Plasterific
In a distant future, a substance known as Plast, a malleable multi purpose plastic, is the most powerful substance in the universe. Interstellar corporations mine Plast and use it to manufacture bio-machines. Nevin is a Shaper, a rare individual who can physically manipulate Plast and time itself. Nevin discovers that illegal experiments with Plast have infected it with human consciousness. Stranded on his latest mission, Nevin must fight for survival on a planet gone mad - a planet which is using its new bio-mechanical abilities to produce waves of enemies to destroy him.
Hack ‘n Slash, Run ‘n Gun
Early in the game, Nevin meets up with Echo, a portion of the planet which is friendly to his plight. Echo is essentially your guide through the tutorial portion of the game. He rewards Nevin with a special Plast suit which allows its user to change between three different forms. The sword form is the most human looking of these, and allows Nevin to execute close quarters attacks and combos. Impressive combos will gain points which Nevin can later spend at a store to acquire new attacks, combos and abilities. The gun form has a long range, but its attacks are weak and movement is slow. The gun form does have a very powerful shield which deflects projectile attacks. Stealth is the final of the three forms - it allows Nevin to turn invisible to sneak past enemies and security devices, as well as moving with enhanced agility.
Alter Echo's most prevalent feature is meant to be the "Time Dilation" ability, which allows Nevin to stop the flow of time and attack his foes while they're unable to respond. Nevin must collect orange Time Dilation globes until his meter is filled. When you've got enough Time Dilation energy, you can execute the attack. This execution results in a mini-game not unlike the popular mobile phone title Snake. In the mini-game, Nevin and his enemies are represented by small icons, and you must direct the Nevin icon through the enemy icons, all the while ensuring that your movements are in the correct rhythm and not doubling back over squares you've already been through. Should you manage to attack and enemy, or complete a chain, a mini cut scene will launch where Nevin disposes of the enemies within the immediate vicinity.
Despite all of these new ideas that Alter Echo brings to the table, it suffers a variety of problems. Alter Echo just isn't really all that fun to play - the combat is highly repetitive and sometimes frustrating, the AI is almost non-existent (which results in too many enemies being thrown at you to make up for it) and the Time Dilation mini-game is frustrating to say the least. Alter Echo also features a problematic camera - while it is both automatically and manually controlled, you'll find that you have to constantly correct the viewpoint - it's almost like the camera is trying to make the game harder. The final major problem with Alter Echo is its overwhelming linearity - you rarely have the option to do things in an alternative fashion to what the game desires. Add in the fact that the adventure is about 10 hours tops, and you've got one unsatisfying experience.
Icky goo
Alter Echo is a mixed bag in the visual department. The art styling and colour scheme utilized in the game did not appeal to us in the slightest. The palette consists of a lot of purple and orange which made us feel rather nauseous while playing the game. The characters featured in the game look a little odd due to their weird body shapes, and their facial attributes look to have been pasted together by an amateur using Photoshop. Animation is the only saving grace of Alter Echo's visual presentation. The morphing between forms and Nevin's fighting animations are particular highlights. Alter Echo runs at around 60 frames per second until the action heats up, in which case the frame rate drops like a log.
The aural experience is also on the poor side. Sound effects are stock standard, and don't do much to enhance the game's overall experience. Music is a moderate techno affair, designed to fit in with the futuristic styling of the game. It does the job, but it could have been better. Alter Echo's voice acting is particularly annoying. The dialog is poor, with a whole string of "whatever" and other 'hip' words. The actors themselves aren't entirely good, but the dialog does nothing but further their mediocrity.
Boring
Alter Echo is a game that featured quite a few good ideas. Unfortunately, these ideas have been implemented poorly, and we're left with a dull, repetitive and linear experience, that offers no real incentive to players to continue their experiences with the game.
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