E: 9/20/2016 Post-God Eater 2 Review

Since all copies of GOD EATER 2 Rage Burst come with a copy of GOD EATER RESURRECTION, what's going to be guaranteed is a very, very long game. By its very nature though, you will want some friends to own a copy of this game so you can play together.

NOTE: Rage Burst played in its entirety.

GOD EATER RESURRECTION is a remake of God(s) Eater Burst that comes with every copy of GOD EATER 2 Rage Burst. Set in a post-apocalyptic world wherein vicious creatures known as the 'Aragami' run rampant as humanity tries to survive, you enlist to become a God Eater to fight against them.

It is pretty much an appetizer of what is to come on Rage Burst, and features most (but not all, such as Blood Arts) features Rage Burst comes with, as well as providing a new-to-the-series feature known as 'Predator Styles', or ways you can devour your enemies for a boost in power.

Pros and Cons in bullet form:

Pros:
- Over 124 Story Missions, and contains most features the PSP-exclusive God Eater Burst had;
- Monster Hunter-Style Gameplay for people who are craving for it outside of the 3DS;
- Varied weapon types imported from Rage Burst back into Resurrection;
- Far more flexible with customization compared to Rage Burst.
- Indepth bullet editor allowing you to create custom shots or fireworks.

Cons:
- Feels like an Entree instead of a main game due to its relative ease;
- Certain weapon and predator style types are dominating due to their relative strength compared to others of its kind;
- Pacing is a bit dragging; and variety of enemies are low, most of which only appear past the Story 50 mark.
- Some typoes in the story;
- Netcode is very unstable, with most DCs occuring 1-2 missions especially with 4 players in your party.

God Eater 2 is the sequel to God Eater 1/Burst/Resurrection and tells the tale of the Blood special forces in their attempt to quash the Aragami threat once and for all. Unique to this game are Blood Arts, or skills that vary combat gameplay by adding a feature to an attack action, among other things. Bullet Customization returns with more flexibility (though this isn't immediately obvious due to Blood Bullet features, assuming you came directly from Resurrection).

A few things to note in bullet format:

Pros:
- At least 161 story missions to keep you busy*
- More map variations
- More meaningful weapon choices due to Blood Arts
- More creature types in this game (a given due to being a sequel)
- Ranged Weapons don't feel like skins with varying amounts of modules, due to certain restrictions given to you.

Cons:
- Audio is broken. Some songs stop in the middle of combat, and the Fenrir Far East HQ Normal Theme loops back at an awkward time.
- Exp System for Blood Arts and Blood Bullets (which are chips that add functionality to bullets) may not be for everyone, and may leave people stuck with a primary weapon for the entire duration of the game, reducing the ability to switch weapon types at will.
- Because of the above, it becomes mandatory to grind in order to attain full power with Blood Arts.
- Crafting is a bit more obtuse than in Resurrection; recipes start out blanked with nary a clue for the ingredients needed to craft them.
- Same netcode issues in GE:RES (may have been changed in a recent patch).

*A special space is reserved for Rage Burst's pacing issues. There is a very long stretch of killing Yakshas with other bosses during difficulty 4, and it takes you around 90 missions to even reach Difficulty 7 (90 is God Eater 2 arc conclusion). Whoever thought it was a good idea to prolong the missions with needless events should probably be re-assessed by Namco Bandai.

The Rage Burst arc is almost equally painful to deal with, as the rear end of the plot is almost always held back by certain random events that have minimal plot bearing, forcing you to keep on killing a bunch of bosses before the game finally concludes. They could *really* shave off 30 missions off Rage Burst arc alone, because what Difficulty 4 offered in Yakshas, the Difficulties 7+ offer in random Gboro-Gboro and Borg Camlanns. Usually in back-to-back survival missions that last on average 25 minutes.

Rage Burst, however, introduces a new mechanic rather late in the game (100~ish), called Blood Rage, where you perform milestone-type feats in 30 seconds, to get a power boost and invulnerability that lasts for the same amount of time. This mechanic is built up by hitting and killing Aragami, with which it uses 100% (out of a stockable 400%, which carries over missions) power in order to grant you the chance to power yourself up.

If it weren't for the additional dimension of strategy that Blood Arts and Blood Rages add, the game would be mediocre. I didn't mind the minimal variety of maps the first God Eater had; Monster Hunter also had the same type of concept (albeit in larger maps).

Mind you, if the pacing was only good, the game would get a resounding "Great" rating from me. But it still feels mediocre compared to Resurrection, surprisingly, despite being the more difficult, "fuller-bodied" game.

But hey, the game DOES come with two games so it's still a worthy buy for those who:

1. don't mind grinding
2. don't mind horrible pacing and/or have a lot of time in their hands
3. like Monster Hunter-type games
4. prefer bargains (this comes with two games per purchase after all)
5. want a multiplayer, non-MMO-yet-still-an-RPG experience to play with their friends.

As a side note, the plot is really anime. Unless you don't mind Anime tropes, this is otherwise not suggested for those who are looking for a 'bleaker' setup.

And the review is now complete: The verdict is still a recommendation, but take note of the above.

E: 9/20/2016 Post-God Eater 2 Review Since all copies of GOD EATER 2 Rage Burst come with a copy of GOD EATER RESURRECTION, what's going to be guaranteed is a very, very long game. By its very nature though, you will want some friends to own a copy of this game so you can play together. NOTE: Rage Burst played in its entirety. GOD EATER RESURRECTION is a remake of God(s) Eater Burst that comes with every copy of GOD EATER 2 Rage Burst. Set in a post-apocalyptic world wherein vicious creatures known as the 'Aragami' run rampant as humanity tries to survive, you enlist to become a God Eater to fight against them. It is pretty much an appetizer of what is to come on Rage Burst, and features most (but not all, such as Blood Arts) features Rage Burst comes with, as well as providing a new-to-the-series feature known as 'Predator Styles', or ways you can devour your enemies for a boost in power. Pros and Cons in bullet form: Pros: - Over 124 Story Missions, and contains most features the PSP-exclusive God Eater Burst had; - Monster Hunter-Style Gameplay for people who are craving for it outside of the 3DS; - Varied weapon types imported from Rage Burst back into Resurrection; - Far more flexible with customization compared to Rage Burst. - Indepth bullet editor allowing you to create custom shots or fireworks. Cons: - Feels like an Entree instead of a main game due to its relative ease; - Certain weapon and predator style types are dominating due to their relative strength compared to others of its kind; - Pacing is a bit dragging; and variety of enemies are low, most of which only appear past the Story 50 mark. - Some typoes in the story; - Netcode is very unstable, with most DCs occuring 1-2 missions especially with 4 players in your party. God Eater 2 is the sequel to God Eater 1/Burst/Resurrection and tells the tale of the Blood special forces in their attempt to quash the Aragami threat once and for all. Unique to this game are Blood Arts, or skills that vary combat gameplay by adding a feature to an attack action, among other things. Bullet Customization returns with more flexibility (though this isn't immediately obvious due to Blood Bullet features, assuming you came directly from Resurrection). A few things to note in bullet format: Pros: - At least 161 story missions to keep you busy* - More map variations - More meaningful weapon choices due to Blood Arts - More creature types in this game (a given due to being a sequel) - Ranged Weapons don't feel like skins with varying amounts of modules, due to certain restrictions given to you. Cons: - Audio is broken. Some songs stop in the middle of combat, and the Fenrir Far East HQ Normal Theme loops back at an awkward time. - Exp System for Blood Arts and Blood Bullets (which are chips that add functionality to bullets) may not be for everyone, and may leave people stuck with a primary weapon for the entire duration of the game, reducing the ability to switch weapon types at will. - Because of the above, it becomes mandatory to grind in order to attain full power with Blood Arts. - Crafting is a bit more obtuse than in Resurrection; recipes start out blanked with nary a clue for the ingredients needed to craft them. - Same netcode issues in GE:RES (may have been changed in a recent patch). *A special space is reserved for Rage Burst's pacing issues. There is a very long stretch of killing Yakshas with other bosses during difficulty 4, and it takes you around 90 missions to even reach Difficulty 7 (90 is God Eater 2 arc conclusion). Whoever thought it was a good idea to prolong the missions with needless events should probably be re-assessed by Namco Bandai. The Rage Burst arc is almost equally painful to deal with, as the rear end of the plot is almost always held back by certain random events that have minimal plot bearing, forcing you to keep on killing a bunch of bosses before the game finally concludes. They could *really* shave off 30 missions off Rage Burst arc alone, because what Difficulty 4 offered in Yakshas, the Difficulties 7+ offer in random Gboro-Gboro and Borg Camlanns. Usually in back-to-back survival missions that last on average 25 minutes. Rage Burst, however, introduces a new mechanic rather late in the game (100~ish), called Blood Rage, where you perform milestone-type feats in 30 seconds, to get a power boost and invulnerability that lasts for the same amount of time. This mechanic is built up by hitting and killing Aragami, with which it uses 100% (out of a stockable 400%, which carries over missions) power in order to grant you the chance to power yourself up. If it weren't for the additional dimension of strategy that Blood Arts and Blood Rages add, the game would be mediocre. I didn't mind the minimal variety of maps the first God Eater had; Monster Hunter also had the same type of concept (albeit in larger maps). Mind you, if the pacing was only good, the game would get a resounding "Great" rating from me. But it still feels mediocre compared to Resurrection, surprisingly, despite being the more difficult, "fuller-bodied" game. But hey, the game DOES come with two games so it's still a worthy buy for those who: 1. don't mind grinding 2. don't mind horrible pacing and/or have a lot of time in their hands 3. like Monster Hunter-type games 4. prefer bargains (this comes with two games per purchase after all) 5. want a multiplayer, non-MMO-yet-still-an-RPG experience to play with their friends. As a side note, the plot is really anime. Unless you don't mind Anime tropes, this is otherwise not suggested for those who are looking for a 'bleaker' setup. And the review is now complete: The verdict is still a recommendation, but take note of the above.