When the original Suffering was released, it wasn’t the best action/horror game, but it was a fun diversion with an excellent story. Everything was tightly paced and Torque’s story played out with just enough excitement to keep you going. Now just over a year has passed and Torque is back. Instead of the island prison of Carnate, Torque is out to revisit his past in Baltimore. So does The Suffering: Ties that Bind really explore what can be done to turn a good game into a great one?

Picking up where the original left off, Torque had just escaped from Carnate Island, leaving behind the chaos that emerged from the island. The clever creations he faced there, created by Stan Winston Studios, were each based on the manner of death a person suffered on the island. For example, the decapitated creatures with blades represented people beheaded for crimes. The needle throwing maniacs were those who died by lethal injection, and the creature made of smoke was a man who let himself be gassed to see what it was like. Each of these demonic designs was unique and interesting, and now they appear in the sequel. It's not that they escaped Carnate, but rather they emerge in Torque’s hometown based on the suffering of people there. The decapitated blade creatures represent blade-wielding gang members. While it makes an odd sort of sense, this strikes me as a lack of effort in designing a new set of enemies to fight, and reduces some of the impact of the game.

The morality-based choices of the original Suffering are back, and once again Torque is forced to decide the fate of people around him. Torque has a lot more opportunities to embrace his dark side or choose the ‘light’ path now that he is not locked in a prison. You will often find, however, that you will turn to evil more often than not for two reasons: the levels have been designed more cramped, creating very little room to maneuver and the partner AI isn’t as well tuned as the original. Since the AI doesn’t get out of your line of fire, you will find yourself accidentally killing someone you are trying to protect. Still, the morality choices allow you to embrace a new feature.

Like the original, Torque can turn into a ‘monster’ form that represents his inner rage. What moral path you choose defines this form, and both are very cool. The more evil form embraces blades, which creates some vicious attacks. The ‘good’ form is more a blunt user and stuns enemies around him with each swing. Both forms are equally useful, although you may find one form is better than another against certain types of monsters. Strictly speaking, there is also a ‘neutral’ form, which isn’t as powerful as either side, but is amazingly useful on its own. In a very nice bit of continuity, if you have a save game from the original The Suffering, this game will start you with whichever form matched the moral path you left the last game with.



Torque, like the rest of us, must fend off the undead roaming Baltimore.
Sound:

Combat was a standout in The Suffering, but in Ties that Bind it becomes a weak spot. Guns seem either underpowered or sorely lacking in ammunition. For example, if you have a smaller weapon, you will need to dual-wield or enemies will chop you to ribbons. Melee weapons are worse, and you shouldn’t even pick one up unless it’s a Fire Axe. The Tommy Gun, which was a great weapon in the original, now seems underpowered and wastes too much ammo to be a weapon of choice. The only really useful weapons are the shotgun, the M-60, and the Missile launcher, none of which has plentiful ammo. I suppose this was done to make you use your monster form more, but even that has its problems. Excellent design aside, if you stay in the form too long, you suddenly kick out of the form and suffer massive damage. So you basically try to take enemies down without resorting to the monster form until you come to a spot in the game where you HAVE to change into the monster just to punch a hole in a wall. This is an odd design choice, to say the least.

Graphically, it’s unimpressive but serviceable. Nothing is really outstanding except the creature designs and the blood effect. Whenever Torque kills something, he gets coated with blood, and while this wears off over time, it’s a pretty neat effect and adds to Torque’s character more than the one line he speaks in the beginning of the game. Controls are based on Halo, so it’s neither good nor evil. Just make sure you adjust the sensitivity to fit your play style, as the game oddly defaults itself to an inverted scheme. Sound is one place that this game manages to redeem itself a bit. Top voice actors fill in some of the main characters, and their performance brings the game up.

The Suffering has always been about atmosphere, and The Suffering: Ties That Bind doesn’t let down in this department. Before you buy it, though, rent it to see if it’s up your alley.