Graphics

The graphics are simply beautiful. The screenshot does not do the game justice. All the characters Super-Attacks are fun to watch, and the detail to the environment is incredible.

Story

In the future, on the planet Hillys, the population suffers from constant attacks from the alien DomZ. The situation is gradually getting worse, as the rate of DomZ kidnappings increase. The Alpha Section forces, who are in charge of protecting citizens, seem to be completely ineffective, not even fighting the DomZ. In the midst of this situation, the secretive organization IRIS alleges that the Alpha Section is involved in a massive government conspiracy, and seeks to expose the truth through journalism. You control the young reporter/photographer Jade, with her companions Pey\'j and Double H. After experiencing first-hand a DomZ attack, she is contacted by IRIS, who recruit her as an action reporter. Jade is now tasked with infiltrating the Alpha Section, exposing the government conspiracy, and ultimately finding the truth for herself.

Sound

The voice acting is wonderfully done, the only voice that seemed out of place was the Alpha Sections Leader. As for the music, Most of them are forgettable, but the music with the first and last battles was a beautiful work. The sound effects are nice too, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Controls

The controls are very simple, L2 and L1 make Jade crouch, R1 brings out Jade?s camera, R2 makes her run, X is the action button, Square is the dodge button, Circle is the ?Use? button, and Triangle commands your allies to help with pushing crates, defeating an enemy, telling them to use their Super-Attack, etc. etc..

Gameplay

This game is very addictive, more than half the game gives you the choice to just run out and attack the enemy, or use stealth to make your way through without trouble. The artificial intelligence in this game is amazingly realistic, maybe a little too realistic for some, if your enemy hears or sees you later in the game, you are killed instantly, meaning you have to start that part over. Luckily, you have unlimited lives, but Readers (Save points) can be about 45 minutes apart. Finally, the mini-games. Some are fun (Taking pictures of animals) some flat out annoying (The Looter?s Caves). I think that covers everything. If not, you can always download the demo, although it didn?t work on my computer.

Content

No blood, the violence is pretty cartoony. Magic wise, some of the monsters are rather occultic looking (The first and last bosses in particular), Jade?s Dai-Jo staff seems to run on some sort of mystical energy, at the beginning, Jade and one of the kids are meditating in a style I?m not sure of. The IRIS rendezvous point is a Nutripils Factory, some (non-required) betting, and a cartoony, fake-looking decaying cow can be found there.

SPOILER

And at the end of the game, you find out one of the characters has the ability to resurrect the dead. The Alpha Sections Leader?s last words are ?May the Angels of Darkness rise to glory.?

END SPOILER

Pey?j (The pig) is fond of using the Lords? name in vain, using it about 6 times. The Race Announcer says that ?the wimps have 3 seconds to get the h*** out of here? There are 4 races, he says that for 3 of them, pressing mute for about 5 seconds won?t hurt anything.

Overall

This is among my favorite games this may just be the best game you never heard of. Because of the recent price drop, I recommend it to anyone who can handle the slight occultic themes and mild cursing.