The terms “Interactive Movie” and “Interactive Novel” have been thrown around for a long time, and games that fall under this category are usually aimed at a small section of the market. Thanks to major releases like Heavy Rain and The Walking Dead, the idea of a video game that relies almost entirely on story isn’t such a foreign concept anymore. That’s why Corpse Party: Book of Shadows, which recently arrived on the PlayStation Network, seemed like it might be an enjoyable experience. And it was. Kind of.
You see, like interactive stories that came before, the plot is everything. The actual gameplay is incredibly shallow and boring, and its only real purpose is to lead you to the next cutscene. Thankfully, the plot is eerie and tense, and tells the tale of nine high school students who take place in a bizarre ritual, hoping to solidify their friendship. This ritual transports them to a strange, shadowy school, full of terrifying imagery and frightening traps. Each chapter gives you another character’s tale, and things get very weird very quickly.
Unfortunately, much of this will be lost on newcomers to the series. Having never played the original, I’m not sure how well equipped I am to judge this follow-up, but it’s pretty clear from the dialog that the events in the game are repeated from the first. All of the characters are suffering from deja vu, and keep talking about which of their friends are going to die. Clearly, this trip to the dark school has happened before, and now they must suffer it all over again.
It really is creepy, from the music to the visuals, but I can’t help but feel that things are spoiled a little by the static scenes and non-animated sprites. Sometimes, the same image will remain on-screen for minutes at a time, with just the dialog to inform you of the plot. You’ll also have to sit through cutscenes so long they put Metal Gear Solid to shame. In fact, upon firing the game up, you’ll sit through a solid hour of dialog advancement before anything really happens. Of course, that period does contain a (non-explicit) shower scene between two high school girls, both of whom are just discovering their burgeoning sexuality, so I guess it’s not all bad.
Once this long scene is over and the game begins proper, everything just gets a little boring. The main thing you’ll be doing is moving your sprite around a map and searching each room from a first-person perspective. Imagine Phoenix Wright, but take out all the courtroom scenes, make every room you visit look exactly the same, and remove all objects from most of them. That’s the gameplay in Corpse Party: Book of Shadows - searching aimlessly around empty rooms in hope that you trigger the next plot event.
There are a few other aspects, but since there’s so little to discover, gameplay-wise, I won’t spoil them. Also, while this first-person examining may sound like the perfect fit for something with a touchscreen, you’ll be stuck with the PSP’s analog nub. Even if you play on the Vita, it’s completely touch-free.
Complaining about the gameplay seems a little silly, though, as it’s not really the point. The whole point is the plot and finding the various endings, whether good or bad. In fact, you’ll most likely seek out the bad endings along the way, as they can be quite gruesome. The ability to save anywhere means you can always reload and try again after meeting your grisly demise.
You may have realised by now that the combination of Anime schoolgirls, grisly horror, and lesbian love is not nearly as mainstream as some of the other recent Interactive Novels, and is squarely aimed at a certain type of gamer. This isn’t a bad thing, but a title such as this will never reach the level of mainstream penetration that The Walking Dead or Heavy Rain achieved. I hate to say it, but there are some instances where graphics and presentation make all the difference. Without 3D environments, animated characters, and english voice acting, it’s going to turn off a lot of people.
It’s really hard to say whether or not I would recommend Corpse Party: Book of Shadows. On the one hand, it’s intense, scary, and erotic, and it’s not like PSP and Vita owners have a lot of choice when it comes to games at the moment. On the other hand, there really just isn’t a lot of “game” and the low production values mean that even the story doesn’t come across as well as it could. However, if you’ve played the original and just have to know what happens next, you probably won’t be disappointed. Fans of horror games will probably enjoy this one too, but for everyone else, you may want to give it a miss.
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