Big Expectations For “I Am Alive”

“The Event”, whatever it is, puts an end to the world we know. The only thing you know for sure is that you are alive.

I Am Alive is the forthcoming survival game by Ubisoft Shanghai and there are reasons we should have high hopes for it. As most of you know it got a downgraded from full disc release to downloadable title. Is it because they didn’t have faith in the game? I don’t think that matters. What does matter is that there is still a bar that needs to be set with downloadable titles and I Am Alive might just fit the bill.

Admittedly, I haven’t played Payday The Heist, which many have touted as a great downloadable title, but for the most part from the games that are strictly network games I can say that even the best of them tend to be fun games similar to those of yesteryear. The likes of Joe Danger, Limbo, and Shank are really cool but not bar-setters for what downloadables are capable of.

Other great titles tend to be artistic experiments like Linger in Shadows, Flower, and the forthcoming Journey. I really don’t think we have seen what downloadable titles are capable of and it’s time we do. I’m not particularly gung-ho about the possibility that the future bends toward all digital content but here at the end of the generation I’d like to see what might be possible for the next generation of digital content.

The networks are by far the best place for smaller studios to debut their titles, and while many are fun, I’m looking for a title that isn’t outdated and delivers all the quality and, most importantly, gameplay that we’ve come to expect from this generation. I really thought PSN’s AMY would fit the bill and look how bad that was.

So it is that I’m placing my hopes in I Am Alive, in a time when survival gameplay is dying out and network games haven’t reached a certain level there are many reasons to root for a high rating on this game. It’s scheduled for release on March 7th for XBLA and PSN so watch out for it while we try to get a review in the pipeline as soon as possible.