Customer Reviews

Echo Night: Beyond

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

What if they based a game on the movie "The Sixth Sense?" Place it on the Moon and you have "Echo Night Beyond," a good entry into the often neglected "adventure" genre, now cross bred with survival horror.

It is not for those who are without patience, but it does offer plenty of fun for adventure gaming fans. There is no combat, only exploration, running from ghosts, and puzzle solving (helping ghosts find peace by finding whatever they lost). Some critics claim it is repetitive, but I think it works well, especially for more mature gamers.

The game is presented in a FPS mode, with only a heart monitor to let u know your health status, and a battery operated flashlight to light your environment. The flashlight's battery charge is a concern, and must be managed by locating battery packs scattered about the station.

Your objective is to try and locate your fiance after the crash of your shuttle, into what seems to be an abandoned Moon base. A sub-plot built around what happened to the Moon base prior to your arrival is uncovered as you explore the station, encountering ghosts, and viewing ghostly events shown to you in video cameras.

As u explore, you will encounter ghosts who will either be benign or evil. Evil ghosts are encountered in rooms filled with a mysterious fog (non-volumetric). When u encounter an evil ghost, your only option is to run like hell before your heart stops from fear. But, with an objective to save the souls of the dead, u still need to communicate with the ghosts, even the evil ones. Find what they are looking for and u can release their souls from their torment.

There is plenty of exploration, along with some back and forth item quests, but it never reaches the absurd level found in the Resident Evil series.

The environments, lighting, menus, and sound are absolutely great and thoroughly immersive. Voice Over talent is good -- international accents are well done and some seem genuine. The ghosts could use some more polygons -- but the environment and menus really shine. The controls are good as long as u use the 3rd controller set-up, a typcal FPS configuration using the dual sticks to move and look, and the triggers for actions. The default set-up, typical of FROM's JP games, is amazingly bad -- so I am grateful for the extra controller configurations that Western gamers are more accustomed to.

I doubt most "kids" will have the patience for ENB -- it is a very passive experience, like most adventure games, but adults will enjoy it. The fear is not as intense or strange as the Silent Hill series, but when a evil ghost does appear, the screen and controller start to shake, your flashlight dims, and it invokes a Fatal Frame style "get me the hell out of here" panic in the player that is quite effective.

If you like adventure games, and horror, you will find it well worth your time. I give this game a solid B, with a tilt to a B+/A- for effort, or if u really enjoy the genre. I also recommend it as a solid game for all ages, especially adults who realize that adult games do not need gratuitous violence and scantly clad women to be fun.

Reviewed for Big Boss Games by: JLR

Here's an obscure, but excellent game that not too many people have heard about, Echo Night: Beyond for the PS2.

The premise is simple, you are on a trip to the moon with your fiance. Sounds good, right? Then you crash, and end up the only survivor. It's now up to you to find out the who, what, when, where, and why?

The game is played from a first person view, and graphically really sets the mood very well. It is a very atmospheric title, and you really feel like you're there. Your quest for answers will find you coming across many ghosts, some good, some not so good. Without giving too much away, I'll end on this note, don't let this one slip under your game radar. It's a really, really good game.

Score: 8/10

I loved this game! I only bought it because it came from Agetec and I am a big fan of the Armored Core Series, but it is nothing like Armored Core.
I found myself immersed in it while I was playing. I really enjoyed the little subplots revealed through all the characters. I was sorry when it was finished even though it was a decent length. I wanted more. I don't think there are enough good games like this. I know I will want to play it again.
If you like games that will invite you to use your intuition & problem soving skills in an environment and story that draws you in completely like any good book or movie will do, this is one to get.

I like the survival/horror genre, as well as PC adventure games with more problem solving than action. I liked this game, which fit both these categories. The atmosphere is well defined, graphics passable, the controls are good though take getting used to, and the surprises, though few and far between, make it all worth it. It is a bit scary at times: you have no weapons, and all you can do is appease the angry spirits if you can decifer how- or run or be killed. I'm taking this one slowly. Don't know when I'll come across another one I like so much. As another has said, this is not the game for you if you're searching for action or a shooter. This is a search, explore, problem solving game, which can be slow at times, even frustrating. Some of us like it that way.

I actually pulled this game out of a bargain bin for next to nothing At that price, I guess this is worth it, since most coasters I own are probably worth the same.

I wish I could tell you the story, but I haven't progressed very far in the game, as it took me and my roommate almost twenty minutes to escape the opening area, as it was so dull and flat, the item we were searching for had nothing to distinguish it from the background. The "game" thus far consists of the quintessential adventure game: find random items hidden throughout a region and return them to their owners, who can't be troubled to provide much helpful information as to where they might be. As I write this, my roommate is searching for a way to kill the character out of sheer boredom.

The graphics are pathetically simple, consisting primarily of grey, light grey, and dark grey. Combat is non-existant, as you don't really fight, you turn on a fan to remove the ghost-sustaining fog. There's no real audio apart from moans and mutterings, and since the ghosts don't actually attack, even your character wishes to die, as the only real way that you can is to accelerate your heart rate into an arrhythmia.

My room mate sums up both of our opinions rather poetically: the next time I need something to scrap barnacles off my [....] , I'll use this game. Theres no horror, no real story, and no sympathy for your character, as he is rendered mute after a fifteen second opening speech.

I read some positive reviews of this game and decided to try it and to my surprise this game was horrible.

I will start with the Super Nintendo like graphics this game offers.I noticed instantly and so will anyone whos ever played a resident evil or silent hill will not be impressed with anything this game has to offer. You never Kill ANYTHING and the game uses a variety of annoying features. For instance you have to use cameras in the monitor rooms to search through areas and try to find these little hidden cutscenes.

The Storyline is weak as well. They turn the game into a love story almost instantly and it just never really picks up. You spend most of your time just running back and fourth or running away from ghost.

To sum it up this game was horrible.

well, herez wut this games gonna be about
2044....Moon Colony....A horrific crash on your honeymoon has left you separated from your fiancée. Opening the door to the lunar colony 239,000 miles from Earth....you find a desolate base haunted by the spectral remains of those who called it home. Prepare to embark on a paranormal journey to the Beyond.

this game looks ok
it kinda looks like a bad story
ill have to get the demo first