Clive Barker’s Jericho announced

by: Chuck - posted: 7/21/2006 7:59:00 AM

While I'm not as much of a horror nut as I used to be (I still haven't seen any of the Saw movies or Hostel, I'm getting lame in my old age), I am still a big fan of Clive Barker.  It looks like Mr. Barker has hooked up with Codemasters to create a new game called Clive Barker’s Jericho. The game deals a lost city that re-appears in the middle of a desert and a Special Forces squadron is sent in to deal with the evil that lies within.  The key catch is that the Special Forces squadron is trained to deal with both conventional and supernatural situations.  Sounds like fun and I'm interested to check out the game as Clive Barker's Undying was one of the more underappreciated games of all time.

New York (July 19, 2006) – Codemasters, the developer and publisher of critically acclaimed video games, has signed a new supernatural horror concept and story devised by the master mythmaker, novelist and filmmaker Clive Barker.

The deal will see Codemasters work with Barker to realize his concept as an original paranormal/horror gaming experience. The alliance is a further significant move for Codemasters as it expands its portfolio and collaborations with major entertainment owners and creative talent. Titled ‘Clive Barker’s Jericho.’ the game will launch exclusively for next-generation console platforms and PC, late in 2007.

Clive Barker’s Jericho is being designed as an action horror title that will up the stakes in visuals and phantasmagorical special effects. Mingling the darkest elements of Barker’s horror fiction and films with an ambitious, age-spanning story, the title will be aimed at mature gamers, fans of Clive Barker and horror fiction enthusiasts.  

“It’s incredible when a company as admired as Codemasters embraces your vision the way they have embraced Jericho,” said Clive Barker. “This project is very close to my heart and I don’t believe there's ever been anything like it. It promises to be the most spectacular, creative, and unflinching realization of a Clive Barker nightmare that will drag players in kicking and screaming.”

Clive Barker’s Jericho deals with the mysterious reappearance of a lost city in a remote desert. When a form of evil that goes right back to the dawn of days resurfaces from there, a Special Forces squad, trained in both conventional warfare and the arcane arts, is sent in. Their mission: Hunt down and destroy the evil that lurks at the heart of the city before it destroys humanity.  

“Players will constantly be given new challenges, new environments, and yes, new horrors and abominations to face every step of the way,” continues Barker. “However, unlike a conventional game in which the characters are attempting to escape at the end of their ride through Hell, our protagonists have a much more difficult task. The closer they come to the end of their trek into darkness, the nearer they get to the source of that darkness: Evil Incarnate, we'll call it for now…”

“Clive’s astounding skills in creating the darkest of fantastical scenarios that twist our dreams makes him the perfect creator for a rich horror video game,” said Barry Jafrato, Codemasters’ senior VP of brand on signing the deal with Barker. “The visual and audio capabilities of the next-generation gaming formats will enable this project to be realized as an incredible experience with scenarios and cinematographic effects that will both thrill and terrify.”