Looking for Something Different
I was looking for something different. I had just beaten the campaign for Call of Duty 4 after putting it off for multiplayer for almost a year, and I wanted something that I’d never played before. I had heard rumors of games fresh off the shore of Japan, games that combined the best of anime (interesting characters, over-the-top visuals) and point and click adventure games (deep story lines) into one awesome and unique experience. So I looked through some reviews and found almost unanimously high praise for a game called Ever 17 Out of Infinity. While I didn’t exactly get what I expected I did get something different.
Gameplay:
I’ll start out with the gameplay because it’s quite a bit different than anything I’ve played. It functions like a choose your own adventure story rather than an average adventure game. You have no inventory, there aren’t any puzzles, and you can’t control your character’s movement. At certain points in the game a box will come up asking you to make a decision as to what course of action to take. There are usually only two choices, but you may find yourself choosing from three of four. Other than clicking on what course of action you want to take, there is no other gameplay. If you’re going to play this game, it’s for the story and the story alone. Fortunately, the story is magnificent.
Story:
The basic overview of the story is that a group of teenagers are visiting an underwater amusement park, disaster strikes, and they are trapped. They have air and electricity, but the park is breaking down, and they are unsure how much longer it will last. The high level concept is not unique, but the story behind the park is intriguing, and the characters all feel like real people with their own backgrounds and motivations. At the beginning of the game you get the choice between one of two characters: Kid, an amnesic boy, and Takeshi a university student who was separated from his friends. However, the real stars of the show are the characters you are interacting with. You learn a lot about these characters and really start to care for them, more than almost any other game I can think of. You really feel like you’re stuck in this underwater utopia with real people. Throughout the game your decisions lead you to getting closer to one of the female characters, but it doesn’t feel like cheap romantic ploy, it’s quite subtle and natural. The plot is quite deep with many twists and turns, but you’ll have to play through the game at least five times to get the whole story. This isn’t as bad as it sounds since each play through is mostly unique, and you can conveniently skip to the next decision point. Overall, it’s a story that I think could only be told in an interactive (as little interaction as there may be) medium and you owe it to yourself to check it out.
Graphics:
The character sprites are basic anime fare with big eyes and crazy hair, but they are well done. Sadly there is little animation in the game, less than in the first Phoenix Wright. The backgrounds are also a little bland considering they are in a futuristic water park set under the sea. The imagages in my head while I was reading the text were grander than what was on the screen. It boils down to the graphics just being there as aids for the very well written text.
Sound:
Speaking of text, there is a lot of it. While well written and translated for the most part there are a couple of mess ups here and there, but it’s a solid effort. However, there is no English voice acting. The Japanese voice acting is quite good, unless you’re easily annoyed then you may be skipping the voices, Coco in particular. There are few musical scores, but they help set the mood. The sound effects are almost nonexistent, but those that are there do their job.
Conclusion
Hopefully I haven’t scared you away from this game because it is a ride worth taking. The story is one of the best I’ve experienced in a video game, and if you can get past the fact that you’re playing a choose your own adventure novel, sit back and enjoy. If nothing else it will be something different.
Rick “Sn@ke” Martin