Parasite Eve
PlayStation
Special announcement everyone! For the first time ever in the history of this blog, we have a special guest entry. My good friend Jeff (AKA the Almighty Wisk) has recently finished playing Parasite Eve, and really wanted to submit a review.
I actually haven't played Parasite Eve for a few years. When I write a review, I only write them for games I just finished playing. I toyed with the idea of quickly playing through this game so I could post a double review, but I couldn't find the time. So this one is all Wisk.
If and when I beat this game again in the future, I will post a review of my own. And I would like to let you all know that if anyone else out there has a game review they would like to submit - please feel free to do so. The more contributions I get to this page, the merrier.
For now, sit back, kick up your feet, and enjoy the Wisk show.
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Hey guys, Almighty Wisk here stepping in for a guest review of a game since Dan is too lazy to put one out himself. Allow me to sex your eyeballs and use my words to lather you into a creamy goodness of nostalgia and word love.
Survival horror: what is the first thing that comes to mind? Resident Evil, Silent Hill, to some die hard fans Fatal Frame. Playstation, between 1994 and 1999 survival horror was in its prime, the combined gameplay of puzzle, platform, and shooter, something for everyone. I was on this hype train, and I am even now, waiting for something worthy to come along that matches the initial 'on the edge of my seat' feeling I used to have. With that it was time to dive into the tail end of the Playstation era and play the hidden gem Parasite Eve.
Some may have heard of it and some may have not. Parasite Eve is the first game by Squaresoft (now Square Enix) to have a Mature rating, which due to that rating did not get much marketing, which to me is what makes this game an underplayed classic. It wasn;t until 2 years later, (which we all know is 200 years in this industry) that it was ranked number 16 in "Famitsu" magazine's top 100 Playstation games of all time, and in 2010 ranked number 7 in IGN's "top 10 games that need an HD remake" (and I would buy that in a heartbeat). Some of you may be thinking, "But Wisk, if the game is so great why haven't I heard of it?" This game sold less than a million copies in America. 890,000 to be approximate, and it is still in the hearts and minds of IGN in 2010. What does that tell you?
What makes this game so wonderful? Let's start from the beginning, as soon as you hit the power button and load up the game, you are treated to a fantastic CGI montage of the game without spoiling anything and an amazing intro theme, and hit the new game button, you'll be treated to a cutscene of the city of New York.
The game is set in New York, 1998. You play Aya Brea, a rookie NYPD cop who is still wet behind the ears. The first glimpse you see is her at Carnegie Hall with a date. Parasite Eve wastes no time getting things started, after events unfold your first fight is with the games antagonist Melissa/Eve.
The game progresses pretty quick, but lets you take in your surroundings, for Playstation era the graphics are absolutely fantastic, the human models used are realistic, the enemies are creative and disturbing. The cutscenes and CGI effects for the game deliver and they deliver hard. When you get past the opera house and into actual gameplay, the first scene you are treated to is a rat mutating, bones cracking, screaming, the thing growing, the game shows no remorse as to say "you wanted this".
The battle system is a combination RPG, Active Time battle, and free roam. It's extremely unique and easy to learn, if for some reason you are having a rough time, at the title screen has an actual tutorial for how to play the game. With that being said, Parasite Eve is also an RPG, with each battle you gain experience points and level up, but to all non-rpg fans don't worry about "level grinding" you get enough 'exp' in the game without needing to do that so the RPG element does not slow it down at all.
The only overwhelming aspect of the game is the numerous weapons and armor you get, with the limited carry space (the game is supposed to be realistic so I get it). I am a completionist and this kills me that I have to put some stuff back into a chest due to space. This overwhelming aspect is for the greater good though, because you can modify your weapons and armor with tools throughout the game giving you an option for adding slots to your weapons for extra attacks, added status effects (acid ,slowing, burning, freezing) extra turns, they give a tutorial for it, it's pretty in depth.
The music, it's incredible. It sets an a tone for a game that only Squaresoft can set. Resident Evil and Silent Hill are great, but Squaresoft has always taken pride in the music to set the tone, and it does it well. Yoko Shimomura composed the game's soundtrack including the main theme, "Primal Eyes". The music is a blend of ppera and electronica, which is hands down, the most unique sound I ever heard in a game. It gives a disturbing ambience that makes you feel like something is wrong, which it obviously is. It is completely original. On a side note, Yoko Shimomura also is composing work for Kingdom Hearts, so if you are a bit of a music nerd and love Kingdom Hearts music, Parasite Eve is worth a shot.
The negative aspects of this game are the negative aspects of a lot of games like this. The battle system although pretty refreshing, is also a small downfall, the open battle allows for enemies to also move freely. This in turn can land you in some hot water in narrow corridors, you get put in a lot of unfair positions. The enemies can and will corner you at times leaving you to take damage, and with touching the enemies causing minimal damage along with their normal attacks it can be frustrating. With that issue also comes reloading in battle, meant to be realistic, its a minor pain, it stops the battle completely leaving you vulnerable for a good 2 seconds, this can be deadly if you miscounted and you are low on health.
The collision detection with doors and other objects like chests, and sometimes even people is wonky, you can stand in front of a door and completely miss it. An issue I also have is the game is way too short, if you just play the main game you are looking at maybe 10 hours of game play, they fix this with New Game EX mode. New Game EX is a mode you keep all of your weapons in storage, and if you chose to engrave your weapon and armor you have it in your inventory when you start "New Game EX" at the title screen, in this mode you restart the game at level 1, have the engraved weapon and armor you beat the game with, and the enemies are a bit tougher although this isn't noticeable until way later. The Chrysler Building is where this mode is going to wind up if you so choose to get the true ending. With all of this extra gameplay, you are still looking at 15 hours, maybe 20 if you max your stats.
In conclusion, this game still holds up, between gameplay, cinematics, an original story, and a protagonist who's actually likeable. This game forever held a memory in my mind, and with this review I truly hope you give it a shot and let it be a memory in yours. Just...don't spontaneously combust before that happens. Almighty Wisk leaving you now, it was a pleasure.
Overall:
B+
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