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Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Every Extend Extra

Every Extend Extra
by Simon Windmill
December 16, 2006

Style over substance

Reviewed for PSP.

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Scroll down for our Kid Factor.

GamerDad Seal Of Approval - 10+.  Click to learn more about our review seal. The ESRB says:
Mild fantasy violence: GamerDad sees this like an old arcade game ヨ you're blowing things up but everything is abstract geometric shapes

Every Extend Extra (EEE) has an interesting history ヨ it is directly based on a free Japanese PC game that gained popularity with fans of old-school arcade games. In fact, it could be described as a cross between two old arcade classics - Missile Command and Asteroids - with a bit of a puzzle game thrown in.

The premise is simple ヨ you take control of a little spaceship and must destroy all the enemies, represented by various abstract shapes. To destroy them, you have to blow yourself up, taking out any enemies in the blast radius and in turn destroying more enemies in a chain reaction. Destroy enough regular enemies and you get to face off against a larger boss enemy that spurts out intricate patterns of bullets to avoid. The catch is that you only have a certain number of times you can blow yourself up before the game is over. At the same time, you're going against the clock ヨ if it runs out, it's game over. You get extra ships as your score increases, and you get extra time by destroying certain enemies, so you have to carefully manage your self-explosions to maximize the chains and keep the game going. That's the "extend" in the game's title.

This PSP version takes that basic premise and adds a little "extra" in the way of multiple levels (nine in all) and a couple of gameplay tweaks such as being able to charge up your explosion for a larger blast radius at the expense of slower speed while charging. The original mode is also available, together with a "boss battle" mode where you can choose to go against any of the bosses you have unlocked. There's also a two player game that has you both trying to blast a large object onto the other player's screen. New modes aside, what really sets it apart from the original game is the presentation, as it has been developed by the same people behind Lumines and shares the same integration of pounding techno music and flashy visuals. Each level has a completely different look, with changing 3D backgrounds and enemies that range from skulls to 2D insects. With your ship pulsating along with the beat, it comes together as an audio-visual treat for fans of this neo-retro style.

And that's just it. If you're not already a fan of this style, there's little here to draw you in, and EEE is challenging enough to put a new player off. The desire to best your own hi-score will provide some longevity, and you'll want to keep playing to see all the different levels, but the gameplay itself doesn't evolve. As a huge fan of the developer, I wanted to love this game and tell everybody to rush out and buy it, but my best advice is to get Lumines II as a safe bet first and try out the included EEE demo to see if you like it.


Click to learn more about GamerDad's Kid Factor review section. There's really nothing to warn about in EEE, and the ESRB agrees with its "Everyone" rating. The graphics are largely geometric abstractions, and the only thing I can think of to mention is a pair of neon light woman's legs that appear in one of the backgrounds. However, I still wouldn't recommend the game for younger children due to the game's difficulty.

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Game Info:
Platform(s):
PSP

ESRB rating:
E - Everyone

Score:






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