Original Release: D3 Publisher, 2004, PlayStation 2
This misnamed game has you working as a photographer at shoots rather than stalking celebrities around LA.
Paparazzi (PS2, D3 Publisher, 2004)
Where to Buy: eBay
How to Emulate: PS2 Emulation Guide
Review by: Master-B
When I first saw the title, I assumed this would basically be the “Perv Cam” mode from D3’s various fighting games cut out and quickly manipulated into a stand-alone title of some sort. I was pleasantly surprised to find there’s actually a semblance of gameplay here! Sure, it’s the D3 standard of being a little janky, but it’s also a rare attempt to simulate the world of a professional photographer and it offers a little more to do than just ogling jello boobs.
“Paparazzi” is a total misnomer, though. This game has nothing to do with invading the privacy of celebrities; you’re actually a creepy kid pretending to be a pro photographer to get closer to his favorite idorus. You pick from D3 regular Riho or two other girls that tend to be in these games, then set about stalking her through five different photo shoots in the hopes of impressing her with your mad skillz.
Each shoot has a minimum score that you have to reach; each photo you take earns a certain amount of points. What the game wants from photos isn’t clearly spelled out and is a little confusing at first, but after a little experimentation you’ll get the idea: full-body shots with the model looking at the camera, while she’s doing some sort of kawaii pose. The more rare the pose is, the more points you get.
Trouble is, you’re in some sort of bizarre open photo competition in which a bunch of horny dudes are all mobbing around the poor girl. They’re all calling for her, so she won’t look right at you or do the super special poses (for the pictures that grant the big points) without you engaging in some shenanigans. To get the girl to notice you, you have to do things like dancing and waving your hands – each of these involves some little button-press minigame. This gradually raises her sentiment toward you (represented by a throbbing heart) which you can then cash in to make requests of her.
You’re given only five minutes and a limited roll of film in which to accomplish all of this in each shoot. In addition to framing the picture right and catching the cute poses, you also have to deal with the mob of shadow perverts getting in your light, bumping into you and hitting the model with flashes that ruin your picture if you snap at the wrong time. Also, if the girl has a skirt on you have to be careful not to get shots of the ol’ undercarraige or you actually get points deducted (seems very against the grain for a D3 game but OK).
So, amazingly, it’s actually kind of a unique idea and even kind of interesting to play. The main problem is that the routine is pretty much the same for every photo shoot – do the minigames ASAP to get the girl to face you and do super poses, repeat. There’s supposed to be added complexity with various camera add-ons and post-shoot editing tools to incorporate that you can purchase with the points you earn, but I didn’t really find any of them necessary to clear the levels (and some of the editing tools didn’t even seem to work).
The “adult content” is par for the course for a D3 game. Lots of cheesecake but no nudity, and “jello jiggle” physics with somewhat awkward-looking character models.
So this is kind of interesting just for being a photographer sim when there are extremely few games that have attempted this sort of thing, even if it’s kind of clunky and repetitive. Just don’t expect it to have a lot of gameplay time to offer.
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