Beyond: Two Souls

Good but not great. That's how I sum this game up.

I had a high expectation for this game due to it's predecessor, the amazing Heavy Rain. However things are often over-hyped and this is probably one of them. 

Saying that, it is worth your time. Just don't expect the greatness of the Origami killer.

Beyond: Two Souls follows the story of Jodie over 15 years of her life. Paranormal things start to happen around her as a child which leads to her foster parents sending her away to a facility where she is subject to tests. The paranormal activity is due to an entity that is attached to her and can never leave her. It's name is Aiden and he helps Jodie out whenever she gets caught up in a sticky situation. He can also become aggressive if anyone attempts to hurt her.

You can control both characters as you play through the random scenes. You might be a 5 year old Jodie in one scene and then a teenager in another. Eventually the story comes together and begins to make sense.

The graphics are great and the story, although predictable in places, does flow. However the gameplay let me down. Controlling Aiden felt awkward at times and it wasn't always clear which way to move the analog sticks in order to interact with the environment. Even as Jodie, the controls felt heavy and at times I struggled to get her walking in the direction I wanted. Certain objects I found hard to interact with no matter which way I flicked the right analog stick. Other gameplay included simple button presses which was nothing special. The game really is like an interactive movie.

I did enjoy the fight scenes though. Jodie becomes trained by the CIA later in the game and in these sequences the action entered slow motion allowing you time to decide which way you had to dodge or attack certain opponents. Not always clear but still fun.

When playing as Aiden it was fun to scare people and send books flying across the room. You could strangle some characters and possess others. I did get bored after a while though.

The stealth sections don't seem to fit in with the game also. Although I did enjoy the scenario in the desert, discovering why an entity is attacking at night and trying to send it back to the Infra world. Basically that's the world of the dead. Rifts opened by machines called Condensers allow the entities to cross over.

Now one thing I did like was discovering the reference to Heavy Rain without looking it up on some website! In the scenario entitled 'Homeless' there is a man sitting on a bench reading a paper. If you control Aiden you can take a look at what he's reading and here it is:

Dun Dun Dun!!!!

I did love Heavy Rain!

Anyway despite everything the game is good and I liked the twist towards the end. Also there are multiple endings to see and from the one I had I wouldn't be surprised if there is a sequel.