Remember those old anti-drug commercials? You know, the ones that started with “This is your brain…This is your brain on drugs....” Well, if regular gaming is your brain, and survival horror is your brain on drugs (or depending on how scary it is, something that would make you take drugs), then Galerians is what’s left of your brain after a really bad acid trip. When Crave released Galerians in early 2000, the dark, psychological thriller was particularly noted for its disturbing subject matter, mature themes and unconventional gameplay. Almost 3 years later, Sammy and Enterbrain deliver a sequel to the survival horror title with Galerians: ASH. In the first title, players were introduced to the future dystopian city of Michaelangelo. Set in 2522, the city of Michelangelo was a lone island in a devastated world, protected by a sentient computer known as Dorothy. Unfortunately, while she was performing her job, Dorothy became corrupted, using her intelligence to create a new race of humans known as Galerians, people possessing considerable psychic ability. Players assumed the role of Rion, a 14-year-old boy who wakes up in a hospital in the middle of an experiment that gives him psychic powers at the cost of his memory. In his search for who he is, he hunts down Galerians with the help of Lilia, the daughter of one of the scientists that tested Rion. Eventually the duo winds up facing off with Dorothy herself. ASH picks up exactly where the first game left off, and I do mean exactly. In fact, the game starts with the final battle against Dorothy and through déjà vu sequences, cutscenes and multiple plot twists, plunges the player into a desperate search for the final and most powerful Galerian named Ash. While technically a “survival horror” title, ASH comes across more like a psychological thriller, affecting your perception of the characters and situations they’re placed in. Nothing illustrates this more than the methods of triggering Rion’s latent abilities: He must ingest or inject Psychic Power Enhancement Chemicals, or PPECs, into his body. While it grants him access to destructive powers, this drug use is actually a double-edged sword. Not only does it cause Rion incredible pain to put these substances into his system, it also increases a toxic build up in his system called a short. Once this threshold is reached, Rion becomes an uncontrollable walking time bomb, unleashing thoughts strong enough to make any nearby enemies or people explode. Your health takes a significant tumble as well as the psychic energy ravages his mind. Fortunately, with judicious use of powers and drugs specifically designed to lower short buildups and avoiding contact with enemies, Rion can keep what little sanity he has left. Moral and mental objections to purposely injecting children with harmful drugs aside, the powers that can be used are both impressive and terrifying. The initial drugs and powers make a return appearance, and Rion initially starts out with various abilities, including Nalcon, Red and D-Felon. Nalcon allows him to emit a shockwave that can knock down enemies, Red allows Rion to immolate his opponents, and D-Felon can be used to levitate and then slam enemies into the ground. Shortly after the start of the game starts, Lilia manages to create an item called the Beeject, a new tool that lets Rion inject newly made designer PPECs into his system. Graphically, this is anime at its grittiest. The character models all have large, expressive faces and eyes, just like most anime, but there’s an intentional design element that’s been added to make players find something disturbing in the eyes of each character. Rion is the most obvious example of this, communicating weariness, anger and futility behind heavily shadowed eyes. The effect gives him the appearance that he hasn’t been to sleep in weeks, with massive bags starting to surround his eyes. This shadowing also extends to the backgrounds and the texture files within the game, which comes across as a darkened, sinister place. Even safe areas have a cold, antiseptic feel to themselves, which can be a little creepy. The sound is just as hair-raising, with plenty of ambient sound effects and eerie music to add to the bleak mood the game has set. For instance, there are some moments when all sound and music save those of your footsteps can be heard, only to have the music rise up with a surprise attack. The voice acting is also good for the particular style of game that ASH is. It may seem a little forced, even hammy at times, but considering the extreme nature and setting of the game, it actually manages to blend nicely with the onscreen action, and somehow feels just right. Characters also sound the way you would expect them to sound, with Rion and Lilia both coming across as confused yet determined kids. The way that Sammy and Enterbrain have taken the Galerians franchise, they could have a new genre of survival horror on their hands, that of the psychological thriller game. Galerians: ASH proves that adult themes and disturbing storytelling can be just as effective as sudden jumps and graphic images. It should hit store shelves in a month, so check back here soon for a review! Questions or comments about the upcoming release of Galerians: ASH for the PlayStation 2? Talk to us! [ E-Mail Jeff 'Linkphreak' Haynes ] [ Comment in our Forums ]

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