I’m done with Parasite Eve.  I haven’t finished the game but I’m definitely done with it.

I finished Day Four and was working on Day Five when I got to some creatures that I didn’t seem able to really harm.  They’d shoot fireballs that would circle around and burn me and some other creatures would poison me and I’d attack them and each shot would do maybe 5 or 6 points of damage instead of the 20-40 I’m used to doing.  I’ve gimped my rifle somehow and have no idea what I missed.

The one battle I died three times and used all my revives.  I could kill one with my PE attack that drains all my PE but then I have to wait for it to regenerate, meanwhile they’re killing me as I try to run away from them in the cramped battle area they give me.  It sucks.

And the story just doesn’t seem to be enough to prompt me to try to figure this out.  So at six hours in I’m considering Parasite Eve finished for me.

Not sure what I’ll write about next.  I’ve actually restarted Final Fantasy XII and am two hours into it.  Maybe I’ll write about that.

Day Three is now finished.  This was an odd chapter.  At the end of Day Two they had stumbled upon Maeda, a Japanese scientist who seems to know a lot about Eve and mitochondria.  Our group joined forces with Maeda to try to figure out what is going on.  Maeda needed equipment from a lab so it was off to the museum once we raided an abandoned ammo store and a pharmacy.

Once at the museum, Maeda was able to determine that Aya has the unusual ability to repel Eve’s mitochondrial assault.  How did Aya get this ability?  Hmm?

Once done there, it was back to the police station only to find that Eve had attacked the boys in blue.  Cops were down all over the place and Barret (err… um….I mean Daniel of course) discovers that his son has ran off in search of the police dog Sheeva.

As a side note, it seems that Square has some fixed ideas about black men.  Much like Barret, Daniel is loud, gruff and usually handles things by force.  At the ammo store he shoots the lock off the door, prompting Maeda to remark “Are you sure he’s a cop?”  Daniel also has a son and is effectively a single parent.  Swap his suit for a Mohawk and a machine gun attached to his arm and he could slip pretty easily into Barret’s shoes or vice-versa.

As Aya progressed through the station she eventually came to what was left of Sheeva.  In another thoroughly disgusting CG movie, we see Sheeva’s head split open and turn into some sort of nasty, three-headed Cerberus creature.

I beat Sheeva the first time after dying twice and being Revived by an item I was carrying each time.  I didn’t want to waste these Revives as I only had two of them so I tried Sheeva a second time and died once.  That still wasn’t satisfactory for me so on the third try I put poor Sheeva out of her misery without dying once.

And that brings me to my main complaint about fighting in Parasite Eve.  I hate the fact that they give you cramped quarters to fight sometimes three or four different enemies.  I’m not the most dexterous person out there and I spend most of the battles running from the enemies, waiting for my energy to recover so I can heal myself and try to get a few shots off when I can.

I really like turn-based battles.  They are a good match for my ham-hands and slow reflexes.

I’m now done with Day 2.  So far I’m really liking this game and I’m remembering bits and pieces from when I played it years ago.  I’m not sure where I stopped playing but I know I haven’t reached it yet as everything feels very familiar.

I’ve now reached the point in the game where I can theoretically go to different places.  What’s cool about this is it gives me this neat 3D map that lets me choose where I want to go.  The downside is the only places I can really go are the police station and the next plot point.  I tried to go back to Carnegie Hall to mess around and there were guards blocking the entrance.  I’m a police officer dammit!  Let me pass!

There wasn’t much to do at the museum and the plot moved on to a park where Melissa/Eve was going to give a concert.  You’d think that after the last concert no one would show up but apparently people are really stupid.  The park was kinda cool as it had lots of winding paths and many battles.  I think Aya gained about 6 levels just from wandering around and fighting the creatures that spawned.  She has the ability to heal herself when her PE meter fills and she can run around and dodge attacks while her PE refills so basically I always have her at full health.  So far, combat is a breeze even with the occasional boss battle.

At the end of the park we ran into Eve again.  She summoned a carriage that was pulled by flaming horses (which was a really cool cutscene) and Aya and Eve fought while the carriage was flying down a seemingly endless street.  I just dodged her attacks and let her have it with my rifle and that took care of her.

After the battle she ran away but not before she transmitted something to Aya.  Aya then had more visions of some event (presumably from her past) involving a doctor and hospital beds.  I’m guessing that Aya has some of the magical mitochondria just like Melissa/Eve and that’s why she hasn’t been set on fire or melted like the rest of the people who encounter Eve.

The end of the day introduced a Japanese scientist who know something and he and Aya’s partner look after her as she recovers from her battle with Eve.  Aya is now level 14 as we move on to Day 3.

I’m starting out on Parasite Eve and have finished Day 1.  I’m not sure how many days are in the game but I think there are six.  So far Day 1 was pretty intriguing.

Like a lot of RPG’s, I started Parasite Eve shortly after it came out.  It was a weekend rental and I put maybe 3 hours into it before I had to return it.  I’d liked what I saw and wanted to play some more but never got around to it.  Now, almost 10 years later, I’ve forgotten most of what I played through.

The main character is Aya Brea, a young NYPD cop who goes to the opera with a date and witnesses a singer named Melissa change into…. something called Eve that sets the place on fire along with everyone inside.  Except Aya.  She follows her into the lower levels of the opera house and then eventually into the sewers below.

I'm sorry... Did your breasts just say something?

Along the way she meets up with Eve several times and eve talks about mitochondria revolting against humans and lots of other stuff that makes no sense.  There’s also a creepy little girl that reminds me of F.E.A.R. a bit.

Insert your own joke here

The game seems overflowing with CG cutscenes that are really fascinating.  Most of them have been of creatures mutating prior to a battle and they are pretty grotesque.  The first day ended with a fight against a strange alligator-type creature and the introduction of Aya’s veteran police partner.

So far, it looks like it’s going to be a fun game.  I understand it’s not a very long game but I don’t really mind that.  It’ll be a nice change of pace.