Galerians

"Resident Evil on drugs?"

Well not exactly, but Galerians does manage to add an interesting new twist to the survival horror genre.

The story: Taking place in the future our young hero (Rion) and his friend (Lilia) are the last hope humankind has against Dorothy (the evil A.I computer that's trying to take over the world). During their wacky adventure our heroes (or in this case hero, you play as Rion 98% of the time) will encounter Dorothy's super psychic minions known as ''Galerians''. The plot gets a bit more complicated as the game progresses but I don't want to give anything away.

The gameplay is quite similar to Resident Evil, the main difference being the total lack of guns and ammo. Instead, you find yourself armed with really cool psychic powers which allow you to blast, burn, and trap your enemies. You also have the ability to scan objects for clues as to what you should do next. For instance you can scan a locked door to get an idea of where the key might be hidden. Not only that, but at times you'll find your ''Anger Points'' (AP) reaching critical and when that happens you begin to ''short''. While Rion is shorting his hit points start to drop and he slows down to a crawl. What's so good about shorting you ask? Well get this. Once Rion starts shorting, enemies around him start dying. You see, shorting means that Rion has no control over his powers and when that happens peoples heads (near or around him) start to explode. Now, in order for Rion to keep his powers juiced up and AP in check he has to take a wide assortment of drugs. That's right, finally a game where the hero is a junkie! Some of the drugs Rion is addicted to include Nalcon (which allows you to fire shockwave blasts), Red (which allows you to set enemies on fire), D-Felon (which allows you to form an antigravity field around an object), and Delmetor (which helps reduce your AP) among others.

Sounds like a great game, what's the catch? Well Galerians isn't without it's problems. First of all the control is a bit stiff which makes running away from enemies a pain. This becomes a huge problem when fighting the bosses where you have no choice but to use hit and run tactics. Secondly, (and this really got to me) unlike Resident Evil you have to physically access your inventory and select the right key to use on a locked door. Then there's the puzzles which are ridiculously simple and being able to scan them for clues makes them even easier. Next, the game is short, seasoned Resident Evil players should be able to finish this game in 3-5 hours on their first try. With 3 CDs I was hoping for a longer game but it's obvious that all the extra room is reserved for the insane amount of CG scenes.

Which brings me to the good points. There is an insane amount of CG in this game, all of if well done I might add. The plot is interesting enough to keep you playing until the end. The ending, although a bit on the short side, is one of the better endings I've seen in awhile. The whole concept of using drugs and psychic powers is very cool (in my opinion at least), I don't think it's ever been done in a video game before so I have to give it points for it's daring originality. Rions character design deserves mention, at first I thought he looked like a freak, but then I realized that it was rather appropriate given the fact that the guy is hooked on smack. Whether this was done intentionally or not is unknown.

In the end though I'd have to recommend this title as a rental, or at least borrow it off a friend (thanks Jacylyn). What really hurts this game in the long run is it's length and the lack of control which can cause some serious frustration (I had a difficult time fighting Rita because of the crappy response). It's definitely worth picking though if you can find it in the bargain bin of your local retailer, and that's the bottom line 'cuz I said so.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/12/00, Updated 07/12/00