The digital delights of Sony’s scrumptious PlayStation Network service know no bounds. Aside from letting punters compete in online gaming, stream films, browse the Internet and more, its premier attraction rests in the copious supply of downloadable games ripe for the picking. From PSN exclusives to PSOne Classics, minis and plain old add-on content, Sony’s online space is chock full of goodies battling it out for your hard-earned digital dollars.
Welcome back to another installment of Inside PlayStation Network, where every Monday – Friday we’ll pluck a PSN release—be it new or old—and put it in the spotlight for a thorough dissection. Fancy getting a new PSN game but don’t know what one to plump for? Perhaps this feature will help. Didn’t realize that a game was available in your region until now? We’ve got you covered. Or, perhaps you were musing over what those lucky Japanese folk were tucking into over in the Land of the Rising Sun? You can be sure our coverage will extend to those rare regional exclusives as much as those firmly embedded on the public consciousness.
For our latest entry, PSU braves the streets of New York in a battle against invading demon hordes in the PSOne classic, Parasite Eve.
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Developer: Square Soft (now Square Enix)
Region(s) available: North America, Japan
Players: 1
Based on the novel of the same name, cult classic Parasite Eve made a fair bit of noise upon its release back in the late 90s. Viewed by many as amalgamation of Resident Evil and Final Fantasy, the horror-RPG chronicles six days in the life of New York bobby Aya Brea, as she takes on hordes of slobbering monstrosities across numerous iconic locations throughout the Big Apple. Indeed, the comparisons between both RE and FF are strikingly apparent throughout, with Parasite Eve utilizing alternating camera angles and random battle encounters. The process of slugging it with foes, however, is quite disparate to Square’s stable mate RPG juggernaut.
For one, you’re able to manipulate blonde-haired Brea on the battlefield, giving the game a distinct whiff of action-ness about the proceedings. This affords you the chance to not only avoid incoming attacks on the fly, but strategically position yourself for a hard-hitting assault of your own. Furthermore, random encounters rarely achieve the level of ubiquity they do in games like Final Fantasy VII. In terms of weapons, our capable copper has access to a meaty array of firearms, including everything from the pistol, shotgun to the explosive rocket launcher. As expected, levelling up is part and parcel of Parasite Eve’s RPG-tinged paradigm and you’ll be able to pimp out your weapons by increasing their capacity and destructive power. Some can be augmented with special ammo properties too, such as the scorching sulphuric acid ability that will continue to damage foes over a period of time.
Meanwhile, our heroine will also level up over time, receiving a boost across various attributes as well as netting Bonus Points, or BP. These can in turn be invested in upgrading various areas, including the aforementioned weapons system, but also armor, item capacity and more. As you’d expect, distributing BP becomes paramount to your continued survival, especially in latter stages where you’ll find yourself up against plenty of hulking, butt-ugly bosses looking grind you to a pulp. Despite its age, Parasite Eve’s production values certainly show it was among the cream of the crop back in the day, with sumptuous CGI sprinkled throughout to propel the horror’s compelling plot.
Parasite Eve should last your average adventure aficionado 10-15 hours, putting it ahead of many of its contemporaries at the time of release. Once you’ve polished off the main campaign, however, you can then plump to tackle the EX game. Here, Brea has access to any weapons and armor equipped during the climax of your initial play through, as well as your last BP bounty. The most significant tweak, however, is the inclusion of the iconic Chrysler Building, which hosts an arduous endurance test. Once inside, you’ll have to slug it out with legions of foes and will only be given the opportunity to save your game every ten floors, and only after dispatching a boss to boot. Think you’ve got the stones for it?
Tune in again on Monday as we take another leisurely stroll Inside PlayStation Network.