Parasite Eve
Reviewed By America Online
Rating: 93%
Maker: Square
Genre: RPG/Action
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
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There is an evil lurking inside you, quivering in your every cell, waiting for a chance to dominate the body you claim as your own and exert its will. Biding its time and hoarding its power, it lies dormant and anticipates the signal of revolution. Soon, it will unleash its energies and enforce its hideous desires, and you will be devoured from within.
Its name: adrenaline. The signal it awaits: Parasite Eve. The consequence: pure addiction.
Just be thankful that playing PE won't burn you alive or transform you into a hideous monster. But what it will do is leave you with a craving for more, and that craving is impossible to satisfy. Actually, that may be the same thing as turning you into a hideous monster.
But it's hard not to get caught up in Square's latest American RPG release. Parasite Eve borrows horror and gameplay elements from the insanely popular Resident Evil series, but refines them into a more psychological, elegant style of terror. The end result lacks sheer shock value but makes up for it in the creepiness department. More importantly, it draws you in and lets you be a part of an elaborate tale of rebirth, evolution, and love.
You play the part of Aya Brea (although you can, in keeping with Square tradition, change the name). As a rookie detective with the NYPD, Aya has to face horrors that most of us cannot imagine: the streets of New York. However, on a date to the opera she discovers a worse terror when, instead of breaking wineglasses, the soprano's high notes set patrons afire.
After a little investigation, Aya discovers that the flames came from the opera goers themselves-- specifically, the mitochondria in the cells of their bodies (Wait? What's this? Oh no-- it's biology in a game! How did science leak into something fun!?!). As more people get torched and normal animals mutate into bloody monstrosities, Aya learns of the mitochondria's matron, a bizarre woman called Eve, and the strange bond that they share. And since Aya is the only person who seems to be immune to Eve's powers, she is humanity's only chance to stop a rebellion from within.
The story of Parasite Eve is based on a novel by Hideaki Sena, and the dialogue, plot, and pacing of the game are all exquisite. The science it's based on rings true enough to be frightening, but the game doesn't preoccupy itself with technical details and research facts. Instead, it blends science with emotion to create a unique mood of mystery, weird beauty, and terror.
Of course, all the plotting and mood on earth wouldn't be worth the dust on my copy of Spice World if Parasite Eve wasn't fun to play. Luckily, Square lets you live this story as much as you watch it. As you unravel the mystery of mitochondria and Eve, you get to explore little pieces of New York. Some locations are stages filled with monsters, while others merely contain a bit of information or an object that you need before you can move to the next spot.
All of PE's environments are pre-renderedand, as in Resident Evil, viewed from pre-set camera angles. Normally, I'm not a big fan of pre-rendered scenes, but without those cinematic views the horror genre loses a lot of its power. Narrow hallways have to look tight and constrictive, and open areas must feel bare and exposed. Sometimes the screen is even slanted or partially blocked to pump up the tension.
Unfortunately, it can be difficult and disorienting to explore some of PE's screens. Important doors are often only a few pixels wide, and you have to put Aya in precisely the right place to make her open them. Important objects and containers are hidden from view or purposely made to look like scenery. The camera angle doesn't change during combat, either, making some fights difficult just because you can't see Aya or the enemies well enough to dodge attacks.
And speaking of combat, the mere mention of "dodging attacks" should tell you that PE doesn't conform to the classic RPG style of fighting. Instead, when the screen turns gray and mutated mitochondria monsters materialize (say that three times fast), Aya moves and dodges in realtime. However, she has to wait for a special 'active time gauge' (a la Final Fantasy VII) to fill up before she can attack, access her inventory, or use her Parasite Energy (which would be called "magic" in any other game). You select the targets, but Aya does all the aiming, shooting, and blasting on her own. Once you choose an action, the active time gauge resets and you must wait for it to fill up before you can act again.
This system is a nice mesh of turn-based and realtime fighting, and the waiting for your AT gauge to refill creates great tension. It also forces you to develop a strategy-- you have to decide if you should spend your next turn healing up your wounds or popping a cap into the Doberman-sized rat that's ripping into your side. The AT system may frustrate gamers who are looking for more Resident Evil-style action, although they will probably be willing to forgive it after they check out Aya's arsenal. And they'll like the weapons she uses, too (ba-dum-bum).
Parasite Eve lets you blast the mitochondria minions with several different models of clubs, pistols, shotguns, rifles, machine guns, and heavier firearms. Cooler still, you can modify your weapons by adding power, range, ammo capacity, and a host of special effects like burst shots and tranquilizers. The weapon modification system itself makes this game worth playing. There's no better quest than trying to create the perfect sidearm. My current favorite is a grenade launcher I like to call "Bessie."
You can also modify your armor if you're of the "best offense is a good defense" school. But you've got to watch the amount of items you're carrying, or you'll be forced to leave behind extra weapons and armor to pick up a vital key. In PE, your carrying capacity is limited, and special items like keys and clues count into your total. Luckily, as you defeat enemies and gain experience, your capacity increases along with all of your other stats. You can even choose to enhance your Active Time, carrying capacity, a weapon, or a piece of armor using bonus experience points that Aya gains from some battles. Reaching new levels and developing enhanced powers for Aya is as satisfying as watching the story unfold, and if you want to concentrate on gaining experience you can revisit an area that you've already cleared and hone your battle skills.
Another thing that kept me playing Parasite Eve was the variety and originality of the mutated beasts Aya has to fight. Sometimes, I popped PE into the PSX just to see what would attack me next. No two kinds of creatures fight the same way, and to be effective in battle you have to learn their habits and weaknesses. This is vitally important when you're fighting PE's bosses; a few are fairly simple, but you'll have to fight most of them a couple of times to figure out their patterns and defeat them.
All the monsters and characters in Parasite Eve are polygonal, but they're a little blurry. It's hard to pick out the details of their faces and clothing unless you get a good closeup, and even then they're a little pixilated. During normal gameplay, Aya's animation is excellent, from her slow, poised walk to her not-much-faster TV cop run. However, during normal cutscenes, other characters have a tendency to make wild gestures for no apparent reason. This is especially the case with Aya's partner, Daniel Dollis. He looks like he's doing aerobics every time he speaks (perhaps he's trying to shave off a few extra donut pounds). However, there are no flaws in the animation during Parasite Eve's beautiful CG videos. Though they're rare, these gorgeous FMVs help set the mood draw you into the story that follows them.
However, no other single element of Parasite Eve creates the game's eerie atmosphere better than the sound. From the haunting strains of Eve's song to the pulse-pounding battle theme, the music generates the wonder and the terror that holds this story together. The sound effects also create a wonderful tension. You hear every step Aya takes, and the sound changes depending on where she is and what she's walking on. Snow crunches under her heels, marble floors make loud echoes in empty halls, and carpet muffles the soft patter of her footsteps. Few games pay as much attention to their sounds. The extra effort in PE helps to cover up for its mediocre graphics and adds an extra dimension to the terror.
But as lovely as Parasite Eve is, all things have to come to an end, and I'm sad to say that the end comes too quickly in Parasite Eve. The length is perfect for the storyline, and if the game had been any longer it would have ruined the plot's great pacing. It's just that today's gamers expect to be able to do more in a game and have the experience last longer than it does in PE. And more importantly, the gameplay is so good that it leaves you wanting so much more.
When you look at the game as art, Parasite Eve is a wonderful achievement that deserves playing. However, from blatant 'games are only entertainment' view, PE gives you less game for your cash, and with potential masterpieces like Metal Gear Solid coming in less than six week's time, PSX owners need all the cash they can get. My recommendation: be patient and rentParasite Eve. If you fall in love with it and think you'll be able to play it again and again, buy it. If not, enjoy the experience and hope that Square will extend it later on (but I don't think a sequel would be right for this game; maybe a prequel?). In a way, Parasite Eve a victim of its own addictive gameplay. If it hadn't transformed us into hideous monsters, we wouldn't be snarling for more.
