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View Full Version : Game of the Day 2/6/2016: Under the Skin



celerystalker
02-06-2016, 01:26 AM
8461
Under the Skin was a weird looking game I'd never heard of when I bought a copy at a GameStop toward the end of their carrying PS2 games. For $2.99, I figured an oddball game with the Capcom logo was worth a shot. With no expectations, I fired it up to see what I was getting into.

You play as an alien named Cosmi, and your goal is to sneak around, do some bodysnatching with your scan gun so you can transform into a human temporarily, and then use various items and situations to scare the crap out of the humans and take their money. The goal of each stage is to collect enough money within the time limit. It's an odd premise, but can be fun. The scares and pranks are a mixed bag, some being pretty funny while others are dull. The humans mix it up as well, creating increasingly dangerous groups just aching to hunt you down like an angry mob if you screw up.

There are also co-op and versus split screen modes, and they work well enough, but don't add much that you don't already experience in the single player mode. The graphics and sound, though, are pretty fun, and somewhat reminiscent of Jet Grind Radio. Really, it feels like something meant for the Dreamcast. It's an odd little game that's somewhere between Jet Grind Radio and The Haunting Starring Polterguy.

Under the Skin is fun, but loses steam pretty quickly, so it's good that it's brief at only 8 levels. Completing the game unlocks characters and levels for multiplayer, too.

If it sounds like I'm a bit tepid on this one, it's because even though I like it a lot, I'm not so sure how well it'd come off to most people. It's great as a goofy, idiosyncratic game that's not like anything else on PS2, but it's not so great based on technical merits. It also features a few Capcom cameos such as Jill Valentine and the Nemesis.

Played this one? Like it for offering something different? Hate it for getting repetitive? It's definitely an oddball coming from Capcom, who has for a long time now played it safe.

shadowman
02-06-2016, 12:35 PM
I mainly just picked this game up because it was from Capcom and featured Nemesis (my favourite non Mega Man Capcom character). It is pretty fun though, certainly fairly unique in terms of gameplay. I don't recall ever finishing the game though, I really need to go back and finish it off when I get the chance...

lendelin
02-06-2016, 10:37 PM
Celerystalker, I like your 'game of the day'-threads. You often select overlooked weird niche titles I'm often not aware of, and your posts are very informative and to the point. Keep it up!

Haven't heard of this one either. Interesting game concept which comes up in variations since the Oddworld games. I have to look this one up.

celerystalker
02-06-2016, 11:35 PM
Thanks! I can't promise they'll all be neat little known games, but I appreciate getting to have conversation about games I like!

Emperor Megas
02-10-2016, 11:00 AM
I own this one, and I've never been in a rush to play it. In fact, it's one of the only games I own that's been features in a Game of the Day topic that I actually have and haven't played yet but still don't have an urge to fire it up yet.

I don't know what it is about this one, but I THINK it's because of the influx of 'classic' B-movie'esque alien and monster-centric titles that were released around the period this was all leaving a meh taste in my mouth. Destroy All Humans, Alien Hominid, Stubs the Zombie in Rebel Without A Pulse, one or two others that I can't think of right now... It's probably not fair, but this game got lumped in with that lot in my mind. I like cheesy, campy retro 'monster of the week' type B-movies, but I'm not that keen on video games that take that formula. The Darkstalkers series is one of the only exceptions.

Again, this is probably just all my my head, and style wise this game may not even belong in that category, but I must have lumped it in at some point and it sort put this title at the bottom of my interest list.