Aptly named and developed by Outrage Games, Alter Echo is a third-person action adventure game set in the distant future where a substance known as the Multiplast is the primary resource for, well, everything! You see, individuals called 'Shapers' can transform this non-descript blobby substance into just about anything imaginable, from spaceships to battle-suits and I am sure many a tasty French dessert. Anyway, when the greatest shaper in the universe calls from his research facility on Proteus, a planet conveniently composed entirely of Multiplast with news of an astounding breakthrough in plast development, your team is sent to investigate.

A disturbing radio transmission from the master shaper and an unfortunate spaceship 'accident' later, you find yourself stranded alone on this alien planet whose very earth can be altered to become deadly enemies or valuable aides to your survival! Sounds hokey? Well if you can stomach Tom Cruise playing a pre-crime agent arresting folks for crimes they have yet to commit, Alter Echo will go down as smooth as banana flavored baby chow.

When games place themselves in the action-adventure genre, we all know in most cases that repetitive action usually prevails over adventure puzzle-solving. Not so with Alter Echo, as it quite ably blends the intensity of sword/gun/tongue (!) play with light but fun puzzles as well as some platform game elements to result in quite an unique experience. But even that does little justice in describing the sort of fun you will partake in over the course of the game.

Do not assume, however, that this game is too complicated for the casual gamer, as a mysterious (not to mention slightly gooey) ally comes to your aid early on and guides you through an elaborate and extremely well done tutorial exercise that gradually eases you into the ways of a Shaper and the world of Alter Echo. And once graduated from the tutorial, not only will you possess the moves and the know-how, you will really begin to appreciate the inherent simplicity of the seemingly chaotic nature of this innovative title.

One of the many novel features that you will be trained to master early on is the ability to shape-shift freely between three combat-forms: a gunner, a melee fighter and a most peculiar stealth form. This is done by squeezing the L or R trigger to cycle through the three forms and works well for most situations but the most heated battles when it is easy to lose track of what form that R trigger will take you to. These combat-forms are not just for show, as throughout the game you will need to shift between all three frequently and apply the expertise of each form in order to overcome your enemies as well as environmental obstacles. This is where the game truly shines, as it is a blast getting to blow up things, hack through hordes of enemies, perform acrobatic feats, as well as sneak past enemy defenses with a little invisibility, sometimes all within the same level.

Another worthy perk of this game is a feature called 'time dilation', which is effectively a super combo. When you have enough juice on your energy bar, you can jump into time dilation and play a modified game of Snake (yes it is true!) where you guide your 'snake' on a grid and try to reach squares representing each targeted enemy. Depending on how well you do, your character will perform a visually spectacular super attack that varies from form to form. This sounds very weird indeed, but I guarantee you that it will be the one feature that puts the sadistic grin on your face once you master its usage eventually ' thanks to the thorough tutorial. And if you think about it, the idea is ingenious because you now have to work for that satisfying room-clearing Armageddon instead of pressing a button and ride it out!

As you progress through the game, you will accumulate points based on the number of enemies you dispatch, and how skillfully you do so (continuous combos and multi-kills do much to score points). These points can then be spent at specific times to purchase upgrades that boost your health or defense, gain extra combos for each of your three forms, as well as obtain more powerful guns and blades. This potentially satisfying character development system is marred by the fact that you will easily have enough points to purchase every single item on the extensive list of upgrades before the game is done. Also, the combo system could have used more thought. Certain moves are much more powerful than others, and at no penalty whatsoever to execute combos, I found myself using the most powerful ones for each form almost exclusively.

With a suitably deep, if somewhat flawed, combat system in place, it is a little disappointing that enemy AI is almost non-existent in Alter Echo. Each opponent you come across, including level bosses, will alternate between several set actions, no more and no less. But before you lose interest completely, I should say that what they lack in intelligence, your adversaries more than make up for in great exotic variety. As well as your usual blade-wielding, gun-toting, grenade-lobbing rivals, many block your attacks if you persist with the same combo, while others adapt to your attacks and become immune to your current combat-form all together. Throw a combination of them at you at once, and you will be forced to keep on your toes and figure out what forms to use and who to take out first. Make no mistake, the battles here are fast, brutal and exhilarating, if a little repetitive at times.

Visually, you will either love Alter Echo on first sight, or you will grow to appreciate it in time. I was initially quite the skeptic and wondered how all these bright colors and organic shapes could ever happily coexist without triggering a devastating sensory meltdown killing everyone within the immediate vicinity and causing long term illness to yet others. Well, that was before I gave the game its deserved chance, and now I cannot get enough of the visuals! The distinct characters not only look good, they move beautifully as well. Enemies have an array of combat maneuvers and when killed, will go out with this wonderful effect that I call the 'ink-out' that makes it all that much more exciting. Environments morph with many stunning visual effects that not only look great, but affect gameplay at the same time. It is in the visual department that you will come to appreciate the high production values of this title.

Alter Echo, as you might expect, sounds as exotic as it looks. Quite a few pieces of lively and unconventional tunes have been scored for this game that definitely say 'you are on an alien planet and please do not hesitate to kick some ass!' The effects have a very electronic feel to them and even include blade noises that recall another blade sound from a galaxy far, far away. A special mention should go to the voice actors as they do an excellent job and deliver each line from the genuinely exciting and always humorous script perfectly. And I often catch myself playing just that one extra level in order to hear what the protagonist and his company have to say.