| Project Altered Beast review |
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Now let’s be honest here, whilst the original Altered Beast evokes fond memories it was actually a pretty average game. Regardless of its limitations the concept of a morphing hero had its appeal borne out by the popularity of the equally average Manimal TV series.
Project Altered Beast then is less of an update and more a complete reworking, keeping true to the concept and little else. Sure there are enough referential tips of the hat to the original to raise a smile, but anyone expecting a fantasy setting, and a sorcerer resurrecting fallen warriors with the immortal line “Wise fwom your gwave” should look away now.
What we have instead is a third-person action/adventure game set in the near future. Instead of magic there is of course science, in this instance genome research, a secret government project to develop the ‘ultimate genome warrior’. Each genome warrior can absorb and splice the DNA from various animals, morphing into a hybrid in the process and enhancing their combat abilities. The transformations are triggered and controlled by activating implanted genome chips. Of course a secret government research experiment isn’t going to go off without a hitch (will they ever learn), sure enough someone, or something has released a genome mist into the area immediately surrounding the research site causing the inhabitants, be they man or beast, to mutate into some unholy abominations.
Keeping firmly in the B-movie groove our hero (one of the genome warriors) finds himself the survivor of a helicopter crash over the site, with complete amnesia. And it’s this rather clichéd plot device that provides the vehicle for the narrative of the game to unfold through a series of flashbacks. Frankly the story can be more or less ignored as it provides no real surprises and little incentive to keep playing. In the same paint-by-numbers fashion, the gameplay does little in the way of innovation, sticking to the staple symbiosis of exploration and combo-riddled combat, all wrapped up in some ugly-looking graphics.
On paper then it looks pretty bleak for the Beast. Good job it’s a game and not a book, because it’s actually rather fun…
The first thing that hits home is the game's relative simplicity. There are no inventory screens to wade through - all of the combat and exploration elements of the game are accomplished by using the unique beast abilities afforded by captured genome chips and power-ups. There are six standard beast forms and each of these can be enhanced with an additional ability making twelve clear evolutionary steps. The game releases these in a well-controlled manner as rewards for beating the superb boss battles. Each enhancement opens up the playfield a little further, allowing access to more areas, enemies, power-ups, secrets and bosses. It’s reminiscent of Super Metroid if a little more obvious in its execution.
Any of the captured beast forms in the game can be selected at any time by holding down the Circle button, momentarily pausing the action and allowing the desired form to be chosen from a menu. A short and gruesome cutscene follows, showing the transformation and then it’s back to the action. There are a handful of cutscenes for each beast transformation, but since the game requires the player to be constantly dipping in and out of the various forms they become tiresome quickly. They can be skipped, but a second or two will still be played regardless.
None of the beast forms are redundant and each one is markedly different to control. Although no one form has precedence, most players will use the werewolf for regular ground-based combat as it has the biggest variety of combos and is more agile than the rest. Combat is utterly horrific. Blood flies everywhere, even splattering against the camera. Limbs fly off, bodies get tossed in the air and whole torsos get sliced in two. The mutated hordes attack in packs with tens of enemies onscreen at any one time, which results in the occasional combo-wrecking patch of slowdown. Despite the overwhelming numbers, slicing and dicing through the pack is for the most part a simple case of hammering the Square button for a bit and then racing around to collect the blobs of beast energy and health left by downed foes. Beast energy drains steadily away whilst in beast form, should the gauge reach the bottom health starts to ebb away. A neat remedy for this is to decapitate one of the bad guys, quickly switch back to human form and then use the energy-absorbing thrust attack to punch through the stomach of the helpless victim and drain their beast energy until they slump lifeless to the ground.
Certain enemies have an aura around them, in some cases these must be defeated to allow progression to a new area. In all cases the aura represents a much stronger enemy that releases some additional genetic material when defeated. Each of the beasts has a preset combo tree, each node of which can be opened up at a certain genetic cost. Whilst the combo trees for the land-based werewolf, minotaur and wendigo branch from the Square button to the Triangle and ‘X’ buttons. The combos for the underwater merman and flying dragon and garuda only involve the Square button. This is partly forgivable, since the ‘X’ button is reserved for controlling speed and depth or altitude in a control setup that is far from intuitive, but highly rewarding once it has been mastered.
Completists will be in seventh heaven as hidden within the game world are twenty-five Unique beasts (in name only as they all look rather similar), these must first be discovered and then defeated within a very tight time limit. Success releases additional power-ups and adds their data to the gallery mode. In addition there are eighty-seven beast-data chips hidden throughout the game world and within certain enemies which can be collected, unlocking the corresponding beast-data within the gallery. But wait! In trueinfomercial style, there’s more! You also get a very challenging boss time-attack mode which (you guessed it) unlocks the boss data within the gallery mode.
Project Altered Beast is a bit of an odd one then. Despite its hammed-up plot, repetitive gameplay and simple execution, there is something to be said for its mindless violence and carnage. It should get tiresome, but somehow it doesn’t. With a greater variety of free-flowing combos and enemies that presented a real challenge, it could have been utterly fantastic. As it stands, the exemplary level design, expertly paced progression and collection elements are enough to make it an enjoyable and engaging adventure and one that should not be dismissed out of hand. |
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System: Sony PlayStation 2
Genre: Action
Developer: SEGA
Publisher: SEGA
Players: 1
Version: Japan
Reviewed: Apr 2005
Writer: Trevor Bradbury
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Pros:
- Beast switching and power-up system is a breath of fresh air
- Simple but effective exploration elements work well
- Plenty to discover, collect and unlock
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Cons:
- Slowdown is a problem in densely populated areas
- Dial-a-combo mechanics make combat too rigid
- Standard enemies present little challenge
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