After a primer from Scree on the makeup of the universe and who's struggling against whom the two of you are off to explore different planes of existence. You can switch control between the two characters at any time, and they complement each other very nicely. Jen picks up combat moves and abilities fairly quickly, and Scree, being made of stone, takes damage like a champ. Using two disparate characters at the same time isn't a completely new idea, but there's been some thought put into it in Primal. While you're controlling Jen, for example, Scree doesn't become a brain-dead piece of baggage good only for target practice. Each will do a pretty good job of following the other and not become a liability.

While the cut scenes are plentiful and occur often, they don't look as good as they should. The surroundings and characters during game play, however, are as sharp and detailed as you'll find on the PS2. Scenery is rich and moody, as one might expect in the realm of demons, but it invokes a feeling of foreboding without simply being too dark to see anything. The characters, starting with Jen and Scree and including the various NPC's and monsters, are detailed and move very naturally most of the time. Excellent lighting (particularly fire) and weather effects (particularly snow) round out a rich visual presentation. And the complementary soundtrack goes from haunting orchestral backgrounds most of the time to heavy metal riffs during combat sequences.

Because the cut scenes are such an integral part of the game, it's only fair to mention how well they merge the story and the game. The transition between game play and theater is smooth and usually makes sense. As does the dialogue, most of which is between Jen and Scree. The conversation flows naturally, and the personalities of the main characters are consistent and well thought out. On top of that, the voice acting of the two main characters is first rate. Jen's perfect grammar and diction don't fit her young, punk rocker background, but it's a minor quibble.

The farther you progress, the more interesting Jen becomes. She adopts the ability to change into different demon forms with different abilities, such as sharp claws or stronger legs. Unfortunately, combat encounters are simply too few and far between. The combat system has the potential to be deep and interesting, with several attacks and defenses to choose from, but there isn't much fighting to be done. And when the bad guys do bring it on, smacking them around the same way over and over works as well as any strategy. Primal is mostly a game of exploration, discovery and teamwork (with yourself, in the form of Scree).

At least the puzzle solving is well integrated into the game, as opposed to gimmicky and obviously not part of the world you're in. That doesn't mean the puzzles are varied or extremely difficult, but they do make sense in that crossing rivers and getting into buildings are real challenges. Alternating between Scree and Jen to traverse an obstacle (usually a locked door) and knowing when to use which character is key. Jen will fit into spaces and get around obstacles where Scree can't and vice versa. Instead of being filled with hovering platforms and senseless levers the worlds of Primal feel real, most of the time.

But sometimes it doesn't make any sense at all, and those instances take you right out of the experience. Scree, for example, tells you he can climb any sheer rock surface with his claws. But his inability to navigate around the smallest of ledges at the top of a wall is just silly. I realize giving a character the ability to scale any wall would be problematic from a design perspective, but either he can climb on rock or he can't. Taking him thirty feet in the air only to turn around because the top of the wall has a six inch outcropping isn't exactly a satisfying or realistic experience. The less crucial scenery is also inconsistent. Sometimes Jen and Scree can simply step over a broken wall or tree, and sometimes they have to walk all the way around it.

With so little fighting, the exploring and problem solving aspects of Primal are all that's left. If there were more combat, the inconsistencies in the environment wouldn't be so glaring, or at least they'd be more forgivable because you'd be busy with other things. This could have been a must-have recommendation for almost anyone. Instead, the long wait between conflicts will be too long for many players. But if you savor the exploratory aspect of games and aren't looking for much hack and slash, satisfy the demon inside and pick up Primal.