Extermination

"Dino Crisis 2 was way better"

* are out of 5, not 10.

I must say that for all the good games which are apparently in development for PS2, I haven't seen any yet. This game will have to tide you over until something like Half Life or MGS2 comes out for the PS2.

Control: It moves like Metal Gear Solid, which is refreshing from the Resident Evil style gameplay. The only annoying thing about control is the camera. It's a very good thing that they added a first person view, otherwise I would have turned the game off within the first hour. Control is pretty responsive, but you'll find yourself sucking unnecessary damage due to the bad camera, slow aim-turning, and crappy auto-aim.
***

Graphics: Hehe, in a word, they once again question my wisdom in getting a PS2. The next gen system is getting graphics which are only slightly better than the PS1. As you have probably heard from other reviews, the voice acting stinks, and the subtitles/animation always seems a step too slow (conserquently, the lip synch is way way off). That's a sign of sloppiness, and made me worry about the game to come. The in-game textures and backgrounds are quite bleak and lack imagination, so don't expect a Capcom game, folks. A real groaner was when I entered a dark area in the game, where I had to use the light on my gun to see (apparently they don't teach you how to keep your gun light on, and move at the same time in the Marine Corps). The dark area was light blue. Light blue darkness. Perhaps a lesson from Silent Hill could have been applied here: Dark = black.
**

Difficulty: Extermination is best described as a ''wimpy survival horror game''. I say wimpy because the thing that made survival horror was limited saves, limited ammo, and limited healing. We have 1 of 3 in this game. There are ''ammo terminals'' which fill your gun back up to full which makes the game rather methodical and dull; ie. shoot everything that moves, run back to ammo terminal. There are save points which use up your battery pack, but there are battery recharge areas scattered pretty much everywhere. Enemies are just fodder, and will only hit you if you're really dumb, or they sneak up on you because your camera angle stinks. However, since enemies are always making tell tale noises, you'll pretty much know when they're about to attack/ come near you. The only thing that makes it remotely difficult is that whenever an enemy hits you, you're poisoned and slowly (very slowly) lose health until you get to a medical bed.
**

Sound/Music: Music is certainly not very well placed in the game. I've been stuck with high paced music for some time now, and nothing is happening (except for the odd enemy which disturbs me). The very presence of music annoys me in a game like this. The only other sounds are gun shots and enemy noises, really. Oh, and the bad voice acting.
**

Plot: Gee, recon is sent to investigate a SECRET LAB. And everyone is DEAD. Could the GOVERNMENT be behind it? NAH! The plot was put together with one of those internet based, ''instant plot premise'' programs.
*

So why the comparison to Dino Crisis 2? Well, Dino Crisis 2 was better because you got to control a hot chick with big guns. Bigger than anything this hotshot marine has, plus a slightly more involving story, and a lot more action.

Rent of Buy: Rent if you really have nothing else better to do with your weekend. If you haven't spoiled yourself with Capcom's Survival Horror's finest, then you may find this one at least partially enjoyable.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 07/29/01, Updated 07/29/01