Jericho - video breakdown

Black Rose

"Protected by a Black Rose, Maltheus continues to endure the wrath of the slaughtered children. A hope remains that somewhere, someone can defeat Malltheus and lay rest to the souls of the suffering children."

Although we didn't see it in the demo, this villain Maltheus appears to have sacrificed a crapload of little crusader kids for his holy cause. Spouting nonsensical religious rhetoric, he deems the team heretics and prepares for a fight... when the sloppy remains of those kids appear, entrails dangling from their torsos and whip-like veins lashing out from their arms.

In a welcome twist, this boss battle unfolds a bit like an RPG. Maltheus has a protective shield around him that you simply can't break. The kids can make it through, cuz they're ghosts and all, so eventually Maltheus gets fed up and projects the shield outward, shattering it, and then encases himself in some kind of tomblike shell. When it breaks open, whoever you're playing as dies no matter what. So, you need to play as a lesser character, sacrifice him or her, then switch to someone with heavier firepower (like Delgado) and rush up on the now-shieldless Maltheus. Rawlings can bring the dead character back to life anyway, so you're still set.

After several bouts of switching between characters, getting in ammo shots as well as magical attacks, Maltheus goes down and we're off to the next area.

Temple of Pain

"Vicus' luxurious palace lies between the villa and a fortress, designed to the twisted state of its owner. He has transformed the old temple that was once dedicated to the classical deities into his own personal hell."

Don't know who Vicus is? Oh, you will. And you'll probably wish you could un-see him after that. But right now, in this level, your biggest concern is a towering monstrosity that's heavily armored and splattered with blood. Wasted arrows sit inside what little skin is showing, but if you make it around to his back, you'll notice a slight tear in the skin. Attack this and that tear will expand.

To get around easier, it's best to play as Cole, who can stop time. Once she does, move in behind the creature (which as a ball and chain for one arm, a sword for another) and start blasting away. It'll divert attention to whoever's hitting him in the back, so you've got to swap a lot to bring it down. It's quite a white-knuckle fight.

Finally, the next page reveals the blood-baby-fat-monster thing the world should never witness.

Black Rose

"Protected by a Black Rose, Maltheus continues to endure the wrath of the slaughtered children. A hope remains that somewhere, someone can defeat Malltheus and lay rest to the souls of the suffering children."

Although we didn't see it in the demo, this villain Maltheus appears to have sacrificed a crapload of little crusader kids for his holy cause. Spouting nonsensical religious rhetoric, he deems the team heretics and prepares for a fight... when the sloppy remains of those kids appear, entrails dangling from their torsos and whip-like veins lashing out from their arms.

In a welcome twist, this boss battle unfolds a bit like an RPG. Maltheus has a protective shield around him that you simply can't break. The kids can make it through, cuz they're ghosts and all, so eventually Maltheus gets fed up and projects the shield outward, shattering it, and then encases himself in some kind of tomblike shell. When it breaks open, whoever you're playing as dies no matter what. So, you need to play as a lesser character, sacrifice him or her, then switch to someone with heavier firepower (like Delgado) and rush up on the now-shieldless Maltheus. Rawlings can bring the dead character back to life anyway, so you're still set.

After several bouts of switching between characters, getting in ammo shots as well as magical attacks, Maltheus goes down and we're off to the next area.

Temple of Pain

"Vicus' luxurious palace lies between the villa and a fortress, designed to the twisted state of its owner. He has transformed the old temple that was once dedicated to the classical deities into his own personal hell."

Don't know who Vicus is? Oh, you will. And you'll probably wish you could un-see him after that. But right now, in this level, your biggest concern is a towering monstrosity that's heavily armored and splattered with blood. Wasted arrows sit inside what little skin is showing, but if you make it around to his back, you'll notice a slight tear in the skin. Attack this and that tear will expand.

To get around easier, it's best to play as Cole, who can stop time. Once she does, move in behind the creature (which as a ball and chain for one arm, a sword for another) and start blasting away. It'll divert attention to whoever's hitting him in the back, so you've got to swap a lot to bring it down. It's quite a white-knuckle fight.

Finally, the next page reveals the blood-baby-fat-monster thing the world should never witness.

Brett Elston

A fomer Executive Editor at GamesRadar, Brett also contributed content to many other Future gaming publications including Nintendo Power, PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazine. Brett has worked at Capcom in several senior roles, is an experienced podcaster, and now works as a Senior Manager of Content Communications at PlayStation SIE.