Parasite Eve II

"Ignore the odd unwelcome RPG element and a challenging adventure awaits..."

Squaresoft already had themselves a solid reputation for their remarkable and popular RPG franchise, FINAL FANTASY. Here they tackle the survival horror genre for the second time, whilst still managing to incorporate their fondness for the role playing game style. This is most evident in the use of separate modes for battle and search, plus you'll gain Bounty Points for each creature that you slay, which can be traded for health or weapons at the end of each level. The first PARASITE EVE was highly acclaimed for it's great graphics and complex storyline. It was also more RPG stylised, which brought about mixed criticisms. Here they've toned down that style to make the game lean closer towards the RESIDENT EVIL-esque horror that players are more familiar with.
You play Aya Brea, the heroine of the first encounter, who has now become an agent of the FBI's MIST department. MIST is a special team that has been assigned to hunt down and investigate NMCs (the creatures from the previous game). Before long you receive reports that a group of strange monsters have seized the Akropolis Tower in Los Angeles and you are sent in to check it out. Upon arrival, you discover that they have wiped out an entire SWAT team, leaving only you and your teammate Rupert to secure the perimeter and rescue any survivors. The aftermath of that incident sends you on a dangerous mission deep into a remote and creepy dessert town in a search for some answers...
One of the first things that you notice when playing PARASITE EVE 2, is how beautiful the game looks. From the no less than startling CG movies to the bright and superbly detailed pre-rendered backgrounds, this is taking the Playstation to it's limits. You'll be hard pushed to find any cut scenes as realistic as these on the console; they truly are spectacular. Although it's obvious that the aim was to make a rival for Capcom's leading horror franchise, Square have managed to incorporate their own style of gameplay and add it to the standard survival horror template, giving us some decent results. Aya makes for a charismatic lead and the intriguing story that unfolds around her takes the time to add an interesting depth to her character, helping to boost your overall involvement. The puzzles that are featured are original and competently structured and some of them are even quite challenging. one of my favourites includes references to real life lawmen and outlaws from the wild west, which makes a neat little touch from the developer. Adding true to life History elements in a game that's otherwise so deeply steeped in science fiction was an imaginative ploy that I wouldn't mind seeing more often. As you progress through the two discs, you will meet various characters that you can interact with and each will play an important role in your mission. By far the most memorable is Gun merchant Gary Douglas' dog, Flint. At various points in the game he'll lead you to compulsory places, proving himself to be probably the most necessary NPC that you'll bump into throughout the entire mission. However, if you don't manage to beat one of the earlier bosses in a set time, Flint dies, which alters the ending that you'll get and even adds a healthy dose of pathos to the story!
Aside from a good selection of weapons, Aya also possesses spells that can be improved depending on the amount of experience that she gains. Towards the end, you'll be killing enemies swiftly, using an excellent array of Magic. You can also heal yourself when you're injured and prevent a creature from poisoning you, all by using a simple and user friendly menu. This is a welcome addition to the formula that just about works. Fans like myself who are more used to letting rip with an Uzi may take time to get used to using the sorcery, but once you experiment with it and taste the capabilities, you'll probably be hooked. You'll either love the use of the various RPG elements or you'll hate them, depending really on your fondness for role playing games. The chance to buy health and weapons from designated outlets is a welcome touch and just about manages not to ruin the 'have I got enough health tension'. Even though recovery capsules can be picked up quite often, you will most certainly have to use them as you attempt to survive the constant barrage of attacks from an impressively large number of enemies. However, the battle system is the only thing that feels really out of place. If you are low on ammunition and health, the last thing that you want is a fight with a horde of savage and often high energy consuming creatures. But if you attempt to flee and a monster spots you, the game deducts some of your bounty points meaning that you'll have less to spend when you next resupply. The essence of most survival horror games is conserving your items and ammo by avoiding unnecessary confrontation. But Squaresoft have made it so that you're meant to kill every NMC that you run into, which sadly can become infuriating. It would be easier if they weren't so damned tough, but battles in which you'll escape unscathed are a rarity in PE2. The second disc cranks up the difficulty into the extreme and that may also scare off less dedicated gamers. As soon as you begin part two, you've got at least four tough battles in quick succession and by the time that you've beat them, you'll be begging for some puzzle relief! But fortunately enough, it doesn't take you too long to figure out a strategy to defeat most opponents and the story is just about motivating enough to see that you do.
For cut scenes that are so beautifully crafted, you'd expect the developers to back it up with top notch voice acting, right? Wrong, all the lengthy dialogue is text only, making otherwise interesting scenes a bit of a drag. It seems a real shame when they're so brilliantly scripted that Square couldn't have hired a few actors to really bring them to life. Mind you the puke-worthy thespin that's usually herd from the horror genre, should make us glad that they decided to stick to subtitles!
Despite those minor disappointments, this is a solid and worthy game. It's a real shame that there are no more eve titles in production, because this was a major improvement over the first in the series and I'm betting that a pretty strong franchise could have emerged. Still, if you manage to get used to the odd unwelcome RPG cliche, then you'll find a challenging adventure awaits you...

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/08/03