A very pleasant surprise.
User Rating: 7.3 | Koukyoushihen Eureka Seven - TR1: New Wave PS2
I didn't expect much from Eureka Seven when I picked it up based on the reviews it has received. I was fully expecting to feel like I was cheated out of my money on this one, but I still wanted to give it a go. You play the part of Sumner, a rookie mech pilot who has enrolled into a mech training school. Very prototypical anime type plot. The quiet new guy ends up digging the amazing female pilot of the school. Yada yada yada. Fast forward and they both leave the school and go their separate ways. The plot is fairly straight forward and if you have ever watched any anime you will be able to predict what happens. As to the game itself, the controls are horrendous. The camera control is shoddy at best. There is only one mech you pilot for almost all of the missions. There is a stunning lack of customization. The ability to transform into your more mobile automobile from mech mode is almost completely unnecessary. But for all of these terrible points I still kept playing, and having fun doing so. The game is terribly linear. There is nothing for you to do save continue the main story. The game is entirely too short. I think it took me about fifteen hours to beat. Yet for all the negatives about it I still enjoyed the game and I'm glad I picked it up.
The story is enough to keep you interested and keep you playing. The combat system reminds me a lot of the old game Virtual On. You at least get to customize the weapons that your mech is able to take into battle. Some are better than others as you would expect. If you're a fan of the series I would say pick it up. It is by no means a great game, but it is a great distraction for the little time it takes to finish. The game ends rather abruptly with absolutely no closure for the main characters, which has set it up for a sequel. Hopefully despite the negative reviews the game received they continue and make a sequel. I would like to see the story in it's entirety and not be left hanging wondering what happened.
