Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Uncategorized Player's Club: Star Ocean Second Evolution review
Posted by Garrett Martin on Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 7:24 PM
Star Ocean: Second Evolution
Rated for T for Teen
Released Jan. 20
Sony PlayStation Portable
Published by Square Enix
If you read anything about the PSP, you'll see one common refrain: "Where are the games?" Sure, the roster's a bit thin compared to the Nintendo DS, but there's still a lot worth playing on Sony's handheld. You may not always find everything on store shelves; a recent search at a local Best Buy turned up only nine unique PSP titles for sale. Sony's used the PSP as a testing ground for digital distribution, though, and there are a number of good games available for download through the Playstation Network. You can find both downloadable-only titles such as Echochrome, and games that garnered a full boxed retail release, such as Loco Roco and the excellent tactical RPG Jeanne D'Arc. And recently Sony announced forthcoming PSP installments of LittleBigPlanet, Rock Band, and Assassin's Creed, so there are bright spots on the horizon, as well. Reports of the PSP's utter uselessness have been exaggerated.
For RPG fans, there's one primary reason to own a PSP, though. Square Enix, the Coca-Cola, New York Yankees, and Random House of role-playing game publishers, has supported the PSP as firmly as any third party. The latest in its steady stream or role-playing games is Star Ocean: Second Evolution, a remake of a decade-old Playstation 1 game from the cult Star Ocean series. Square Enix has invested heavily in handheld remakes of old titles, both for the PSP and the DS. Even when the improvements are merely cosmetic, the revisitations usually deserve the attention of gamers both familiar and unfamiliar with the originals. Second Evolution is no different. It's a thoroughly enjoyable late ’90s Japanese role-playing game dressed up with updated visuals and sound, new playable characters, and revamped dialogue and voice acting. It's a great way to make older games palatable to current audiences without drastically altering the classic gameplay.
The biggest problem with Second Evolution is the fact that it comes so soon after Star Ocean: First Departure, last October's PSP remake of the original Star Ocean. The games are far from identical, but still similar enough to make Second Evolution feel a bit played-out. The Star Ocean series is interesting and different, with an active combat engine that has since been adopted and adapted by many other RPGs. But it can't match other Square Enix classics such as Chrono Trigger or the best of the Final Fantasy series. Only hardcore fans would probably enjoy playing through two Star Ocean games within three or four months, but then again, only hardcore fans are probably buying the games in the first place. Still, if you love the genre, and especially this particular series, you won't have many complaints with Star Ocean: Second Evolution.
(Photo courtesy Sony)
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