Sony would disagree – for they have spent a small fortune marketing
this game to the hardcore console crowd – but Primal has the
potential to be that breakaway hit that appeals to all gamers.

My first impressions of Primal were decidedly nasty – Jen
Tate is another smart-mouthed, tight-assed young heroine who you
want to smack alongside the head just to clear the bubbles. But
it is her sidekick who saves the day early in the game. Scree is
an
animated stone gargoyle come to life and is easily one of the more
memorable sidekicks in gaming history. In his natty British voice
he serves not only as an advisor to Jen, but is also a playable
character.

Scree has the unique ability to possess the ‘bodies” of
non-animated stone gargoyles adorning buildings and is then able
to embrace that entities magical ability. He can also, as gargoyles
are wont to do, scale walls to search for entrances to locked buildings.
I only mention this because not only is the movement so fluid as
to seem real, but when Scree leaps down from a wall he does a back-flip
that the camera follows momentarily disorientating the gamer. I’m
not one to gush over graphic tricks, but I constantly found this
impressive.

Jen soon receives her comeuppance – I won’t spoil it
for you – and goes from looking like Laura Croft to Courtney
Love with horns and makeup applied after a night binging. For some
reason, her new facial seems to thrust Jen into early PMS and the
tone of the game becomes more menacing. The game takes on a supernatural
twist as Jen “assumes a host of savage demon forms each with
their own unique powers and abilities (can you tell that I stole
that last line from the Sony press release?).”

The demo ended too soon, but was enough to whet the appetite. Pure
adventure games won’t find Primal too their liking as there
is much combat and moves to be learned. But those who love action/adventures
with the emphasis on action will be in for some pleasant evenings
with the decidedly unlovely Ms. Tate and her stoney-faced cohort.