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	Galerians: Ash
	Developer: Arc System Works Publisher: Enterbrain Genre: Action / Survival Horror Players: 1 Similar To: Galerians Rating: Teen Published: 03 :04 : 03 Reviewed By: Ryan Newman Overall: 3 = Poor

Screenshots

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Intro
The first Galerians title saw mankind of the future reliant on a super computer named Dorothy, and her genetically altered clones (re: children) called - not surprisingly -- Galerians. Dorothy begins to question his existence and that of a god, which results in the devastation of a city. Dr. Steiner, Dorothy's creator, had a son named Rion; through the use of a virus, he had put an end to Dorothy, or so he had thought. It is now six years later and both are making a resurrection. This opens up the sequel to Polygon Magic's original and enjoyable, if flawed, title. It's a shame that this follow-up is marred by more flaws than its predecessor.


Gameplay: 3/10
A sequel to Galerians, Ash focuses on the struggle between Rion and Ash. The latter is the pinnacle of the Galerian clones and was launched upon the crashing of Dorothy and the last means of defense against the supercomputer's legacy. Getting to Ash isn't going to be easy as there are a handful of Galerians that must be defeated before the ultimate shutdown; otherwise, Ash will destroy every living thing.

The story sounds pretty cool, if not a little similar to the old Valiant comic Harbinger. In fact, I enjoyed that comic, and having missed out on the original, I was pretty excited to see Ash arrive. That enthusiasm didn't last long.

A mix of survival horror and RPG, the game finds Rion wandering around a few key locations to take on the remaining Galerians and their minions. His arsenal doesn't consist of standard weapons, but is instead composed of abilities that he has within him. He can cause flame and invisible balls of warped energy to shoot from his hands, as well as the power to pick up and slam enemies onto the ground, and also call upon a shield to help guard him. All of these powers will replenish over time and require pills to be taken so that their powers can recharge and be used again. Also, using these powers will cause Rion to become increasingly erratic and, if allowed to go overboard, he will burn up in psychic powers that make him immune to enemy attacks, but slowly kill him as well.

As cool as his powers are, it's their implementation that really cripples the game. To make sure that every situation can be handled, gamers will need a steady supply of pills on hand to make sure that they can be recharged at a moment's notice. Even more crucial is the medicine that ensures that his body doesn't overload, because in that state, he is incredibly slow and that particular medicine, which is already extremely difficult to come by, becomes nearly impossible to get - which, essentially, means you have to walk around for a few minutes just to die and start over. While these powers can be upgraded by using (surprise!) a pill, they all have to be leveled up before another level can be reached; for example, there can't be two level 1s and one level 3. No, they all have to be level 2 before any can be bumped to 3. Limiting their upgrades basically makes this feature useless as the player can get by with the powers, regardless of which one they power up first. And that really rings true for the powers in general; while cool, it turns the game into a scavenger hunt to find pills, which never seem to be around when you really need them, and cause players to avoid combat, which also avoids the possibility of more pills and also increasing their power.

The pace of the game is relatively slow, with Rion running at the pace of a brisk walk, though the overall length is surprisingly short. The story isn't all that amazing, but the different Galarians all have a special flair to them and I found myself plodding through the same environments and attacking the same enemies just to check out the cutscenes that introduce them and to see what their attacks were. The Galerians were the only source of variety in the game as they consist of the same five or so classes of enemies, and each were used more than enough. Combating them is also less than satisfying since it tends to make you endlessly paranoid as you frantically check to make sure you have enough pills to make it through the next hall; actually, the enemies can easily be skipped and run past, but, as I said, that limits the player's exposure to more pills and powerups. The targeting system used is akin to that of the N64 Zelda's, but this one isn't quite as polished since the camera tends to drop to the ground and look at Rion from an awkward angle, instead of keeping constantly to his back.

The story weans with Rion being liked and disliked, not to mention that the overall feel of the game is way off. In a military base, a Galerian ambush takes place and while there is fighting going on downstairs, there are soldiers standing around and sitting on the floor above. That lack of connection and focuses pretty sums up Galerians: Ash. While it's a different kind of gaming experience, it's one that is fundamentally flawed and serves as a rental, at best, and is a far cry from the follow-up that most were expecting.

Graphics: 5/10
Not very impressive, and in a time when effects normally save a game from looking completely dated, Rion's powers fail to pick up any slack, although his enemies have some snazzy effects. The animations are stiff, the characters tend to be nicely designed, but lower characters are used way too much, although the Glerians remain entertaining as their situations can create some surreal moments. The environments are extremely bland and are very limited in scope and number. Aside from the cutscenes and the Galerians themselves, this title comes across more like a Dreamcast game in the middle of the system's lifespan, rather than a second generation PS2 title, which is a shame, really, because the design and art is definitely there.

Sound: 6.5/10
The sounds are pretty repetitive with footsteps sounding the same no matter the surface, and environmental effects are almost completely absent. The voice-overs are fairly weak, but they do the job. The music is pretty solid as it emulates those weird high-pitched sounds found in 70s horror movies, and can lather itself with enough moody tunes to be pretty creepy. When fighting a Galerian, the music turns into a mesh of moody Toonami beats and 15 second clips from a random Jet Set Future Radio tune, mixed together, and repeated over and over.

Control: 4/10
Controlling Rion is a pretty tedious affair as he just can't seem to keep himself going in a straight line. Aside from jerking to the left or right when running forward, the camera's poor position when he targets an enemy only makes matters worse. Rion's slow pace also makes basic navigation a time-consuming chore as running from one hall to another seems to drag on longer than it should. Luckily, the menus are laid out well, so hurriedly popping a pill is a painless affair - which is about the only bright spot.

Overall: 3/10
An interesting premise and characters can't carry a fundamentally flawed game. The idea of mental powers and the tracking down of psychotic enemies is a solid lure, and it will provide some entertainment, but even this will wear thin as the poor controls, pacing, and annoying absence of pills will cause most gamers to stop long before they reach Ash. Given the game's length, this would serve as a rental, but even then I could think of better games to rent. Unless you're a diehard fan of the first, it's best to look past Galerians: Ash as it's far too tedious to recommend.

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