Software:Evil Dead: Hail to the King

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Short description: 2000 video game
Evil Dead: Hail to the King
Developer(s)Heavy Iron Studios
Publisher(s)THQ
Producer(s)Mark Morris
Designer(s)Matt Coohill
Programmer(s)Kay Cloud
Neil Kaapuni
Artist(s)Ira Gilford
Composer(s)Todd Dennis
Chris Rickwood
Tommy Tallarico
Jack Wall
Platform(s)PlayStation, Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows
Release
  • NA: December 5, 2000 (PS)[2]
  • NA: December 19, 2000 (DC)[1]
  • NA: March 27, 2001 (PC)[3]
  • EU: June 22, 2001
Genre(s)Survival horror
Mode(s)Single-player

Evil Dead: Hail to the King is a 2000 survival horror video game developed by Heavy Iron Studios and published by THQ. Released for the PlayStation, Dreamcast, and Microsoft Windows, the game acts as a sequel to the 1992 film Army of Darkness. It was the second video game released to be based on the Evil Dead film franchise, following the 1984 title The Evil Dead, and the first to be developed by Heavy Iron Studios.

Gameplay

Evil Dead: Hail to the King functions much like a Resident Evil game, containing similar features such as pre-rendered backgrounds and semi-fixed camera angles, as well as limited ammunition and fuel for the chainsaw. The player controls the character by pushing the d-pad or analog stick left or right to rotate the character and then move the character forward or backwards by the pushing the d-pad up or down.

Enemies the player faces include the Deadites, animated skeletons, and possessed "Hellbillies" and Wolverine scouts.

Plot

The game takes place eight years after the events of Army of Darkness. After regaining his job at S-Mart and beginning a new relationship with fellow employee Jenny, Ashley "Ash" Williams begins suffering from recurring nightmares about the Necronomicon and the Deadites, which haunt him for years. Wanting to help him, Jenny decides to take Ash back to Professor Knowby's old cabin to help him face his demons.

However, shortly after arriving, Ash's possessed severed hand appears and plays Knowby's old cassette containing the Necronomicon's incantation once again. Despite Ash's attempts to stop it, the evil once again awakens in the woods, smashing through the window and kidnapping Jenny. When Ash goes to grab an axe above the mirror, his evil twin, Bad Ash exits the mirror and knocks him unconscious. After awakening, Ash quickly goes out to the workshed and reassembles his chainsaw-hand before going out to stop the Necronomicon and save Jenny.

After reading some of Professor Knowby's notes, Ash learns of a priest named Father Allard, whom Knowby was working with to decipher the Necronomicon and send the evil back to where it came. Upon consulting Father Allard at his church, Ash departs to gather the five missing pages from the Necronomicon and the Kandarian Dagger, the latter of which he obtains from a possessed Annie Knowby in the cabin's fruit cellar. After the two come across a possessed Jenny, Father Allard uses the pages and the dagger to create a portal and exorcise the demon from Jenny's body. However, Allard then reveals himself to be Bad Ash in disguise, who promptly kidnaps Jenny and jumps into the portal with Ash in hot pursuit, the two arriving in an Arabian village in the 9th century.

Ash finally catches up with Bad Ash, who intends to let Jenny be consumed by the Dark Ones and cross over into this world while Bad Ash will kill Ash and use him as a 'calling card'. The two fight, with Bad Ash transforming into a giant scorpion-like deadite. Nonetheless, Ash still defeats him and manages to use the pages of the Necronomicon to pull Bad Ash into the portal. With Jenny now free from possession, Ash uses another of the spells to open a portal and send them back home.

Upon arriving, Ash and Jenny discover to their horror that they've arrived in a version of Dearborn, Michigan that is ruled by the Dark Ones. Seeing several various necronomicon books in a shop window, Ash screams as the game ends.

Critical reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
DreamcastPCPS
AllGameStarHalf star[7]N/AStarHalf star[8]
CGSPN/AStarStar[11]N/A
CGWN/AStar[12]N/A
EGM4.5/10[13]N/A4.17/10[14][lower-alpha 1]
Game Informer4.5/10[16]N/A4.5/10[17]
GameSpot4.5/10[18]3.4/10[19]4.2/10[20]
GameSpy4/10[21]N/AN/A
IGN3.6/10[22]3.8/10[23]4.5/10[24]
Next GenerationStarStar[25]N/AN/A
OPM (US)N/AN/AStarStarHalf star[26]
PC Gamer (US)N/A61%[27]N/A
Aggregate score
Metacritic49/100[4]40/100[5]51/100[6]

The PlayStation version of Evil Dead: Hail to the King received "mixed" reviews, while the Dreamcast and PC versions received "generally unfavorable reviews", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[4][5][6] AllGame said that the Dreamcast version's graphics were "stagnant, still, lifeless" and that it needed "better control, better combat, a better look and feel."[7] Greg Orlando of NextGen quoted Carl Sandburg's poem "Yes, the Dead Speak to Us" in saying that the same console version "belongs to the Dead, to the Dead and to the Wilderness."[25] Atomic Dawg of GamePro said of the same console version, "Fans may find solace in the story line, but most gamers will cringe at the horror";[28][lower-alpha 2] and of the PlayStation version, "Hardcore Dead-heads may be driven by morbid curiosity to tackle this evil game, as they hold out hope that a better version will show up some day."[29][lower-alpha 3]

Notes

  1. ↑ Two critics of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the PlayStation version each a score of 4/10, and the other gave it 4.5/10.
  2. ↑ GamePro gave the Dreamcast version three 3/5 scores for graphics, sound, and fun factor, and 2/5 for control.
  3. ↑ GamePro gave the PlayStation version 2.5/5 for graphics, two 3/5 scores for sound and fun factor, and 2/5 for control.

References

  1. ↑ "THQ SHIPS EVIL DEAD: HAIL TO THE KING FOR POPULAR SEGA SYSTEM". December 19, 2000. http://www.thq.com/Corporate/PressReleases/press-254.asp. 
  2. ↑ "THQ SHIPS EVIL DEAD: HAIL TO THE KING FOR PLAYSTATION". December 5, 2000. http://www.thq.com/Corporate/PressReleases/press-250.asp. 
  3. ↑ "THQ SHIPS EVIL DEAD: HAIL TO THE KING FOR PC". March 17, 2001. http://www.thq.com/Corporate/PressReleases/press-283.asp. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Evil Dead: Hail to the King critic reviews (DC)". Fandom. https://www.metacritic.com/game/evil-dead-hail-to-the-king/critic-reviews/?platform=dreamcast. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Evil Dead: Hail to the King critic reviews (PC)". Fandom. https://www.metacritic.com/game/evil-dead-hail-to-the-king/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Evil Dead: Hail to the King critic reviews (PS)". Fandom. https://www.metacritic.com/game/evil-dead-hail-to-the-king/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Thompson, Jon. "Evil Dead: Hail to the King (DC) - Review". All Media Group. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=21093&tab=review. 
  8. ↑ House, Matthew. "Evil Dead: Hail to the King (PS) - Review". All Media Group. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=21092&tab=review. 
  9. ↑ D'Aprile, Jason (January 24, 2001). "Evil Dead: Hail to the King - Dreamcast Review". CNET. http://www.gamecenter.com/Dreamcast/Reviews/Evildead/. 
  10. ↑ Ham, Tom (December 19, 2000). "Evil Dead: Hail to the King - PlayStation Review". CNET. http://www.gamecenter.com/Psx/Reviews/Ed/. 
  11. ↑ Steinberg, Scott (May 8, 2001). "Evil Dead: Hail to the King". Strategy Plus, Inc.. http://www.cdmag.com/articles/032/126/evildead-01.html. 
  12. ↑ Bailey, Joe (August 2001). "Evil Dead: Hail to the King". Computer Gaming World (Ziff Davis) (205): 74. https://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_205.pdf. Retrieved March 2, 2024. 
  13. ↑ Einhorn, Ethan (March 2001). "Evil Dead: Hail to the King (DC)". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (140): 110. https://retrocdn.net/images/f/fe/EGM_US_140.pdf. Retrieved March 2, 2024. 
  14. ↑ Lockhart, Ryan; Mielke, James "Milkman"; Einhorn, Ethan (March 2001). "Evil Dead: Hail to the King (PS)". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (140): 113. http://www.zdnet.com/egm/stories/main/0,11589,2675802,00.html. Retrieved June 26, 2016. 
  15. ↑ Miller, Sean (March 4, 2001). "Evil Dead: Hail to the King (DC)". Greedy Productions Ltd.. http://www.elecplay.com/reviews_article.php?article=5268. 
  16. ↑ "Evil Dead: Hail to the King (DC)". Game Informer (FuncoLand) (95). March 2001. 
  17. ↑ "Evil Dead: Hail to the King (PS)". Game Informer (FuncoLand) (94). February 2001. 
  18. ↑ Fielder, Joe (December 20, 2000). "Evil Dead: Hail to the King Review (DC)". Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/evil-dead-hail-to-the-king-review/1900-2667226/. 
  19. ↑ Todd, Brett (April 30, 2001). "Evil Dead: Hail to the King Review (PC)". Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/evil-dead-hail-to-the-king-review/1900-2714027/. 
  20. ↑ Fielder, Joe (December 11, 2000). "Evil Dead: Hail to the King Review (PS)". Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/evil-dead-hail-to-the-king-review/1900-2663568/. 
  21. ↑ XianMrtyr (February 2, 2001). "Evil Dead: Hail to the King". PlanetDreamcast. http://www.planetdreamcast.com/games/reviews/evildead/. 
  22. ↑ Chau, Anthony (January 4, 2001). "Evil Dead: Hail to the King (DC)". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/01/05/evil-dead-hail-to-the-king-6. 
  23. ↑ Blevins, Tal (April 24, 2001). "Evil Dead: Hail to the King (PC)". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/04/24/evil-dead-hail-to-the-king-4. 
  24. ↑ Nix, Marc (December 5, 2000). "Evil Dead: Hail to the King (PS)". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/12/06/evil-dead-hail-to-the-king-2. 
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Orlando, Greg (April 2001). "Evil Dead: Hail to the King (DC)". NextGen (Imagine Media) (76): 83. https://archive.org/details/NextGen76Apr2001/page/n83/mode/2up. Retrieved March 2, 2024. 
  26. ↑ Baker, Chris (February 2001). "Evil Dead: Hail to the King (PS)". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (Ziff Davis) (41): 92–93. https://archive.org/details/official-u.-s.-playstation-magazine-issue-41-february-2001/page/92/mode/2up. Retrieved March 2, 2024. 
  27. ↑ Osborn, Chuck (July 2001). "Evil Dead [Hail to the King"]. PC Gamer (Imagine Media) 8 (7): 64. http://www.pcgamer.com/archives/2005/07/evil_dead.html. Retrieved June 25, 2016. 
  28. ↑ Atomic Dawg (March 2001). "Evil Dead: Hail to the King (DC)". GamePro (IDG) (150): 91. https://retrocdn.net/images/3/37/GamePro_US_150.pdf. Retrieved March 2, 2024. 
  29. ↑ Atomic Dawg (March 2001). "Evil Dead: Hail to the King (PS)". GamePro (IDG) (150): 85. http://gamepro.com/sony/psx/games/reviews/11014.shtml. Retrieved March 2, 2024. 
  • Evil Dead: Hail to the King at Deadites Online
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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