Over 100 hours of gameplay?!?

Let me get one fact out there reeeeeeeeeeeeeal quick... Ever17: The Out of Infinity is NOT an anime. It is a Japanese visual novel by KID, translated and ported to PC by Hirameki International Group, released in December 2005. Now, on to the review...

The Plot: "It is May 1, 2017, 12:51 p.m. Seven people find themselves trapped without warning in the marine theme park LeMU, 167 feet underwater. Water, air and food are in short supply, and worse yet, a mysterious virus lurks deep in the ocean. The park is relentlessly assaulted by water pressure, and the protective bulkhead will collapse in the next 119 hours. Time is limited for the people trapped in LeMU. As they fight to escape, the bonds between them grow stronger - bonds of friendship, and bonds of love. But time waits for no one, and your time is close to running out. With an ending that packs the ultimate in surprises, what will happen to you? What will you gain when you finally discover the secret of LeMU? And what will you lose?"

My first thoughts I want to share are for those out there thinking, "Another visual novel? Geesh, it must be an H-game without the H-scenes..." First off, Ever17 never was an H-game, and I'm glad that it wasn't. Secondly, there's not another visual novel out there to date (to my knowledge) that explores the depth of story arcs that Ever17 manages to accomplish.

My first kudos: 2 protagonists. How many games do you actually see out there today with the story available from multiple points of view, each with their own separate paths? It absolutely blew me away.

What else can I say about the story other than the fact that it's great? There are 11 paths total (Yes, I said eleven) that can be pursued. The complexity of the storyline and the characters seems to just draw you into the game more and more as you play. Just when you finish one ending, you're gently reminded that you are not yet at the end of the story because you are still in the infinity loop.

The overall game for PC has been rated Teen, for Blood (Yep), Mild Language (Yep again), Partial Nudity (??? Where did I miss that?!?), and Suggestive Themes (Yep, Yep, Yep). I guess it has as much partial nudity as a transformation scene in Sailor Moon, but I guess I am a bit jaded from my other "visual novel" experiences. And, no, I will NOT be reviewing them here. This blog is for Sissy Anime, not Otaku H-Games....

I personally felt that the character development was well thought-out. They were easily believable, as far as anime characters in an anime setting go, that is. Being able to play the game from two different viewpoints gives you the opportunity and pleasure of discovering the story little by little, slowly coming to grip with the full story, not just a simple "which-girl-do-I-end-up-with" scenario like many games in this genre.

The artwork was great. I have seen other reviews that compared the facial artwork to KashiMashi. I, however, really didn't see it. The scenery, both the sci-fi aspects as well as the falling sakura petals, were done with style.

The music chosen for the game was superb, with thumping techno-tracks for the more anxious moments to slow, drifting piano parts for the more emotional scenes of the game. My favorite had to be the lullaby sang by Coco.

All in all, you can't go wrong by spending a few hours in front of the old PC taking this puppy for a spin. The publisher's web site says that there's over 100 hours of game play in this game, and I DO believe it, especially if you're looking for all of the endings and story paths.

Sissy Anime gives Ever17 --the out of infinity-- a 9.5 out of 10.....

...and, no, I am still not reviewing Otaku H-Games here, so quit asking...