“Gods Eater Burst” is a game involving human-size swords that turn into Venus’ flytraps to consume monsters. But no amount of hugeness or flytrappiness is enough to cut through the thicket of tutorials and lore choking out the game’s central experience. Every March, April and May, we get a few games Stateside that seemed to be selected for import out of a hat. “Gods Eater Burst,” which seems to have also had the three words that comprise its title picked out of a hat, has all the markings of a Spring Sleeper: majestic anime visuals, ballads sung in Japanese, and game mechanics of incredible depth. Its opening cinematic takes its cues from the video for Michael/Janet Jackson’s “Scream,” and the character creator let me make my fighter look satisfactorily like Prince.
“Gods Eater Burst” — the “s” in “Gods” is silent — steals the mechanic behind Japan’s enormously popular “Monster Hunter” series — fight monsters, upgrade your weapons, fight again — but nestles it in a bed of impressive graphics and strong storytelling. “Burst” might be a good option for mobile gamers looking to graduate from “Pokemon,” and its co-op mode might make it worthwhile for friends committed to buying the game together, but the customization that you admire in the character creation stage extends its long arm to bog down the entire game.
Before you can even get started, “Gods Eater Burst” bombards you with what feels like years tutorials. And rather than weaving the game world’s lore into the story, which is otherwise strong, the game gives you one of those read-about-everything-in-alphabetical-order glossaries that should have been discontinued long ago.
| ‘Gods Eater Burst’ |
| » System: PSP |
| » Price: $39.99 |
| » Rating: 2 out of 5 stars |
People on desert islands will appreciate this, and won’t mind customizing not only their sword, but also crafting new types of bullets. Bullets! Bullets that can differ based on range, trajectory, whether they explode or not, whether they stick to enemies, whether they pass through enemies, what type of elemental damage they do, and about a hundred other things. Playing this game to its fullest requires a huge investment, and then the fights themselves require finger gymnastics to adjust the camera, give orders to teammates, use items and switch bullet types.
“Gods Eater Burst” will surely provide the exact experience sought by desert-islanders and the priesthood of PSP owners in study hall, but the rest of us are probably better off sticking to more accessible games.
