Many of you will be familiar with Clive Barker because of the Hellraiser series, or the sublime Undying released a few years back. Undying was a fantastic horror game that caused me many sleepless nights, and good old Clive is at it again with the upcoming Jericho. I've played the single player demo and I can reveal that the horror maestro has pulled another corker out of his demonic bag of carrying!

The tantalising glimpses into the plot thus far have hinted at God's first creation before man, a being of immense power that was banished to the abyss. Cut to the modern day and demons have suddenly appeared in the Middle East, laying waste to the citizens of Al-Khali. Taking control of the aptly named Jericho team, you are tasked with finding out what on Earth (or anywhere else for that matter) is going on. The demo doesn't divulge much more than this and so I'm eagerly awaiting the game's release to find out just what is going on!

The recent tide of team-based shooters has clearly influenced this game's design, as you control six members of the Jericho team. Rather uniquely, however, you play as the spirit of the team's commander, who was killed in battle and now inhabits the minds of his teammates! You can switch on the fly to control any one of the characters and order the entire squad around with a simple control system. Hilariously, the teammates often make comments about his being in their heads - in fact, the banter that goes on really makes you believe that they have all fought together and have become friends, which is a refreshing take on the 'lone wolf with backup' routine that is commonplace in the genre.

Each of the squad members has their own weaponry, but they also possess (*in a spooky voice*) SPECIAL POWERS! Wooo! Delgado, the mini-gun-toting powerhouse is labelled a Pyromancer; he can call forth a fire demon that dwells in his right hand to burn enemies on the spot, or charge up and really heat up the place. Church is the sniper, but she also wields telekinesis. Apart from the usual tactics of knocking enemies over or moving heavy objects, she can also guide the bullets from her rifle - you control the bullet and can take out numerous enemies by flying it around. Black carries a Katana sword and sub-machine pistol, but her strength is in the fact that she is a Blood Scribe, meaning that she can use her own blood to call in tentacled orbs that ensnare enemies, allowing you to close in for a vicious kill with the katana. She also has the power to create walls of flame, burning the environment and anything foolish enough to get too close. Ross meanwhile can heal his team and even bring them back from the dead if the worst should happen.

They all work together nicely and at times you have to use each power to progress: Church needs to remove obstacles and Black can climb like a mountain goat to find hidden passages and open doors, for example. The team mechanic works so much better than in other games and you really care whether they live or die.

There is a particular section in the demo that requires Black to climb around to find a door control panel and part of this means you have to do one of those ever so trendy 'Real Time Event' thingies that were made popular by God of War. I have never seen such a good example of this gameplay mechanic in use before; from a first person perspective, you leap down into a well, hitting the arrow keys in time with the on-screen prompts, as Black frantically looks for the next foothold. Halfway down an enemy leaps down after you and the pace quickens. You slip, the screen goes black and then you see the enemy's face, drenched in blood, snarling mere inches from the screen and the button presses cause Black to punch, parry and kick her way to desperate survival. But that's not the best part - get it wrong at the start and you'll plummet to your death and see every gory detail; the camera jerks as she hits her head on the stone floor, blood gushing from the fatal head trauma. It's gruesome stuff, but at the same time you're left with a feeling of awe at the perfect execution of the whole event.

This is helped immensely by the use of the graphics engine. Dynamic lighting shows off the gratuitous use of flame, realistic liquids show every blood spurt and the hi-definition models put the icing on the cake. It's on par with the Unreal Engine 3 and everything about the level design creates a tangible feeling of unease and fear. As you explore the subterranean passages and sewers of the city, strange noises can be heard, almost out of earshot. The sound of rats in nearby tunnels is amplified by the architecture into a crescendo of impending doom. You can hear the demons marching above you and the sounds combine with the detailed graphics to really give Jericho a massive wow factor.

From what I've seen, Jericho is shaping up to be a solid and hugely terrifying experience. The lush visuals, intelligent use of sound effects and unique team-based mechanics, coupled with the strong storyline that makes you want to know what will happen next could very well set Jericho apart as the premier horror FPS, if not of all time, then certainly of the decade. F.E.A.R. set the benchmark for intelligent, absorbing and above all, scary games, but it looks like it's time for the little girl in the red dress to go back to bed and hide under the covers. I hope you've got room behind the sofa, because you'll be spending a lot of time there very soon!

Previewed by John Barnes for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).