Playstation Festival 2000 impressions

[02.19.00] » General overview of titles on display at the festival.

   Sony's Playstation Festival 2000 wrapped up its second day on Saturday, and the GIA's J.T. Kauffman was there to bring you impressions and images of the first wave of Playstation2 software--at least, the ones that we cover.

   The first RPG out the door, From's Eternal Ring is decent, but nowhere hear blockbuster status. Play control really hurts on this one, with the DualShock2 being used nowhere near its potential. The magic system is well developed, and the graphics are nice as well. It should keep RPG fans happy until something with more meat comes along...

   In addition to Eternal Ring, From provided the first adventure RPG title in the form of Evergrace. Slated for an April release, the game is solid, but again, lacks the qualities that would make it a masterpiece. The landscapes are beautiful, and well laid out, and the graphics add to them nicely. Again, though, the control seems to drag this one down a bit. Camera problems plagued the game within the first few minutes, and the main character's slightly choppy animations didn't help matters. Unless the title improves greatly in the two months that it has until release, it looks like the PS2's first adventure RPG will be a rather mediocre one.

   Koei, military strategy lovers that they are, had Kessen displayed. The game is absolutely beautiful, with incredibly impressive graphics and very good camera work. It was the only game at the show that really floored me in terms of graphics. You really must experience hundreds of samurai charging into battle at once - it's a beautiful thing. The gameplay seemed solid, but due to the extensive, kanji-intensive Japanese menus, I was content merely watching.

   Shown only in video form at a special 'Games in Development' stage show was Sony's Dark Cloud. Easily the most exciting looking RPG at the show, the game is sure to please both action RPGers as well as sim fans through the title's landmake system. The graphics, although not finished, are very well done, and seeing the landmake system in action is very impressive. Though it isn't due for release until the Christmas season, Dark Cloud is a title to keep an eye on.

   As per the current music rage, the PS2 has its fair share of rhythm titles, many of which appeared at the show. Konami presented the port of their arcade game Drummania. While not graphically impressive in the least (in all seriousness, the game could be done on the original Playstation with no problems), the music and gameplay shine. Part of Konami's BEMANI series, the game is a drum simulator, and includes an actual electronic drum controller. While the controller is a bit small (especially when you're used to the full-size arcade version), it does its job well. My only real gripe with the game was the foot pedal on the controller; it is very hard to get used to, and basically requires you to stomp on it, which gets very tiring (literally) very fast.

   Jaleco showed their dancing game Stepping Selection, based on their Stepping Stage arcade games. A Dance Dance Revolution-"inspired" title, SS features six different step possibilities on its own dancing mat controller. The title is more Western-friendly than the J-Pop-heavy DDR, due to its inclusion of musicians such as Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys, but it also possesses elements that Americans may find incomprehensible, such as the inclusion of musicians such as Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys.

   Puzzle games made an appearance too, with Sony showing their I.Q. Remix+ and Fantavision titles. I.Q.+ is essentially I.Q. Remix (the sequel to the original I.Q., aka. Intelligent Qube) with lots of effects added in. Pretty to watch for a while, but in the end, if you didn't like I.Q. before, there's nothing here that will make you like it now. Those who already enjoy I.Q., of course, wil find plenty to enjoy here.

   Fantavision looks, and almost plays, like a tech demo. If you like fireworks, then this title is for you. Unfortunately, the gameplay lacks that addiction factor that good puzzle games tend to have, and it ends up being pretty for a few minutes, and then something that you want to move on from.

   Last but certainly not least is Sony's surprise title, Be On Edge. At first glance I wrote this one off as another one of Sony's "quick buck"-type games (see I.Q.Remix+ and Fantavision). Upon playing it, however, my mind was quickly changed to the point that BOE became my favorite game of the show. This is a game that truly defies categorization and description. The premise of the game is to assemble a TV show/music video reel for the fictional BBB Network. You have five minutes to do so. The reel is broken into 8-frame segments. You job is to fill up each segment using blocks made up of 1 to 4 frames. Each block contains different footage, and different sound effects. The more creative you are with placing the blocks, the more points you get added to your 'electricity' meter. Fill up the meter, and you move onto the next scene. Complete all of the scenes, and you get to watch your finished product as it 'airs'. While it sounds odd (and it is), it's also a lot of fun. The music is very well done, and is very reminiscent of the techno act Fluke (heard in Wipeout XL/2097). The graphics are actually very well done; while they look like normal simple cel cartoons, they are actually shaded polygons rendered in real-time. Gameplay is simple, and unlike Fantavision, is very addicting. Unfortunately Be On Edge isn't slated for launch, and won't appear until summer.

   Overall, the lineup for the PS2 is good, varied, and deep. While the system looks like it will start off with some rather mediocre titles (at least in the RPG, music, and puzzle departments) the games lined up for later release look to be ones to truly get excited about. Look for more in-depth impressions on individual games, as well as screenshots, soon.