Review - PROJECT EDEN - The Lost Vikings in 3rd person view!
Here's a healthy gameplay recipe for you!
- The meat of the game: Tomb Raider exploration and puzzles;
- Anachronox sauce to go with it;
- The Lost Vikings co-op gameplay to spice things up;
- And a Martini to wash that down. Shaken, not stirred. (Oh, this is just for me, nevermind.)
It'll take an hour or two of cooking to feel "well-done", and then you'll get used to that unique flavor, which the developer Core Design has named PROJECT EDEN!
| Store | Platform | OVERALL RATING: 86% |
| Buy it on GOG | PC |
+ THE POSITIVE
- Interesting futuristic and creepy setting- Rich level design - Intelligent use of verticality - environment-based puzzles - Co-op multiplayer
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THE NEGATIVE
- Outdated textures- Boring fights |
| Buy it on Amazon | PS2 |
BRAVE NEW WORLD DISORDER: PROJECT HELL
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| Bringing up memories, eh?😢 |
(the FIRST Tomb Raider games from the 90s, not the post-2010s ones!)
It's a 3D third-person action/puzzle game, in which you have powerful guns, you go to unusual places filled with deadly traps, secret passages, and big villains.
And all of this for what? To find some mysterious relics, which are also wanted by some ill-intentioned guys who are involved in a very sordid conspiracy.Well, Project Eden is more or less the same thing!
Except that the action takes place in a very different time, one of these horrible dystopian futures that European politicians are only dreaming about.
Basically, men have completely overpopulated the planet and are now forced to build gigantic skyscrapers, as there's no more space to live.
90% of our beautiful once-blue planet is now gray, almost entirely covered with gorgeous communist-looking buildings as high as 3000 floors. A true paradise.
As in any good dystopia, poor rejected people haven't been exterminated(it would be too easy), and instead were sent to suffer eternally in the lowest levels of the buildings, where the ruins of the previous "civilization" are still standing firmly!
Oh yeah, also, there are some huge man-eating demons. No big deals.
Note!
We recommend the vastly superior PC version to the PS2 one!But yep, the basis isn't too original.
While the high society lives comfortably in the higher levels, closer to the sun(and to god?), pariahs, junkies, criminals and other various misfits live in the dark muddy lowest floors of this new "civilization". Been there, done that.
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| Why is the future always depicted like a big mass of ugly metallic gray buildings? |
No wonder, one day, the revolution rise from below.
The story starts with an attack at the "Real Meat Corporation", one of the most important food factories.
At least three deaths, two missing people, and a lot of damages.
Time to call the A-team!
THE TEAM - URBAN POLICE AGENCY
You're in charge of a team of 4 UPA(Urban Police Agency) members, trained in heavy combat, and each of them specialized in different skills.
First, you have Mr.T, I mean Carter, the "BBB". Black. Bitter. and the Boss.
He can open certain locked doors which are authorized only to this rank, and also interrogate the suspects.
Andre - who is not a giant but a genius mechanic - will be able to repair broken lifts, doors, switches, etc. He can have an attitude problem at times and dreams of replacing Carter. Just bitch-slap him sometimes, to put him back in his place.
Minoko the Japanese hacker, able to penetrate any security system, and she won't let anybody penetrate HER "system".
By the way, can anybody actually read the font used in this game? lol
And finally, Amber, a huge powerful robot with a stupidly tiny head(which makes it look like one of these modern "bodybuilders" who eat synthol for breakfast), specialized in heavy weapons. (Weird, huh? You would think she would specialize in stealth.)Her horrible story is that she suffered horrific injuries in a "skyway" accident and chose to be "reconstructed" as a big-ass cyborg, a la Robocop. Pretty messed up and disturbing.
Amber is also insensitive to hostile environments(toxic gas, acid, electricity, you name it), so she'll be essential to operate commands in a room engulfed in flames, for example.
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| Amber walking casually through fire. I've heard she was a very hot girl. |
There's actually a 5th member, but you can't control him.
Although he IS simply called "Control".(Well, no other name is ever mentioned...)
He'll be the voice in your earpiece, guiding you throughout the game, giving you all sorts of useful advice like "your zipper is down", or "hey, what's on TV tonight?".
GAMEPLAY - I THINK, THEREFORE WE ARE
Don't try to play the game with just one character, you won't get far.
All the level design is based on the clever use of the four characters.
That's where the comparison with Tomb Raider completely stops.😄
So, like in The Lost Vikings or even the Commandos or Desperados series, you need to use each character's skill in turn, whereas it's to break down something, unlock a door, or go through hazardous environments to switch on an elevator, etc.
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| "Alright, I just opened this silo thing and now I have to jump into that floating tube to reach it... AMBEEEER!! It's your turn!" |
There's a regeneration system like what we've seen in System Shock II.
Just walk in front of one of the regeneration points to activate them.
There's no real death penalty in the game. If you "die", you'll find yourself teleported AND regenerated at the last regeneration point encountered.
Very convenient, and time-saving because sometimes, you have to go back and forth around the same area.
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| After falling down a bottomless pit, you'll respawn at the closest UPA regeneration point. |
Note!
Regeneration points are NOT save points! You can actually save anytime, anywhere!😍 |
| UI is very straight-forward and easy to use. |
Once deselected, the character becomes passive and stays wisely in his place.
However, in case of aggression, he spontaneously grabs his weapon to make use of it and even calls for help if his life bars drops dangerously.
Regarding the movements, it's unfortunately way less complete than in Tomb Raider.
You can only walk, run, or crouch. No jumping around in Project Eden!
Climbing up an obstacle is done automatically when you approach it.
*Extremely bad memories of the auto-climbing in Splinter Cell Blacklist coming back*
(On the other hand, check out Conan's "review" of Blacklist, it's hilarious!)
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| Amber: "Me Tarzan! You cheeta?" Minoko: "お前はバカだね。" Carter: "I'm too old for this shit." *looks out the window and considers jumping* |
That being said, the rich and sophisticated gameplay makes it up for it.
Also, it has to be noted that despite being designed for 3rd person view, Project Eden can also be played comfortably in 1st person, which adds a lot of flexibility to the game.
TIP!
Playing in 1st person view is actually VERY useful to see your own feet, when you have to walk on a very narrow passage.
TOOLS"R"US
Interesting fact: we don't need actual physical tools in this game.
Basically, your tools are "synthesized" and turned back to "digital programs" once used, which you can store in your inventory.
The only thing which will is using some space is your current "synthesized" item.
When you think about it, it makes more sense than these games in which you have huge inventories filled with heavy weapons, and which makes you wonder where the hell does the character hides that big spiked bat? No, you don't want to know.
Different gadgets are made available, in addition to your necessary weapons.
So you'll have various surveillance and intervention devices.
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| The RC tank, very useful to enable switches from a distance! |
For example, you can have some kind of little RC car (more like a RC TANK, actually!) which will help you access, through small orifices, a lot of inaccessible places.
This precious gadget can, among other things, shoot small and easy targets such as rats or hyperactive kids, or activate buttons or levers. In addition, it acts as a surveillance camera.
A best-seller among stalkers around the world.
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| The flycam, very useful to go spy your sexy neighbor! |
Also, a defense turret, which will be very useful to secure a sector.
As you progress in the game, you'll also be provided with improved equipment such as homing missiles, or the famous "Timeshock", which can slow down enemies.
Our advice: use it on babes on the beach to recreate the slow-running intro of Baywatch.
All of this high-tech technology is unfortunately not very eco-friendly, and you'll be required to manage your energy and batteries. Fortunately, batteries are used for everything. They are used as weapons ammo, tools energy source, etc.
The further you'll go in the game, the less "recharging points" AND batteries you'll find.
TIP!
Be VERY careful saving your batteries for shooting sequences, as your characters DO NOT have melee combat ability! Without ammo, you're as good as dead.
FREAKS
Surely, at first we are quite disappointed: during at least FIVE levels, we always encounter the same boring wasted skinless freaks, armed with either a machine gun or a fair amount of grenades.
Not gonna lie, fights even feel anecdotic after a while, and they're definitely not where the real interest of this game lies.
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| Amber kicking asses. |
Any potential enemy you'll meet will be much more dangerous.
The deeper you'll explore, the more you'll be confronted with monstrosities of the depths of the city, so get ready to meet some crazies who can metamorphose into extremely aggressive creatures.
Rats will turn into demons, birds into pterodactyls, dogs into walking mastiffs with gaping jaws and scary blind eyes, and humans into horrific spiders with obscene dimensions, laying down a plethora of deadly parasites who will all want to try to gnaw your brains.
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| "Hello sir, do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior lucifer?" "AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!" |
GRAPHICS - BLURRY TEXTURES, GREAT GEOMETRY
Textures are very bad and blurry compared to another game released the same year, Max Payne.(maybe an unfair comparison, as Max Payne was using "photo-based" textures. By the way, you can get this incredible ageless gem here.) Then again, the game is really huge, so maybe that explains it.
On the other hand, level design is quite impressive even for the time, and it's a real pleasure to explore every hidden corner of the intricate maps you'll have to go through. Also, the atmospheric lighting is very well done for its time.
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| Textures might not be on the same level as Max Payne, but the level design is! |
Overall, it looks extremely coherent and impressive.
Coherent, because the harmonious use of time and space are very well served by a well-conceived design and carefully crafted architecture.
And impressive, because the "verticality" of this universe is omnipresent.
Everything either goes up or down... There is no place available for any horizontality.
The danger of falling down is permanent, and you realize it especially when you see how often your characters have to walk across narrow railings above bottomless dark holes.
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| Do you start understanding the concept of "verticality"?😁 |
Deux Ex might be a much superior game in terms of interactivity and varied gameplay genres, but Project Eden has actually a much better and more convincing geometry.
MUSIC
The game barely has what could qualify as music.
It's more like a constant dark ambient soundscape in the background.
It does fit very well the atmosphere though, and helps making it even more oppressing and disturbing.
The few "orchestral" parts are just very boring and uninspired.
It's very difficult to find it online, so I'll just put a gameplay video of one of the numerous levels, with a good example of what the whole OST sounds like. lol
Many dark "industrial" ambient OSTs would work well in this game.
Right away, I'm thinking of Deus Ex, but the truth is, the FIRST game which came to my mind when I played Project Eden was "Omikron: The Nomad Soul".
I feel like its atmosphere can be extremely similar at times.
VOICES & SFX
Voices are actually pretty good. Back then, I would have thought they were just average, but when I compare to what we get nowadays, I realize that voice acting has really gone downhill, and frankly, I think that Project Eden actors sound more convincing than most games released in the last 5 years.
And I'm not even talking only about the main characters, but even the very secondary optional characters sound professional to me.
SFX are a bit outdated, obviously, and sound too "muffled", I think.
At least, it makes them merge with the ambient sounds and they're not annoying.
On the other hand, there are a LOT of them. I think that the developers tried to add a specific sound to EVERY object in the game, even the less important ones.
It contributes to create a very convincing living world, which motivates you to try all the interactive contraptions you can find. lol
A FEW PROBLEMS
As stated in the graphics part, Project Eden level design is better than Deus Ex, GEOMETRY-wise.
Unfortunately, they also feel strangely much more linear, while Deus Ex levels felt completely open and also had lots of back and forth.
You can't help feeling frustrated because it could have been so much better, especially with such rich gameplay.
Another problem lies in the characters bad pathfinding.
Although it is easy to order them to follow you around, the morons also get lost easily.
They like to hang around especially in tight corners and staircases... God knows what they do there while you're fighting demons by yourself.
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| Waiting for Amber to walk this way... "Amber! Go left!! No, YOUR left!!" "huh? I go right??" Damn dumb A.I.... |
A final weird problem: it seems that we can't transfer items between characters?
RATING BOX
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VERSION TESTED: GOG v2.0.0.5
Publisher:
Developer:
Release Date:
8 October, 2001
Single-player, Multi-player
Difficulty: Normal
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|---|---|
| GRAPHICS: 81% | |
| Disappointing textures to say the least, even at the time, but the impressive geometry and nice lighting engine make up for it. | |
| MUSIC: 80% | |
| Music is close to non-existent, but atmospheric backgrounds are very well done and largely contribute to the creepy atmosphere. | |
| SOUNDS: 82% | |
| Very convincing acting from everybody. SFX have aged a bit but are very varied and used intelligently throughout the game. |
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| GAMEPLAY: 88% | |
| The captivating co-op gameplay works marvelously and turns what could have been a boring generic action game into an inventive puzzle game which constantly innovates until the end. | |
| OVERALL RATING: 86% | |
| A high-class mix of squad-based gameplay with ingenious puzzles. This cleverly designed action-puzzle game will challenge your left brain, and the lengthy campaign will keep you occupied for quite some time! | |
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