Game Revolution Review Page

by Baldric

Well, he's not doing a very good job. Piles of pink goo are everywhere, buildings are destroyed, and people are spontaneously combusting. All that, plus there's hardly a cop anywhere to be seen. Some things never change. What's the problem? It's those damn mitochondria. Sure he talks a big game about being tough on crime, but what about getting tough on one-celled parasites?

The parasite in question has named herself Eve. She's in the Big Apple, and she plans to paint the town red . . . with human blood. Mwuhahahaha!

For those of you who fell asleep in biology class, or were too busy looking at Tracy Zimmerman's legs, pay attention! Mitochondria were once independent one-celled organisms. At some point in the very distant past, they teamed up with another type of big lazy one-celled critters. The mitochondria were really good at making energy, (by changing ATP into ADP... you don't care) so in their new partnership they provided most of the energy, while the larger cell provided protection and food for both. This new combo proved unstoppable, and these new cell-teams took over the planet. Over tens of thousands of years, these dual-cells evolved into a single cell containing symbiotic mitochondria. Got it?

In the psuedo-scientific plot of Parasite Eve, the mitochondria are sick of this setup. Why should they have to provide all the energy for the lazy oppressor cells? Mitochondria rights! We shall overcome! (ahem.. sorry). They have been secretly evolving for years, waiting for their chance to take over. While not brilliant, the plot is fun and engaging.

Since the super-mitochondria can now set people on fire at will, they stand a pretty good chance of winning except for one thing.... Aya Brae, the sexy NYPD officer who is strangely immune to being set aflame. Our fireproof heroine must arm herself with ever more powerful weapons and body armor as she tries to figure out the secret behind Parasite Eve.

The game itself is like a cross between Resident Evil, Final Fantasy VII, and John Carpenter's remake of The Thing.

You control a 3D Aya on pre-rendered backgrounds as you explore different parts of New York. The graphics are very good, but the fixed camera angles sometimes make you wish for the dynamic editing of Final Fantasy VII. Especially when you jump to combat.

Combat uses the same 3D figures and backgrounds (like Resident Evil), but isn't as seamless. There is a noticeable 'switch' to combat mode and everything freezes for a few seconds. This really removes the element of immediacy and surprise from the sudden appearance of monsters. On the other hand, the combat isn't trying to be anything like Resident Evil.

Combat is done in real time, and you can move Aya around to dodge attacks. When your little timing meter is full, you can perform an action like using your freaky powers, equipping an item, or the very popular 'blast the enemy'. This system of combat is pretty innovative and actually works well, bringing you into the battle more than most turn based RPG combat situations.

This is a very linear RPG. You don't even really have to pay much attention to your vital statistics because your hit points, strength, etc. increase in fairly fixed intervals. You are ready for any level by the time that you get there.

You do have to pay much more attention to your weapons and armor though. Remember the materia in FF7? This setup is similar. There is a complex system of weapon and armor 'parameters' that you can move between weapons using 'tools'. Make sure that UZI has enough 'slots'. It's not too hard once you get the hang of it, but it is very poorly explained in the manual.

The monsters, especially as portrayed in the FMV (Full Motion Video) are great. They are well animated and truly disgusting. They mutate in all sorts of gross ways, just like in The Thing. The FMV might very well be the best part of the game.

Parasite Eve was originally a Japanese game, and the translation is actually much better than many imports. However, they still need to give their English speaking translators a bit more artistic license. The translation showed very clearly that the Japanese (1) Have absolutely no idea what Christmas in New York is like, and (2) Still think of Americans as a bunch of gun-toting homicidal maniac cowboys.

Another problem is that the game is just too short. I solved the game in about 8 hours the first time. Final Fantasy VII has much more length and depth. There is a secret EX game you can play the second time through that gives you access to one new building and a new ending. However, the game really isn't nearly as interesting or fun the second time.

I have been saving the worst for last, as is my habit. It's all about the sound. Ready? THIS IS A CD GAME! WHY THE HELL AM I READING TEXT? AAAARRRRGGGHHH! Voice acting does not necessarily improve a game (like the awful voices in Resident Evil), but it can, in fact, enhance a game immeasurably, like in Legacy of Kain.

The worst part of the sound is the 'singing.' Several parts of the game take place in the opera (specifically at the Met), where you watch several actors 'sing', which means that you read text as bad midi music plays. Eve herself even 'sings' at the opera, but this is just an obnoxious midi of a synthesizer sound that vaguely resembles a human female vocal. Parasite Eve is a very cinematic game and would have been vastly improved by some good voice acting and a bit of real singing.

So that's the parasite / host relationship in a nutshell. Parasite Eve is fun and engaging while it lasts - however, that's just not quite long enough. It has some good innovations, but is an imperfect mix of genres. While it is still a worthy game, both Final Fantasy VII and Resident Evil 2 are better. The marvelous visuals are spoiled by the complete lack of human voices. There will be a short quiz next week.