 |
  |
 |
  
   |
|
RATING: (weak) 1 2 3 4 5 (awesome) (No Rating Assigned)
|
IN BRIEF
Pros: Wonderfully odd and hard to categorize. Cons: Game has some balance problems. *ESRB rating: T (Teen) |
FACTS
Game Title: Persona 2: Eternal Punishment Platform: Playstation Developer: Atlus Publisher: Atlus Release Date: December 21, 2000 |
THE REVIEW by Robin Moroney for Gamers Today
Persona 2 does a lot that hasn't been done before. "This is the damnedest game world to try to categorize" wrote IGN. The actual game play is the same as most RPG's, but the story and the design "unfolds into a disturbingly compelling experience," according to Daily Radar. The plot is about a journalist who, while reporting on a murder, discovers a world of souls, which overlaps with ours. The souls are called Personae, everyone has one, and they provide the game with what IGN called a "free-roaming combat mode, blessing the party with greater control over their titular personas, dark alter egos blessed with immense spiritual power." Other new game play elements include trying to persuade monsters not to kill you and spreading rumors, which become more true the further they spread (as an example Daily Radar advises that, if you need a gun, you should spread a rumor about a gun store and the gun store will gradually occur).
"After so many comparatively bland fantasy worlds, the wonderful weirdness of [designer] Megami Tensei's twisted reality is like a breath of fresh air," said IGN. The game has some balance problems and Daily Radar warns that "Escaping Eternal Punishment is a task that requiring almost fanatical concentration, leaving unfocused gamers buried in an endless stack of plot developments, items and persona" but still found it a "jagged cut above the rest."
*For a complete explanation of ESRB ratings, check out the official ESRB Web site.
