NeverDead Preview

You just gotta love the premise. Bryce Boltzmann (one of the awesomest names ever) has lived for over 500 years; after failing to slay the Demon King, he has become immortal…but that isn’t necessarily a dream come true. He lost his wife during the battle and he has other metaphorical demons, too. Currently, he has been hired by the NADA (The National Anti-Demon Agency) to eliminate various evil threats but in truth, he’s really just out for revenge. The Demon King killed his wife, made him live forever, and still allowed him to literally fall to pieces without dying. So, you intrigued?

There are some great trailers out there for this game; one of them is on the PlayStation Network and the recent Tokyo Game Show trailer is below. It’s a third-person shooter at its core, as Bryce can dual-wield and take advantage of various firearms. But beyond that relatively simple format is the primary appeal of Konami’s NeverDead : it’s the immortality and the aforementioned “breaking in to pieces” that comes to the forefront. Not only can Bryce power himself up and become a walking bomb, he can even use parts of his body as weapons. Also, while you’re running around trying to retrieve lost body parts, you might still be able to use an equipped weapon…you know, provided an arm remains.

Bryce can’t die, so you might think that we’d never see a “Game Over” screen. But that would be far too easy (and negate all possible challenge), so we can certainly fail. We’re not entirely sure how we can fail just yet, but we know that getting eaten by a nasty creature can end your adventure. See, without any body parts – not even a head – to control, then apparently, it’s all over. So we suggest staying away from anything big enough to swallow you. You need at least one body part left so you can rebuild yourself. …never thought I’d write that sentence.

The game will also offer co-op entertainment for up to four players, where your buddies will become additional NADA members and assist you in the fight against the twisted hordes. There will be a few competitive online options as well, although we imagine the single-player campaign will be the focus. NeverDead is completely over-the-top and entirely shameless; it’s loaded with style and lots of crazy attitude, and we have to appreciate the insane action. You also might be surprised at the characters and storyline, because based on what we’ve heard, both features might be big highlights. Bryce Boltzmann. Bad-ass.

Just because you’re immortal doesn’t mean you’re invincible. If that makes any sense.