Hace ya más de 10 años desde la última entrega de Parasite Eve. Una saga de videojuegos de terror que compitió de cerca con los orígenes de la saga Resident Evil en PS1, sabiendo diferenciarse al añadir más elementos fantasiosos y un aspecto de personalización RPG mucho más denso que las limitadas opciones de la saga Resident Evil.
However, after two games highly regarded by critics, Parasite Eve disappeared until the announcement of this game for PSP many years later. It also has a rather atypical title that does not mention at all its relationship with the Parasite Eve saga, perhaps because Square Enix tries to make us forget the beginnings of said saga, after having taken a turn in the gameplay, moving more towards a shooter.
The game launched at the beginning of April with a recommended price of €39.95, will only be released on Sony’s laptop.
How do you feel about the new platform and its change towards the action genre?
I’ll start by saying that perhaps, for veterans of the saga, the new game will shock you quite a bit. The RPG element that used to characterize the saga has been greatly diminished to give way to a much more direct** and frenetic game. Don’t expect a direct sequel, but rather, a rebirth from the ashes, which doesn’t have to be bad.
Despite being a sequel, the game does not require any prior knowledge of the saga, since it is very direct, so any player can start playing and understand the story. Although of course there were no shortage of certain nods to Parasite Eve during the development of the plot.
The game begins in the middle of snowfall in New York City, and as usual in the saga, a new threat harasses the city, although this time we will not fight it in the “typical” way but we will be connected to a machine taking control of people, as if we were in the movie Matrix. As in this one, if we are killed while controlling a character we will die, although we will have several weapons to avoid it.
The first and perhaps one of the most important parts of this game is Overdrive, an ability that allows us to jump from one body to another, thus managing to place ourselves in a more advantageous position, increase our life, or escape death. In addition, we can also momentarily enter enemies to cause damage from the inside, in a QTE-type event in which we must press the triangle button quickly. This concept gives a lot of play, and has been one of my favorite additions since we have many ways to confront the enemy, and in certain missions in which we have to escape, it adds infinite possibilities for the creators to give us tension.
Another new feature is the release state in which Aya becomes practically indestructible by moving much faster, seeing things a little slower to easily dodge them and shooting at dizzying speed while wielding two weapons at the same time, in addition our Overdrive will be much more damaging while we are in this state. This ability will come in handy in rooms full of enemies, or to finish off a final boss who usually have large amounts of life.
One of the big problems in almost all PSP shooters is the camera and aiming, since the joystiq is used to move. Square Enix has managed to minimize this problem with auto-aim at the closest enemy using the left trigger, being able to redefine it with the crosshair, which is very easy to handle. This makes The 3rd Birthday one of the most comfortable shooters for PSP, which is quite a credit
The game, in full English, uses fairly simple language so it shouldn’t scare away people who want to try it but are put off by the language of Shakespeare. The music is very good, with some simply great songs, although the intonation of the characters seems quite boring and perhaps lacks enthusiasm.
As for the graphics, the videos are impressive and the game has some really attractive graphics** that will delight Sony laptop players. The enemy designs, although not very varied during the missions, improve a lot when we reach the different types of mini-bosses and bosses that have very different designs, and with quite a bit of detail.
Note
- Presentation: It is a pleasure to play with Aya Brea again and although the story has no direct relationship with the previous ones, it is well linked. 7.5
- Graphics: The graphics are very good, with the videos coming in first place due to their great detail, although the game is not far behind showing great graphic detail. 8
- Duration and Engagement: For a game for a laptop, it has a very good duration. The story mode lasts about 10 hours, in addition to being able to stretch the title with tricks and some elements to unlock. 8.25
- Final Note: The 3rd Birthday may be criticized by the most veterans who want the return of a good Survival in the style of the first Parasite Eve, but it will delight all other PSP players, with a good final product that leans more towards the action genre so fashionable today. A game with a story that will surprise you, especially in the final part, and with a great artistic design. 77