There should be more games like Child of Eden. I don’t mean chaotic shooters mixing music and various graphical styles — I simply mean creative, original games.
Published by Ubisoft and developed by Q Entertainment, Child of Eden was first released (and unfortunately, overlooked) in June for the Xbox 360 and Kinect. This review focuses on the PlayStation 3 version, which was released at the end of September.
The game takes place inside Eden, an Internet-esque archive of all human memories. As viruses attack Project Lumi — an attempt to produce a human personality inside Eden — players dive into the virtual archives to save it.
Once players enter Eden, they’re in for a treat — the five Archives, or levels, are all visually exciting. Designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s (Ninety-Nine Nights) hand in the game is impossible to ignore as Child of Eden shares some aesthetic touches with his other titles, such as Lumines and Rez. The visuals are a barrage of sensory information as colors and shapes come together in unique combinations. Each archive is absolutely beautiful.
The PlayStation 3 version of the game is distinct because it can be played in stereoscopic 3-D if you have the equipment, though we were unable to test it.
Some might consider Child of Eden to be a music game. As you move through the archives, a basic backing track plays. Firing upon enemy viruses brings about new sounds that build upon each other, creating full-fledged musical compositions. If you miss an enemy, you miss a note, and the soundtrack changes.
While the musical aspect is great, Child of Eden really is a shooter at heart. Players are put on tracks to follow through the Archives, and there are a variety of forms to fire at. The game can be played with either the DualShock 3 or the PlayStation Move motion controller, providing for two differnt control schemes. The standard controller provides for a tighter experience, but it’s easy to get engrossed in the motion controls. Move’s colored, light-up tops, perhaps unintentionally, take some color and add it to the player’s hands. The controllers’ vibrations work with the music, mixing the soundtrack and controls.
It should be mentioned that the game is short. The five Archives, which are admittedly difficult, are the entire game. They can be replayed and may change slightly each time, but the content that is there is slightly limited.
You may be forced to replay old levels until you do well enough to progress to the next one. Each level gives you a number of stars based on how well you perform. If you don’t perform well enough, you have to go back in to collect more stars. This gets quite repetitive, as there are so few Archives.
It’s hard to classify a game like Child of Eden. It’s an on-rails shooter, but it’s also a multimedia experience that integrates graphics, sound and controls together. In short, it’s a fascinating and creative experiment that pays off, if only for a little while.
VERDICT: Child of Eden brings an inventive, sensory experience to the PlayStation 3, but it lacks longevity.
afreedman@umdbk.com
