Hard Game with Confusing Story
The story revolves around Aya Brea as she goes back in time to try and save the world from being destroyed by a new evil called the Twisted. Aya is part of a covert operation that is still functioning in the future, but most of the world has been destroyed. Each time she goes back in time, she can borrow other people's bodies to move through environments. This action is called Overdive, and can also be used on enemies, though weakens Aya temporarily, but is sometimes the only way to kill them.
The story is involving, but is only told through cut scenes that are at the beginning or end of chapters. The production values for those scenes are through the roof, taking the small PSP screen to its very limits, but very well done. There is dialogue being thrown at you throughout, but it only helps you through the battles. In its simplest form, 3rd Birthday is an action shooter and little else. The controls are a challenge at times, but the auto-lock for most weapons makes it slightly easier. The sniper rifle and other weapons that don't allow auto-lock are harder to manoeuvre and the ammo for those are harder to come by.
Each level consists of more and more enemies and fewer soldiers to use as fodder for said enemies. The difficulty, even at normal, is quite tough. The game takes a good deal of patience and a quick 'jump' button to move from soldier to soldier. What becomes very frustrating is that the number of enemies continues to re-spawn at an exponentially faster rate than the soldiers in the same area. In some sections, the goal is to destroy stationary objects to move forward, but the sheer number of enemies makes it a massive chore. By that same token, as I moved from chapter to chapter, I felt like I'd really accomplished something.
And therein lies the charm of 3rd Birthday. While the story is confusing and the game play is a challenge, the difficulty reminds me of the games we all played as kids, the ones you'd spend days or weeks playing to get past one section. Not like today, where most games are too easy, this one was hard, a real challenge and I enjoyed it. For the price, under $20, and a game on a little used console, this is actually a pretty fun game. The drawbacks are clear, but the advantages are there as well.