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Every Extend Extra Review
Written by Robert Falcon on Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Wildly addictive gameplay (for those who can get into it). Hypnotic presentation.
Has a steep learning curve that may frustrate some. There are only a few modes to choose from.
Can anything beat Lumines or Lumines II? Q Entertainment is certainly willing to try out. Instead of just leaning heavily on one franchise and sticking with it, the Tetsuya Mizuguchi-headed company decided to try a different kind of puzzle game with Every Extend Extra, based on a hit Japanese PC game. The bad news is that the game doesn't have the approachability of Q's previous puzzle series, and will probably have a much more broadened audience as a result. However, those who can accept the gameplay style and get into it will find it worth repeat visits.
The game puts you in control of a space ship. It's a small space ship with only one defensive tactic, and that's being able to blow up on command. The explosion can be a quick bang or a well-charged explosion that covers a wide range. These explosions will be important because the game requires a massive chain reaction of enemies that fill the screen. These enemies can vary, ranging from small, harmless balls of light to bosses that fire off all kinds of ammunition at you. Upon the destruction of said enemies, players need to pick up gems to power themselves up and keep alive The gameplay really doesn't change over the course of its nine stages, nor does it really need to.
There's a sharp learning curve that has to be accepted here, and that kind of limits Every Extend Extra's appeal right off the bat. The gameplay is easy to get into, but the later stages require higher chain reactions and counts in order to survive, while tacking on a time limit and a limited number of ships on top. It becomes overwhelming at first, and very frustrating to those who don't know how to approach this kind of game. However, experts who are familiar with its style can get into it easily, and soon be building chain reactions into the double and triple-digit count.
Like the Lumines games, EEE has a terrific visual style with different, hypnotic backgrounds for each stage. They can become quite colorful, mesmerizing players with rainbow-like spectrums of light and beautiful effects strewn throughout. The music and sound effects are also noteworthy, filled with techno beats and wild explosion sounds that run almost along the same lines as Rez. (Game fans should already know, Mizuguchi's UGA Studio developed that title- so the design will strike familiar with you.)
There's only a few modes given here, although they don't really tweak the gameplay to the point that innovation is involved. There's a straight-up arcade mode where players can practice their explosive wares; a Boss Rush were the game simply has boss encounters stacked up alongside one another; a Caravan Mode where favorite stages can be selected right off the bat, and a fun AdHoc multiplayer mode where two players can go for competitive exploding. Some more modes would've hit the spot, maybe even along the lines of a puzzle mode, but what's here isn't half bad.
Every Extend Extra is addictive, but only to those who are willing to accept so many limits put on the gameplay experience. It's a thinking man's game that requires a high chain count and wily thinking in order to assure survival. Some leniency for more amateur players probably should have been granted, but that's probably something that will be saved for EEE II. For now, this game's still worth a rental at least, if only to soak in the insane presentation and tricky gameplay. Who knew that killing yourself multiple times could be this moderately enjoyable?
posted November 22, 2006