ability to keep stamina in reserve will be decreased. Doing this will likely force you to use items which could have been used at more life threatening moments in the future or to save dying victims and citizens you come across throughout the game. But with so much thought being put into the climbing and physical exertions of simply traveling through the ruined city of Haventon, the question springs to mind, How do you fight?
Climbing Mechanic: Strong
Two of the most important principles you’ll need to understand to survive in this game are your distance to target, and the ability to bluff. The Fallout 3 rejects that are your only enemies throughout the game really seem to hate your guts, they will kill you on sight just to lay claim to a bottle of water or some delicious rat meat. Your tools for survival against the redneck remnants of Haventon will consist of a Machete, a pistol, and a bow and arrow (one arrow). The machete is only good for a surprise attack or a one-on-one fight, anything else spells death. The pistol can easily become a paperweight if your quick on the trigger from playing too much Call of Duty, as you will rarely have even four bullets at your disposal. But the gun has a feature in this game that is rarely if ever used in gaming, intimidation. Just pointing your gun will stop most enemies dead in their tracks, this is so rare in games that is at first utterly baffling; your enemies don’t want to die. There are tough guys though who, even at gunpoint, talk like they’re bulletproof, prove these morons wrong or you will die. You can bluff these enemies with an empty gun if it’s all you’ve got, but you better have a plan that doesn’t include trying to fire an empty weapon (it won’t go well). And your bow is by far the best weapon, quiet, long range, intimidating, and the most important thing is that you can reclaim a used arrow. Using these weapons and their strengths in concert is vital to surviving in this game.
Combat Mechanic: Strong
Story is by far the weakest link in this game, usually I consider this a deal breaker, but in this case it can feel a lot like less may be more. The story feels honest most of the time, since you play a decent guy, it’s reasonable that you get caught up in helping people, which is a grand majority of the story. Unfortunately, finding your family is put on the back burner for most of the game, which makes you wish that nice guy Adam would try prioritizing more. It also makes me ask how did this guy get across the entire country in a year, if all he’s doing is bailing people out with his time and supplies.
Story: Weak
If my review for I Am Alive reads more like a strategy guide, there is a reason for that. Strategy is all this game is, after every ordeal you will find yourself repeating the title in your head, “I Am Alive!”. This game succeeds in building an appreciation for resources, more than any game in recent memory, and is a must have for any survival game fan.
9/10
Obviously I want to hear other opinions so dish’em out. And by the way if you disagree with me, that’s ok, it’s not a contest. I’m just right.