God Eater 2: Rage Burst is an action RPG that follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, Resurrection, which released earlier this year for Playstation 4 and PSVita. Based three years after the events of Resurrection, Rage Eaters’ world has succumbed to a ‘red rain’ that has created a fatal pandemic known as the ‘Black Plague’. This disease has a mortality rate of 100% once it infects a host. As a member of the Special Unit ‘Blood’, the story’s protagonist must investigate the source of the disease before it wipes everything out.
Like its predecessors, Rage Burst starts by having the player design, color and accessorize an ”Avatar’ using the provided ‘Character Creation’ system. While limited, the creation system includes enough tools to modify hair color, facial features and skin tone, to name just a few. It is also possible to change the character’s hairstyle and gender. For gamers that like to personalize their characters, Rage Burst includes a ‘Voice’ option that contains twenty different voices. After a voice is selected, the player can sample the voice as it would sound during gameplay, spanning 81 different character actions. It’s a great feature that should be available in all role-playing games.
Rage Burst includes a variety of new features that enhance its gameplay. Among these new features is The Personal Ability System, which uses Ability Points (AP) earned from missions. When in use, this feature unlocks new Personal Abilities that consist of new buffs and skills for allied NPCs. Blood Rage is a powerful, 30 second skill that deals enormous amounts of damage.
When used, the character in question will grow yellow chrysalis on their back that is powered by Oracle Cells (the same material that Aragami are made from). The Blood Rage skill can be activated by pressing both R2 and RT in succession. However, it should be noted that certain skill conditions must be met for this skill to work. The Skill Install feature allows the player to accept ‘special duties’. When choosing a mission, the player must accept a random event (shown with a red indicator) from the ‘Mission’ screen. Completing one of these missions will reward the player’s party with ‘Abandoned God Arcs’, which are special abilities that can be installed into equipment. The skill effects of these arcs vary based on their level, but they can be stacked to increase their effectiveness.
The fortress Friar is where the player can select missions, buy/sell items, and ‘save’ their in-game progress. The NPC Fran is where both story-based and side missions can be obtained. After selecting a mission, the player can add/remove party members via the ‘Mission Members’ menu. The Terminal is where additional items are stored, including crafting materials and weapons such as grenades, among others. This system also provides a Loadout screen where party members can be equipped with new gear and accessories.
The ‘Install Skill’ function is where Abandoned God Arcs can be converted. For example: A +1 Abandoned God Arc allows the player to improve their basic abilities of a God Arc to a maximum of +30. To achieve this, the God Arc in question must be installed. From the Install Skill menu, a God Arc can be selected by pressing X button and then installed inside either a melee weapon, gun or shield. The player is only allowed to install up to four God Arcs per item.
The Skill Rebuilding menu is used to construct new God Arc Parts from currently owned Abandoned Arc Parts. The number and rank of the Abandoned God Arcs used will affect the rank of the parts constructed via this menu. It is also possible to construct high-rank parts, but it requires a large number of low-ranking parts to accomplish.
Like Capcom’s Monster Hunter series, God Eater 2’s combat system is action based. But instead of using sandbox environments, Rage Burst settles for arena-like locations that are much smaller in size. When fighting Aragami, the player can press L1 to target an enemy and then press Square button to retaliate with a string of hard-hitting combos. A slower, more powerful move can be performed by pressing Triangle button, but it leaves the player vulnerable to attack.
When the action intensifies, the player can press R1 to transform their current melee weapon into whatever firearm that is currently equipped. While the choices increase over time, guns like the Blast and Carbine — which are obtained early on during the game – deal large amounts of damage when used. It should be mentioned that these weapons can only function when the OP Gauge is either partially or completely full. The OP Gauge increases every time a creature incurs damage during combat.
Due to the game’s increasing difficulty, expect to use just about every grenade, snare trap, and healing syringe available. Luckily, the inventory system can be easily accessed by pressing the Dual Shock Controller’s touch panel. From the inventory system, the player can toggle between their party’s items by pressing either L1 or R1. Once an item has been chosen, it can be used by pressing Square button. Stun grenades and snare traps are also used in the same fashion.
Learning to conserve inventory resources is important during certain battles, especially boss encounters. Some Aragami are so powerful that they will take every stun grenade; every trap; and every bullet available to defeat it. God Eater 2’s gameplay starts off moderately difficult, but becomes increasingly harder the longer it’s played (think Capcom’s Monster Hunter series).
Graphically, Rage Burst looks slightly better than its PS Vita counterpart. Bandai-Namco increased the game’s resolution, while also implementing anti-aliasing and hi-res textures. The in-game effects also received a boost in quality. Despite these graphically upgrades, the PS Vita version of Rage Burst looks very similar to its Playstation 4 counterpart, sans the effects mentioned earlier.
God Eater 2: Rage Burst for Playstation 4 is an entertaining game. It manages to capture the charm of Capcom’s Monster Hunter series, while also maintaining its own identity through the use of likable characters; a lengthy single-player campaign; and improved next-gen graphics. Gamers looking for a new way to ‘hunt’ monsters will appreciate everything that God Eater 2: Rage Burst offers.
Mike Pittaro
Platform: Playstation 4
Developer: Bandai-Namco
Publisher: Bandai-Namco
ESRB: T (Teen)
Price: $59.99
God Eater 2: Rage Burst Official Website:
https://www.bandainamcoent.com/games/god-eater-2-rage-burst
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |   |
| Rage Burst looks slightly better than its PS Vita counterpart | |
| Sound | |
| Great music and sound effects enhance the experience. | |
| Gameplay | |
| The game starts off moderately difficult, but becomes increasingly harder the longer it's played. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| God Eater 2: Rage Burst is worth the price of admission. | |
