Platform: Playstation 2

Genre: Survival Horror

Number of Players: 1

If you’re a big survival horror fan, than most undoubtedly you are probably familiar with the game Galerians. It was one of the few titles that made an effort to take survival horror beyond just being another horror title, and mixed in a healthy does of science fiction. It was this combination of elements that made the game a little more unique, and while it still didn’t sell nearly as well as Capcom’s legendary Resident Evil/Bio-Hazard series, it did well enough to at least warrant having anime created in Japan. The game finally gets a follow-up though, and this time it’s moving beyond the days of the original Playstation gaming console, and jumping onto the mighty Playstation 2.

The sequel, Galerians: Ash, picks up from the end of the original. However, it has been 6 years since Rion originally defeated the maniacal super-computer known as Dorothy. Rion finds himself again preparing for the final battle before being revived from his cryogenic sleep. The new Galerians that Dorothy unleashed at the end of the last game are now continuing here will; the destruction of humanity. Rion, being a Galerian himself, is the only one with the power to put an end to the destruction that the final Galerians have been initiating. But skill and psychic abilities may not be enough.

If you’re not familiar with the original game, there’s no need to worry. The game will fill in some of the previous details and events, as will the instruction book itself. Even without knowing exactly what transpired though, it’s relatively easy to get into the swing of things. After all, this is the world of survival horror, and the plot isn’t too difficult to get into.

The "subtitle" of the game, Ash, comes from the last Galerian himself. Named Ash (duh!) defeating him is your ultimate goal. Of course, you know it isn't going to be that easy, and there are other Galerians that stand in your way, ready to take you to the limit and test the extent of your powers. Don't expect Ash's companions to be mere push overs though, but we'll talk more about that later.

Many of the same concepts and ideas from the original game are included in the follow up. Rion has tremendous metal power that he can increase and normalize through the use of PPEC, Psychic Power Enhancement Chemicals. His powers from the previous game are all present, although diminished in comparison to the finale of the original game. I’m sure being a state of suspended animation for 6-years had something to do with that. Once he comes out of his slumber, Rion initially starts with:

Nalcon – a shockwave that can be emitted as either a single shot (close range) or a succession of shots (long range)
Red – the ability to project fire, making Rion a great hit at camping trips
D-Felcon – an anti gravity attack that lifts all surrounding foes into the air and slams them onto the ground
Rio has two new abilities, aside from his old standbys, and that’s thanks to Lilia who returns from the original game. Rion’s new abilities however, are a bit slower, but much more powerful, and these are:
Bustanor – a homing laser that relentlessly follows foes until impact
Breakaron – a devastating psychic attack that damages every foe in the area
Additionally, Rion also has the option of using a psychic shield to protect himself from enemy attacks by simply pressing the R1 button.

Just like in the last game, Rion has a slight problem with using his powers. As you use your psychic abilities, your AP will begin to build up, and once it reaches a critical level, Rion will “short.” Shorting has positive and negative side effects. When sorting, Rion becomes invincible, and either damages or kill a nearby foe. This may sound like a blessing, but it’s not. Rion also takes damage from shorting, and only a healthy does of Delmetor will help stabilize him before things get really out of control.

Skip is yet another PPEC that makes its return. Rion’s powers start at level one, but if you find a Skip lying about and pop it down, you can raise your abilities by a single point. The maximum is level three, however you need to have all of your other abilities at a level two before this can be accomplished. It’s a nice way to hinder players from maximizing one attribute and ignoring the others.

The game plays a lot like the other Galerians, with a few differences. The controls are much more improved, although the movement is still a bit sluggish. However, it’s definitely better than the controls from Resident Evil (although Capcom has been working on improving those, but even with the release of Zero, there are still no major changes.) It’s fairly easy to target your enemies, simply push R2 and you can select any targets within range, making things easier when it comes to batting those nasty Galerian henchmen. You can also adjust the camera by using the L1 & L2 buttons, which is much better (at times) than using the analog stick. There also seem to be plenty of options to save, and there’s no limit, unlike most other survival horror titles, and safe often should be the credo from just about any game of this nature. Again, like most other survival horror titles, puzzles play an element in the overall playability and story, and true to form, most of them are relatively simple to solve if you just think about it for a minute. Most veterans of the genre should have no problem with these at all.

Where the real problem tends to come in is with the boss battle. Most of the wandering enemies aren’t too terribly difficult to defeat, and all can be done so with ease. The only real problem is that they tend to attack in droves at times, but it’s nothing a little running and dodging won’t handle. When it comes to doing head-to-head with one of the big boys though, things are a bit trickier. Your first major battle will be with Spider, and he’s a rather interesting foe, and more difficult than those simple minded ground troops you’ve found thus far, The bosses after that get harder though, making Spider seem like a walk in the park. Parano seemed to prove the most difficult, especially with his spinning attacks that left me cursing and throwing the controller until he finally laid defeated (after quite a few attempts.) All this, and it retains a healthy 60 frames per second, resulting in smooth flowing combat.

The graphics in Ash remain very true to the original game, although they’re much improved of course. The beginning has a look that is very similar to artwork that you may have seen from the warped mind of H.R. Gieger, especially when it comes down to the design of Dorothy. Outside of that world though, the game has a sort of Blade Runner approach in some areas, mixed with a little Aliens influence, and topped off with characters that have a more modern cyberpunk look. The cut scenes aren’t’ bad, and the game features over an hour of CG cinemas that, once viewed, can be accessed again from the main menu so you can show them off to your friends, or review some of the information that’s been sent your way.

Even with its nice looks though, a few things don’t sit quite right. The game is a bit slow moving at times, with a lot of dialog that get tedious and uninteresting at times. The voice acting leaves much to be desired, and much of seems to be either unemotional, or over emotional at time. Any anime fans that tend to gravitate more towards the dub way of life will recognize some of the more seasoned veterans, but I’ll leave that up to you to discover. And even though the game is in fact classed as survival horror, it definitely doesn’t feel like it. It lacks that jump-out-of-your-seat feeling like Resident Evil tends to have no real gore or blood factor, and definitely no scare factor like Fatal Frame.

Galerians: Ash isn’t a horrible game, and is a decent follow up to the original, but does lack anything that’s inventive. More than anything, it is just the same game repackaged with a new story. However, the combination of game play still makes it worth a look, and the story, no matter how much it leans towards being tiresome, is at least a little interesting. . If you’re craving something that’s more on the cerebral end, then this is definitely a game to check out. However, hardcore action fans will more than likely lose interest with Galerians early on. Much like the first game though, I’m sure that Galerians will be another sleeper hit that draws in its own cult following

-mike-