Get Even was announced a few years ago by Polish developer, The Farm 51, and is finally nearing a release in May this year. The developer met a mixed reception with their previous work on the Painkiller sequel Hell & Damnation, but Get Even has been designed as an original IP for Bandai Namco. It’s a blend of several genres in what is described as a ‘First Person Thriller’, and, not knowing what to expect, it was the most surprising game I played on my visit to the Bandai Namco offices.
Mixing live action cutscenes with first-person gameplay, Get Even has a surreal premise that encourages you to piece together the cinematic story that’s told to you in flashes. The protagonist is a man named Black, described as an ‘ice-cold mercenary and hired gun’, who sounds suspiciously like Sean Bean. You begin the game in his shoes as he’s sent on a rescue mission to recover a girl being held by British terrorists, in a griffiti-covered compound. The environments are actually surprisingly realistic and true-to-life, largely owing to the high-quality and high resolution texturing used on the graffiti on many of the walls.
Black has access to an array of technology, some of a somewhat sci-fi take on what’s currently available. Black’s key gadget is his phone, which has several functions including a map with live motion tracking, a UV light, thermal vision and an evidence scanner. Much like Condemned: Criminal Origins, much of the gameplay revolves around exploring the environment and finding evidence which could lead you down the right path – whether it’s DNA or blood left by a victim, a coil of rope, or a certain model of drone.
As you press on in this early section, you do eventually come across enemies – some encounters are scripted while others seem more open. Your first sighting of an enemy occurs outside, and you’re given a tutorial on how to take him out, but you can decide to simply let him leave (although he will lock the door and passage behind him, which seems to lead to an area meant for the full game). When you are eventually forced to take out an enemy, it’s with the ‘corner gun’, a machine gun that does what it says on the tin. You can peer around corners with an attached LCD screen, and take your time focusing in on your target as for all intents and purposes, you’re hidden from his view (and he’s also on the phone).
However, after taking out this soldier, the game throws you a curveball as you walk past his dropped phone, to see he was on a call to his wife about their kid. It’s a nice touch, if a little obviously manipulative, as Get Even obviously isn’t afraid to delve into the grey morality of Black’s work.
Another shootout scene is a little less emotional, but still effectively executed, as Black comes across the room where his target is being held. Time slows to a crawl as Black draws his rifle, allowing you ample time to aim and execute precision headshots on the two soldiers reacting to your presence. As each bullet is fired, time speeds up just a little to show it smacking into its destination, making for a nice and cinematic little scene.
At the climax of the section, Black has to deal with the bound and panicking woman he’s been sent to rescue, who has a bomb strapped to her chest and a clock and calendar lying on the floor. There’s no real clues as to what the combination is to defuse the bomb, only the woman’s memory that it may be 3001. Whatever you input, the scene fades to white as the bomb presumably explodes, although how Black could still be around after that event is a good question.
The short section I played through is meant to set the stage for the rest of the game, which takes place in a mysterious asylum that Black finds himself in, where he uses a ‘Pandora’ headset to relive memories in the present.
Get Even is shaping up to be a story-driven and cinematic experience that feels quite unique, with its own blend of investigation and shooting mechanics, and occasional surreal presentation. The game is currently set for release on 26 May, 2017 on PS4, Xbox One and PC.
