mana by 10 up to 200. Once the player acquires a spell, it may be boosted in power each time the player finds an "Amplifier Stone", which are purple glowing crystals scattered throughout levels of the game. Galloway can simultaneously wield weapons in his left hand and cast magical spells with his right; the power of both the weapons and the spells increase as the game progresses. Also, as is common with first-person shooters, combat is interspersed with simple puzzle-solving elements which usually involve overcoming an obstacle (such as a locked door) which impedes the player's progress through the game. Along with the usual "find the key" solution, the player is also often required to engage in conversation with (non-player) characters, or use a certain spell (usually the "Scrye" spell) in order to find out how to proceed. Development Originally, the protagonist of the game was to be "Count Magnus Wolfram", a tattooed man with superhuman strength and supernatural abilities. Barker himself rejected this idea, noting that the more normal, down-to-earth Patrick Galloway would be easier to relate to for the average gamer. Wolfram's character model plays a small part in the finished product, however. He is the Trsanti shaman who attacks a younger Galloway with the Gel'ziabar Stone in the opening cutscene flashback. Undying lacks any form of multiplayer, including cooperative gameplay or online play. The game was originally planned to ship with a multiplayer aspect, but given time constraints it was later to be relegated to a post-release patch. The game was announced at E3 2000. Reception Jeff Lundrigan reviewed the PC version of the game for Next Generation, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "The production is top-notch, and there are some good first-person thrills, but about halfway through it nearly runs out of steam." The PC version received "favorable" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Undying for its 2001 "Computer Action/Adventure Game of the Year" award, but the game lost to Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Clive Barker's Undying was also a nominee for Computer Gaming Worlds 2001 "Best Action Game" award, which ultimately went to Aliens versus Predator 2. The editors of Computer Games Magazine also nominated Undying as the best action game of 2001, but ultimately gave the award to Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis. The editors of PC Gamer US