The 3rd Birthday(Parasite Eve 3)

[Insanecyclone]

http://i54.tinypic.com/25kspp0.jpg


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasite_Eve_3

Hideous creatures descend on Manhattan. Ground reports from the squad tasked with containing the pandemonium refer to these life forms as the Twisted. An investigatory team known as the CTI is formed within the year.

Aya is the main focus of this game. Due to her special powers, she still has the body of a woman in her 20s, although in terms of age she should actually be 39 years old. Motomu Toriyama, the scenario director, feels that it is rare to be able to focus on a woman in her mid 30s in a game and is taking the opportunity to properly depict the thinking and lifestyle of a cool woman.[6] Square Enix announced the title at their 2007 party in Japan for the gaming press. A promotional teaser has also been released which shows Aya in wedding garb.[7][8]

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/28/th...thday-preview/

A good third-person shooter isn't easy pull off on the PSP. The limited number of buttons and lack of a second analog stick mean that only a few games represent the genre well on Sony's handheld -- Syphon Filter and Resistance Retribution both come to mind. Given the limitations of the platform and Square Enix's storied failures with the genre, you'd be right at approaching The 3rd Birthday with some skepticism. Based on what we've played so far, it doesn't seem like developer Hexa Drive is capable of assuaging our concerns.

Parasite Eve fans have waited for a new game in the franchise for over a decade, and The 3rd Birthday has many of the qualities that made the original games so intriguing. Once again, New York is under supernatural attack, and Aya and a squad of soldiers must stop the infestation. Like its predecessors, The 3rd Birthday is all about mood and macabre, grotesque enemies. The presentation is absolutely spot-on, boasting some of the studio's best CG work and impressive real-time graphics. Whilst watching a lengthy cutscene, I couldn't help but think how much it looked and sounded like a true Parasite Eve sequel.

Unfortunately, playing the game is a whole other story. The demo I played at TGS was entirely combat-focused, and it simply wasn't fun. The game devolves to a very basic third-person shooter: lock on to an enemy, strafe, and fire with one of your four equipped weapons. In the corridor segments, where you're simply moving down one hallway into the next, there was no need for strategy. The shooting gallery-style level design doesn't work as well when you can simply lock on to an enemy and blast away. Considering the survival horror roots of the franchise, I was disappointed by the lack of suspense. There was never a moment where I felt like the game was even trying to scare me.

Perhaps it's not meant to. As evidenced by Aya's new powers, it's likely that this is meant to be a more gung-ho action-oriented affair than the previous titles. The game's main gimmick, Overdrive, is not unlike that of Square Enix's other upcoming shooter, Mindjack. By focusing on another member of your squad, you're be able to hijack his body, taking over his stats and weapon layout. There's a possibility of deeper strategy here. For example, you might distract an enemy and then zap into a partner behind it for a flanking maneuver. But the corridor-style level design simply doesn't encourage that kind of tactical approach.

The TGS demo started with a massive tentacled boss battle, and jumping from body to body wasn't so much a tactical choice as it was an easy way of keeping Aya's health high. Here, rudimentary cover mechanics were on display, allowing me to hide behind a few barriers before the boss swiped them away. However, the demo didn't show off the ability to move from cover to cover, nor did it show off being able to take cover against a wall and peek around the corner -- all features that have been implemented in other PSP shooters.

While the gameplay wasn't as refined as I had liked it to be, I'm still intrigued by The 3rd Birthday. The Parasite Eve world is a fascinating one, and seeing it realized through Square Enix's masterful CG work is a treat. Hopefully, the gameplay can evolve to match its high production values.

Also the first two Parasite Eve games will be coming to PSN

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/28/sq...eve-games-for/

Last month, the Parasite Eve series' lead character designer Tetsuya Nomura stated that Square Enix would like to get the first two installments of the franchise on the PSOne Classics storefront before the arrival of The 3rd Birthday. Yesterday, director Hajime Tabata confirmed that Square was actively working to get the games on PSN, explaining that the publisher is "making adjustments" to bring Parasite Eve and Parasite Eve 2 to the PlayStation Store.

Tabata also added, "please wait until it has been finalized and formally announced." Please wait to do what, exactly? Get excited about playing Parasite Eve again? There's nothing you can do about that. You're not the boss of us!

[Pirian]

PSP? Fuck this noise

[Ksandra]

PSP? Fuck this noise

^ This makes me so sad in the face.

[Tobi]

New Trailer: http://www.kotaku.com/5650756/the-3r...t-some-candles

[Elcura]

^ This makes me so sad in the face.

It's been fucking forever since PE2. I'll take anything they throw at me. Fucking take my money SE, take it all. Also, fuck yeah at the first 2 games on PSN. I'd love to play 1 on a console again.

[Diamicles]

yeah gonna agree that being on psp only is shitty.

going to get 1/2 on psn though (after I get my ps3) soooo many good ps1 titles coming out or already out on psn. tasty.

[Elcura]

I dunno, I thought it would suck that Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep was on PSP, but it turned out more fun than the console versions. Since PE1 and 2 are very dated by game play standards, I don't mind a PSP release. Besides, PE isn't the most popular series in the world, so it makes sense they wouldn't sink all that dev time and money into it.

[Atreides]

I do find it kinda funny that now that we're so late into the PSP's life cycle, with a PSP2 being potentially announced before the end of the year, that developers seem to really be pushing forward with AAA (or at least high profile) releases on the system. I definitely agree on the BBS thing, S-E seems to be pretty committed to releasing full-fledged high quality titles on the PSP so I'm definitely excited to see how this turns out.

[Kiarax]

The only real hindrance games have being made for PSP is the lack of a second analogue stick. It killed what stuff like Monster Hunter and MGS could have been by using awkward control schemes. I wonder how much development costs will increase on games when 3DS/PSP2 are out. It seems like a safer bet to release on the handheld market (especially DS) because of cheaper development costs and a large install base, if that changes I wonder if we'll see a bigger move towards console titles again from certain developers who seem to favour handhelds lately.

[Atreides]

I think you're right that a lot of JP developers seem to favor handhelds because of development costs, but I think a lot of them are going to be in big trouble if they don't start embracing digital distribution. It baffles me that they can clearly see how smaller developers have had huge success with XBL/PSN titles and still haven't caught on lol

[Tyrath]

I hope 1 and 2 are on PSN soon. I've been waiting for fucking ever to play these two games.

[Atreides]

there was an announcement somewhere that the JP PSOne store is definitely getting both by the end of the year, but no word on the US yet

[Tobi]

While the Lord of Arcana demo got a million people to try Square
Enix’s Monster Hunter-esque game, the publisher isn’t going to
release a demo for The 3rd Birthday.

"The questions about distributing a demo, I’m afraid to say there
are no plans," Hajime Tabata, Director, tweeted.

A public demo with a tentacle boss monster was shown for the
first time at Tokyo Game Show. The 3rd Birthday comes out in
Japan on December 22.

http://www.siliconera.com/2010/09/30...-3rd-birthday/

[Tobi]

New York is overrun by tentacle monsters called the Twisted in
2010. Reacting to the situation, the CTI division is formed and the
White House okays the use of the Overdive system as their "trump
card". This system allows Aya to borrow into bodies and minds of
other people on the battlefield.

Aya can use the Overdive system to get out of harms away,
acquire a different of weapon (even vehicles!), and as an offensive
tactic to change position.

While Aya is a member of the CTI task force, Karud, the "Boss",
doesn’t trust her. In a dream, Aya sees a human-like creature who
appears to have multiple eyes. Aya wakes up and Karud berates
Hyde, the Chief of the Overdive system, that Aya can turn on the
team at anytime. He says Aya is a monster and grabs his gun to
shoot her, but Hyde steps in between them while shouting "stop".

Extended new trailer: http://www.siliconera.com/2010/09/30...-into-battles/

[Insanecyclone]

I don't mind the third person shooting as much now. The 2nd game took the turn based attacks away in favor of being like RE1-3 type of gameplay with rpg elements. I just hope the story holds up.

[Nevex]

Loved PE2 except for the horrible control system, if they fixed that this game is going to be amazing.

[Atreides]

http://www.andriasang.com/blog/2010/...2132427848.jpg

Lightning costume for aya

[Iku]

why 3rd Person Shooter? It gonna be so annoying on PSP because the control scheme gonna rage me.

[Tobi]

Square Enix shared artwork for Aya Brea's Lightning costume at
The 3rd Birthday's official site yesterday. For an in-game look, we
have to turn to the game's official Twitter, where director Hajime
Tabata posted this pic earlier today:

Don't bother clicking on it, as that's as large as it goes.

Wrote Tabata, "Doesn't she look cooler than in Final Fantasy XIII?"

Here's a larger version of the artwork that someone ripped from
the official site:

A couple of things aren't shown in either image. The Lightning
costume will tear up just like Aya's other costumes. Square Enix
hasn't shared an image of a tattered Lightning costume, but here's
how far Aya's main costume goes:

Not showable in pictures, Aya Brea's voice actress will be changing
her tone to match the current costume. In the Lightning costume's
case, it seems to be generally agreed (not sure if it's official) that
Aya and Lightning have the same voice actress anyway, so this
could be particularly interesting.

Add in this Aya Brea costume for Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy's
Lightning character and you have a nice circular collaboration that
only PSP owners will get to experience later this year and early
next.

http://www.andriasang.com/blog/2010/...2132427858.jpg
http://www.andriasang.com/blog/2010/...2132427859.jpg
http://www.andriasang.com/blog/2010/...2132425549.jpg
http://www.andriasang.com/blog/2010/...2132426201.jpg

http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/201...ning_aya_brea/

[Dmitry]

Having never played these games before, would they be worth buying on the PSN if they're released?

Also Insane what is your sig from?