A superior sequel to the original, and that's an achievement in itself.

User Rating: 9 | Helix: Fear Effect PS
By pandaramaster | Review Date:
Fear Effect was released in 2000 on the humble Playstation. At the time, the graphics and content was the high point of the game. And rightly so. I would argue that the first game was one of the first to use, or utilize a sort of cel-shading style. This made the game instantly attractive and reminisant of a Japanese Manga film. The game was also controversial for it's graphic depictions of death, nudity and so on. Though when you played it, it hardly appeared and people made a big fuss over nothing. However, despite the eye candy, the game had one significant flaw to the whole experience. An unfair difficulty level. The game was extremely difficult; each boss was a nightmare, the puzzles were abstract and hard to figure out, stealth didn't work as well as it should have done and the action was hindered by fixed camera perspectives. Now, that was the original title and this review is for the sequel. So what makes this one better? In a word, EVERYTHING.

The story is in a similar fashion to the predessor, albeit this sequel is actually a prequel and chronolouges the protagonists meeting up for the first time. The game also introduces a new character, Rain, who is in a questionable relationship with Hana. For all intent and purposes, this relationship is the talking point of the entire game. The advertisements for this game made the friends look like more than friends. But to be honest, it's briefly hinted at through some innuendo scenes in the game but it's not the back bone of the story. The actual core of the story is about Rain's mysterious past. The story is relatively good, it has a great corrupt atmosphere and is mature without resorting to immature and flimsy plot points, despite what you think.

The game plays almost identical to the first title, except it feels more refined and is a lot smoother. It's still a little cumbersome in some areas, and the real time inventory is still a nightmare to cycle through when you're in battle. But other than that, it's significantly improved over Fear Effect. What's gone is unfair difficulty level. The bosses are actually beatable this time round and the loadscreens have been drastically cut or taken away. All in all, a fun game to play with a fair challenge and progression is smoother over all.

Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix looks stunning. It may be showing it's age a little but you can't help but impressed by the character models and scenery. Everything is highly detailed and drips with style. It captures the atmosphere perfectly, it's in a similar fashion to Ghost In The Shell in terms of atmosphere. Except without the demons, ghouls and zombies.

The sound is highly impressive coming from a Playstation game. The game's sound still holds up today, without any corny lines or over the top lines. Most of the time.... The music is creepy and really lends itself to the atmosphere perfectly. The only blemish I can hear is the sound effects. They're pretty weak, but, the sound presentation is excellent overall.

Don't be fooled into thinking this game is a long game because of the inclusion of four discs. Far from it. It's closer to 15-20 hours in total, with the only added bonus of an art gallery after completion and several cheats too. Fear Effect 2 rights all the wrongs of the original and therefore is the best Fear Effect title available. Criminally overlooked because of the sexual innuendos, this is a great gem and I think the lesbian bit is an added bonus. But people don't play games for that. They play games because they're fun, which Fear Effect 2 is. It won't appeal to all people because it's essentially a survival horror title in the same vein as Resident Evil, if you didn't like those titles you won't like this. But that's a bit harsh. You should give this a try at least. Buy it!

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