Parasite Eve II

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Parasite Eve II
Image:Parasite Eve 2 Boxart.jpg
Developer(s) Square
Publisher(s) JPN Square
NA Square Electronic Arts
Designer(s) Yusuke Hirata (game producer)
Hironobu Sakaguchi (executive producer)
Kenichi Iwao (game director, scenario writer)
Tetsuya Nomura (character designer)
Yasuyuki Matsunami (art director)
Hideaki Sena (original story)
Naoshi Mizuta (music composer)
Platform(s) PlayStation
Release date JPNDecember 16, 1999
NASeptember 12, 2000
EUAugust 25, 2000
Genre(s) Survival Horror
Mode(s) Single player
Rating(s) ESRB: M (Mature)
Media 2 × CD-ROM
System requirements Memory Card
Input methods DualShock controller

Parasite Eve II is the sequel to the PlayStation console role-playing game Parasite Eve. Parasite Eve II is set several years after the events in the original game. The protagonist from the first game, Aya Brea, also features in this game as the playable character. She becomes involved with another outbreak of Mitochondrial creatures.

Gameplay diverges from the previous game: battles take place in real time and the area of action is less restrictive. The approach is more typical of traditional survival-horror games, although some RPG elements are retained. The game was well-received by the public and achieved high reviewer scores, although it was criticised for using a control system that was seen as being outdated.

Contents

[edit] Plot

The game opens to reveal Aya Brea, the protagonist of the original Parasite Eve game, who is now an FBI operative in their Mitochondrial Investigation and Suppression Team (MIST) being dispatched on an urgent mission in central Los Angeles, where there have been reports of NMC sightings. The first chapter in the game puts Aya in the position of investigating the Akropolis tower where she finds a slaughtered SWAT team and an NMC infestation. She soon discovers that the NMC's can take on human form, and eventually encounters a different type of creature; a humanoid Artificial Neo-Mitochondrial Creature (ANMC) called Golem No.9. She encounters this ANMC 3 times in the game. Golem No.9. destroys the tower, but Aya along with her colleague Rupert, who has been at the scene before she arrives, escape in a Police Helicopter.

After a brief interlude, the next chapter finds Aya in the desert town of Dryfield. It is nothing more than a truck-stop on a seldom used highway, with a motel, garage and diner but little else. Upon arriving, she finds that Dryfield too is infested with NMC's. She later encounters a survivor (Mr.Douglas) and his dog, Flint, who will act as her source of news and equipment for much of the game. She later rescues Kyle Madigan, a private investigator who claims he is on a mission similar to Aya's. He tells her about "The Shelter", a nearby underground facility that may hold the answers to the recent outbreak of NMC's.

After spending some time in Dryfield, Aya and Kyle find an entrance to the shelter located in an abandoned mine. They part company and she proceeds to investigate the shelter alone. As Aya explores the shelter she discovers that the ANMC's are the result of genetic engineering in an attempt to artificially create superior life-forms, and that in some way she is closely involved. The game's storyline unfolds through various animated cut scenes that appear at regular intervals when plot points are triggered; one of these reveals that the ANMC's were created from her own DNA.

Eventually Aya discovers the game's fourth and final area, the Neo-Ark, the entrance to which is concealed in the shelter. She finds out that the Ark facility was intended to be a showcase of ANMC technology, divided into different habitats, with zoo-like visitor commentaries and viewing platforms throughout the area. Habitat containment has broken down and the ANMC's are loose. This area is now infested with the creatures too. The goal in this area is for Aya to disable the power generator, which allows access to an area that could not be reached in the shelter. Returning to the shelter, and reunited with Kyle, Aya rescues a girl that has been manipulated into controlling the hostile NMC's. She also finds out that the girl (Eve), was created from her own DNA, making her, in a sense, Aya's daughter. Eve is later kidnapped by No.9.

Returning to the shelter entrance, Aya encounters a small army of Golems, but is rescued by the U.S Marines, who have been alerted by Aya's contacts at MIST. She later receives a gift from Mr Douglas, via Flint, of supplies. She decides to use Flint to help her find Eve, giving him Eve's bear to let him track her scent. He leads her back into the shelter. Aya tracks Eve down to a room containing an enormous cocoon, to find No. 9 incorporating Eve into it. Kyle is there as well; apparently helping No.9. Kyle eventually turns on No.9, preventing him from placing Eve into the cocoon. After a cut scene showing a satellite weapon being fired per the President's orders, and Dryfield being wiped off the map, Aya and Kyle find themselves separated by a hole that has penetrated all the shelter's floors. She looks down to see Eve hanging onto a piece of debris on the edge of one of the lower levels.

Eventually, the cocoon breaks open having being dislodged by the impact of the weapon, revealing the largest NMC in the game. After defeating this creature, Eve herself transforms into a very fast and powerful winged NMC that resembles a large butterfly. Again Aya must fight.

Once this final battle is concluded, various cut scenes are shown depending on the actions of the player during the game, and new gameplay modes are unlocked.

[edit] Gameplay

Parasite Eve II is truer to the survival horror genre than its predecessor, which attempted to insert RPG elements into the mix. The only real RPG element present in PE II is the use of Experience to gain Levels, thus powering up Aya. Other character attributes include HP (Hit Points, or health) and MP (Mitochondria Points, used to power Aya's Parasite Energy abilities).

Character control is accomplished in a traditional survival horror manner: Aya is able to move forwards, backwards, and pivot left and right, making control similar to that found in the Silent Hill series and the earlier Resident Evil games. Camera movement is limited, generally being confined to a single view of a room or area, and cannot be altered by the player.

Unlike Parasite Eve, there is no Active Time Bar that governs the order of actions during a battle. Battles take place in real time, so the player is free to act as they see fit. Another contrast is the absence of the 'range dome' seen in the first game, allowing the player to shoot at off-screen targets and engage targets from a safe distance. There are also no random battles; enemies will be found wandering in plain view, hence allowing the player to avoid confrontations and plan strategies. Aiming, as with most other games of this genre, is accomplished by cycling through the various 'lockable' targets within Aya's range.

Equipment can be obtained through various methods, including finding, purchasing and 'creating' items such as body armor, weapons, ammunition and tools. Unlike most other survival horror games, ammunition is almost never in short supply. While Aya can only carry limited amounts of equipment with her, inexhaustible ammunition boxes exist in most areas and can be revisited as often as required for a top-up. This encourages the player to fight rather than run, which is essential to the gameplay as it is the only way to gain experience and thus for Aya to become powerful enough to succeed.

While equipment follows the original game's concept of being customizable, in general the weapons and armour are quite limited in the alterations available. The most customizable weapon is the M4A1 rifle, having various attachments like a grenade launcher, a laser beam, a flamethrower, a bayonet or extra ammunition clip. Most other weapons, like the P08 and the MP5A5, only have the extra clip option. Armour (which not only reduces damage but also affects the amount Aya can carry) has the option of adding extra item slots up to a limit of ten.

The Parasite Energies are divided into four areas: the offensive Fire and Wind elements and the defensive Water and Earth elements. Of these, Fire is perhaps the most useful method of attacking due to its devastating power and good range. It is composed of the fireball Pyrokinesis, the wall of fire Combustion and the explosive Inferno. Wind comprises electrical attacks that have less power but higher tactical value because they are capable of immobilizing and poisoning enemies. These are the electric ball Necrosis, the electric pulse dome Plasma and the thunderstorm Apobiosis. Water involves healing energies; these are the status curing Metabolism, the HP restoring Healing and the offensively-used HP draining Lifedrain. Earth relates to physical energies, so is most useful for defense, but can also give Aya a decent attack. The energies are the magnetic armor Antibody, the bullet-power improving Energy Shot and the offensive/defensive balls Energy Balls.

Once the game has been completed, bonus items become available for the player should they choose to redo the game in Replay mode. Other modes also become available, such as Bounty Hunter and Scavenger which are more difficult for the player to complete. The most difficult mode "Nightmare" only becomes available after completing the game in Scavenger Mode.

[edit] Reception

While Parasite Eve II was generally well-received by both reviewers and the game-playing public, it was pointed out that the concept appeared to be very derivative of the Resident Evil games. In addition, the character control system was seen as outdated and awkward in the light of games such as Metal Gear Solid and Mario 64 that allowed much more fluid control of the onscreen character. It can be difficult to dodge enemy attacks - and correspondingly easy to run into walls, or run in circles (due to Aya's on-screen position).

On the other hand, the game's visuals were widely praised, and it boasted some of the best rendered cutscenes on the PlayStation at the time. The plotline was considered to be well conceived and compelling, and the on-screen dialogue suffered from very few instances of Engrish. Many casual gamers appreciated the game's departure from the intense inventory and item management that characterised the Resident Evil games, giving Parasite Eve II a more action-oriented approach.

[1]IGN: 6.9/10 (reviewer), 7.9/10 (players)
[2]Gamespot: 7.2/10 (reviewer), 8.5/10 (players)
[3]Game Rankings: 77 %
[4]Bravo Screenfun (09/2000, German): 1 (96 %)

[edit] Audio

Parasite Eve II Original Soundtrack is a soundtrack album of video game music from the console role-playing game Parasite Eve II, produced by Square Co., Ltd. for the PlayStation. The music was composed by Naoshi Mizuta.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^  Trivia. Imdb (1999). Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
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