If you come into P.N. 03 expecting a Devil May Cry clone set in space with a sexy female lead then you are bound to feel disappointed. However, fans of classic shooters will feel pleasantly surprised by the game's return to old school pattern recognition set in a very slick 3d world. While the camera is sometimes a pain and the game could have used some more variation in environments, the classic gameplay can be a sight for sore eyes as well as a recipe for sore thumbs.

You take on the role of Vanessa, a stylish mercenary who is more interested in blowing stuff up than finding out the real objectives of her clients. She comes equipped with a body-hugging Aegis Suit, a wonder of electronics that gives Vanessa incredible agility, and the ability to shoot lasers from small pods on her hands. It also comes with a pack on the back that allows her to perform special moves that have a variety of effects, such as destroying everything in a 10 meter radius or unleashing homing lasers on everything in her field of vision, but that drains her battery. Armed with the suit and the repetitious beat of some generic techno, she undertakes her client's mission, to restore calm to a small outpost planet that's been taken over by a robotic military base gone rogue.

In P.N. 03 you will be fighting lots of robots, most of which look very similar to each other. You will also mostly be fighting in clean white corridors and rooms, most of which look very similar to each other. This doesn't mean that there's no variety to the game, though. Each room is set up somewhat like a mini-puzzle, with barriers to dodge behind, railings to duck under, and health and energy power ups in strategic locations. This is a pattern recognition shooter, where the goal is to manipulate your environment and the patterns that your enemies are running to both avoid getting shot and kill off the foes in the fastest, most effective way possible. To emphasize this, the game gives you a combo counter that counts down after each kill. The higher the combo you get, the more points you earn. Points let you buy non-trivial rewards such as new, more powerful Aegis suits, power-ups for the suits, and even continues.

The controls for the game can be a little frustrating at first, as you adapt to the idea of a 3D shooter. You can't fire while dodging, jumping, or running, which is counter-intuitive to action-adventure game fans. Vanessa also backs up painfully slowly, but learning to use the Z button for a fast 180 turn can resolve that issue. The biggest problem with the game is the camera. It stays more or less locked in a single position behind Vanessa, the default being straight behind her. When you get backed into a corner the camera will switch around so you can see better, but it takes quite a while before going back to the default position. You can also change what position the camera is locked in to try to see around corners. Unfortunately, the chances are that while you're trying to move the camera into position something will spot you and start taking down your health, and with the camera out of place it's harder to get things into Vanessa's field of vision, resulting in her being unable to lock on to what is firing on her.

While P.N. 03 won't be winning any awards for outstanding graphics, the game still looks good. The very stark white interiors of the military base are broken up with some nice lighting, and the outdoor areas you visit are larger and more varied, with their own unique enemies. While the enemies are variations on the same types of robots, there is a good variety in the basic types and they all look and move appropriately. Vanessa herself looks fantastic. Designed with style, with every tiny hip movement animated lovingly, she is one of the hottest female characters in recent memory. Her flips, turns, and dance-inspired special attacks are all animated as outstandingly as her head nodding and toe-tapping idle movements, making her motion look seamless and smooth. The Aegis suits are more than simple re-colors of the same base outfit, giving her some variety as you make new purchases.

The sound in the game doesn't manage to live up to the smooth animation. The soundtrack is all rather generic, bass heavy techno with short, repetitive loops. While there are scenes between each mission where Vanessa talks to her client, these take the form of a few lines of text with no dialog. In-game sounds play the role of letting you know when an enemy is gated in, or letting you know what attack they are about to start using. As such, the sounds are distinct and do their job, but don't always seem to match the actions taking place.

While the main mission of P.N. 03 isn't terribly long, the game is less about the story and more about testing your own skill. As a result there are several difficulty levels, and beating each of them under different conditions rewards you with a new Aegis suit that cannot be bought through combo points. With an incredible sense of style and some great old fashioned shooter gameplay, P.N. 03 overcomes its weaknesses and delivers a solid, entertaining experience.