The 3rd Birthday Official Site Opens

[Wrathborne]

Yeah it's not really impossible. I still think Jill looks great in RE5 yet newcomers I've noticed in other topics talk about how ugly she is compared to Sheva.

Jills RE5 design is filled with fail dude.

Most of us old school fans were annoyed that her classic hair style was changed, but her facial structure just isn't quite right.

In terms of graphics its a beautiful looking fail, but the battle suit costume is dumb, and..yeah made my point.

[Trent]

I still think Jill looks great in RE5 yet newcomers I've noticed in other topics talk about how ugly she is compared to Sheva.

Newcomers = noobs. That's all there is to it, really.

[Darkmoon]

OK, so I finished this a couple of days ago. Which surprised me, given I only played for a hour or two each day while taking my kids for there nap. I shall review it somewhat now to give my thoughts. Because I'm a pretentious bastard and you love it.

Gameplay - OK, this is a third person shooter with some RPG elements. A kit of action, very few RPG elements. Those are basically limited to levelling up and getting DNA fragments that have various effects and you can equip a variety of those. Some speed up how fast you heal, others create a barrier. There are also negative ones, which makes it more interesting.

The main thing that makes the game diffrent is Overdive. Aya is basically able to hop from character to character, using any weapon they may be holding. Everytime you die you can jump to another available body. You can also use it to get into a better position, move troops where you want them, etc. Rapid use of it is vital for several fights. It's also used against the new enemies, the Twisted, doing huge damage to them but you can only do it sometimes.

Aya can also build up a Liberation bar, where you get faster and do a lot of damage. Useful, and again required for a couple of fights.

Graphics - I don't care much for graphics, but for a PSP game this looks pretty good. Although given it's a Squeenix game that should shock anyone. The FMV sequences are nice, and the main game is very pretty.

Story - Yeah..the plot is odd. You play as Aya, who has amnesia, who was located at a church after her appearent wedding and now covered in blood. The world is a mess...giant organic masses called Babels have started taking over the world, unleashing monsters called Twisted which convert or kill any humans they can.

It's found by the man who rescues you that Aya can use Overdive. Not only that, buth with a machine, she can Overdive into the past and alter events. As a result, the timeline (and characters) can alter quite significantly.

Of course, it's not shocking that Eve and Kyle start showing up...

The story is, however, very, very odd. I'll continue this behind a Spoiler Tag. I should mention that I'm not a hundred percent sure what happened myself, though.

Spoiler:

show spoiler

Basically, when a S.W.A.T team attacked Aya and Kyle's wedding (why? Never explained) and Aya was gunned down, Eve jumped into Aya's body in the first use of her Overdive power, accidently destroying Aya's soul and scattering the parts into time where they formed the Twisted. Eve remained in Aya's body, and her body was destroyed unleashing it's power on a number of other people (Kyle and a chracter named Hyde Boer, the guy who serves as your boss for the first part of the game, being the most notable) turning them into what are referred to as High Ones, another group of monsters that are more powerful and opposed to the Twisted.

As Aya (really Eve) goes through the game she eventually remembers killing Eve (Aya's soul) and is trying to return to Time Zero and fix it. Hyde is also trying to go there because he's stuck in a loop, where the Twisted slowly overwhelm him and destroy humanity. He wants to bond with Eve and create a race of humans in her descendants that are powerful enough to fight the Twisted.

It's not exactly clear how, but after you both travel back to the wedding, with Hyde in his body and Eve in hers and Hyde is trying to absorb Eve into himself Aya somehow returns to kill him, but can't remain. She swaps her body with Eve and forces Eve to erase her (and Eve's body) thereby stopping the Twisted and High Ones from ever existing. You do hear Aya's voice again though, so just how gone she is is another matter.

The scene ends with Aya and Kyle's wedding continuing...and Kyle somehow remembering the future that never happened, refusing to marry Eve and heading off, promising to watch over her with Aya.

Which means that, yes, Aya Brea is dead and you don't actually play her.

Conclusion - The main complaint I have with the whole thing is two fold, but related. The game is too short. I suspect, if you know what you're doing, you can probably knock it off in a hour, maybe an hour and hald. Secondly, the plot feels under developed. There are several notes in the game files that suggest a few more missions were planned but not implemented, and as a result the story is odd. It jumps about a lot in terms of the story, and suddenly jumps fowards several times with little explanation.

It feels like the game is missing a good chunk of itself. Which is annoying, because I like the plot, but the fact I'm not clear on exactly what happened is frustrating. And I was expecting a much longer game, at least on par with 2.

Worth a look, but I'd suggest you rent it or get it cut price.

[Smiley]

I really hate this thing in games.

I believe it's mostly a Japanese thing (which is rapidly spreading). Where if the designer doesn't make you feel like the cops are about to bust in your door, there's clearly something wrong with the character design!

Yeah it's not really impossible. I still think Jill looks great in RE5 yet newcomers I've noticed in other topics talk about how ugly she is compared to Sheva.

[Darkmoon]

I'm (accidently) downloading this from the PlayStation Network as we speak. I'm surprised News Bot hasn't hosed down a building yet...

[aris13]

And Yvonne Strahovski is voicing Aya.

[Vogue_Dirge]

Jensen Ackles from Supernatural is voicing someone in this!

[BBboy20]

Guess March is gong to be the month where long-waited sequels in handheld formats are finally released in the West.

[chris_survivor]

I got this game on the release date (japan) ; I'm going to say that it was everything I expected after waiting 10 years for a game where Aya's on it. Everything looks awesome ( the story, could probably be a lot better, but still) . I'm still waiting for the US release, to see if they do a good voice acting on it (does anyone knows who is doing Aya's voice), and of course, I'm not a japanese speaker, so I still have some questions about the story after getting some answers of the forums.

[BBboy20]

I hope that's closer to January than March!!!

Eh, perhaps March would be better as both Jan & Feb are getting pretty filled up.

[chris_survivor]

The 3rd Birthday slated for Q1 2011 in west

I hope that's closer to January than March!!!

[aris13]

The 3rd Birthday slated for Q1 2011 in west

[ShadowHeart]

O M GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

http://www.square-enix.co.jp/3rd_birthday/

I jizzed.

Like.

Everywhere.

AYA <3

OH...MY....GAWD....As did I...[Parasite Eve] Will never die! EPIC GAME SERIES THAT WILL STAY EPIC FOREVER MORE!

[chris_survivor]

I want this game so much!!!!!!! ; I guess I need to buy a PSP, again ; since I sold my last one? Is there any news if, the game will be available for downloading, and play on PSP GO??

[aris13]

Kitase confirms winter 2010 Japanese release for 3rd Birthday, 2011 for Europe