Eve of Extinction
EOE looked to be a promising departure from the overused action formula. As it turns out, it wasn't, managing to shock us all. Find out what went wrong inside.
Published: March 29, 2002
Eve of Extinction looked to be one of the more interesting action games in awhile. With its original storyline, and nice looking battle system, it looked to have a lot going for it. Notice that I'm using words in the past tense that correspond to the time period before the game was released. There is a good reason for this, which is that these things, at least for the most part, are no longer true. And a game that could've been so much more has turned into a pile of... well, crap. Before I get to how putrid this game is, I'll give you the lowdown on its plot and Legacy system (which is what the weapons are based upon, more on this later). Considering they're basically the only two high-points of the game, and I try to keep a positive attitude about things.
The plot of EOE revolves around a company named Wisdom which supposedly is an up and coming bio-genetics company. This is only a cover-up however, as the real reason behind the rise of Wisdom is the development of a new weapon called Legacy. A Legacy is made by fusing together an ancient metal and the nervous system of humans. And like a certain software company, Wisdom ends up monopolizing on its vast source of income and power and ends up developing the ambition for world-wide military control. Two employees of Wisdom, Josh Calloway and his girlfriend Eliel Evergrand, uncover their employers plot and try to escape. But unfortunately for them, are caught, and Josh is subjected to experimentation. His girl doesn't fare to well however as her nervous system ends up being rewired into the core of the latest Legacy model, which has been given the code name of, you guessed it, EOE.
A Legacy is sort of complicated so in order to understand the rest of this review, a few things have to be explained. Starting off, a Legacy is made up of three components. First is the Legacy Navigational System. Because there is a human soul in every Legacy, this part gives you advice throughout each stage during the game and hints on how to solve puzzles. Second is the Legacy Format System. This has the ability to transform into different weapons by inserting different weapon crystals into the Legacy itself. Finally, there is the Legacy Drive System. Each of the 10 weapons featured in the game have one of these, which allows you to perform a sort of "limit break" (for lack of a better term) for whatever weapon crystal you insert a blue and red Ley seed into. Without going into to much more detail, if you don't have both Ley seeds, you can't execute a Legacy Drive (LD), that simple. When you do have both Ley seeds, an LD can be executed by tracing a "Legacy Drive Signature" that is drawn onto the screen, which you have to duplicate almost exactly using the left analog stick in the order in which it was drawn. You can only perform an LD when there is a certain amount of Legacy energy left in the Legacy meter, which is conveniently displayed in the top left hand corner of the screen.
Besides the LD, weapons also provide for many other uses. This includes what are called Legacy Actions. An example would be using the Rod as a pole vault to jump to places that were otherwise inaccessible, using the Snake Sword to shoot out its blades to extend its attack distance, and even to anchor the tip of the sword to a wall which allows you to pull yourself towards the wall as the blade constricts. A great addition in the weapons department is when changing weapons in the midst of an attack, a combo move can be performed that substantially increases the amount of damage dealt onto an opponent, or opponents depending on their proximity to the assault itself.
Now that that's out the way, back on to the review. As I said a few paragraphs back, EOE has a soul, which is Josh's girlfriend. Eliel helps Josh (whom you control during the course of the game) do just about everything, and becomes the annoying person you never want to talk to because they never stop talking! Luckily, one of the few things that Yuke's did right was add an option to turn her off. But again, looking on the positive side of things, at least she's there when you need her. While I'm talking about sound, it should be noted that the music in EOE, or lack there of is extremely repetitive, and when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, really isn't music at all. It basically is just a sort of techno style tune (which can become tiresome if given the chance) that only changes when you're fighting enemies and during certain parts of the game.
Graphics-wise, Eve of Extinction provides a mediocre presentation at best. While the main character is modeled nicely and his face/mouth movements go along with the voice-acting quite well, all of the other characters are difficult to differentiate between (except for one). Most are in black suit get-ups and one of the only ways to tell if someone is stronger than the last guy you did away with is how bulky they are. The backgrounds, while GTA3 like only in the sense of papers flying occasionally in the streets, don't look as hi-res as they ought to. When running about, you'll find yourself always holding the R2 button. Why? Because it is the only way you'll be able to see where you're going because of the absolutely horrible camera angles. Also of note, the occasional "part of body disappearing in building or going through object" phenomena is readily apparent. Strangely, I thought this problem would've been left behind with the old PlayStation along with the infamous "big pixel syndrome" from the first Tomb Raider games. Guess I was mistaken.
Carrying on the tradition that this game seems to set, taken from The Bouncer and Sega's Dyanamite Cop are timed button action sequences. In a nutshell, these basically are real-time cinemas that display a button that you have to press on your PS2 controller to avoid a gunshot or something of that nature. If you're "fast" enough (usually there is ample time to press the button unless this is your first time playing a Sony console) you'll escape unscathed, while if you manage to screw up somehow, you'll sustain a fair amount of damage. Remember before when I mentioned how you could use the Rod to jump higher than you normally would be able to? Well, you use this for just about every jump in the game, so if you actually decide to play EOE for some odd reason that you can keep to yourself, you'll have a great tip to get you started.
While the plot may seem a little on the extra-ordinary side, it leaves open almost an infinite number of ideas for a game based upon it. And unfortunately, Yukes took it upon themselves to make part of the game cool (in the Legacy system) and the other (in the rest of the game) crap. Needless to say, I couldn't imagine playing this game for 8 hours until finishing it (which I ended up doing, and really wished I hadn't).
We've all heard the saying to "take an idea and run with it." Well Yukes did in fact take the plot and run with it, just in the completely wrong direction. Do the videogame industry a favor as a whole and don't buy or rent this game. If nothing else to show developers as well as publishers that they can't release half-assed titles like Eve of Extinction and still expect to generate a hefty profit.
The plot of EOE revolves around a company named Wisdom which supposedly is an up and coming bio-genetics company. This is only a cover-up however, as the real reason behind the rise of Wisdom is the development of a new weapon called Legacy. A Legacy is made by fusing together an ancient metal and the nervous system of humans. And like a certain software company, Wisdom ends up monopolizing on its vast source of income and power and ends up developing the ambition for world-wide military control. Two employees of Wisdom, Josh Calloway and his girlfriend Eliel Evergrand, uncover their employers plot and try to escape. But unfortunately for them, are caught, and Josh is subjected to experimentation. His girl doesn't fare to well however as her nervous system ends up being rewired into the core of the latest Legacy model, which has been given the code name of, you guessed it, EOE.
A Legacy is sort of complicated so in order to understand the rest of this review, a few things have to be explained. Starting off, a Legacy is made up of three components. First is the Legacy Navigational System. Because there is a human soul in every Legacy, this part gives you advice throughout each stage during the game and hints on how to solve puzzles. Second is the Legacy Format System. This has the ability to transform into different weapons by inserting different weapon crystals into the Legacy itself. Finally, there is the Legacy Drive System. Each of the 10 weapons featured in the game have one of these, which allows you to perform a sort of "limit break" (for lack of a better term) for whatever weapon crystal you insert a blue and red Ley seed into. Without going into to much more detail, if you don't have both Ley seeds, you can't execute a Legacy Drive (LD), that simple. When you do have both Ley seeds, an LD can be executed by tracing a "Legacy Drive Signature" that is drawn onto the screen, which you have to duplicate almost exactly using the left analog stick in the order in which it was drawn. You can only perform an LD when there is a certain amount of Legacy energy left in the Legacy meter, which is conveniently displayed in the top left hand corner of the screen.
Besides the LD, weapons also provide for many other uses. This includes what are called Legacy Actions. An example would be using the Rod as a pole vault to jump to places that were otherwise inaccessible, using the Snake Sword to shoot out its blades to extend its attack distance, and even to anchor the tip of the sword to a wall which allows you to pull yourself towards the wall as the blade constricts. A great addition in the weapons department is when changing weapons in the midst of an attack, a combo move can be performed that substantially increases the amount of damage dealt onto an opponent, or opponents depending on their proximity to the assault itself.
Now that that's out the way, back on to the review. As I said a few paragraphs back, EOE has a soul, which is Josh's girlfriend. Eliel helps Josh (whom you control during the course of the game) do just about everything, and becomes the annoying person you never want to talk to because they never stop talking! Luckily, one of the few things that Yuke's did right was add an option to turn her off. But again, looking on the positive side of things, at least she's there when you need her. While I'm talking about sound, it should be noted that the music in EOE, or lack there of is extremely repetitive, and when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, really isn't music at all. It basically is just a sort of techno style tune (which can become tiresome if given the chance) that only changes when you're fighting enemies and during certain parts of the game.
Graphics-wise, Eve of Extinction provides a mediocre presentation at best. While the main character is modeled nicely and his face/mouth movements go along with the voice-acting quite well, all of the other characters are difficult to differentiate between (except for one). Most are in black suit get-ups and one of the only ways to tell if someone is stronger than the last guy you did away with is how bulky they are. The backgrounds, while GTA3 like only in the sense of papers flying occasionally in the streets, don't look as hi-res as they ought to. When running about, you'll find yourself always holding the R2 button. Why? Because it is the only way you'll be able to see where you're going because of the absolutely horrible camera angles. Also of note, the occasional "part of body disappearing in building or going through object" phenomena is readily apparent. Strangely, I thought this problem would've been left behind with the old PlayStation along with the infamous "big pixel syndrome" from the first Tomb Raider games. Guess I was mistaken.
Carrying on the tradition that this game seems to set, taken from The Bouncer and Sega's Dyanamite Cop are timed button action sequences. In a nutshell, these basically are real-time cinemas that display a button that you have to press on your PS2 controller to avoid a gunshot or something of that nature. If you're "fast" enough (usually there is ample time to press the button unless this is your first time playing a Sony console) you'll escape unscathed, while if you manage to screw up somehow, you'll sustain a fair amount of damage. Remember before when I mentioned how you could use the Rod to jump higher than you normally would be able to? Well, you use this for just about every jump in the game, so if you actually decide to play EOE for some odd reason that you can keep to yourself, you'll have a great tip to get you started.
While the plot may seem a little on the extra-ordinary side, it leaves open almost an infinite number of ideas for a game based upon it. And unfortunately, Yukes took it upon themselves to make part of the game cool (in the Legacy system) and the other (in the rest of the game) crap. Needless to say, I couldn't imagine playing this game for 8 hours until finishing it (which I ended up doing, and really wished I hadn't).
We've all heard the saying to "take an idea and run with it." Well Yukes did in fact take the plot and run with it, just in the completely wrong direction. Do the videogame industry a favor as a whole and don't buy or rent this game. If nothing else to show developers as well as publishers that they can't release half-assed titles like Eve of Extinction and still expect to generate a hefty profit.