Malice is a platform game for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 developed by Argonaut Games and published by Mud Duck Productions in North America and Evolved Games in Europe. The game was originally supposed to be a title for the PlayStation. It was ported and management aimed to release it in late 2001 as an Xbox launch title with band members from No Doubt doing various voice-overs and singer Gwen Stefani doing the voice for Malice. After a lengthy delay, cancellation, a change in publishers and an eventual revival, the game was released in 2004 and was met with mediocre reviews. This was Argonaut's final title released, as the company went out of business two months after the Xbox version came out in Europe.
Plot
The game is about the return of a goddess named Malice, who attempts to defeat the evil Dog God with the help of the Metal Guardian; the Keeper of Universe, who needs to find eight Logic Keys to locate the Dog God.
Characters
Malice is a redheaded goddess. Malice tried to save her world from the Dog God, an evil villain that seeks to destroy world after world. Malice failed, dying after having her head bitten off by the Dog God. In the afterlife, Malice meets Death, who promptly kicks her out of the underworld, telling her that there is no room for a goddess in the afterlife. Back to life, Malice then meets the Metal Guardian. He tells her that the Dog God is currently attempting to destroy the entire universe, and he needs eight logic keys to track down the god. He finally gives Malice a giant club before sending her off on her quest spanning twenty different worlds.
The Metal Guardian is a giant clock who sends the newly resurrected Malice on her quest. He holds the knowledge of every and any living thing in the universe, except for Dog God, whom he needs eight logic keys to track. He asks Malice to find these logic keys so he can track down Dog God, which in turn would help Malice exact her revenge and save the universe. Much later in the game, the Guardian admits that he made a bet with the Siren Tree that Malice would only get four of the eight logic keys, only to be proven wrong. The Metal Guardian gives Malice her club, and also offers weapon upgrades and bonus features. After a certain point in the game, he will have a coin around him, unlocking bonus games. Four of these coins appear throughout the course of the game.
Death appears in the beginning cutscene, finding the recently deceased Malice in the underworld. He informs the amnesiac Malice that she was a goddess, and as a goddess may not be in the underworld. He tells her to leave and settle the score with the Dog God. Death appears if Malice loses all of her hit points, becoming a ghost. Death complains, saying that goddesses are "administrative nightmares."
The Dog God is Malice's archenemy, and the primary antagonist of the game. He first appears in the beginning cutscene, where he bites off Malice's head. Without eight special logic keys, he cannot be tracked by the Metal Guardian. He travels from world to world, conquering and destroying. His ultimate goal is to destroy the entire universe.
Reception
The PlayStation 2 version of Malice received "mixed" reviews, while the Xbox version received "generally unfavorable reviews", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.
