XHitoshuraX
Banned
General Information
Published by: Codemasters
Developed by: MercurySteam
Genre: FPS/Horror
Release Date:
US: October 23, 2007
Europe: October 26, 2007
Australia: November 2, 2007
MSRP: $59.99
Consoles: PS3 Xbox 360
ESRB Content Descriptors: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, and Strong Language.
Also Available On: PC
Box Art (The same box art is being used across all territories and platforms)
PC Specifications
Minimum:
► Windows XP / Vista
► CPU: Pentium 2.4 GHz or Athlon XP 2400+
► RAM: 1 GB
► Graphics Card: GeForce 6600 / Radeon X1600
► DirectX 9 Compatible Sound Card
► 2 GB Hard Drive Space
► 2x DVD-ROM Drive
Recommended:
► Windows XP / Vista
► CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo or Athlon 64 X2
► RAM: 1 GB
► Graphics Card: GeForce 8800 or Radeon X1950
► Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Sound Card
► 2 GB Hard Drive Space
► 2x DVD-ROM Drive
Supported Video Cards:
ATI Radeon X1600, X1800, X1900, X1950, HD2900
NVIDIA GeForce 6600, 6800, 7100, 7300, 7600, 7800, 7900, 7950, 8800
Not compatible with all integrated sound/graphics solutions (including laptops).
Overview
Clive Barkers Jericho is a terrifying squad-based horror FPS game based on an original concept and story by legendary horror writer and filmmaker Clive Barker , the creator of Hellraiser.
An ancient evil has broken through into our world and is threatening to spread its taint across the whole of the earth unless its stopped. At ground zero lies the Middle Eastern city of Al-Khali, a modern city built atop the ancient ruins of a dozen previous conquerors.
Clive Barkers Jericho delivers an overload of sensory horror. Players journey through hellish locations and slices of time combating gruesome and twisted enemies. A squad-based horror First Person Shooter, the Jericho of the title refers to the Jericho Team, a seven-man strike force that protects government interests from paranormal threats. Trained in both conventional warfare and the arcane arts, each Jericho Team member is an expert in different para-psychological disciplines, including telekinesis, pyromancy, blood magic and exorcism.
Features
Jericho is an all-action first person shooter (FPS) combined with darkest horror from the twisted mind of horror legend Clive Barker
* Modern weapons and paranormal powers
* Switch between and play all six squad members- use the best member for particular combat situations. Additionally, members can combine their paranormal powers for even more substantial attacks
* Direct your squad as they watch your back and follow your orders
* Squad first person shooter (Squad FPS) mechanics deliver tactical action
* Each character has unique paranormal abilities
* Abilities can be combined to create new powers
* The game takes place in Al-Khali, a city formed over 6 different eras and ruled by evil. You will traverse through multiple planes of existence, including Ancient Rome, the Crusades, WWII and more!
Story
Before Adam and Eve were created, God fashioned the Firstborn. Neither light nor dark, both terrible and beautiful to behold, it disturbed the Almighty who banished this flawed creation into the Abyss. There, it waited and watched until it was able to reach out with its power into our world. Seven Sumerian priests met its arrival and fought to contain it, successfully entombing the place of its escape within a great ziggurat. Ever since that time, there would always be a secret order that would train seven warriors to await the Firstborn's attempts to escape. They would always disappear into the ruined city of Al Khalid that had been built atop this bedrock of strife and somehow succeed in banishing the Firstborn back to the Abyss. However, none of these teams have ever returned from their Mission.
The Firstborn would make four attempts to escape, each time taking back a piece of the earth to add to its domain. Fragments of time and space would form layers around Al Khalid, entrapping pieces of history within its walls from the time of the ancient Sumerians to World War II. Over time, other conquerors would arrive to claim the city as their own but eventually, the city was forgotten and buried by the sands around it.
The Department of Occult Warfare was created in the 1930s to combat the unexplained and meet Nazi Germany's own research into the paranormal. One of their most brilliant members, Arnold Leach, was recruited in 1962. However, his unscrupulous behavior and nature would eventually have him expelled. He was marked for assassination, and although the operation appeared to be successful, it seems he may have survived.
Time Slices
Each "level" in Jericho, is broken up into what Barker describes as "the layers of a disgusting, rotting onion." Each slice is dedicated to a specific era of time the Firstborn has taken from the earth. Below are three of the layers The Jericho Squad will visit.
World War II Slice
World War II began the era of industrialized, global, modern combat. Millions died. This war, unprecedented in global reach and casualties, was only ended through the deployment of nuclear bombs dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing hundreds of thousands of civilians in two devastating strikes. Recent Department of Occult Warfare paranormal excavations revealed concentrated levels of activity at Al-Khali during the War. The roots of the activity stretch back further.
In the 1930s reports reached the UK Security Service that a German occult society, deeply entwined with the Nazi hierarchy, was investigating paranormal warfare. Initially these documents were dismissed and filed. The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War changed everything. Field reports spoke of strange phenomena during bombardments, projectiles that seemed to change their path in mid-flight to reach hidden positions, interrogation led by unidentified collaborators that obtained information without a word being uttered, and sudden deaths in inexplicable conditions (heart attacks, spontaneous combustion) of high Republican commanders inside their underground refuges. Covert operations revealed that a new German corps established by the German Occultists, the Geheimnisvoll Abwehrmacht, were operating on the Spanish northern front, camouflaged as logistical and intelligence support for the Condor Legion.
The Spanish Civil War was a training ground for the new corps. Extensive research was carried out by the German Occultists to establish how the paranormal could further their war effort. As their new fighting force carried operations in Spain, psychic operatives identified Al-Khali of critical strategic potential. As soon as WW II broke out, German forces invaded Al-Khali. Local men, women and children were enslaved to carry out excavations. Hundreds died of exhaustion and starvation. After uniformed German forces led and supervised the excavations, the Geheimnisvoll Abwehrmacht, commanded by their finest psychic squadron leader Hanne Lechtermact, was dispatched to Al-Khali to take over the site. In response, a British commando unit was sent to Al-Khali under the command of Major Pat Buckland. The unit, known as Blackwatch, was established by the Office of Strategic Services under the supervision of famed British Occultist Alleister Crowley. The squad was comprised of veterans hardened on the battlefronts of almost all the wars in the early 20th century. People touched by luck, clairvoyants, occultists and experts in demolition and infiltration. They were the Allies best hope of response as they played catch-up against their German counterparts.
Despite the huge levels of paranormal activity recorded at Al-Khali, what actually occurred there during the war remained a mystery. All contact with the British commando unit was lost soon after their arrival. There are no official known records of Gehimisvoll Abwermacht activity although it is believed they never returned from the desert. The physical excavations at Al-Khali and any discoveries made at the site were lost.
The Crusades Slice
The Crusades span nearly two hundred years of the bloodiest conflicts in human history as the amassed forces of Christendom and Islam fought for control over the Holy Land. Countless numbers died in warfare, thousands more during the sieges and the ruthless sacking of cities. The most sickening event of all occurred at Al-Khali. Bishop Maltheus St. Claire feared for his eternal life, especially since he suffered from illness of the flesh. He could not control his appetites despite his increasingly severe penances. His trauma drew him to devote his life to study in the Vatican Library, the largest concentration of ecclesiastical books and manuscripts in the world and the principal library in the West,
searching for enlightenment, salvation and secrets. After years of total immersion he resolved upon the idea of leading a Crusade to the Holy Land. Maltheus convinced Pope Innocent II to sanction him to lead a radical army that could not fail and would not result in the loss of more Christian lives. His crusaders would be children. Citing the purity of his child warriors, they would be protected by God; no spear or arrow could injure them. Children were recruited from among humble young volunteers from across Europe.
The children could hardly thrust a sword or handle the weight of a coat of mail.
They were convinced by Maltheus, like their Pope, that the purity of their Christian innocence would save them. This was not the case. The crusade of Les Innocents began in 1212 but they did not arrive in the Holy Land for a year. Maltheus believed the waters of the Mediterranean were going to part for the holy army to cross. When they didnt, they had to wait months until one of the merchants provided boats for the crossing. Shipwrecks
meant hundreds died at sea. At ports across the Mediterranean, merchants sold the children into slavery and prostitution. This did not deter Maltheus, who dragged thousands of children across the desert to Al-Khali. The weakest died of hunger and exhaustion on the road.
Sick, starving, demoralised, and convinced that their youth could not protect them, Les Innocents were faced with amassed Saracen forces at Al-Khali. The Saracens pleaded for
their surrender. The remaining children begged to be saved. Yet Maltheus mocked their cowardice, and demanded battle. They were massacred. Maltheus bore witness to the slaughter of his army, the destruction of his salvation, and abandoned them. He fled to the chapel at Al-Khali for sanctuary and to expiate his sins. This was his last recorded act. He did not emerge. The shredded bodies of Les Innocents were left to the mercy of the carrion.
The Roman Empire (38 AD) Slice
During the reign of Emperor Caligula, the beginning of the end of Romes power, Al-Khali lay at the Eastern front bordering the Parthian Empire. Considered politically, culturally and strategically insignificant by Rome, being stationed at Al-Khali was considered exile at best. For the seventh cohort of the first legion, posted to Al-Khali, it was worse: it meant dishonour. It was the worst destination that a legionary could hope for and most of its members had been condemned for some crime, were killers, or fleeing something. But they also had to serve under governor Casus Vicus.
The fame of the tribune Cassus Vicus was notorious throughout Rome. A devotee of all types of orgies and festivities, Vicus was a fan of any excess or perversion. But he went too far. He was surprised while practising cannibalism and condemned to death. However, he was absolved. Partly because of the enormous sum he paid as a bribe, partly because of his personal friendship with the former emperor Tiberius, a bosom companion in his bacchanals. Cassus Vicus was named governor of Al-Khali, the province farthest from the Empire. At first furious and deeply offended by this forced retirement to this dusty corner that was so totally lacking in the charms of the known world, he soon learned to appreciate the advantages of governing a place so far from civilization. Far from the interests and law of Rome, Vicus supposed duties boiled down to little more than collecting taxes and protecting the borders. But he came to see a new purpose for the cursed lands under his control: dedicating its resources to his own deification, perversion, and excess. Vicus gave free rein to his basest instincts, behaving more like a criminal than a governor of a Roman province. His cruelty won him the respect of his neighbours who avoided him whenever possible. The temple was dedicated not to Jupiter, Saturn Mars or Minerva, but to Vicus himself. The villa and palace were lavishly decorated as they hosted the endless parties, banquets and orgies that satisfied Vicus hedonistic appetite.
The seventh legion acted not as representatives of the Roman Empire, but as a devastating extension of Vicus will, forced as they were to commit all types of abuse on the local population and especially with the merchant caravans crossing the territory. Tax collection gave way to the payment of tolls, protection fees and finally pillaging and sacking travelers through the Al-Khali region. The most fortunate were executed on the road. Those were not ended up in the sumptuous coliseum as slaves, concubines and finally as part of the banquet (cannibalism was, of course, one of Vicus favourite indulgences.) It was said to live under the rule of Vicus was to be a curse from the Gods themselves. But Vicus instead came to see himself as a living God at Al-Khali, with those who lived, trespassed, or traveled through his lands to live, serve and die at his whim.
Characters
Name: Simon Cole
Rank: Corporal
Height: 173cm
Weight: 58kg
Age: 21
Eyes: Green
Hair: Hazel
Blood Group: AB
Team Position: Support
Specialty: Reality Hacker
Corporal Simon Cole's Dossier
History
Corporal Simon Cole was raised in Silicon Valley to parents who both worked as computer programmers. At the age of four, Cole was diagnosed with mild autism. Her parents refused to consider their daughter as handicapped and chose to home school her. She developed a prodigious intellect, displaying an astonishing aptitude for mathematics, logic and physics. By fourteen she was accepted to MIT. By nineteen she had published a book on chaos mathematics. She was hired as an NSA code breaker before she could legally drink. She has memorized pi up to 5,300 digits.
Recruitment
Paranormal phenomenon such as missing time, mass hallucinations, and the spontaneous teleportation of personnel and equipment caused havoc with NSA operations in the months following Coles recruitment. Her CO passed on data and the DOW was called in to make covert assessment. After identifying Cole as the source she was enlisted immediately into active duty. Her talent has since been further enhanced. Using principals from Cabalistic mathematics and chaos theory, Cole serves as the Jericho teams reality hacker to alter space and time to their benefit.
Occult Resources
Coles gifts are purely intellect based: she has no psychic powers other than an incredible level of intelligence that allows her to work extremely complex mathematic problems in her head. Augmented with a wearable computer, gesture-based UI, and HUD interface, she runs custom-made Cabalistic and chaos mathematic sequences that have a profound effect on the physical world. She is able to both slow down time briefly and deploy firestorm which intensifies the teams firepower for a short period.
Combat Resources
Coles harness is taken up largely by the custom-built computer that she uses to run her Cabalistic programs. The computer casing and harness, built to her spec by DOW R&D, has been tested to withstand a drop from over 13 feet and can easily withstand concussive forces equal to a grenade only 7 feet away. Nonetheless, Cole equips herself with low-report weaponry that is unlikely to jar or interfere with her computer systems. She carries a light-weight X-86 submachine gun modified with a scan feature built into the two-range scope allowing her to identify enemies hidden in the immediate vicinity and identify any vulnerable points.
Primary Weapon:
9mm X-86 submachine gun
Secondary Weapon:
Concussion grenades with 4 different adjustments: impact, time, proximity or remotely triggered.
Name: Abigail Black
Rank: Lieutenant
Height: 183cm
Weight: 68kg
Age: 27
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Dark
Blood Group: A-
Team Position: Sniper
Specialty: Telekinetic
Lieutenant Abigail Black's Dossier
History
Abigail Black was raised in Fairbanks, Alaska, the only child of an avid hunter that desperately wanted a son but got a tomboy instead. Her mother died from complications of Abigail Black's caesarean birth. The pressures of poverty, simple parenthood and worsening alcoholism led Black's father to physically abuse her for most of her life. He noticed that strange phenomena (e.g. windows spontaneously breaking, flying objects) followed their worst fights, which convinced the deeply superstitious man that his daughter was possessed. During a particularly violent encounter, he attempted to "exorcise" her with a hot iron, which left her with a hot iron, which left her permanently scarred and him with a paralytic stroke. Black escaped her harrowing upbringing by joking the Army at the earliest possible age. Her skills with a rifle earned her an instructing position at Fort Benning's renowned sniper school. Black excelled in the Army, breaking records for her marksmanship whilst she thrived on the discipline and order within the ranks.
Recruitment
Put simply, Abigail Blacks marksmanship was unprecedented. Her perfect record brought her to the attention of the DOW who brought her in to undergo testing at DOW facilities, where it was confirmed that her extraordinary skills with the sniper were enhanced by telekinetic powers. She was immediately transferred to a Jericho squad.
Occult Resources
Sgt. Black can telekinetically move an object ranging in size from a stationary tank to a moving bullet so long as she has line of sight to her target. As a result, she can steer her shots mid-flight, even striking multiple targets with a single projectile. This makes her an extraordinarily powerful asset. However, the greater the force she exerts, the weaker she becomes. The ability physically drains her health causing bleeding from the ears, nose and mouth in extreme cases.
Combat Resources
Black is the top rated sniper in the US army, thanks in great part to her telekinetic ability to steer multiple rounds in flight. She carries a highly modified and personally customized sniper weapon. To enhance her control it plugs directly into her nervous system via an NDI (Neurological Data Interface). Blacks rifle has been further modified to include an under barrel grenade launcher.
Primary Weapon:
7.62mm Custom FLASH THOUGHT
Semi- Auto- Sniper- System
Secondary Weapon:
Custom 40mm under barrel grenade launcher
Name: Wilhelmina "Billie" Church
Rank: Sergeant
Height: 165 cm
Weight: 47kg
Age: 22
Eyes: Brown/Green
Hair: Dark
Blood Group: Unknown
Team Position: Support
Specialty: Blood Scribe
Sergeant Wilhelmina "Billie" Church's Dossier
History
Wilhelmina "Billie" Church was born into a snake handling Christian sect in rural Tennessee. Her family's congregation believed Billie was gifted with divine powers of healing and protection as evidenced by the "miracles" the child worked by drawing her own blood and writing "Angelic Script" with it. As word spread of the child's perceived powers and the fervent devotion of her followers, the Tennessee State authorities launched an investigation which resulted in "Billie" being taken into custody. Her experience whilst under the care of the State was exceptionally traumatic and included several suicide attempts. Her unusual past has come at great cost; she remains paranoid that her cult will come looking for her and has a continuing history of symptoms associated with schizophrenia and disassociated personality disorder. Her past haunts her to this day.
Recruitment
Churchs unusual circumstances led to low-level surveillance by the DOW. However, monitoring was stepped up after one incident during her custody in particular; she was discovered to have carved the words Luke 10:19 into the middle of her back, even though she was locked in a solitary observation room, had no sharp implements, and doctors deemed the feat physically impossible. Billie claimed, and maintains to this day, that angels did it for her. Father Paul Rawlings noted her extraordinary circumstances and engineered her release into DOW assessment facility. After years of intense deprogramming, therapy, and training in various blood-based magic systems she was appointed to Sergeant. Since her deprogramming, she has gone from withdrawn and modest to something of an explosive extrovert.
Occult Resources
Sergeant Wilhelmina Church is able to cast powerful wards, enchantments and banishments through the ritual of drawing her own blood and writing potent sigils with it. This comes with an obvious physical price, both physical and spiritual. The pain and ritual of the act focuses her will and taps into something inside her that even the DOW is unable to pinpoint.
Combat Resources
Sergeant Wilhelmina Church carries the minimum required level of protection as demanded by the army, a submachine pistol, which is her primary firearm. Her reluctance to use firearms resulted in extensive study of the nodachi, a large-two-handed Japanese sword. Churchs nodachi has been custom crafted and she wields it with devastating effect.
Primary Weapon:
4.6mm KENJUU
Personal Defense Weapon
Secondary Weapon:
Custom made nodachi
is a town in the West Bank, located within the Jericho Governorate, near the Jordan River. Its name may be derived from the word meaning "moon" in Hebrew, as the city was an early center of worship for lunar deities.
