Sunday, January 1, 2012

A Ghost in the Machine: Fate/Extra when NPC's become self aware

So I had to get a new PSP so I could play this one. My old one decided to not work properly. The Fate series is interesting. The original game--which I have not played--Fate/Stay Night, was a erotic game by Type Moon. How I came across the series was the anime of the sme name which was more toned down. The story revolves around 7 masters who have a servant who is a Legendary Soul belonging to one of 7 classes for instance Saber, Archer, and Rider. These masters are Magi who are fighting a war for the right to hold the grail. But this isn't the Holy Grail of Jesus but something more sinister. The main charachter Emiya accidently stumbled upon the war only to find himself becomeing a master.

Now the Fate/Extra is a bit different. The game takes place. in an alternate digital world. You start off in a school where the students are seeing that something isn't right. There are disapearances, things seem like they are scripted, and there are issues with peoples memories. For instance not knowing anything outside of being in that school. It turns out that this is a digital world where the canidates for masters had their memories erased as a test. And the only way out of this sinister game is to win or death.

The battle system isn't too exciting or anything. Its rock paper sissor style. And the boss for each week is way harder then any of the things you fight to level. I'm only into the 2nd week of the eliminations. But the enemies are sparce and you have to wait for them to regenerate if you want to level much. Also, you need to be very careful to get all the information you can. However, its very easy to miss something by not following the correct sequence to get the information. You need this to pass the week. Without it you can't find the enemy servants true identiy and pass the section.

I only recommend this game if you are famillar with the Fate series. It's an intrsting game with an intresting story but  it's not something you can fully enjoy without the rest. The game is littered with charachters from the orginal story as well as hearing some talk about situations from it as well. If you want a game with similar themes of a life or death game that you can't escape with a better story that is stand alone I'd recommend The World Ends With You. Plus the battle system is more fun and engaging though it can be hand hell. Fate/Extra is defiently intresting so as a fan of the Fate series I am enjoying it. Now i just need to beat the sucker.