Hands-On: Product No. 03

Metal Mario · 03-30-2003, 09:18 PM

*Source: Gamespot

The Japanese retail version of P.N. 03, Capcom's newest action game, showed up at our offices today, and we took a quick run through the first three levels of the game to see how it plays. P.N. 03 stars a teched-out combat operative named Vanessa who prefers to dance her way through battles rather than simply charging in with guns blazing. So far, it seems like Vanessa needs to clean up her moves a little bit before the game achieves the stylish action that it seems to be striving for. In the beginning stages, she doesn't seem to have the grace necessary to pull off the strange fusion of combat and dance that P.N. 03 presents.

Vanessa starts out with a basic energy projectile attack that auto-targets the enemy most directly centered in your sights. You can use a number of graceful moves, such as twirls, cartwheels, and backflips, to dodge out of the way of enemy shots, which should make for a pretty cool-looking action experience. Unfortunately, the process of dodging, moving around, and shooting is made pretty awkward by the game's stiff and unforgiving controls. P.N. 03's most damning flaw is that you can fire only while standing still--if you're jumping, running, or dodging, you can forget about attacking. You're meant to twirl or roll out of the way of oncoming enemy shots and then return fire, but the transition from firing to moving and back is too awkward and lengthy, and you end up taking a lot of unnecessary hits. In fact, we had to play the game on easy mode at first to even get a feel for the controls without dying.

However, Vanessa can be upgraded in a number of ways, and further playing may indeed reveal upgrades that make her a good bit easier to wreak havoc with. The game's levels are linear and the action is straightforward, and as you clear each room, you amass points by killing enemies, finishing a room without sustaining any damage, and the like. When you find a place to upgrade yourself, you can cash these points in for a new suit or upgrade various aspects of your character, like energy and basic attack. The various suits also have special moves that can be invoked with simple D-pad and button combinations, and the two we've seen so far were basically more-powerful attacks that could hit multiple enemies at the same time. Again, these moves take a lot of time to use, and it's easy to end up sustaining damage while trying to pull them off, since you have to stand still while you're inputting the command sequence.

Based on the first hour or so of gameplay, P.N. 03 seems to be an ambitious but rather flawed action game. It does look pretty good, with a lot of sparse, futuristic environments that resemble the ship interior seen in 2001: A Space Odyssey. The soundtrack consists of standard pumping dance techno, which is appropriate, given the dance theme.

Metal Mario · 04-01-2003, 03:06 PM

*Source: Planet Gamecube

Last year, Capcom and Nintendo announced an agreement to bring five new games to the GameCube exclusively. The first released in Japan is P.N. 03 (Product Number 03), a weird cyber-punkish shooter from producer Shinji Mikami. I was really into the art style of this game, so I decided to pick it up from our friends at Video Game Depot. After already playing through the easy mode, I’m not sure I’m satisfied with the final result.

You play as Vanessa Z. Schneider, a sexy little metallic tart. Instead of taking out enemies with guns as usual, you are armed with a palm shot, which is basically a dance move that shoots bolts of energy at your enemies. Vanessa has very rhythmic movements, and even when stationary she shakes her butt to the beat. There are different suits that enable her to perform different super moves, give her different protective powers, and bestow other attributes. Throughout the game you earn points to purchase new suits, suit upgrades, and more super moves.

Controls are odd to say the least. The analog stick moves Vanessa, A – shot, B – jump, Y – roll, X – change target, L or R – dodge and cartwheel, Z – 180 degree turn, C-Stick – camera, and the D-pad for super moves. These controls may seem normal, but they’re not, and sometimes maneuvering Vanessa can be a headache. When you pull back on the stick, you might expect to turn around, but you’ll perform a back twirl instead – even if you pull back diagonally. You’ll need to use the Z button to face the other direction. There is definitely a learning curve to get the controls down, so opting to play through the game on the easy setting first is a good idea.

Gameplay consists of moving from area to area, shooting enemies and dodging your opponents’ attacks. You’ll face a heap of different enemies, as well as a few bosses and mini bosses. Once you get used to the strange control scheme, taking out enemies and performing Matrix-esque laser dodges is pretty sweet. You’ll need to keep an eye out for cover from enemy fire or things to hide under. If you just try to blast your way through every level, you’ll be killed quickly. So getting the timing down with dodges, jumps, and ducks is crucial. Vanessa’s super moves are not just eye candy, but are necessary for survival. While you’re charging a super move, you’ll avoid damage from enemy fire. One main gripe is that you can only shoot or do super moves while stationary. You can’t shoot while twirling, jumping, or running.

P.N. 03 has a very interesting art style, but having played through the entire game, I’m left hungry for more variation. There are two main types of environments – a desert landscape and a fortress interior. There are minor variations of each, but sometimes the levels (and bosses for that matter) actually repeat. The desert is dark and more open, with debris and wrecked vehicles to hide behind. Inside the fortress, you’ll be heading through tight corridors, and rarely get to larger rooms. The environments are futuristic, but stale, reminding me too much of Star Wars. I often feel like I’m running around Tatooine or an Imperial Ship somewhere. It all runs at 30 frames per second, but overall P.N. 03 looks like it’s running on a PS2. There are quite a bit of jaggies in the environment, and P.N. 03 just doesn’t look as crisp as it should.

Vanessa’s animations are decent, but there isn’t much variation aside from her super moves. Except for rolls, her movements are fluid. Her front roll, in particular, just looks sluggish. The girl can dance and twirl, but for some reason, when she wants to roll forward, it’s slow and awkward. It doesn’t make any sense. Vanessa doesn’t talk until the end of the game, and the story is told through text. So due to my lack of Japanese language skills, I really don’t have any clue why I’m on this planet, and why these robots are trying to kill me. Everything gets summed up in a quick FMV at the end of the game, but more voice would have been appreciated. Most of the aural experience consists of laser shots, explosions, and pumping techno music. Even though the sound effects are few, the music almost makes up for it. I really dig the soundtrack.

Unfortunately, once the game really starts getting good, it’s over. You’ll need to play through the Normal and Hard modes to really utilize all the suits in this game. But with only 12 levels, P.N. 03 can be beat in an afternoon. Still, it is a fun time while it lasts, and a good shooter once you learn the control scheme. Now that I have everything down, I’ll probably play through it again, but I was hoping for more from this game. With the lack of environments, repetition of levels and enemies, and mediocre graphics, the first of the Capcom five just seems to be lacking.

Metal Mario · 04-01-2003, 03:07 PM

I was originally looking forward to Product No. 03, but after reading these two reviews, it doesn't sound so hot.

03-30-2003, 09:18 PM	#1
Metal Mario Game Brain Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 14,262 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Points: 4,916.00 Bank: 0.00 Total Points: 4,916.00 Donate	*Source: Gamespot The Japanese retail version of P.N. 03, Capcom's newest action game, showed up at our offices today, and we took a quick run through the first three levels of the game to see how it plays. P.N. 03 stars a teched-out combat operative named Vanessa who prefers to dance her way through battles rather than simply charging in with guns blazing. So far, it seems like Vanessa needs to clean up her moves a little bit before the game achieves the stylish action that it seems to be striving for. In the beginning stages, she doesn't seem to have the grace necessary to pull off the strange fusion of combat and dance that P.N. 03 presents. Vanessa starts out with a basic energy projectile attack that auto-targets the enemy most directly centered in your sights. You can use a number of graceful moves, such as twirls, cartwheels, and backflips, to dodge out of the way of enemy shots, which should make for a pretty cool-looking action experience. Unfortunately, the process of dodging, moving around, and shooting is made pretty awkward by the game's stiff and unforgiving controls. P.N. 03's most damning flaw is that you can fire only while standing still--if you're jumping, running, or dodging, you can forget about attacking. You're meant to twirl or roll out of the way of oncoming enemy shots and then return fire, but the transition from firing to moving and back is too awkward and lengthy, and you end up taking a lot of unnecessary hits. In fact, we had to play the game on easy mode at first to even get a feel for the controls without dying. However, Vanessa can be upgraded in a number of ways, and further playing may indeed reveal upgrades that make her a good bit easier to wreak havoc with. The game's levels are linear and the action is straightforward, and as you clear each room, you amass points by killing enemies, finishing a room without sustaining any damage, and the like. When you find a place to upgrade yourself, you can cash these points in for a new suit or upgrade various aspects of your character, like energy and basic attack. The various suits also have special moves that can be invoked with simple D-pad and button combinations, and the two we've seen so far were basically more-powerful attacks that could hit multiple enemies at the same time. Again, these moves take a lot of time to use, and it's easy to end up sustaining damage while trying to pull them off, since you have to stand still while you're inputting the command sequence. Based on the first hour or so of gameplay, P.N. 03 seems to be an ambitious but rather flawed action game. It does look pretty good, with a lot of sparse, futuristic environments that resemble the ship interior seen in 2001: A Space Odyssey. The soundtrack consists of standard pumping dance techno, which is appropriate, given the dance theme.

04-01-2003, 03:06 PM	#2
Metal Mario Game Brain Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 14,262 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Points: 4,916.00 Bank: 0.00 Total Points: 4,916.00 Donate	*Source: Planet Gamecube Last year, Capcom and Nintendo announced an agreement to bring five new games to the GameCube exclusively. The first released in Japan is P.N. 03 (Product Number 03), a weird cyber-punkish shooter from producer Shinji Mikami. I was really into the art style of this game, so I decided to pick it up from our friends at Video Game Depot. After already playing through the easy mode, I’m not sure I’m satisfied with the final result. You play as Vanessa Z. Schneider, a sexy little metallic tart. Instead of taking out enemies with guns as usual, you are armed with a palm shot, which is basically a dance move that shoots bolts of energy at your enemies. Vanessa has very rhythmic movements, and even when stationary she shakes her butt to the beat. There are different suits that enable her to perform different super moves, give her different protective powers, and bestow other attributes. Throughout the game you earn points to purchase new suits, suit upgrades, and more super moves. Controls are odd to say the least. The analog stick moves Vanessa, A – shot, B – jump, Y – roll, X – change target, L or R – dodge and cartwheel, Z – 180 degree turn, C-Stick – camera, and the D-pad for super moves. These controls may seem normal, but they’re not, and sometimes maneuvering Vanessa can be a headache. When you pull back on the stick, you might expect to turn around, but you’ll perform a back twirl instead – even if you pull back diagonally. You’ll need to use the Z button to face the other direction. There is definitely a learning curve to get the controls down, so opting to play through the game on the easy setting first is a good idea. Gameplay consists of moving from area to area, shooting enemies and dodging your opponents’ attacks. You’ll face a heap of different enemies, as well as a few bosses and mini bosses. Once you get used to the strange control scheme, taking out enemies and performing Matrix-esque laser dodges is pretty sweet. You’ll need to keep an eye out for cover from enemy fire or things to hide under. If you just try to blast your way through every level, you’ll be killed quickly. So getting the timing down with dodges, jumps, and ducks is crucial. Vanessa’s super moves are not just eye candy, but are necessary for survival. While you’re charging a super move, you’ll avoid damage from enemy fire. One main gripe is that you can only shoot or do super moves while stationary. You can’t shoot while twirling, jumping, or running. P.N. 03 has a very interesting art style, but having played through the entire game, I’m left hungry for more variation. There are two main types of environments – a desert landscape and a fortress interior. There are minor variations of each, but sometimes the levels (and bosses for that matter) actually repeat. The desert is dark and more open, with debris and wrecked vehicles to hide behind. Inside the fortress, you’ll be heading through tight corridors, and rarely get to larger rooms. The environments are futuristic, but stale, reminding me too much of Star Wars. I often feel like I’m running around Tatooine or an Imperial Ship somewhere. It all runs at 30 frames per second, but overall P.N. 03 looks like it’s running on a PS2. There are quite a bit of jaggies in the environment, and P.N. 03 just doesn’t look as crisp as it should. Vanessa’s animations are decent, but there isn’t much variation aside from her super moves. Except for rolls, her movements are fluid. Her front roll, in particular, just looks sluggish. The girl can dance and twirl, but for some reason, when she wants to roll forward, it’s slow and awkward. It doesn’t make any sense. Vanessa doesn’t talk until the end of the game, and the story is told through text. So due to my lack of Japanese language skills, I really don’t have any clue why I’m on this planet, and why these robots are trying to kill me. Everything gets summed up in a quick FMV at the end of the game, but more voice would have been appreciated. Most of the aural experience consists of laser shots, explosions, and pumping techno music. Even though the sound effects are few, the music almost makes up for it. I really dig the soundtrack. Unfortunately, once the game really starts getting good, it’s over. You’ll need to play through the Normal and Hard modes to really utilize all the suits in this game. But with only 12 levels, P.N. 03 can be beat in an afternoon. Still, it is a fun time while it lasts, and a good shooter once you learn the control scheme. Now that I have everything down, I’ll probably play through it again, but I was hoping for more from this game. With the lack of environments, repetition of levels and enemies, and mediocre graphics, the first of the Capcom five just seems to be lacking.

04-01-2003, 03:07 PM	#3
Metal Mario Game Brain Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 14,262 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Points: 4,916.00 Bank: 0.00 Total Points: 4,916.00 Donate	I was originally looking forward to Product No. 03, but after reading these two reviews, it doesn't sound so hot.