The themes throughout are supernatural in nature, and this action/adventure title is reasonably heavy on the gore. But like the films, it also has a great sense of humour. With a storyline following on from the third movie, our protagonist Ash is drowning his sorrows in a quiet bar and watching a segment on a local cable TV channel about the occult. The nightmare starts when on the show, an audio tape is played of incantations that unknowingly cause the dead to rise again.

Okay, this is hardly a new videogaming concept; the Resident Evil series having 'been there done that', right back when the PSOne was in its infancy. Evil Dead: Fistful of Boomstick is less survival/horror though, rather more action-based with the horror being largely comic-book in style. Further adding to this vibe is Ash; charming and charismatic, and voiced by American actor Bruce Campbell, he's always ready with a witty taunt or sarcastic remark.

The opening FMV is excellent quality, but the lip-syncing could definitely have been improved upon. That said, the voice acting is great, and definitely helps to set the scene. Ash leaves the bar to be confronted with a town rapidly becoming overrun with zombies - fat zombies, thin zombies, chick zombies in short skirts and fishnet stockings. All of the characters look good, with Ash in particular being rendered with plenty of detail.

Set in the town of Dearborn, gameplay is divided between exploration, finding items to help you progress (keys, pass cards, etc), and dispatching the zombie hordes. The view is from the third-person perspective, and the camera can be rotated around our man Ash with the right stick. The camera centres itself behind Ash whenever he moves, which can be a little hard to get to grips with at first. But manipulating the camera while actually moving becomes easier the more you play. This is particularly handy for checking out what nasties lurk behind the next corner.

Rather than having to complete set missions, a 'To Do' list is included, which is updated throughout the game. As Ash talks to other characters, he gets clues on what to do next, and each new activity is added to his list. 'Talking' to other characters consists of rocking up to them, hitting a button, and then watching a set exchange take place. It's fairly standard stuff, with a linear progression from one objective to the next.