Deadfall Adventures was first released late last year for the Xbox 360 and PC. Unfortunately, the game received much criticism, with most reviews giving it mere 3’s and 4’s out of 10. However, that has not stopped The Farm 51 from bringing it on to the PlayStation 3, almost a year later. With promises of smoother, improved gameplay, would Deadfall Adventures improve on the previous review scores on Sony’s last-generation console? Read my full review below to find out!
Game: Deadfall Adventures: Heart of Atlantis
Developer: The Farm 51
Publisher: Nordic Games
Reviewed on: PlayStation 3
STORY
For those who did not get the game last year, Deadfall Adventures: Heart of Atlantis focuses on James Lee Quatermain, who is the the relative of famous adventurer Allan Quartermain. James seems to be making a living out of his great-grandad’s trade, following on his footsteps as an aspiring adventurer. James is hired by a US agent to help them find an ancient artifact, known as the Heart of Atlantis. This artifact comes carrying great power, but there are other Nazi and Russian groups on the trail of the Heart of Atlantis. I would recommend going into this not really expecting much. If you take it for what it is, you will certainly enjoy it more. I will say this, if you enjoyed The Mummy and Indiana Jones films, you will probably enjoy going through this as it certainly reminded me of both franchises. Not the strongest or longest story you are ever going to intake, but a story that most should enjoy, especially the more casual gamers out there.
GRAPHICS
Visually, Deadfall Adventures is nothing more than average at best. Character models seem to look quite disjointed at times. From looking at the Xbox 360 and PC versions that were released last year, it is however clear to see that the developers have done some work on Deadfall Adventures visually. The locations that you visit, such as mummy fest temples do look nice on the PlayStation 3. Nothing really stands out for me to really worth describing, but it generally looks OK. I would like however, to see The Farm 51 push the boat out and go for a full HD version on the PlayStation 4, as I feel the potential there is huge, visually.
SOUND
The audio in Deadfall Adventures is pretty poor if I am being completely honest. The voice over works really fails to deliver any conviction, with characters sounding rather blunt, giving no sense of personality. Apart from that, you will find that you will quickly forget Deadfall Adventure’s audio score. I would of liked to see some better background sounds, and certainly better voice overs.
GAMEPLAY
I honestly must say that Deadfall Adventures gave me a fun experience. Nothing in the mould of other action-adventure titles like Uncharted, but still a generally fun experience. You have to remember that Deadfall Adventures is only a digital release on the PlayStation 3, but it offers an experience that is well worth a few hours of your time. The shooting mechanics sometimes feel a bit off, in terms of how the aiming mechanism works, but there is a variety of different weapons to be had, giving players a choice of how they go about their adventure. The good thing too, for more casual gamers, that you are given a set of pistols, which have unlimited ammo, so you really don’t have to worry about facing hordes of enemies without a gun ready.
One of the good things about combat is when you are facing the undead, is that in order to kill them, it is not just about cracking a bullet or two through their skull. You have to bring out your flashlight and hold the L1 button in order to cast out stronger light beam. This then sets fire to the undead, which you can then destroy them once and for all with a bullet or two. I will say however, that Deadfall Adventures feels a bit too much repetitive. The entire game is made up of enemies > puzzle > enemies > puzzle… in that order. The puzzles on offer are quite easy to get through, although you are able to crank up the difficulty before you start the game. The game also offers a leveling up system, in which players can collect different treasures in order to boost their skills. I will say that it is pretty standard stuff, with no depth at all, and also feels a bit unnecessary as missing out on leveling up hardly hampers your play through, if even at all. Deadfall Adventures on the whole offers quite a standard affair gameplay wise, but as I said before, I strongly advise that you go into this expecting a casual fun experience, anything more and you will be disappointed.
LONGEVITY
The main adventure will take players around 5 – 7 hours long to complete, depending on the pace you go through. What is new in the PlayStation 3 version, is that there is a new co-op and survival mode available, which should extend the playtime somewhat. Unfortunately, I would say that there isn’t much of an argument to warrant multiple completions of the game, and may find that you rarely revisit Deadfall Adventures in the future.
VERDICT
I said at the start of this review that Deadfall Adventures on the Xbox 360 and PC received really bad review scores. A year on, I am happy to say that these scores should improve somewhat, even if by just a few marks. Deadfall Adventures offers a low-budget, yet fun experience, and one I would recommend to go through, even if it is just the once.
