Games that play like P.N. 03...

[nullstar]

I asked this on the old forum, but with an impending birthday in the house, I figured I'd ask again: my wife really enjoyed P.N. 03 -- played it through three times, including w/ the Papillon suit. She keeps asking if there's another game that plays like it that she can pick up. I know PN's very unique, so this has been a real guessing game for me as to what might be considered an accceptable substitute. Female character a plus: not necessary if the game is good enough and not sufficient if it's bad enough.

Last time around, I recall suggestions (among others) of:
- Nightshade (very mixed feelings from people).
- Prince of Persia (finally played it myself -- is 2 really better or worse? I hear combat is improved but the atmosphere is much darker. Is 2 pretty much the same otherwise, or did they advance some other things that are worthwhile, too?)

Other things I'm thinking besides POP/POP2 are:
- GTA San Andreas
- Ratchet and Clank 3

But these are really just guesses and are stuff I don't think of as very PN03-like.

If it helps, I recently picked up both Dynasty Warriors 4 and Everything or Nothing. She's seen me play both a little bit -- no interest whatever in DW, but EoN actually does control quite at bit like PN03 (a bit sluggish, have to turn to face an enemy or the program is unwilling to target them, generally gun-based combat, etc.), so I think there may be hope there if she sees me play it a bit more then picks it up herself. Course, I hear Rogue Agent is not as good, so that probably doesn't help me with the birthday aspect. :)

[Thunder Force]

Xybots on Midway Arcade Treasures 2...

[system11]

The first PoP game is much more female friendly than the second, which is 'PoP tries to be a beatemup with platforms'.

[incognoscente]

Gungrave (the first one, not Overdose/OD)
Clunky controls, slower to rotate than most players would like, stylish moves, gun usage, etc.: Gungrave fits the bill, even if the main character is a zombie mafia dude instead of the dancer-spy-with-a-hypnotizing-posterior Vanessa Schneider.

Both P.N.03 and Gungrave have forms of chaining as well, though P.N.03's is more along the lines of the Raiden Fighters "At a time" bonus and Gungrave's is closer to the Dodonpachi "Get Point" meter.

[dave4shmups]

What about Crimson Sea, is that anything like P.N. 03?

To really get the most out of Sands of Time and The Warrior Within, IMO you need to have played the older Prince of Persia games. Otherwise you may go into it, as I did, thinking it's another Rygar, and be unpleasantly surprised with all the gymnastics your character has to perform.

In any case, I wouldn't compare any Prince of Persia game to P.N. 03, I don't think they're even remotely similar.

[jiji]

I second the Nightshade recommendation. It and PS2 Shinobi are the closest I've played to PN03 in terms of pure third-person action - all three have very strong gameplay and plenty of room for skill-based play via chaining. Nightshade has more of a cheesy afternoon-TV atmosphere (a little like Power Rangers), plus has a female main character and another unlockable female character. Shinobi is serious, has more of a traditional Japanese style in its visuals, and has a male character.

From what I've played of the demo, Cy Girls has some PN03 similarities, with lots of jumping out from behind corners and neat dodging/diving controls. The action gameplay isn't too difficult, and while it uses the MGS2 engine it doesn't really have any stealth nonsense. However, the puzzles are pretty long and involved, and its review scores suffered because of that. It's quite cheap now - $10 to $20. I enjoyed the demo, FWIW.

None of the other ones mentioned a really that similar to PN03. Crimson Sea is a sci-fi DW clone with laser guns and aliens.

[llaoyllakcuf]

How about: 'The Mercenaries' mini-game in Resident Evil 4

..it even has combos/chaining, too!

[dave4shmups]

How about "Run Like Hell"? That looks a lot like P.N. 03.