Vivisector: Beast Within

Overview

Vivisector: Beast Within is a first-person shooter developed by Action Forms and published by 1C Company for PC. The game was originally planned to be an entry in the Duke Nukem franchise titled Duke Nukem: Endangered Species Hunter.

Gameplay

Vivisector: Beast Within is an FPS with large open environments and very light RPG elements. Players take control of Kurt, a soldier sent to Soreo Island- the main setting of the game. Shortly after arriving on the island, Kurt's squad is attacked and wiped out by a group of mechanically and genetically modified Hyenas. Amongst the dead is Kurt's previous girlfriend, Malica.

Vivisector features a combination of complex indoor environments and large outdoor environments to traverse. The player is given a number of weapon types throughout the game:

• Pistols
• Rifles (M-16)
• Shotguns (Single and Double variants)
• Machine Guns (M-60, Gauss)
• Sniper Rifles
• Grenades
• Explosives (Bazooka, Howitzer)
• Energy weapons (Tesla gun, Plasma gun)

The types of enemies the player encounters vary from chapter to chapter:

Chapter 1

• Hyenas: The most common enemy seen in chapter 1- they are also the most basic, as they only have a melee pounce attack.
• Leopards: The first arguably ranged enemy encountered- the Leopards the player encounters are capable of breathing fire, and act slightly more evasively than the Hyenas.
• Panthers: A faster, stronger version of the Hyena equipped with active camouflage. Other than the cloak, Panthers act in exactly the same way Hyenas do.
• Gorillas: Effectively an artillery troop- Gorillas are almost completely immobile enemies that fire projectiles with a large blast radius in a high arc at the player. Despite their seeming inability or unwillingness to move, Gorillas are capable of melee attacks as well.
• BomBears: The toughest animal enemy encountered in chapter one- they are similar in appearance to the Rhinoceros boss, as their rear legs have been replaced by heavily armored wheels. Bombears are equipped with a rocket launcher- but are often indecisive in using it due to the rocket launcher turret's slow turn speed in relation to the Bombear's own movement. If the player gets too close- they often prioritize melee attacks over their launcher.
• Lions: Arguably the most dangerous animal enemy in Chapter 1, they are even more evasive than the Leopards and attack from a longer distance, spitting hard-hitting fire balls. A whole volley of these from 3-4 Lions hitting the player directly can result in instant death.
• Rhinoceros: The first boss of the game- the Rhinoceros has had its rear legs replaced with a set of armored wheels, which it uses to increase its speed to ram the player. Ramming is its only method of attack- though its large size and speed can make this tactic tricky to dodge.
• Island Security: Human soldiers that excel at sniping the player with their M-16s. They perform best at long range, especially if they have found cover. At closer ranges, they are very easily killed- as they lose their accuracy advantage over the player at such range. They are one of the only enemies from Chapter 1 who keep appearing periodically throughout the other chapters, except Chapter 4.

Chapter 2

• Hyena Soldiers: The most common Hybrid animal soldier encountered in Chapter 2. Of the ranged hybrids, they are the least intelligent- generally relying on their numbers in attempts to swarm the player. They very rarely use cover or the environment to their advantage- but show some mobility at closer ranges, lightly strafing around to evade some fire. They are equipped with Tesla guns, and are relatively accurate with them at medium to low range.
• Cheetah Soldiers: The melee-dedicated troop of the Hybrid resistance. Cheetahs use their incredibly high movement speed to close in with the player.
• Ram Soldiers: The smartest of the hybrid troops- Rams actually use cover surprisingly often and/or strafe evasively- and are capable of occasional dodge rolls. The versatility of their tactics and behavior is limited by their weapon of choice however: the shotgun. As such, they are only a major threat at close to medium range. This often isn't a problem in the types of in-door environments they are generally deployed in though...

Chapter 3

• Black Wolves: The most common of the 'overbrutes,' the Black Wolves are armed with Gauss rifles- making them a competent threat at any range, though they are arguably more dangerous at longer ranges than shorter ones. In terms of combat performance and behavior, they are essentially a combination of Island Security's long range capabilities with a level of intelligence similar to- if not better than that of the Ram Soldiers.
• Helixes: Anthropomorphic vultures who have to use a mechanical rotor to fly. They are equipped with two highly accurate machine guns- one attached to each of their legs. They are highly aggressive- closing in with the player quickly and strafing about wildly to make targeting them much more difficult. A well placed shot can destroy their rotor and send them into a fall- but if they survive the fall, they remain capable of charging in for melee attacks. Be wary when fighting them at an elevated position- for Helixes seem to be even more aggressive if you are at the same elevation as them- as they openly try to push you off. Overall- Helixes are arguably the most dangerous enemy in the game.
• Tigers: The most heavily armored and largest of the over-brutes, Tigers are armed with Bazookas for long to medium range combat. Thankfully, they aren't the smartest of opponents- often making questionable movement decisions at close range or in cramped environments. They are also incredibly slow- and their large size effectively prevents them from using cover at all. Finally- despite their heavy armor, rapid fire weapons like the M-16 are capable of stun-locking them if the player gets lucky. They first appear in chapter 3, but are much more common in chapter 4.
• Puma Soldiers: Armed with M60s, Puma Warriors are rarer than Black Wolves- but they are slightly tougher and more aggressive, since they are better equipped for close range combat than the Black Wolves are.
• Uncompletes: As their name suggests- Uncompletes are hybrids or overbrutes who have not been completed. When active, they are a melee-only enemy that are capable of walking on walls and ceilings- but don't take advantage of this very often.
• The Panther Overbrute: An almost finished- but ultimately incomplete hybrid. This specific Panther is one of the most powerful hybrids on the entire island, equipped with explosive charges and mines. It is an invulnerable slow moving enemy that is capable of cloaking, but is only directly encountered once or twice. The player has to run away from it whenever it is present, for letting the Panther catch you or taking a wrong turn in the facility results in it attaching one of its explosive charges on you- resulting in an instant death.
• Minotaur: Equipped with a chaingun on one arm, and a shield and rocket launcher on the other. The Minotaur is effectively impossible to kill- let alone survive against due to the extreme damage output and splash radius of its rockets, which are nigh impossible to dodge. Thankfully, the Minotaur is completely passive and chained to a wall until the player openly attacks it- at which point it will break free and open fire. In truth, the Minotaur is only present as an alternate solution for dealing with one of the game's light environmental obstacles- should the player not have the ammo necessary to deal with it himself.
• Facility Guards: Essentially a re-skin of the Island security enemies encountered in the first two chapters. Just like the Island security enemies, there are one or two set-pieces in the game where they are actually allied with the player.

Chapter 4

• White Wolves: These are little more than a re-skinned version of the Black Wolves used for the snow levels of the game. Interestingly, the white and black variants of the wolves are used at the same time in some engagements.

PC System Requirements

• Windows 2000/XP
• 1,8 GHz Processor
• 512 MB
• GeForce FX or Radeon 7600 or video card with 256 MB
• Sound Blaster® Audigy® 2 ZS sound card
• 3 GB Hard Disk Space