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Think Resident Evil with a sci-fi look when describing Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix, one of those sequels that sets itself in time before the original, which I can’t confess to playing.
You play the part of one of four characters – 1 male (Deke) and 3 female (Hana – pictured left, Royce and new girl, Rain), each with their own separate mission to acquire a particular item apiece and as luck would have it, you all have to save the world from impending doom.
The graphics on Playstation games, no matter what tricks you try and pull, are getting far too dated. I even switched on the ‘smooth’ setting when booting this up on my Playstation 2 but the jagged edges are far too apparent and when viewing a character when they’re not up close leaves their facial features looking distorted.
As for the way the game plays, look no further than the aforementioned Resident Evil series with its fixed camera views watching the action. Sound FX are not dissimilar with action noises from the pistol, shotgun, Uzi and their clanging shells as ammunition is spent, all reminding you of gaming times once gone by. However, any air of tension is totally absent.
Been there, done that. When playing the original Resident Evil, the experience was intensely compelling. The sequel, Resident Evil 2, told the same story from four different perspectives and with two characters but one walk-thru was enough for me. For Resident Evil 3, I gave up after endlessly getting killed by Nemesis. The Dreamcast exclusive, Resident Evil: Code Veronica was a sequel too far and Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix is a pretender to the crown that brings nothing new to the genre, so only invest if you’re gagging for more – and if you are, the four discs the game comes supplied with should keep you going for some time.
SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC
PLAYABILITY
ORIGINALITY
ENJOYMENT
OVERALL If you’re after some more info on Eidos Interactive’s games, you can check out their official Website at www.eidosinteractive.com
Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2001.
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.