''Escape from Bug Island'', titled in Japan, is a

survival horror Survival horror is a Video game genre, subgenre of Survival game, survival of the players as the game tries to frighten them with either horror graphics or scary ambience. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel l ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

developed by

Spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...

and released for the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...

in 2006.

Gameplay

The game is a

third-person shooter Third-person shooter (TPS) is a subgenre of 3D shooter games in which the gameplay consists primarily of shooting. It is closely related to first-person shooters, but with the player character visible on-screen during play. While 2D shoot ...

Survival horror game Survival horror is a subgenre of survival of the players as the game tries to frighten them with either horror graphics or scary ambience. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical ...

. The player uses melee weapons by swinging the Wiimote in the direction the player wants Ray to swing, the player can also use a flashlight by pressing the C button on the Nunchuck. Bugs are attracted to the light from the flashlight and kill the player.

Plot

The player, playing as Ray, starts with a tree branch as their first melee weapon along with some rocks as projectiles. As the game progresses, better melee and projectile weapons can be found. Ray will encounter some other characters through the first half of the game; however, after a visit to the Cave of Time, Ray will repeat the game in an attempt to prevent some of the character's demises. There are several caves that can be accessed after revisiting areas that hide bonus items and even better weapons. The player will also gain access to a new flashlight that will allow them to use the two-hand melee weapons and the second time around Ray has to access to firearms. Some of the boss fights include the giant angry gorilla, one big worm, the giant spider, and the monster the island is named after,

Beelzebub Beelzebub ( ; he, ''Baʿal-zəḇūḇ'') or Beelzebul is a name derived from a Philistine god, formerly worshipped in Ekron, and later adopted by some Abrahamic religions as a major demon. The name ''Beelzebub'' is associated with the Ca ...

. The final battle is against a former human named Robert who is mutated into an insect-like in the movie '' The Fly''. Ray then makes his Escape from Bug Island after defeating the mutated Robert. The game will determine which ending the player receives depending on how well Ray does during the game. Both endings find Ray making his escape from Bug Island; however, whether or not Ray has company on his escape depends on the ending.

Development

The game was released in 2007 under the title ''Escape From Bug Island'' and was published by

Eidos Interactive Square Enix Limited (formerly Domark Limited and Eidos Interactive Limited) is a British subsidiary of the Japanese video game company Square Enix, acting as their European publishing arm. The company formerly owned ''Tomb Raider'', which was in ...

. According to ''

Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Nint ...

'', unfavorable reviews of ''Necro-Nesia'' prompted Eidos to refine several aspects of the game during localization, including control tweaks and end-of-level wrap-ups.

Reception

At E3, critical impressions of ''Escape from Bug Island'' (then ''Necro-Nesia'') were mostly negative. According to

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa dist ...

, the gameplay is “void of anything that may resemble fun”. Other criticisms included poor graphics, awkward controls (especially during fights), and choppy animation. Japanese gaming magazine, ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the ...

'', however, gave it an above-average score of one eight, two sevens, and one six for a total of 28 out of 40. Elsewhere, the game received "unfavorable" reviews according to the

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website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

. The game sold only 1,934 copies on December 2, 2006, the day of the

Wii launch The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...

in Japan.

References

External links