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Parasite Eve II Preview
Noel Brady
00/12/0000
Parasite Eve 2 is looking to solve a lot of the problems aimed at the first game.
The original Parasite Eve was one of many Squaresoft games never released in Europe. It borrowed some RPG elements from Final Fantasy VII while featuring the kind of exploring and nasty monsters that Resident Evil fans have become accustomed to. As is traditional with Square's RPG's , Parasite Eve featured an epic storyline involving lethal mitochondria creatures and a mysterious woman named Eve.
Parasite Eve II is set three years after the tragic events which unfolded in New York. Mitochondria-related incidents have been reported in various locations across the States and on September 9, 2000, mitochondia monstrosities make a surprise guest appearance at the Acropolis Tower in Los Angeles. All contact is lost with the SWAT team sent in to rectify the situation and at this stage, the heroine from the first game, Aya Brea, arrives at the scene in an attempt to put an end to the horror which is unfolding before her. Having resigned from her post in the New York City police department, Aya is now working for MIST (Mitochondria Investigation and Suppression Team) and will be forced to battle neo-mitochondria creatures (NPC) which can disguise themselves as humans.
As with Final Fantasy VIII, expect the graphics to reach dizzy heights of splendour on Sony's aging hardware. Once again, Parasite Eve 2 utilises pre-rendered graphics, only this time Square has added a cunning technological trick to the mix. At certain points realtime FMV sequences will be incorporated into the backgrounds at 60 frames per second. These movies will link camera movement to character movement to create a controllable and beautiful cinematic experience. Needless to say, the FMV also looks amazing but what of the gameplay?
The developers (a brand new team) are introducing many new elements to the game in a bid to rival Capcom's seminal zombie series. Battles will now take place in realtime and both Aya and her adversaries can attack at the same time. As in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, it will be possible to hurt enemies by cleverly manipulating interactive backgrounds such as electrical circuits and explosive barrels. Aya will also have a sensory detector at her disposal enabling her to detect NMC's within the immediate area and she will always be able to see her enemies on the field map (none of that random battle type nonsense then). This means that she can sneak up on creatures and initiate an attack or alternatively she can attempt to sneak past such abominations.
A plethora of new customizable weapons and spells (parasite energy) will also feature. New weapons include an assault rifle M4A1, grenade launcher, and tonfa baton while spells such as the weirdly named Necrosis and Pyrokinesis will keep wanabe wizards content. The modifying weapons aspect of the game has been taken one step further and it will now be possible to attach weapons such as the flamethrower to the machine gun. The hardcore weaponry can now be bought in shops using bounty points (BP). BP's are earned as you defeat enemies but fleeing from battle will result in the loss of some of those precious BP's. So, battling as many enemies as possible will effectively give you access to more powerful weapons. One other noteworthy addition is the arrival of AI-controlled characters who occassionally join Aya in battle but cannot be controlled by the player. These guys help out as best they can and have their own strengths and weaknesses. This is further proof that added control, depth, and options will add considerably to the unique battle system deployed in Parasite Eve 2.
The sound in Parasite Eve was slightly disappointing, so hopefully that area will be addressed this time. Although the music was suitably moody, the lack of speech throughout the game killed off much of the atmosphere that could have been attained. Games such as Soul Reaver and Metal Gear Solid have shown that quality voice-acting can add immessurably to the cinematic qualities of a game and if Square want to make Parasite Eve II as cinematic as Resident Evil, then they'd better realise that the days of reading text to explain the story are gone. Don't hold your breath though.
All in all, Parasite Eve II is looking like it will be a worthy sequel to an oft under-rated game. The new development team are striving to give the game "a heightened element of mystery and thrilling story development" and who are we to doubt them? Every effort has been made to improve the combat and improved puzzle elements and graphics coupled with a more dynamic and versatile camera might just be enough to give Parasite Eve 2 the edge it needs over it's competition.
Parasite Eve 2 will be released in Japan this month on two CDs, so fingers crossed for a Western release shortly thereafter.
Anonymous
Date Added:Thu 22nd Mar 2007 02:09
OF PARASITE EVE 2