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Original and Creepy!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 21 / 21
Date: March 26, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Parasite Eve is one of the creepiest games to ever come out on a console. No, it's not "horrifying" like Resident Evil where zombies eat your flesh. It's more of a psychological horror game, or the Alfred Hitchcock title of the gaming world. Just forget about the pseudo-scientifical chatter that ensues during the game. The point is, it is the best script and storyline to happen to the gaming world. Who would have thought up the idea for mitochondria taking over New York City? It's awesome for a game to come up with an orginal script like this. Also, the game operates like a movie, with many plot twists and a well-written story. The CG's are awesome, and the environments are cool, even if the graphics are a little off. There is no better setting than a nearly-empty New York City! And finally, Eve is one of the coolest video game characters ever created by Squaresoft, the makers of Final Fantasy. Overall, any RPG lover or a horror game fan will enjoy Parasite Eve, at least while the excitement lasts!My Rating-9.6!

Mitochodria Takeover!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: March 21, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I have to personally say this game is one of the best games Squaresoft has ever come accross. They also need to create more games like this one. An organism which is dubbed Mitochondria has been living within humans ever sense the birth of Eve. Since all humans are descended from Eve it is only a matter of time before this living organism breaks free. You play the role of a rookie cop named Aya who is attending an opera on Christmas Eve 1997. The singer in the opera named Melissa makes eye contact with Aya and all of a sudden people in the crowd begin to spontaneously combust. Following this, Melissa mutates and declears that Eve has been awakened and takes off. From there on out Aya tries to figure out what happened at the opera house and why her and Melissa are some how connected.

A thrilling story which brings the human imagination into a battle against not only a race against time and mutations, but a battle against yourself. Seeing as though the Mitochondria is in every human being on the face of the Earth, players can put themselves in that position, and feel as though they are battling against themselves before there Mitochondria takes complete control over everything logic in their bodies. It also can make you think this could happen in reality b/c of the Mitochondria is part of your body.

The best part of Parasite Eve is without a doubt the innovative battle scenes. The Parasite Eve battle engine contains an excellent mix of action and strategy that has yet to be seen in any console game before. Just like Final Fantasy VII, Parasite Eve makes use of an action bar. You can't attack, heal, or use an item until the bar is fully charged. You can however during this time dodge enemy attacks waiting for it to fill. You also have a PE bar which will fill slowly throughout the course of the battle. The PE bar allows Aya to perform special tasks such as healing herself or increasing her attack power. Overall, the battle system is extremely innovative and makes the game fun to play through. I don't think i've played an RPG in awhile in which I've actually looked forward to gaining experience and doing battle.

True to its claims, Parasite Eve often looks sleek, inspired, and beautiful - like a good film. The scenery throughout the game is composed of still 3D-rendered images of mostly authentic New York locales, and the quality and detail of these various settings is astounding. Whether you're searching through Central Park in the middle of the night or rummaging through the slums early in the morning, Parasite Eve looks consistently real. The background art looks so good that you will often find yourself admiring your surroundings instead of forging onward in your quest. The various polygonal characters aren't quite as sharp as the backdrops, but their motions and actions during plot sequences are expressive and believable. As Aya, you will have to shoot your way past scores of monsters, all of which are your typical mutated urban animal variety and thence not particularly imposing. Though some of the boss monsters are both creepy and fearsome, like a particularly large and ill-tempered three-headed hound, for the most part your opposition will fail to impress.

Even a discriminating connoisseur of CG cinematics would be awestruck at several animated cutscenes over the course of Parasite Eve. While the cinematic sequences are never particularly long, they are frequent and almost always amazing - all the more so toward the end of the game. Among other things, you'll witness breathtaking panoramic shots of New York City, grisly deaths or even grislier metamorphoses, and even some good old-fashioned military intervention. Though there's hardly enough CG here to make up a feature-length film, there's plenty of the stuff to keep you going all the way through. It's integrated seamlessly into the game and makes key plot sequences much more dramatic and the entire game more memorable overall. The music also adds a dramatic effect that makes it seem even more real. They need to add this music to more of their sequels to this game.

If Squaresoft works hard enough I honestly believe more sequels to this like the Nintendo's Zelda could be created but these would without a question blow Zelda out of the water. I truly think a movie should be created about this game. Including part 2,3,4 whatever how many, following up on the "Ultimate Being". Also the music needs to be added to the movies.

My overall rating: * * * * * out of 5 stars. My overall rating: 10 out of 10 Would I buy a sequel: yes without a doubt Would I pay to see a movie about this: yes, of course and I know others who would too.

Review

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 13 / 18
Date: November 30, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Square's "cinematic RPG" is game with not much excitment in it. The game starts off with a new concept for its plot, which has great potential. But the game lacks in its other departments. First the game is slow, and very boring. It's nothing more than to chase the boss around the city trying to prevent the game's boss from doing any evil. With that said, now everyone pretty much knows the premise for the game. The gameplay isn't that great, and there isn't too much on characterization for the one person you control. As earlier said, the plot held great potential but the game just could carry it off. On the plus side the game did have some of the best FMVs (Full Motion Videos) not seen anywhere else (except Final Fantasy VIII), and the graphics were pretty good. But besides its eye-candy Parasite Eve was not much of a 'good' game and there are certainly plenty of others to look for!

Unique and unforgettable

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: January 27, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This is definitely a game for people who like there to be a strong storyline, and who want to think a little along the way. Parasite Eve is extremely absorbing, but even if you're not paying close attention to the plot you can enjoy moving through the different levels and fighting a wide variety of opponents. The strongest points in this game, I think, are the following: Your ability to modify your weapons, and combine them to create a custom super-weapon. The variety between the levels is quite nice as well, taking you through Central Park in NYC, a museum, hospital, police station...each with its own unique monstrous inhabitants. The end of the game is incredibly challenging but not impossible. The only annoying things are the extremely long movie segments that you can't skip past...the subtitled dialogue (no voiceovers)...and the interminable "bonus level" in the Chrysler building that is much more trouble than it's worth. I liked this so much that I sought out the book that it was based on, even though it's only available in Japanese. Oh yeah, and although the movie segments are long and unavoidable -- they're breathtakingly gorgeous, for the most part.

X-tremely oringinal !

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: February 23, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I love this game! I know I'm only 11 and my comments aren't importent but please play this game! It's great and fasinating! I LOVE the movie parts and the great storyline. I don't know why people complain about subtitles. If it was longer it might tie up there with Final Fanasy 7! (sigh) It's a very additive game.

One NYPD Cop's job gets crazy

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: September 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Parasite Eve - Circa 1998

GOOD:
- Different and interesting story
- Customizable weapons and items

BAD:
- Graphics looked dated, to today video game players
- Tough game, some dungeons are tedious

IF IT FITS YOUR TASTE:
- A Sci-fi urban RPG set in NYC
- Not turn based but action based, with turn based elements
- Multiple endings
- Customizable items and weapons

GAME ITS MOST ASSOCATED TOO:
- Resident Evil 2
- Parasite Eve 2

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- This game uses real sites and places from NYC

What a game....WHAT A WOMAN!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: July 05, 2003
Author: Amazon User

It's a shame that in this world, in this age we rarely see games that have a female hero. Parasite Eve is one of those rare jewels that has a female to fill in the main role and is a good game. Not only is Aya the hero but she isn't some tiny girl whose boobs are so big it looks like she stuffs them full of basketballs. She's a realistic looking girl (she still is quite a looker) who can keep up with the big boys. OK enough with that the actual game is sweet! The setting takes place in present day and still is completely realistic. Yeah I know what you people are thinking it's not realistic look at the PSX graphics!!!! I gotta admit this early PSX game doesn't hold it's own graphics wise anymore but with an awesome plot and a good battle system it just kicks, simply kicks. Aya is a police officer who ends up being our only hope. Even the military can't stand up against the enemy who fights on a genetic level. The game's plot goes all the way to Eve (Eve is really a woman they found in Africa everyone in the world is related too, seriously look it up on a search engine) and connects to the genes we all have. The idea that our mitochondria are against us is just ridiculous but this game pulls it off and is still extremely realistic. The game's selling point is the awesome plot that is simply genius! Before there was Silent Hill and the creepy atmosphere it created there was Parasite Eve, this game had a creepiness of it's own but (most likely because of Silent Hill and resident evil) it isn't known for it's creepy side. Hell Aya is a sexy gun toting girl next door, you got a killer crazy woman, the police, hell, the government can't lay a finger on, and an awesome plot and battle system... What more do you want, can't wait to start playing Parasite Eve 2.

Simply Put, the MOST Amazing PS Game in a LOOONG Time!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: April 24, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This game was amazing. A cinematic masterpiece. I am a college student and borrowed this game from my younger brother, who hated it. I played it in my friends' apartment. After 5 minutes of gametime, we had 12 people sitting around the television completely hooked. The storyline was incredible - debates among us were constant as to the next twist in the plot. The graphics were incredible, especially in the movie scenes... they rival the PS2 graphics EASILY. The fighting system takes some getting used to, but is very easy once you get the idea. The characters really start to rub off on you right away (Yells of "NOOOOOOO" were constant when we thought one of the characters would die... we honestly became attached!). So to put this whole synopsis into a single line: buy this game. If you're under the age of say 15 or so... don't - it gets really tough. However, for the rest of us, it's a definate must have. The replay value is great, too - I've played it three times already, and I'm STILL not tired of it!

It's One of My Favorites, Actually..

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: December 10, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Many people may play this game and think, "What a boring game" or "It's too slow" or "Graphics were horrible". I don't think so. I enjoyed it, because you really have to get into the plot. Aya was cool, and the monsters were hot. The FMVs were realistic and exciting. Why people don't like it, I just don't know. I would have given this game 5 stars, except for the little known reason that you have to read what the character was saying. I think the reason why many people don't like it is because they expected it to be something like what they were used to. Please, guys, try this game! As I said before, I really enjoyed playing it! Oh, and ALSO probably some people may not like to think about things like the puzzles in the game.For one thing, you can't expect just to play a game and not even have to think about what you are playing, including the interesting facts about the mitochondria. And, well, guys, that is just a part of the game that can't be cut out. Here's some advice, Try the game! If you don't like it, it's ok, because everyone is entitled to their own opinions. But just check out this great game. You won't regret it!

Excellent but flawed!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: August 29, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Parasite Eve is an amazing role playing game that I have played at least six times. It does have some problems but is a very satisfying game nonetheless.

The plot concerns an actress in an opera who develops psychic powers and burns everyone who is attending the opera. Everyone except for the heroine Aya Brea who faces the actress and is immune to her power. What is the actress' plot? Why is Aya immune? These questions are answered within the next six climactic days in this game.

The story is intriguing and though filled with horror elements (mutating dogs, mice, dinosaurs, and other creatures) it doesn't jump out and scare you like Resident Evil or even subtly creep you out like Silent Hill. It is much more of an RPG at heart than an action game. Of the RPG elements my favorite was the ability to customize your weapon. There are many effects that can be loaded on to a weapon (acid, poison, freeze, tranquilizer, etc) to various effects. You can decide how to change your weapon and different combinations yield very different effects. It's a lot of fun to experiment and try to come up with the ultimate combinations (hint: make sure you keep burst and acid on your weapon! ). Aya's Parasite powers are beautifully and briefly rendered but seem pretty standard for an RPG.

The graphics are consistently beautiful and the New York locations are rendered as realistically as the plot allows. The sound is a mixed bag. The underscoring is generally good but sometimes too uptempo for the dark themes of the game. The sound effects are somewhat tinny and sometimes there is no ambient noise in the game (no street noise in New York city! ).

The game also includes an EX game feature that is available after the first play through. This is a 77 story building (the Chrysler building) with a boss appearing every 10 floors. This is frustrating because there is no way to save right before a boss and if you die, you must repeat at least 10 floors before you can battle it again. The floor maps change from floor to floor but there is still an element of repetition as the floors wear on. The floors near the top are very tough and become very tedious if you have to repeat them. This does open up an alternate ending of the game and fill out the plot just a bit more.

Overall, a fun but flawed package from Square. If you only play it through once it is a bit brief (probably less than 10 hours) but it is intriguing and I have returned to it many times!

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