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With BioShock, Halo 3, F.E.A.R., and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in constant rotation, I was in no mood to play or even add another first-person shooter game to the collection. But since Clive Barker is a master of horror stories (he's the one behind the "Hellraiser" and "Candyman" movies), I figured I’d check out his first foray into the gaming universe with his first person shooting-action game Jericho.

The game starts off interesting story-wise where it’s said that before God created Adam and Eve, He created a being that was neither male nor female. Unhappy with the creation, God banishes the being to another realm into a lost city. The city and creation somehow reappear, along with a host of demons, ghosts and other creatures, in the Middle East causing a ruckus. After several military teams disappear within the cursed city, the Department of Occult Warfare calls upon the Jericho Team, a Special Forces unit that is skilled in both military tactics and battling the supernatural. You’re then introduced to a team of interesting and pretty cool characters. To start you control Captain Devin Ross, a military vet who has psychic abilities to heal an injured team member. There’s also a guy who can throw fire out of his arm, a hacker who can slow down time, a seer who can possess the enemy’s body, a telekinetic who can move things with her mind, a chick who has some deadly blood, and a Reverend who can also heal fallen comrades. After a little while, you’ll be able to switch and cycle through characters and utilize your team mate’s abilities and fire power.

The thing is, with its cool premise and dope characters, the game gets kind of bland after awhile. It’s a very linear experience with hardly any options to explore. And if there is an area to explore, you really don’t get anything out of it. There are no extra weapons to pick-up, no hidden health packs or power-ups or any type treasures or jewels to collect. Yes, it’s supposed to be a story-driven game, and with those types of games you really don’t need much peripheral stuff to get into it. But the problem is, the story is very slow going and I lost interest pretty quickly; especially since you’re continually fighting the same type of enemy, with the same type of weapons, in the same type of environment. Plus there isn’t any multi-player or online play with the game.

Graphically the game looks great, and even better in HD. The voice-acting and soundtrack are decent as well. The controls are pretty basic, similar to most first person shooting games, and easy to learn. You may play the game all the way through, just to find out what happens, but chances are you may feel like there should have been more. It’s a safe bet to keep this as a renter, and keep an eye out for a possible sequel with improvements.

Q's RATING: 2.5 out of 5 Stars

IGN.com: 5.6 out of 10

Gamespot.com: 6.5 out of 10

Check out the trailer for the game here: