Parasite eve
Characters
Story
Walk through
Cheats
Parasite Eve is being billed as a cinematic role-
playing game by Square, and just taking a quick
glance at the screenshots of the rendered
sequences from the title should be enough to
convince you of the cinematic aspect. Set in
modern day New York the game, based on the book of
the same name, follows the story of young female
police officer who is drawn into a battle with an
evil that she has stronger ties to than she would
like to admit. What begins with as bizzare
massacre at a packed opera house quickly escalates
into a threat that could wipe out the entire city
and ultimately the world.
there be an absorbing game tucked away behind all
the beautiful presentation? The answer is yes, but
don't expect it to last you as long as say Final
Fantasy VII did. I'd guess that an average playing
time is between 24 and 30 hours - on par with many
full-blown Playstation RPGs - and the gameplay is
genuinely gripping, although maybe a little too
linear thanks to having to follow the plot of the
novel so closely.
The game largely resembles Resident Evil - pre-
rendered backgrounds and 3D characters - but the
combat is turn-based, although the active battle
system allows you to move in order to avoid
opponent's attacks. The storyline is extremely
strong and will keep you interested right up until
the final moments - and even then, there is an
extra ending to be earnt by playing the game
further. It would be easy to write Parasite Eve
off as another all glitz and no-substance product,
but it simply isn't true as the Square magic
shines through at every turn and leaves you with
no regrets that you made the investment when you
finally reach the end of the second disc. And for
the record: I finished Resident Evil 2 twice
through in the same time as it took me to play
this once! Recommended to all but the most
finicky.
