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baileyface544
09-10-14 05:47 AM
09-10-14 05:47 AM
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09-11-14 07:30 AM
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A Parasite Eve game...but only kinda
Game's Ratings
Overall
Graphics
Sound
Addictiveness
Depth
Story
Difficulty
Average User Score
9.3
7
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10
8
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09-10-14 05:47 AM
baileyface544 is Offline
| ID: 1077396 | 1680 Words
baileyface544 is Offline
| ID: 1077396 | 1680 Words
baileyface544
Level: 39
POSTS: 124/341
POST EXP: 54877
LVL EXP: 377521
CP: 2943.0
VIZ: 136652
POSTS: 124/341
POST EXP: 54877
LVL EXP: 377521
CP: 2943.0
VIZ: 136652
Likes: 1 Dislikes: 0
Don't move to Manhattan I mean, the traffic is terrible, the people are rude, the properties and apartments are outrageously priced, and to make matters worse the entire place keeps getting overrun by monstrous creatures who think that you will make a fine evening meal. Before I get started, I'd like to get one statement out of the way. If you are here looking for what amounts to Parasite Eve 3, then you're in the wrong place. While it uses a lot of the same names and character models, it's far enough removed from the previous games that I believe it was wise to not include the name Parasite Eve in the title. Gameplay, story, tone, and even personalities are completely different. Now, that's not to say it's a bad game by any means. It's a game that brings a certain tactical element to a fast paced, 3rd person style gameplay. One with rpg elements that seem very useless at first, but suddenly become very important. Most importantly of all, it's fun. It has several unique mechanics that prove to be quite easy to use, and add immensely to the entire experience. The most intriguing is the Overdive system. As well as being a large part of the plot (which I'll cover in the story section), it also central part of the battle mechanics. The main thing the Overdive systems allows you to do, is jump from npc to npc. When jumping to different npcs, you retain your weapons and appearance. However, you gain whatever weapon that npc was holding, and health. As an npc dies, you can quickly switch to another, but the npc will still die. The story of this game, while not connected to previous games, isn't horrible either. Overall, it's a fairly solid game, with gameplay mechanics that are smooth and a blast to use. Battle in general is just a joy, and the game really knows how to keep the adrenaline pumping. Enough with the intro though, let's do an overdive into the details. .....that pun was atrocious, I apologize Graphics The graphics are pretty strong in this game. The cutscenes are beautifully rendered, and the gameplay looks realistic and flows pretty smoothly in general. The effects look pretty impressive, and a lot of work has been put into properly texturing and rendering buildings and terrain in general. The shooting looks appropriate, and it's clear when you are hitting your target, and when you're completely missing them. Which is always welcome. However, I do have a number of gripes with the graphics. The most notable of course being the fact that Aya's clothes fall off as she receives damage. While this isn't horrible in and of itself, it really serves no place in gameplay other than sex appeal. If the clothes were some indication of current health, that would be fine...but it isn't. Once your clothes become reduced to nearly nothing, they stay that way till the end of mission, or until you change at one of the safe zones. It's distracting and adds nothing to gameplay. Also, the "Babels", the enemies you fight, were boring and horribly designed. Movement was difficult to predict, and though they certainly seemed inhuman, they didn't look particularly terrifying or interesting. However, this is an action game. So, do your job right, and they won't have much screen time. One thing that does get in the way a bit is the level design. While it's not too bad, at points it becomes very difficult to navigate. Sound I have very little to say about the sound in this game. The voice acting is strong, the sound effects are accurate, and the music does it's job. While I have no complaints at all in this department, I have nothing to single out and praise either. Basically, it doesn't stand out one way or the other. The music is kind of basic, sounding almost at Super Nintendo quality at times, but it fits with the high octane pace of the game, so it's fine. I suppose one thing I can say about sound, is the fact that advice you receive via radio is often ignored because it has a tendency to be drowned out by gameplay. This is a common issue in shooters however, and it has subtitles, so it's not a major issue. Addictivness The gameplay is fast paced, and varied enough that you can approach combat different ways. The overdive system lends versatility as well, and is so well implemented that you actually want to use it as much as possible, often positioning npcs around a battle field so you can strategically swap between them. You can also have everyone concentrate fire on a single enemy, and even overdive into enemies for a huge burst of damage (after which you'll be put right back into the body you were previously inhabitting). You also have the liberation which allows you to clear and area quickly. All that, coupled with the variety of guns, and variety of upgrades for weapons, and for Aya herself, and you end up with combat that's a pure delight, and varied enough to keep you constantly coming back for more. And even when you are familiar with everything combat has to offer, it's still versatile and smooth enough (almost swashbuckling in nature) that you never get bored. The overdive system alone will keep you coming back to this game. And there is plenty to unlock in subsequent playthroughs. I often load the game up just to replay certain missions, and take on certain boss fights again, so of course I'd rate the addictivness of this game pretty high. Story The story starts with Aya Brea, recurring protagonist with inhuman power due to her awakened mitochondria. At start of game she's found in a wedding dress, and suffering amnesia. Along with loosing her memories, she also seems to have undergone a drastic personality change. A large biological tower has erupted in Manhatten, bringing along with it a host of creatures. The tower has been dubbed Babel, and creatures called Twisted. 1 year after this incident, a group calling themselves the CTI, counter twisted investigation, popped up to combat the creatures. Aya is a member of the CTI, and is unique due to her powers, and specifically her ovrdive ability. This has allowed them to construct a machine, that only she can use. It allows her to jump into the body of people from the past. They use this machine to send her back to when the tower first rose, in order to investigate what happened. She eventually discovers, however, that she can have an impact on events, and effect the present day. this of course, has several unforeseeable consequences. She also uncovers facts about the incident and her history that will threaten to tear her apart. Now, whenever you get into bed with time travel, you're gonna create plot holes. This series defiantly has issues in that department, it's no more than would be expected. And while they have effectively established this as a spinoff game, and non-cannon, the inclusions of previous characters seems like a slap in the face given how drastically they changed some of them. Many of the characters were completely altered, and even the new characters seemed bland and two dimensional. While some part of the story were pretty cool, a lot of it was easily ignored, and the twist ending served to be more confusing than anything. While the plot wasn't horrible, it's not the highlight of this game I'm sad to say. It was a little basic, and easily forgettable. Depth While the game itself is pretty linear, you'll find several reports and back stories, and such to read up on. This is where you'll find a lot of the depth in the game. Some of it is actually pretty interesting, and you can spend a large amount of time reading through all of it. The game also has a pretty decent length, especially for a psp game, and you have the ability to replay missions added to this. Also, you can try runs through certain missions challenging yourself in weird ways. Often, I try run throughs without loosing a single npc. You also have in game achievements you can work to unlock. For a linear, hub based shooter, the game has a surprising amount of depth. Difficulty This game is pretty tough. At first enemies are pretty easy to take down, but quickly tougher enemies start showing up. You have to stay on top of upgrades, and make sure you utilize the mechanics, or you'll become overwhelmed. While it's challenging, it's rewarding, and of course makes the game more fun. The moments that weren't fun were the ones that had me wondering what the heck I was supposed to do. This didn't happen often, but often enough to be annoying. Sometimes it was because I missed a single line of instructions while I was busy mowing down twisted, sometimes it was an easily missed ladder, and sometimes it was just obtuse instructions. Luckily it never got to the point where I had to consult a strategy guide, but it did result in me wondering around fighting the same respawning creatures over and over till I finally figured out what I was supposed to be doing. Final Verdict 3rd birthday is an action packed, fast paced, and unique 3rd person shooter. A mostly good looking game with only a few small gameplay issues. A story that's not too bad if you ignore the connection to previous Parasite Eve games, but it still far from highlight of the experience. If you can let the story go though, you'll have endless fun jumping from person to person, diving into enemies, and tactically moving around npc's to gain advantage on deformed creatures that pour out of Babel, and attempt to lay waste to all of Manhattan...and your pants. It's a well implemented system, that is very engrossing and I hope they use it when they finally come out with a proper Parasite Eve game. I mean, the traffic is terrible, the people are rude, the properties and apartments are outrageously priced, and to make matters worse the entire place keeps getting overrun by monstrous creatures who think that you will make a fine evening meal. Before I get started, I'd like to get one statement out of the way. If you are here looking for what amounts to Parasite Eve 3, then you're in the wrong place. While it uses a lot of the same names and character models, it's far enough removed from the previous games that I believe it was wise to not include the name Parasite Eve in the title. Gameplay, story, tone, and even personalities are completely different. Now, that's not to say it's a bad game by any means. It's a game that brings a certain tactical element to a fast paced, 3rd person style gameplay. One with rpg elements that seem very useless at first, but suddenly become very important. Most importantly of all, it's fun. It has several unique mechanics that prove to be quite easy to use, and add immensely to the entire experience. The most intriguing is the Overdive system. As well as being a large part of the plot (which I'll cover in the story section), it also central part of the battle mechanics. The main thing the Overdive systems allows you to do, is jump from npc to npc. When jumping to different npcs, you retain your weapons and appearance. However, you gain whatever weapon that npc was holding, and health. As an npc dies, you can quickly switch to another, but the npc will still die. The story of this game, while not connected to previous games, isn't horrible either. Overall, it's a fairly solid game, with gameplay mechanics that are smooth and a blast to use. Battle in general is just a joy, and the game really knows how to keep the adrenaline pumping. Enough with the intro though, let's do an overdive into the details. .....that pun was atrocious, I apologize Graphics The graphics are pretty strong in this game. The cutscenes are beautifully rendered, and the gameplay looks realistic and flows pretty smoothly in general. The effects look pretty impressive, and a lot of work has been put into properly texturing and rendering buildings and terrain in general. The shooting looks appropriate, and it's clear when you are hitting your target, and when you're completely missing them. Which is always welcome. However, I do have a number of gripes with the graphics. The most notable of course being the fact that Aya's clothes fall off as she receives damage. While this isn't horrible in and of itself, it really serves no place in gameplay other than sex appeal. If the clothes were some indication of current health, that would be fine...but it isn't. Once your clothes become reduced to nearly nothing, they stay that way till the end of mission, or until you change at one of the safe zones. It's distracting and adds nothing to gameplay. Also, the "Babels", the enemies you fight, were boring and horribly designed. Movement was difficult to predict, and though they certainly seemed inhuman, they didn't look particularly terrifying or interesting. However, this is an action game. So, do your job right, and they won't have much screen time. One thing that does get in the way a bit is the level design. While it's not too bad, at points it becomes very difficult to navigate. Sound I have very little to say about the sound in this game. The voice acting is strong, the sound effects are accurate, and the music does it's job. While I have no complaints at all in this department, I have nothing to single out and praise either. Basically, it doesn't stand out one way or the other. The music is kind of basic, sounding almost at Super Nintendo quality at times, but it fits with the high octane pace of the game, so it's fine. I suppose one thing I can say about sound, is the fact that advice you receive via radio is often ignored because it has a tendency to be drowned out by gameplay. This is a common issue in shooters however, and it has subtitles, so it's not a major issue. Addictivness The gameplay is fast paced, and varied enough that you can approach combat different ways. The overdive system lends versatility as well, and is so well implemented that you actually want to use it as much as possible, often positioning npcs around a battle field so you can strategically swap between them. You can also have everyone concentrate fire on a single enemy, and even overdive into enemies for a huge burst of damage (after which you'll be put right back into the body you were previously inhabitting). You also have the liberation which allows you to clear and area quickly. All that, coupled with the variety of guns, and variety of upgrades for weapons, and for Aya herself, and you end up with combat that's a pure delight, and varied enough to keep you constantly coming back for more. And even when you are familiar with everything combat has to offer, it's still versatile and smooth enough (almost swashbuckling in nature) that you never get bored. The overdive system alone will keep you coming back to this game. And there is plenty to unlock in subsequent playthroughs. I often load the game up just to replay certain missions, and take on certain boss fights again, so of course I'd rate the addictivness of this game pretty high. Story The story starts with Aya Brea, recurring protagonist with inhuman power due to her awakened mitochondria. At start of game she's found in a wedding dress, and suffering amnesia. Along with loosing her memories, she also seems to have undergone a drastic personality change. A large biological tower has erupted in Manhatten, bringing along with it a host of creatures. The tower has been dubbed Babel, and creatures called Twisted. 1 year after this incident, a group calling themselves the CTI, counter twisted investigation, popped up to combat the creatures. Aya is a member of the CTI, and is unique due to her powers, and specifically her ovrdive ability. This has allowed them to construct a machine, that only she can use. It allows her to jump into the body of people from the past. They use this machine to send her back to when the tower first rose, in order to investigate what happened. She eventually discovers, however, that she can have an impact on events, and effect the present day. this of course, has several unforeseeable consequences. She also uncovers facts about the incident and her history that will threaten to tear her apart. Now, whenever you get into bed with time travel, you're gonna create plot holes. This series defiantly has issues in that department, it's no more than would be expected. And while they have effectively established this as a spinoff game, and non-cannon, the inclusions of previous characters seems like a slap in the face given how drastically they changed some of them. Many of the characters were completely altered, and even the new characters seemed bland and two dimensional. While some part of the story were pretty cool, a lot of it was easily ignored, and the twist ending served to be more confusing than anything. While the plot wasn't horrible, it's not the highlight of this game I'm sad to say. It was a little basic, and easily forgettable. Depth While the game itself is pretty linear, you'll find several reports and back stories, and such to read up on. This is where you'll find a lot of the depth in the game. Some of it is actually pretty interesting, and you can spend a large amount of time reading through all of it. The game also has a pretty decent length, especially for a psp game, and you have the ability to replay missions added to this. Also, you can try runs through certain missions challenging yourself in weird ways. Often, I try run throughs without loosing a single npc. You also have in game achievements you can work to unlock. For a linear, hub based shooter, the game has a surprising amount of depth. Difficulty This game is pretty tough. At first enemies are pretty easy to take down, but quickly tougher enemies start showing up. You have to stay on top of upgrades, and make sure you utilize the mechanics, or you'll become overwhelmed. While it's challenging, it's rewarding, and of course makes the game more fun. The moments that weren't fun were the ones that had me wondering what the heck I was supposed to do. This didn't happen often, but often enough to be annoying. Sometimes it was because I missed a single line of instructions while I was busy mowing down twisted, sometimes it was an easily missed ladder, and sometimes it was just obtuse instructions. Luckily it never got to the point where I had to consult a strategy guide, but it did result in me wondering around fighting the same respawning creatures over and over till I finally figured out what I was supposed to be doing. Final Verdict 3rd birthday is an action packed, fast paced, and unique 3rd person shooter. A mostly good looking game with only a few small gameplay issues. A story that's not too bad if you ignore the connection to previous Parasite Eve games, but it still far from highlight of the experience. If you can let the story go though, you'll have endless fun jumping from person to person, diving into enemies, and tactically moving around npc's to gain advantage on deformed creatures that pour out of Babel, and attempt to lay waste to all of Manhattan...and your pants. It's a well implemented system, that is very engrossing and I hope they use it when they finally come out with a proper Parasite Eve game. |
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Location: Houston, TX
Last Post: 1185 days
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Affected by 'Laziness Syndrome'
Registered: 06-17-14
Location: Houston, TX
Last Post: 1185 days
Last Active: 426 days
Post Rating: 1 Liked By: Eirinn,
09-10-14 02:12 PM
Eirinn is Offline
| ID: 1077511 | 37 Words
| ID: 1077511 | 37 Words
Eirinn
Level: 154
POSTS: 3666/7900
POST EXP: 1300417
LVL EXP: 46010308
CP: 69368.0
VIZ: 1836533
POSTS: 3666/7900
POST EXP: 1300417
LVL EXP: 46010308
CP: 69368.0
VIZ: 1836533
Likes: 0 Dislikes: 0
sonicthehedgehog57 : Summoning for Baileyface.
Another good review. here. The quality is great, and I personally liked your view on certain aspects of the game. Not that my personal opinions matter here though. lol Anyway, good work. Another good review. here. The quality is great, and I personally liked your view on certain aspects of the game. Not that my personal opinions matter here though. lol Anyway, good work. |
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Affected by 'Laziness Syndrome'
Registered: 07-18-12
Last Post: 2054 days
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| Eirinn |
Affected by 'Laziness Syndrome'
Registered: 07-18-12
Last Post: 2054 days
Last Active: 2054 days
09-11-14 07:30 AM
baileyface544 is Offline
| ID: 1077754 | 38 Words
baileyface544 is Offline
| ID: 1077754 | 38 Words
baileyface544
Level: 39
POSTS: 127/341
POST EXP: 54877
LVL EXP: 377521
CP: 2943.0
VIZ: 136652
POSTS: 127/341
POST EXP: 54877
LVL EXP: 377521
CP: 2943.0
VIZ: 136652
Likes: 0 Dislikes: 0
Eirinn : Thank you for helping with the summoning, I didn't realize they couldn't be edited in. Now I know Also thank you for the compliment. I'm glad you liked the review. and personal opinions are certainly welcome  Thank you for helping with the summoning, I didn't realize they couldn't be edited in. Now I know Also thank you for the compliment. I'm glad you liked the review. and personal opinions are certainly welcome |
Member
Affected by 'Laziness Syndrome'
Registered: 06-17-14
Location: Houston, TX
Last Post: 1185 days
Last Active: 426 days
Affected by 'Laziness Syndrome'
Registered: 06-17-14
Location: Houston, TX
Last Post: 1185 days
Last Active: 426 days
