Eve of Ex-stink-tion fails to impress

By Tom Fahey

Spiffy graphics, a game does not make...

Well, as painful as it would be to see Eidos produce another Tomb Raider, it would have been a lot better path to take in place of making Eve of Extinction.

If all else fails, at least you could sit back and admire the super-human sized features of Lara Croft! But EOE has no backup plans other than what's called comatose mode.

This is where, in unique style, the gamer gets so dreary of the repetitive game play that he, she, or they, slip into a coma. I was lucky enough to regain consciousness so that I can warn you now.

Think of a really bad action movie, with no story, bad acting, and cool flashy futuristic weapons.

Well, EOE is the playable version. You run around with basically what is a complete reproduction of a Light Sabre - but the fact that it talks means it's not a total Star Wars rip off, heh.

The aim? Eliminate round after round of baddies. Mind you, they always come in groups of four, with one really big guy - how convenient. I mean, the business that hires them must be really picky.

The streets you run around on are plain and empty. Not one person in sight, apart form the armies of evil doers who want your head on a platter. The occasional puzzle presents itself every now and then but, sadly, consists of nothing more than: "Oh, this door needs a key!" followed by a bad guy, who of course drops an item. "Oh, it looks like a key. I wonder where I could use this?" Can anyone help our hero? It looks like when God was giving out brains, this guy thought he said trains. And he missed his!

The twirling club weekend away turned nasty...

About the only positive point of the game is the combat. Yet because there is so much of it, it gets very systematic and then painfully boring. But at the same time, you can pull off some pretty sweet combos with your Jedi weapon and bear fists -- which is fun for all of about twenty minutes...

At least the graphics aren't a total loss. There are some pretty flashy light shows when you use the light sabre. It can also morph into a Darth Maul light sabre. Which little game producer has watched too much Star Wars?

There are different weapons, but no real improvement in their effectiveness. The character designs are poor, with the baddies all wearing cheap black suits. And the main guy, Josh, looks like Hwoarang off Tekken 3.

Flashy sound effects aren't hard to find these days, so little merit is awarded to EOE. The "swoosh" and "vwish" sounds match the light sabre, but there is nothing unique going on here. The bad guys hardly make a noise when you slice and dice them - sure they're stupid thugs, but they must know pain? Josh also has a computerised girlfriend who has one of those cool electronic voices, like the one in James Bond's BMW in Tomorrow Never Dies.

Well, there has to be some sort of law against bringing out game like EOE, but sadly, the game is on the shelves. It could still be a really good and appreciated game if it were played by someone who's missed out on the last five or six years of gaming. What it all boils down to is whether or not you need new cup coaster.

Game: Eve of Extinction
System: Playstation 2
Players: 1
Memory Card: Yes
Developer: Eidos
Distributor: Gamenation

Rating: 50%

(Ratings Key/Explantion)

Eve of Extinction is on the shelves now.