sci-fi

P.N.03 is a very fun and addictive experience. It is a highly underrated game, which has been receiving unfair negative comments and reviews.

In this stylish game, you play as the heroine Vanessa Schneider who is on a mission to destroy the Computer Arms Management System (CAMS), which has gone haywire. You will ''dance'' your way through several mission and training levels battling dangerous robots and deadly bosses.

There is not much depth to this game if you just look at it as advancing from mission to mission, shooting everything in sight. However, you will fine very challenging and rewarding gameplay if you try to get through each room without taking any damage along with trying to collect each suit and add-on.

One common complaint is about the repetitive and stale level design. If you look at the game from the standpoint the developers most likely were, you will understand why there is not much variety. This is a science fiction game, and the levels have a very futuristic feel to them.

Another complaint is about the control. I have not experienced any problems with the responsiveness or control setup. It should be noted that you cannot shoot while jumping. This feature would have been a nice addition, but its absence only adds to the challenge presented by the game.

The music in P.N.03 is very good. There are several nice techno beats that play through the levels. The sound effects are average. There is no distance level to the effects. For example, fire from a robot that is standing right next to you will sound the same as fire from a robot across the room.

P.N.03's graphics are decent at best. If you compare it to Capcom's previous releases on GameCube (Resident Evil Remake, Resident Evil Zero) you will be disappointed. The GameCube can handle much better graphics than these. That does not mean that they are bad by any means though. They still are much better than several other GameCube and PlayStation2 games.

You cannot go into this game expecting it to be the best ever. It is not going to revolutionize the industry or even its genre. The sound is good, the graphics are decent, but the gameplay is fabulous. This game is not for everyone, and I would definitely recommend renting before buying. You will either love it or hate it, but in my opinion, it is one of the most fun and enjoyable experiences you will find on the GameCube.

Really where to begin with this horrid game... Oh, yes. First and foremost is the very very repetitive gameplay. Shoot robots, repeat. Then there was the issue of going through the same old gray hallway. I mean come there are only like three pathetic hallway types. One of the biggest problems is that you can't run and freakin' shoot! Whose idea was that anyways!? I'm shootin' one 'bot with my lasers standing still and we're just moronicly standing still shooting one another. I was very anxious to get my hands on this game, and as it turns out it sucks! Well I guess its time to add another game to the bargain bin.

We've all done it, bought a game because it looked awesome and then got it home and it sucked. Thankfully P.N. 03 was an impulse buy that turned out to be a good one.
Visually its stunning, but the game itself is rather simple.... The computer system on the planet ODE has gone haywire and an arsenal of robots and machines have taken over. Enter Vanessa Schneider, a mercenary hired to "deal" with the problem. Vanessa battles her way through the alien compund in her quest to destroy the central A.I. controlling the machines, all the while dancing to the techno-laden soundtrack.
As far as plot and story are concerned there's little of either. A brief and virtually futile attempt is made to add some mystery to the game. Little pieces of information about Vanessa's past pop up here and there to make you go "Hmmm?" but ultimately have little to do with the game's progress. Then there's the mysterious "Client" who has hired Vanessa and does alot to make the game frustrating.
But back to the basics, the game is simply a shooter. Vanessa plows her way through rooms and corridors blasting robots to smitherines with the aid of the handy Aegis suit that turns her into a walking arsenal.
The first few levels offer you the chance to learn how to manipulate Vanessa....you can jump, shoot (but only while standing still), move left or right, and crouch. Vanessa's controls are sensitive and take a bit of getting used to. She's hyperresponsive but often does the wrong thing or moves farther than you want her to. This can result in toppling our heroine off into the abyss or placing her in the line of fire.
While most games you beat and never play again, P.N. 03 offers multiple levels of difficulty, along with a volley of suit combinations and abilities to make the game replayable. The levels themselves are fairly basic....you embark on 11 missions, each involving around 15 rooms to shoot through. The suits and acessories available advance with each level. With each suit comes special moves and abilities, key to progressing through the game.
All in all though P.N. 03 is an engaging experience....the graphics are stunning. Vanessa herself is rendered in suprising detail and her suits are no exception. Each is awesome in its own way. The music is good enough that you'll want to leave it on. It also becomes very important to listen to Vanessa's surroundings as the bots have a nasty ability to teleport, and often the sound of one transporting in or out is the only way you'll know you're about to get fried. There are plenty of power ups and lives, I never hit a game over once playing on normal, though there were a few close calls. The rooms themselves can become repetitive after awhile but most of them are so detailed you'll want to pause and check them out before moving on (I.E. when Vanessa finds herself on a walkway high above a futuristic city surrounded by flying cars and sky scrapers lost in the clouds.)
All in all it's a fun gaming experience that allows you to play multiple times and gaurantee each time is a better than before.