Customer Reviews

Every Extend Extra

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

 

 

Every Extend Extra is a very unique game in this day and age: it's an honest arcade action game. There's no exploration, no collecting of gadgets and upgrades, no gimmicks - just action, trancey visuals, and absorbing electronic music.

The core gameplay mechanic itself combines aspects of Asteroids (particle dodging) and Missile Command (chain explosions and timing skills). The concept and gameplay merge Golden Age design decisions (gameplay occurs on a single screen, your ship is small, normal enemies are mostly abstract shapes) with Silver Age shooter conventions (pattern recognition and bullet-dodging ability are useful skills, minibosses and huge bosses spice up the stages).

Complaints about the tutorial mode are unwarranted. The tutorial gives you an understanding of all the techniques you will need, but only practice will make you a competent player. In addition to the tutorial mode, however, I strongly recommend that those new to the concept should rank into the top three in the original Every Extend (either on PC or PSP) before trying the Arcade mode of Every Extend Extra.

As expected from the creators of Lumines, each stage has a unique and memorable skin -- themes range from Cambrian life to astrophysics. The package is solid and full of content -- a remake of the original PC "Every Extend", endless single-stage, and boss rush modes are included, along with a full-on multiplayer mode (which I've heard is good, but haven't had the pleasure of trying). Did I mention it includes a substantial demo of Lumines II for good measure?

So if you're a fan of classic arcade games, you can't go wrong with this one. There are complaints to be made about E3: it's a bit short, has a substantial learning curve to play the "right way" and another to become skilled, the graphics can sometimes be too busy, and there's not much variety in the gameplay. To my way of thinking, though, these are all positives rather than negatives. It's a great, lovingly-crafted game and a welcome anachronism among today's games.

BTW: those who haven't played the original PC Every Extend, a labor of love created by a single programmer, should try it out. The version included in E3 differs considerably.

I'm not sure where I missed the boat, but I cannot understand the low reviews of this game? I suppose it may be that I waited until the game was in single digit pricing, I got it for less than a buck, before shipping, but I can't see why paying more than $5.00 would be a problem for this little gem.

The game's manual is, as mentioned before quite simple and non-complex. They do not explain very much. For those of you that have played "Rez" on the PS2, it is similar in gameplay and object. You try to blow things up, and there is a haunting trance beat that is actually quite enjoyable to listen to. Being a huge music game fan, I found myself tapping to the beat whilst I played the first time.

I'm also surprised that nobody else mentioned Rez in their reviews, it is strikingly quite similar.

Recommended!

well in a nutshell: is kind of boring and the visual effects are not great as in rez for dreamcast (similar and much better game). the levels are kind of hard and challenger but the game is mainly boring... thats it. so boring that there are not much else to be said!

I really like the idea behind the simple PSP title Every Extend Extra, and it is fun at times. However, in the long run it is just another puzzle game (the likes of which you can find all over the internet nowdays) and I honestly don't find myself replaying it very often. In any of the game's modes.

If you enjoy Lumines, Bejeweled, ... maybe checkers... and/or other simple Flash type games, this is your kind of game. Though, it is average and replay value is a bit low on my scale.

Very easy to learn, but very hard to master. This game will tax your patience, as well as your skill!! I enjoy it tremendously, and I know you will too!!

I am an avid fan of Lumines, and went out to get Every Extend Extra PSP as soon as I could. This game was made by the same people and I looked forward to the same addictively fun gameplay and music. Unfortunately, the magic just didn't strike twice.

The first problem is that the manual and tutorial just aren't very good. A key aspect of puzzle games is learning how the puzzle works. I have tried this game out on various people and all have the same complaint. What are they supposed to be doing? How does this game work? Many give the game up in frustration before learning the skills.

If you stick with it, you start to get the hang of things. Your little craft zooms around on the screen gobbling up items. When it gets near an enemy, you blow the craft up - either quickly, or in a delayed power burst, or in a directional blast. You want to time your explosions so that you get the maximum bang for the buck. You want to take out as many enemies as possible. Even better, you want their death explosions to then take out even more enemies.

There are of course the normal collection of bonus items, bosses and other events thrown in to keep you on your toes. But the gist of the game is to listen to the jazzy music, enjoy the lovely graphics, and blow stuff up.

So that all being said, if they had simply ramped this game up in a more typical way so you got the hang of things early on, it would have been *much* better. Make the initial level very simple, so that you can win it with only the most basic of skills. Give that sense of "OK I'm doing something right here". Then move on to a slightly more challenging stage that requires more chaining, and so on. By having the starting level confusing, people just lose all incentive to keep playing. They have no idea if they're doing anything right at all.

Give how much fun Lumines is, I just can't recommend this game well. There's no reason to be frustrated by this when Lumines gives you amazing, addictive fun from the very get go.

I'll give this game a 2/5 with the hopes they come out with another version that is longer and more intuitively ramped.

The high point about this game is definitely the mesmerizing graphics and great sound, it is a nice show. This game reminds me of Fantavision for the PS2. If you like that game a lot, you will probably like this one more than I do.

I really like puzzle games. Tetris, Meteos, Lumines, Polarium, I've enjoyed them all. But when you get down to it, this game is just boring. I really recommend that you try this one before you buy it.

The recent slab of puzzle games that Q Entertainment are releasing are not as good as I though it would be. Lumines II, delivered on the hype, but Gunpey just dosen't cut it (for both systems). Meteos's cool science project look has been totally butchered with an upcoming DIsney version, totally unacceptable. And EEE, a combination of the visuals of Rez and an arcade "shooter", simply just dosen't cut it.

The basic gameplay seem simple enough for EEE. YOu control a "ship" (that's look like a dot crystal thingy), and you must denonate it in a way it will follow a patternt. If you explode your numerous enemies, the explosion can destroy a nearby one, thus setting off a chain reaction. The game also sports a neat art style. THe graphics are really cool. You won't find any skins like on Lumines, but the techno pulse graphcis impress. IT's hard to describe, so look at the screenshots. I can just say I am easily impressed with the graphics. Overall, the game's presentation delivers.

So why did I only give it three? The game just dosen't hold up long. The game dosen't feature many stages, and they all last for about 2 minutes at the most. The game itself also dosen't have enough staying power either. The game is not addictive enough to be a puzzle game, and the whole gameplay feels like a tacked on Java game. UNlike Lumines, the game is short, not simple, and not addictive. Lumines just offers more staying power, and it does it with only four blocks and some great graphics. This game is also pretty boring too. The wehole gameplay thing just dosen't hold up well. Also, the final nail in the coffin is the terrible music, shallow gameplay, and most of all, it's no fun to set of f chain reactions because most people don't want to. IT's a game that you will either love or hate, and I don't like that much. Easily the worst puzzle game I have ever played.

I still reccomend that you check it out, but try renting it first or try the demo that comes with Lumines II. Remember that some people love it but some people don't. Be careful when thinking about if you should buy the game or not.

I read several reviews of this game that said it sucked, but I also read a couple that said "Oh, those guys just don't -get- it. This game rocks."

So I read the guide, I played through the tutorial and started to play. After playing for a couple of hours, all I can say is I must not get it because this game sucks. There seems to be a countdown timer that's always running, although you don't get to see it until the clock has less than 15 seconds left. Although the tutorial never makes mention of it, you seem to have a limit to how many times you can explode yourself to take your enemies out. I presume that "extend" adds both time and another chance to explode yourself, but nothing ever actually describes what extend means.

In the end, I don't really care to find out the subtle nuances because the game just isn't worth playing.