Parasite Eve

[Bytor]

-Visuals- 8.8/10
The game is obviously dated. Having said that I never played this when it came out but I was playing games at the time and I sincerely wish I had played this gem. I have no doubt whatsoever that I would have been mesmerized at not only the normal aspect of the game but even much more so with the cut scenes. Actually the cut scenes look pretty darn well even by today's standards. This was one of the early cinematic RPG's and it certainly utilized the PSX to I am sure it's utmost CGI capabilities. Now, having praised the game like I have I do have to warn you that the polygonal textures and lack of fluidity in character movements are certainly very noticeable, especially compared to today's games. So. you have to take it for the time period but even then I find this game to be a very, very nice visual feast. The enemies and Aya are the strong point for the most part, although the other NPC's aren't done quite as well. The various backgrounds are well done as well but the overall view of the various environments does leave a little to be desired in some instances, Central Park Zoo being a big exception. So, in a nutshell it's almost a case of hit or miss, the cut scenes are an unreal good hit, the backgrounds not so much most of the time and the NPC's downright borderline bad, but once again the game is pretty dated. Overall I believe the good definitely out weighs the bad visually.

-Sound- 8.0/10
The music sets the mood nicely in terms of fear and apprehension befitting a horror story. Where the music fails a bit is the repetitiousness of the scores. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the game is short enough that the music doesn't become too much of a distraction, and instead does, as I said earlier, set the mood and ambiance wonderfully. Bad part is the music is what it is, and their are certainly no sweeping voice overs to further set the mood. So a mixed bag, what there is is pretty good, not great but good, but there is simply not enough of it nor enough variety.

-Gameplay- 8.6/10
The game plays as a survival horror game with a timed action/live movement fighting system. Basically as the battle starts you are free to move around (with some area constraints) and once your action bar fills you can either attack with your weapon, use an item or use your PE points (special attacks/buffs). The interesting aspect of this is it utilizes a system that many who have played Fallout 3 will quickly recognize, a targeted attack system which will provide better results based on area targeted as well as distance and weapon used. I found the system to be interesting as you must certainly dodge the enemies attacks while you wait to utilize your turn and it required a certain amount of strategy. I actually died in one battle from not dodging the attacks well enough and also not utilizing my attacks as well, overall an enjoyable fighting system, as the saying goes, easy to do, tough to master. The vast majority of the rest of the game is exploration, cut scenes (which look freaking awesome as I stated before) and dialogue with the various NPC's which further the story. The exploration aspect is pretty straightforward, go from points A and B and back while opening chests, drawers and cabinets to collect items. These items can then be used by combining with similar items to create a (slightly) stronger and different item that has different attributes, unfortunately this system is a tad confusing and takes some getting used to (I actually lost my best armor by combining wrong items). My biggest complaint with this whole system is the amount of items which can be held is somewhat limited (making medicine a huge priority) but luckily ammo is plentiful and very easy to come by. Overall it's a very well designed and executed system.


-Story- 8.5/10
The story takes place in New York city 1997 around Christmas time. You play as Aya Brea, a rookie cop who while attending an opera witnesses a mass murder (by, it appears human combustion) perpetrated by an actress who calls herself Eve. As the story begins it plays out as a tale of mutated mitochondria which appears to become self aware and begins a systematic assimilation and mutation of all DNA within it's (I guess) telepathic reach. The story becomes something of a detective story at this point but it's so linear I'm not sure I'd qualify it as a true whodunnit, after all, you know Eve did it. Instead I'd call it a survival horror story, because afterall, almost all of the enemies are mutated animals or insects. Overall the character development is somewhat sparse and the story could certainly have been fleshed out. however, having said that it's certainly not the worst story I've ever run across in a game, not bad, I'd actually even call it good.


-Overall- 8.5/10
This is a fun game. In it's day I'd even call it, revolutionary. Now I'd call it really enjoyable, albeit short and somewhat linear with caricatured characters and an innovative fighting system. it's certainly something to keep you hooked and having fun for a few hours but it's certainly not a 40 hour classic RPG. What it is is a really fun and interesting game that I'd certainly recommend as something to play that is a tad different from the vast majority of the games out there.