The novelty Primal has comes in the way of Jen’s ability to shape shift. In each of the four areas Jen will acquire a new form, each a little uglier than the one before. In the Ferai form you will be able to climb higher and hit harder, whereas in the Undine form you will be able to swim with the best of them. The most interesting form, though, has to be the Wraith, which allows you to tinker with time.
Each of these forms is used primarily in their own world, so you won’t use them as frequently as you’d expect. Some of the puzzles towards the end require you to use all four of these forms, but chances are you will use one much more than any of the others.
While Scree cannot shape shift, he can possess other statues to complete puzzles and even fight enemies. Like the forms Jen takes, this aspect of the game isn’t as fully realized as I was hoping it would be. It would have been nice to have been able to take control of a few more giant statues, as this was one of the few times I was really excited about the outcome of the battle.
By the end of the game, Primal sets itself up for a nasty final chapter that will have you playing to the end just to get some resolution to it all. And even if you get sick and tired of the repetitive controls, there’s no denying that this is a story driven game, and your enjoyment hinges entirely on how into the story you are. I had a love/hate relationship with the story, finding myself fascinated by much of it, and yet sick of the melodrama within a few hours of starting the game.
I also worried that the game would have a very limited amount of replay, but once you’ve completed the game, a whole horde of extra DVD-like extra features come into play. You can watch documentaries, read about the game, and much more. Whether or not this is enough to keep the 400 KB save on your memory card is debatable, but at least it’s a start.
When you strip away the pretty graphics, great music, and story, you’re left with a pretty generic game. But Primal does everything as well as its been done before, no better, no worse. It has an interesting story that is worth playing the game for, but it’s certainly not for everybody.
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What do you get when you combine every game that came out in 2002? I have a funny feeling the result is a little like Primal, a game that lacks originality, but also manages to be a satisfying adventure.
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