The long-awaited return of Parasite Eve, ambiguously titled 'The 3rd Birthday', is a welcome one. The third title in the series, fans will get the most out of the smaller character cameos and setting details. New players shouldn't fret too much if you haven't played the previous games though; Square Enix provides a lot of optional background to pour over that plug the gaps. More critically though, each game features entirely different gameplay slants - with a dense RPG backbone blended with third-person action in this instalment. Manhattan just can't catch a break these days. Aya Brea, hero of the original titles and Square Enix cult-favourite from the PSOne era, is back in the Big Apple, which has been torn apart in a terrific CG opening sequence. As the game-proper begins, we discover a year has passed and humanity is in a dire state. Aya, pulled from the rubble and now without memory, is tasked with travelling back in time to prevent the outbreak spreading.