The Suffering is a third-person horror action game that takes place on a secluded island off the coast of Maryland. You play the role of an inmate named Torque, sentenced to die for murdering his ex-wife and two children. However, you are completely blacked out what actually happened, and you are left unsure whether you killed them or if something more twisted happened. Shortly after being locked into your cell on death row, a mysterious earthquake occurs, through which bizarre, horrific monsters start appearing around the island, killing everything they can. As you progresses through the game, trying to survive and somehow escape, you discover that the island has been a nexus of evil for centuries, uncovering the horrors from its past and present. The game ends up being about uncovering what has taken place on the island, as well as uncovering your own past.

The Suffering features nine gritty and terrifying levels, 10 deadly weapons ranging from the hand-made shiv, brutal fire axe to revolvers (double and single), the shotgun and Thompson sub-machinegun, 12 different types of monsters (they can walk upright, jump high in the air, scuttle on the ceiling, and surprise attack from above with a swinging blade attack) and three distinct endings depending on how you play the game. In addition, there are a few simple puzzles to break up the action, but fast-paced combat is what it's ultimately all about.

One of the most unique features of the gameplay in The Suffering is the player's ability to morph into a powerful demon, with the strength to rip apart enemies with melee attacks. You have a "rage meter" that, when filled, transforms you into a hideous and bloodthirsty creature that looks and feels right at home with the other dozen monstrosities stalking your every move. However, the catch is that the rage meter empties slowly after you transform. If you don't transform back before it empties out completely, you take a huge amount of damage. When you are play as human form, you will spend the majority of your time using projectile weapons, but when you transform into the creature form, you become much more powerful, but now the combat mechanics are based around melee combat, which provides a nice contrast.

Overall, The Suffering is a great 3rd/1st-person horror game. Of course, the game can get a little repetitive at times, with just the plain combat. Fortunately they they've spiced it up by adding some puzzles and such. I would seriously recommend this game to any one who is a fan of survival horror.

related links: homepage, v1.01 patch.

System requirements: Intel P3-1.0GHz or equivalent (P4 2GHz recommended), 128MB RAM (512MB recommended), 32MB VRAM (64MB VRAM recommended), 2GH free HDD space.