The 3rd Birthday

The 3rd Birthday is a satisfying RPG-shooter with great production values.

Square Enix and HexaDrive sought to introduce fresh mechanics to set The 3rd Birthday apart from its peers, but they forgot to center a cohesive game around their collection of neat ideas. Much like its protagonist, too often The 3rd Birthday is caught with its pants down.

The story is at times highly confusing, the the challenge is at times a bit too hard, but you'll still have fun jumping between bodies as you fight your way through nasty creatures from the great beyond.

Has pleasingly strong gunplay. [June 2011, p.112]

To consider The 3rd Birthday as a real sequel of Parasite Eve is a bad mistake: it is just a pretty good TPS spin-off that has its ups and downs... Now, dear Square Enix, we want a real third chapter of this glorious series!

The 3rd Birthday should have been brilliant, but is merely decent.

A case of style over substance. Despite an abysmal scenario and some flaws regarding the core gameplay, The 3rd Birthday remains a technically solid game and an enjoyable experience overall.

The story may turn off fans of the first two Parasite Eve games, but if you can get past the inane plot and characterizations, there's still a solid action-RPG underneath.

Ideal for portable gaming - handy, with it being a PSP game - and its mix of action, RPG elements, a challenging (though sometimes unfair) level of difficulty and a few nifty tricks to keep things strategic make it another solid title in the PSP's catalogue. [Issue#107, p.108]

The 3rd Birthday remains a strong proposition, marrying eastern and western design sensibilities to produce a strong and relevant update to a latent, outmoded series. [Apr 2011, p.92]

Parasite Eve fans may find themselves turned off by the frenzied action-oriented approach of The 3rd Birthday, and the execution certainly has its ups and downs. Even though The 3rd Birthday may not be one worth celebrating, we're hoping Square Enix can get it right if it decides to someday bring the franchise back to its console roots.

The 3rd Birthday's emphasis on fast-paced combat and the Overdive mechanic help the game overcome its more abstract flaws (despite some occasional repetition). Still, for old fans of Parasite Eve, the game's treatment of its heroine and legacy is frustrating.

The 3rd Birthday is disappointing; it brings back a series and a character that fans adore, and destroys what fans held as a paragon. The narrative is filled with holes and problems, the tough Aya people were hoping for is absent, the gameplay is a mess, and the story tries harder to throw you into cheap plot twists rather than to be enjoyable.

An uninteresting story combined with repetitive gameplay give the player little else to grab on to.

With 3rd Birthday Parasite Eve's franchise collapses, losing many attributes that granted it success in the past, proposing story, characters and enemies without personality, and a brand new action-oriented gameplay system, although too afflicted by several issues.

The 3rd Birthday is a fun and reasonably well-made game that, unfortunately, attempts to do too many things to do any of them terribly well.

The 3rd Birthday is a good attempt at reviving an old franchise, but the content doesn't quite fit the format. Controls are clunky and dependant on your view, and there is some questionable content in the game. However, the interesting combat, story and gorgeous cut-scenes do make for a good thrill ride.

If you were expecting a unique experience, equal to that of the PlayStation era games, you will be very disappointed. On the other hand, as a plain third person shooter, The 3rd Birthday is capable of delivering some quality gaming hours.

While not thoroughly original, it's at least consistently enjoyable during its short ride.

The problem is, it's hard to ever truly engage with it when so many of the The 3rd Birthday's key encounters are fundamentally spiteful. If you're really determined to eke some enjoyment from the rubble of frustration, there are a few moments that might make you feel like it's worth it. Sadly those occasions don't come along nearly enough to justify all the joyless attrition en route.

It can conjure moments of brilliance, but ultimately The 3rd Birthday is bogged down by indecisive design choices.

The 3rd Birthday tries to ride the success of the Parasite Eve franchise, but doesn't manage to impress despite its stunning visuals. The clunky camera, over-average story and sloppy controls really undermine what would otherwise be a surprising, challenging and varied game.

All in all, this is one birthday party you shouldn't regret skipping.

Frequently frustrating combat and an annoying central character prevent The 3rd Birthday from making the most of its unusual mechanics.

Parasite Eve this is not. The 3rd Birthday squanders some clever concepts with clumsy execution, and the end result is just another mediocre shooter that has very little in common the PlayStation classics that preceded it. This is one birthday that is not worth celebrating.

It's important, however, that one doesn't expect Parasite Eve III when popping this into their PSP, as that would surely result in acute disappointment.

Few PSP games look as good, but this is still a hugely disappointing return for Parasite Eve and the ruination of a once intriguing heroine.