GameCube

P.N.03

P.N.03 is just the kind of game that the Gamecube needs. It feels fresh, is simple to get to grips with and is very enjoyable to play.

P.N.03 is a slick-looking action/shooter that’s old-school at heart. P.N.03 (Product Number 03) is a long, intense, thumb-busting shooter that tests trigger fingers and patience levels. If you’re looking for a action/shooter whose motto is shoot first, second, third, and ask questions later, P.N. is your game.

Ich bin von P.N.03 relativ enttäuscht. Nach der Vorab-Version von letztem Monat und dem fulminanten Spielauftakt habe ich mir deutlich mehr erhofft. Das Spiel wirkt in vielen Punkten einfach unfertig. Hätte man an der hakeligen Steuerung ein wenig Feintuning betrieben, ein paar weitere coole Zwischensequenzen eingebaut und das Leveldesign abwechslungsreicher gestaltet – dann wäre P.N.03 ein sicherer Hit geworden! Es wäre wünschenswert, dass Capcom die PAL-Version noch mal nachbessert. Denn P.N.03 bietet unglaublich viele gute Ansätze. Wer auf kompromisslose Action steht, sollte P.N.03 jedoch auf seine Wunschliste setzen.

So, what's the bad news? It's short, it's repetitive and the replay value is ultimately pretty limited. A reasonable effort will get you through the single player game in 4-5 hours, and that's without an excessive amount of time spent powering up the various suits. However, the chance to run through the randomised trial missions to get points for the most powerful suits, and new and varied efforts to maximise scores in general will have you returning to the game on a regular basis, assuming you enjoy the action at all.

Capcom have consistently pushed the boundaries this generation, and P.N.03 makes no exception - it currently stands alone on an empty dance floor. With a bit more variety and tighter controls, maybe more would fall for its supple charms. It’s a shame style isn’t actually rewarded as somewhere a killer idea lurks, points awarded for synching Vanessa’s movements to the soundtrack - foot tapping during a break, charging special attacks during a drum-fill, unleashing fury at the chorus.

P.N.03 may easily turn off some gamers, whether it's because of the high difficulty level or the hard to pick up controls; but once you get past those issues, you'll get a feeling of nostalgia that few games this generation will inspire. Like many old school/arcade shooters, the biggest value of the title is not only to finish it, but to become an expert at it by playing and improving upon your score. Sure, the game has some flaws including the bland graphical work and repetitive gameplay, but it succeeds at being an extremely stylish, extremely difficult, and extremely hardcore game. Indeed, revenge has never been sexier.

On attendait beaucoup plus de ce P.N.03 qui n'aura finalement pas su nous éblouir autant qu'on l'espérait. L'approche est audacieuse mais le résultat manque d'efficacité, d'autant que le contenu n'a pas suffisamment de profondeur pour renouveler le challenge et assurer une durée de vie digne de ce nom.

Même si l'on était en droit d'attendre une meilleure exploitation de l'idée de la danse et une meilleure utilisation du design de feu du soft, force est de constater que Capcom signe avec P.N.03 un shoot'em up d'un nouveau genre. La répétitivité de l'ensemble ennuira peut être une majorité de joueurs, mais ceux qui trouveront leur compte dans P.N.03 seront aux anges, grâce à un gameplay complexe à maitriser et efficace.

To begin with, P.N.03 feels like a step backward. Heroine Vanessa Z Schneider can run, turn, crouch and even jump like Lara Croft on steroids, but like Resident Evil, precise movement is restricted. Vanessa can't strafe - instead she is limited to spinning sideways at a single tug of either the left or right trigger, and cartwheeling for a double. And she can't move while she fires; nor can she interrupt her firing move with another action - which grows particularly maddening when you're trying to execute one of her Street Fighter II-style D-pad/A button combinations in the heat of battle.

O resultado final é um game curto, repetitivo, com uma produção aparentemente desleixada e cuja fórmula é baseada em elementos retrógrados (não necessariamente ruins, vale notar). Não é impossível gostar do jogo - mas parece ser uma obra feita para gostos refinados, e não para uma indústria que depende de centenas de milhares de cópias para ser considerado um sucesso.

P.N. 03 is short, hard and frenetic but quite frankly it wouldn't work any other way. ' Could have been' is the one phrase we just can't get out of our heads and while we appreciate and enjoy what P.N. 03 is doing, any dancing fool can see the areas that let the package down. Be it repetition, simplicity or simply the fact that the overall product just doesn't feel as polished as it should, there are plenty of little things holding it back. Yet for all its faults P.N.3 still manages to be a curiously compelling title.

Capcom's P.N.03 is a weird game. At first glance, it might appear to be an attempt to cash in on such mega-hits as Metal Gear Solid 2 and Splinter Cell. But such assumptions are way off target. From the mind of Shinji Mikami -- the man who brought us the Resident Evil series and Devil May Cry -- this GameCube-exclusive sci-fi affair is a straight-up shooter dressed in 3D that takes its cue from classic high-scoring shmups.

Overall, P.N.03 is a mindless shooter. The downside is that it’s not even a good mindless shooter. There is so much potential, but user unfriendly controls hinder the level of enjoyment one can have. Also drab environments, repetitive enemies, and an extremely weak heroine add to the frustration but aren’t as much of a concern. I think if the controls were better, it wouldn’t be such a hard game and it would be more enjoyable. I still had fun with the first half of this game, and I definitely recommend a rental.

If you don’t die of boredom playing the game, you’ll run headlong into the most disappointing aspect of P.N. 03: It can be completed in a measly four hours. As if I need to say it, P.N. 03 is best left undiscovered until the day you find it in a bargain bin for a reasonable price.

P.N.03 is a 3D action-shooter with a certain degree of style, sure. But it has no depth whatsoever. Worse, its control scheme, clunky and sluggish, perpetually clashes with the would-be fast-moving battles the game serves up continuously. There is a lot of repetition on both a gameplay level and visual and audio levels, which is sure to discourage anybody looking for variety in their shooter. All of this combines for an experience that is under-whelming, yes, and disappointing, no doubt, but not a total loss. There is still some satisfaction to be found and shooter fans are the most likely to stay the drawbacks and seek it out.

P.N. 03 is a short, uninspired game that's yet another would-be imitator of Capcom's own Devil May Cry. Like that game, P.N. 03 wears its sense of style on its sleeve, as though having a main character with feathered hair and sunglasses is enough to make a good game these days. Unfortunately, unlike Devil May Cry, P.N. 03 neither looks good nor plays well. Fans of old-school shooters could do worse than renting this game--and they might even catch a glimpse of promise somewhere--but it's nothing to keep them interested for long.

No time or care was taken to polish what could have been an interesting action game in the vein of Devil May Cry. It may be worth renting. But the good news for Gamecube owners is that the other exclusive games are or are looking amazing.