Galerians

"Great Rental: the Localization + SQA are shoddy, while the Music + Art are cool."

What's great?
The title cinema that moves quickly will begin to draw you into the game almost immediately. If you rented it like me, and are lacking the gameplay insructions: you can still intuitively figure out the controls since they are nearly the same as Resident Evil 2. You will fall mildly in love with the game when you explode your first head. The Heads Up Display (HUD) for the map is a nice addition to R.E. play feeling.
What's terrible?
The SGI SoftImage movies are very five years ago. There are long dramatic pauses for no reason. They are so long in fact that you wonder if this game couldn't have fit on one disc in the hands of Capcom or Konami. The voice talent is awful. There are more mature voices to be found in episodes of the Big Comfy Couch. Moreover, the scantily clad leads are all revealed to be under 18 which will in turn make you feel guiltily pedophelic if you were staring at Rita's cleavage. Polygonography, indeed. The bosses have been made very difficult in the US version whilst the regular enemies are ridiculously easy to beat. Worst of all, you must select a key to use it at a door; so the R.E. players will no doubt find themselves backtracking to look for a key they already have because it didn't automatically open the doors when you pushed on them.
Why should I rent this?
If you liked the movie Akira and often daydream about crushing people with your mind like Tetsuo; then this game is not to be missed. If you are down with the whole survival horror scene, then this game presents a unique blend of Resident Evil, Enemy Zero, D, Silent Hill, and Alone in the Dark. The interface has some interesting twists on proven ideas, the best being the ''Limit Break'' AP gauge that drains your health the longer you save it. This AP full condition is called Shorting and it is easily the coolest thing about this game.
Why should I only rent this?
A five day rental from Blockbuster is all the time you need to clear the game three times. The game play just isn't there for replays. Yes, you get to run while shorting once you have a clear game save file; and yes, it is really fun. The problem with the run-while-shorting business is that it makes replays far too easy. The game doesn't rank your time or economy either, so there's nothing to gain by getting better at the game. To be fair, I am what the Japanese would call ''gamer'' so perhaps to a less square eyed player this game would take longer to complete. In any case, I recommend a rental before the decision to purchase follows.
How's the music?
The title techno rave business does not suit the mood or tempo of the game at all. The game isn't fast paced and emotional. It is slow and stoic with bouts of smouldering anger. The score for hallways, closets, incidental rooms: is really cool stuff though. I actually would listen to the score for this game if I could get the title track off of it.
C'mon...why should I really rent this game?
1. You can't afford a Dreamcast and Code Veronica yet.
2. You refuse to get your N64 out of pawn.
3. PS2 is far away.
4. The end boss has a eyeball inside a fanged mouth and has a bajillion tentacles which all wiggle inside the coolest FMV Final Boss scene that I know of.
5. There are no good movies coming out until Summer.
-EOF-

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/10/00, Updated 04/10/00