Gargantou
Companion Cube
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2005
- Messages
- 9,582
- Reaction score
- 9
Games: Rate and Discuss
- Thread starter Asknoone
- Start date
JUL3
Space Core
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2009
- Messages
- 1,320
- Reaction score
- 21
Call of Duty: Black Ops - 7.5/10
Finally played through the single player of this one, not too bad. The psychological aspect of it was cool, it took it beyond Call of Duty. It's a shame the brand name sells these games like clockwork, Treyarch clearly have talented writers who could do well to steer away from war games. Just a thought.
However, every Treyarch CoD game has this horrible grittiness to it that I cannot stand. I played MW2 straight after and it feels so much... cleaner, if that makes sense? (It probably doesn't.)
Zombies were fun too. "Sounds like someone's breaking in!" "Just the storm Dick, sit down!" 7.5/10
Finally played through the single player of this one, not too bad. The psychological aspect of it was cool, it took it beyond Call of Duty. It's a shame the brand name sells these games like clockwork, Treyarch clearly have talented writers who could do well to steer away from war games. Just a thought.
However, every Treyarch CoD game has this horrible grittiness to it that I cannot stand. I played MW2 straight after and it feels so much... cleaner, if that makes sense? (It probably doesn't.)
Zombies were fun too. "Sounds like someone's breaking in!" "Just the storm Dick, sit down!" 7.5/10
FrostedxB
Tank
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2009
- Messages
- 1,276
- Reaction score
- -2
Import Tuner Challenge - 8/10
I really enjoyed this game despite a few flaws. It's essentially just Tokyo Xtreme Racer on xbox 360. The problems aren't numerous but are pretty obvious. The AI is ridiculously easy, while most reviewers said they could be beaten on a turn, I was doing better just blowing past them on straight roads. Also, the car list is...disappointing as there are maybe a grand total of 10 cars to choose from. It seems like this only got such poor reviews because it was released at the same time as some Need For Speed game, and so it was severely overlooked. While I wish Genki develope more racing games and release them in the US, some of the reviews I've seen have me doubtful (lots of fives and sixes that this game doesn't deserve.)
Shift 2 Unleashed - 6/10
Dunno how I really feel about this. It's unforgiving as hell. The AI have that bullshit slingshot thing going which makes it pointless to modify cars. I had a fully tuned Skyline R34 (roughly 900hp) and was racing a stock R34 (400hp) and it was on my ass the whole time, even when I was going top speed. Like why did I blow all the money making this car fast when it doesn't even matter? But the drift events are fun. A lot of fun. N4S needs to have a game dedicated to drifting because they do it pretty well. I'm sure if I could figure out some strategy to win, I'd enjoy it more, but as of now it kinda blows. Also the menu system is the worst thing I have ever seen. Ever. If you want a sim-esque Need 4 Speed, just get Pro Street.
I really enjoyed this game despite a few flaws. It's essentially just Tokyo Xtreme Racer on xbox 360. The problems aren't numerous but are pretty obvious. The AI is ridiculously easy, while most reviewers said they could be beaten on a turn, I was doing better just blowing past them on straight roads. Also, the car list is...disappointing as there are maybe a grand total of 10 cars to choose from. It seems like this only got such poor reviews because it was released at the same time as some Need For Speed game, and so it was severely overlooked. While I wish Genki develope more racing games and release them in the US, some of the reviews I've seen have me doubtful (lots of fives and sixes that this game doesn't deserve.)
Shift 2 Unleashed - 6/10
Dunno how I really feel about this. It's unforgiving as hell. The AI have that bullshit slingshot thing going which makes it pointless to modify cars. I had a fully tuned Skyline R34 (roughly 900hp) and was racing a stock R34 (400hp) and it was on my ass the whole time, even when I was going top speed. Like why did I blow all the money making this car fast when it doesn't even matter? But the drift events are fun. A lot of fun. N4S needs to have a game dedicated to drifting because they do it pretty well. I'm sure if I could figure out some strategy to win, I'd enjoy it more, but as of now it kinda blows. Also the menu system is the worst thing I have ever seen. Ever. If you want a sim-esque Need 4 Speed, just get Pro Street.
GreatEmperor
Full of shit...
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2007
- Messages
- 808
- Reaction score
- 9
Oh yeah, I remember those stupid "tree" bosses
Risen 7/10- They FINALLY got the combat to decent level, this is actually fun to fight things in. Got bored about in the middle because Piranha Bytes/whoever is getting very formulaic, the setup was very similar to Gothic 2 and other ones but for those who think every Mario is just practice for the one that comes next, these guys absolutely agree. Nice setting
Remus
Companion Cube
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2006
- Messages
- 7,919
- Reaction score
- 45
Remus
Companion Cube
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2006
- Messages
- 7,919
- Reaction score
- 45
Hitman Blood Money - I've never really been a fan of the hitman series, but decided to give it a shot anyway. I've made it to the 4th mission, and so far I'm determined to play it "how it's not meant to be played TM".
-Mass murdering everyone in an entire level - DONE
-Disguising myself in a room full of witnesses - DONE
-Blowing up a sleeping patient in the clinic level - DONE
-Running around tasering civilians - DONE
-Killing security guards, then going back and killing the other security guards trying to take away the body bags - DONE
The only reason any of this is survivable is because I'm playing on the lowest possible difficulty level, but it's funny as hell.
-Mass murdering everyone in an entire level - DONE
-Disguising myself in a room full of witnesses - DONE
-Blowing up a sleeping patient in the clinic level - DONE
-Running around tasering civilians - DONE
-Killing security guards, then going back and killing the other security guards trying to take away the body bags - DONE
The only reason any of this is survivable is because I'm playing on the lowest possible difficulty level, but it's funny as hell.
Warped
Newbie
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2009
- Messages
- 7,546
- Reaction score
- 0
I like MK story-wise and shit, but am terrible at fighters.
go for it man, I was half asleep playing it when I did and managed just fine. Took me a little bit longer than I wanted to but I didn't throw my controller at all!
kupocake
Tank
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2004
- Messages
- 6,127
- Reaction score
- 11
Assassin's Creed - 6/10
Proof that a game can be fundamentally and deeply flawed whilst still being compelling. It's extraordinary how little is in this game considering... err how much is in it. The environments are well designed, the basic mechanics are fun, and then, they must have just come up to the deadline and hard. Even in the Director's Cut edition there are, what, eight unique objectives in the entire game? And one of them is sitting on a ****ing bench. The assassinations were interesting once you'd done the leg work. Ok, so it wasn't making any revolutionary points, but at least they put some decent thought into the motivations of the people you were killing. But of course, the way this was imparted to you was kind of odd.
Like the Mass Effect series in that it's worth it slogging through this one to feast on the games that follow. Oddly, though I'd rate Mass Effect higher, the time you have to invest seems less worth it. But I digress.
Assassin's Creed 2 - 9/10
Underlines the point that all the first game really needed was some decent content. I've cleaned house with the game (excepting the Templar Lairs DLC grrr...), and I've clocked up 27 hours. Not many action games can boast that.
And it's all the right content in the right place too. There's a buttload of Secondary Assassination missions, versus the handful you had in the first game. They've streamlined this so well: the briefings are purely a text box, you do the job, rinse and repeat. That sound cheap, but it makes SO much more sense than going up to the fifth person that day and hearing some sob story about how he can't quite get his targets killed, so could you possibly give it a try, pretty please Mr Altair? I love all the stuff they've added in that just doesn't factor in to 99% of game budgets. I read the database on locations and people religiously. Is it accurate or necessarily that informative? Probably not. But in the context of the fiction it creates, it's still concise and interesting
It's brilliant game which improves on those mechanics that needed improving whilst adding so much new stuff, but it's still not perfect. Some of the one shot stuff is awful (the carriage driving sequence is barely a step above Big Rigs) and the camera in the tombs fills me with despair. Then there's the overarching story, which is at a Metal Gear Solid level what the ****ery. It's the kind of convoluted nonsense that you know is stupid, and you're afraid to admit you actually care about. Though the two new characters 'in the present' are at some cartoonish extreme of 'chirpy techno hippy' and 'British and hates you' that really stretches your tolerance (which is odd, because even despite the fact that the Renaissance storyline has you knocking knees with Leonardo ****ing Da Vinci, they actually execute a lot of the characters with composure).
The PC version features the Sequence 12 and 13 DLC that was left out of the Console versions. Even with it in, the last three sequences seem very rushed. The content in 12 and 13 feels like an afterthought, like some kind of lo-fi version of the rest of the game. You hit memories and gigantic crowds spring into life or activity suddenly starts happening when you thought the enemy had been entirely dispatched... it just feels very bitty. Honestly, I'd prefer if they'd left them out. Sequence 14 meanwhile is relatively sound in terms of content (though strange in its linearity), but it just feels like twenty hours in, the game suddenly turns to you and says 'shit, we're never getting to the end. Let's just fast forward to the good bit!'
Anyway, the Ubisoft sale week will probably include these two at some point, so I'd say go for them if you get the chance. Mind you, you can probably get both games boxed (or on the consoles) just as cheap.
PS. The Ass Creed 2 DRM is still in place in the sense that it's there, and you need a net connection to start the game (Not sure if Steam changes this at all. Doubt it). But the absolutely obscene constant connection stipulation has long since been removed.
PPS. One thing I forget: I despised the control scheme when I started out. It takes some adjusting to anyway, but why put the sprint ('high profile actions') button on the mouse? Changed that to shift, as it should be.
Proof that a game can be fundamentally and deeply flawed whilst still being compelling. It's extraordinary how little is in this game considering... err how much is in it. The environments are well designed, the basic mechanics are fun, and then, they must have just come up to the deadline and hard. Even in the Director's Cut edition there are, what, eight unique objectives in the entire game? And one of them is sitting on a ****ing bench. The assassinations were interesting once you'd done the leg work. Ok, so it wasn't making any revolutionary points, but at least they put some decent thought into the motivations of the people you were killing. But of course, the way this was imparted to you was kind of odd.
Like the Mass Effect series in that it's worth it slogging through this one to feast on the games that follow. Oddly, though I'd rate Mass Effect higher, the time you have to invest seems less worth it. But I digress.
Assassin's Creed 2 - 9/10
Underlines the point that all the first game really needed was some decent content. I've cleaned house with the game (excepting the Templar Lairs DLC grrr...), and I've clocked up 27 hours. Not many action games can boast that.
And it's all the right content in the right place too. There's a buttload of Secondary Assassination missions, versus the handful you had in the first game. They've streamlined this so well: the briefings are purely a text box, you do the job, rinse and repeat. That sound cheap, but it makes SO much more sense than going up to the fifth person that day and hearing some sob story about how he can't quite get his targets killed, so could you possibly give it a try, pretty please Mr Altair? I love all the stuff they've added in that just doesn't factor in to 99% of game budgets. I read the database on locations and people religiously. Is it accurate or necessarily that informative? Probably not. But in the context of the fiction it creates, it's still concise and interesting
It's brilliant game which improves on those mechanics that needed improving whilst adding so much new stuff, but it's still not perfect. Some of the one shot stuff is awful (the carriage driving sequence is barely a step above Big Rigs) and the camera in the tombs fills me with despair. Then there's the overarching story, which is at a Metal Gear Solid level what the ****ery. It's the kind of convoluted nonsense that you know is stupid, and you're afraid to admit you actually care about. Though the two new characters 'in the present' are at some cartoonish extreme of 'chirpy techno hippy' and 'British and hates you' that really stretches your tolerance (which is odd, because even despite the fact that the Renaissance storyline has you knocking knees with Leonardo ****ing Da Vinci, they actually execute a lot of the characters with composure).
The PC version features the Sequence 12 and 13 DLC that was left out of the Console versions. Even with it in, the last three sequences seem very rushed. The content in 12 and 13 feels like an afterthought, like some kind of lo-fi version of the rest of the game. You hit memories and gigantic crowds spring into life or activity suddenly starts happening when you thought the enemy had been entirely dispatched... it just feels very bitty. Honestly, I'd prefer if they'd left them out. Sequence 14 meanwhile is relatively sound in terms of content (though strange in its linearity), but it just feels like twenty hours in, the game suddenly turns to you and says 'shit, we're never getting to the end. Let's just fast forward to the good bit!'
Anyway, the Ubisoft sale week will probably include these two at some point, so I'd say go for them if you get the chance. Mind you, you can probably get both games boxed (or on the consoles) just as cheap.
PS. The Ass Creed 2 DRM is still in place in the sense that it's there, and you need a net connection to start the game (Not sure if Steam changes this at all. Doubt it). But the absolutely obscene constant connection stipulation has long since been removed.
PPS. One thing I forget: I despised the control scheme when I started out. It takes some adjusting to anyway, but why put the sprint ('high profile actions') button on the mouse? Changed that to shift, as it should be.
morgs
The Freeman
- Joined
- May 7, 2007
- Messages
- 4,202
- Reaction score
- 299
Rate and discuss.
The City of the Lost Children - 2/10
After playing through "The Thing" for the second time, I got so mad that I wanted to kill all developers who made this piece of shit. When they calmed me down, I searched my shelves to find and install the second game on my list: "The City of Lost Children", another licensed game.
I beat this game on PlayStation many years ago. This time, I beat it on PC. It's an adventure game with nice graphics (for its time), and solid art direction, but it's ruined by terrible controls, and gameplay mechanics.
Let's start with the controls. I tried every button on keyboard to find the use key. It's Enter. Page Up is used for picking up items, and Page Down is used to talk to characters. You can't change the controls.
Let's move on to the second problem. The gameplay mechanics are beyond terrible. You need to stand in the right position to use items, open doors, and talk to characters. Your character bitches every time when you do something wrong. You can run, but your characters immediately stops if you hit something on the way. It's annoying as hell.
I saved the best for last. Every item you need is small, and hidden behind something in this game. You never know where to look, so you have to check every corner for clues. Everything on the screen looks same, because they share the same colour palette. They blended into background. It's almost impossible to tell what is important, and what is not. They turn into three-dimensional objects when you pickup them.
There's more stuff to bitch about:
>It's a very short game. It's shorter than most Episodic games on the market. They made it so hard, so you can waste hours to find items, and solve the puzzles.
>It's two discs on PlayStation.
>FMVs are unwatchable. You can't see anything, because there's scan lines all over the videos.
>You actually need to kill someone innocent in this game.
>It's a movie game!
Look at this screen. I want you to download, and zoom in. I beg you.
See anything, no? There's a tiny, metal bar on the crate you're standing on. It's impossible to see! Why not have something like a crowbar, something easy to spot in the background?
You think that was bad, take a look at this. There's an item hidden behind the crates! This is insane.
Here's a bonus screen:
Conclusion
**** you, game.
After playing through "The Thing" for the second time, I got so mad that I wanted to kill all developers who made this piece of shit. When they calmed me down, I searched my shelves to find and install the second game on my list: "The City of Lost Children", another licensed game.
I beat this game on PlayStation many years ago. This time, I beat it on PC. It's an adventure game with nice graphics (for its time), and solid art direction, but it's ruined by terrible controls, and gameplay mechanics.
Let's start with the controls. I tried every button on keyboard to find the use key. It's Enter. Page Up is used for picking up items, and Page Down is used to talk to characters. You can't change the controls.
Let's move on to the second problem. The gameplay mechanics are beyond terrible. You need to stand in the right position to use items, open doors, and talk to characters. Your character bitches every time when you do something wrong. You can run, but your characters immediately stops if you hit something on the way. It's annoying as hell.
I saved the best for last. Every item you need is small, and hidden behind something in this game. You never know where to look, so you have to check every corner for clues. Everything on the screen looks same, because they share the same colour palette. They blended into background. It's almost impossible to tell what is important, and what is not. They turn into three-dimensional objects when you pickup them.
There's more stuff to bitch about:
>It's a very short game. It's shorter than most Episodic games on the market. They made it so hard, so you can waste hours to find items, and solve the puzzles.
>It's two discs on PlayStation.
>FMVs are unwatchable. You can't see anything, because there's scan lines all over the videos.
>You actually need to kill someone innocent in this game.
>It's a movie game!
Look at this screen. I want you to download, and zoom in. I beg you.
See anything, no? There's a tiny, metal bar on the crate you're standing on. It's impossible to see! Why not have something like a crowbar, something easy to spot in the background?
You think that was bad, take a look at this. There's an item hidden behind the crates! This is insane.
Here's a bonus screen:
Conclusion
**** you, game.
dfc05
Tank
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2003
- Messages
- 3,111
- Reaction score
- 6
vvvvvv - Finally finished it/10
Yeah!!! Played for a couple of hours back in January, got a little frustrated. Finally came back to it for a couple more hours and finished. I only got 6/20 "trinkets" but whatever.
This game is probably only fun for people who are actually good at these types of games, or really patient people. I suck at these but am relatively patient and did enjoy the humor of it. And it feels really awesome to finish.
Kinda liked how at the end you're
Yeah!!! Played for a couple of hours back in January, got a little frustrated. Finally came back to it for a couple more hours and finished. I only got 6/20 "trinkets" but whatever.
This game is probably only fun for people who are actually good at these types of games, or really patient people. I suck at these but am relatively patient and did enjoy the humor of it. And it feels really awesome to finish.
Kinda liked how at the end you're
left floating in outer space for a while and "Game completed" pops up, and you think, "wtf my reward is floating in outer space?!?!"
But then they rescue you too
But then they rescue you too
kupocake
Tank
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2004
- Messages
- 6,127
- Reaction score
- 11
Crysis 2 5/10
Never thought it would annoy me when a Crysis game shot off target. The switch from open plan to linear corridors isn't a problem because it's a concession to whoever it's a concession to. It's a problem because the level design is utterly flat and uninteresting. Occasionally, the AI whirs to life and those spaces show their potential. But the rest of the time, the AI just stands there getting shot over the crest of a hill, or backing itself into a corner. A player should learn to not use these exploits, but frankly, they're unavoidable, often a consequence of the rather simplistic approach to level design. Seriously, why put a giant walking mech enemy into a tiny X-shaped arena? Every enemy larger than a grunt needs a helping hand anyway. There's zero variety in the combat, and an imperative to constantly flank, fire, run, that applies to everything you fight. And yes, sometimes the AI breaks because otherwise the stealth wouldn't work but developers need to really start doing some soul searching about this. If stealth breaks your FPS, it has no business in the ****ing game.
The game also has zero pacing. We're talking CoD levels of bombast. Every mission ends with you being thrown from something, at something, shot by something, dragged by something or whatever. Also, this kind of states the obvious, but the entire game is a street-war, and it turns out that REALLY isn't interesting. The game so desperately wants to be Half-Life 2 (especially: Silent Protagonist... why now?), yet it has basically aped only the last third. There's no tension at all, and you'll see a lot of the worst that's going to happen to the city within the first half of the game. In the PR they were making a big thing about New York as an entity in itself, but it feels very sterile and heartless, even if it looks nice enough. Every now and then, they lead you by the hand into another diorama full of coughing New Yorkers reminding you that you should care. Except, the only characters in the game are: 1) Stereotypical scientists 2) Even more Stereotypical Army men 3) ****ing Three Dog (who, as it turns out, is a poorly voice-acted member of group #2... for some reason). It's impossible to care, and the voice actors do the best they can with a script that lacks any spark, and often gets blurted out by the game engine. The whole thing just comes across as misjudged, unable to focus on any one strength. Good Example: the silent protagonist gambit is pointless considering that the game is in an effort to voyeuristically show every single famous part of Manhattan: you're zipped around between missions by the CoD-style loading screens, giving you no sense of continuity.
Also, this seems to be the 80th video game I've played in a row where someone attempts to betray you.
More gameplay niggles:
- The guns are nice enough, but nearly universally undermined by the AI. Sniping can be a treat, but this is one of those games that inexplicably removes the drops you get from defeating enemies after a minute or so, so were the Suit Powers system actually any fun to mess around with, you'd be forced to stop doing the one thing in the game that is actually definitely fun. Thankfully, the skill progression element is an afterthought and not worth your time.
- Towards the end, I started ignoring the prompts to open up the binocs and tag enemies and sub-objectives. Firstly, because it was taking some of the fun out of exploration. Secondly, because the HUD gives you so much unnecessary information even before you tag things (I lost count of all the times I ran past a wall and double taked because I mistook a 'lean here!' prompt for a weapon pickup).
- Squads do precisely what they would do in real life, before they do precisely what they do in every game ever. Firstly, they run off full-pelt when you'd rather have a look around. Secondly, they suck and die, whilst you get on with the real killing.
- As with Crysis 1 and Warhead, I suspect that replaying will get you more familiar with the suit functions, opening up a better game as a result. The difference here is that the two remaining 'special' suit powers (strength is gone and power is default) is enough to get you through any extended encounter. Armour breaks the balance and Invisibility breaks the AI. Take your pick.
I'm surprised just how much I dislike this game. Is the multiplayer any good? I'm not sure I care to find out, and it's certainly not the reason I own the game. I'll give it another run through on a harder setting (I went through on the equivalent of 'normal' I guess. Though it did say 'for experienced FPS gamers'). I'm not expecting much.
edit: Point of contrast: Crysis 1 has a giant Alien spire in a mountain on a secluded Pacific island. Crysis 2 has
Never thought it would annoy me when a Crysis game shot off target. The switch from open plan to linear corridors isn't a problem because it's a concession to whoever it's a concession to. It's a problem because the level design is utterly flat and uninteresting. Occasionally, the AI whirs to life and those spaces show their potential. But the rest of the time, the AI just stands there getting shot over the crest of a hill, or backing itself into a corner. A player should learn to not use these exploits, but frankly, they're unavoidable, often a consequence of the rather simplistic approach to level design. Seriously, why put a giant walking mech enemy into a tiny X-shaped arena? Every enemy larger than a grunt needs a helping hand anyway. There's zero variety in the combat, and an imperative to constantly flank, fire, run, that applies to everything you fight. And yes, sometimes the AI breaks because otherwise the stealth wouldn't work but developers need to really start doing some soul searching about this. If stealth breaks your FPS, it has no business in the ****ing game.
The game also has zero pacing. We're talking CoD levels of bombast. Every mission ends with you being thrown from something, at something, shot by something, dragged by something or whatever. Also, this kind of states the obvious, but the entire game is a street-war, and it turns out that REALLY isn't interesting. The game so desperately wants to be Half-Life 2 (especially: Silent Protagonist... why now?), yet it has basically aped only the last third. There's no tension at all, and you'll see a lot of the worst that's going to happen to the city within the first half of the game. In the PR they were making a big thing about New York as an entity in itself, but it feels very sterile and heartless, even if it looks nice enough. Every now and then, they lead you by the hand into another diorama full of coughing New Yorkers reminding you that you should care. Except, the only characters in the game are: 1) Stereotypical scientists 2) Even more Stereotypical Army men 3) ****ing Three Dog (who, as it turns out, is a poorly voice-acted member of group #2... for some reason). It's impossible to care, and the voice actors do the best they can with a script that lacks any spark, and often gets blurted out by the game engine. The whole thing just comes across as misjudged, unable to focus on any one strength. Good Example: the silent protagonist gambit is pointless considering that the game is in an effort to voyeuristically show every single famous part of Manhattan: you're zipped around between missions by the CoD-style loading screens, giving you no sense of continuity.
Also, this seems to be the 80th video game I've played in a row where someone attempts to betray you.
More gameplay niggles:
- The guns are nice enough, but nearly universally undermined by the AI. Sniping can be a treat, but this is one of those games that inexplicably removes the drops you get from defeating enemies after a minute or so, so were the Suit Powers system actually any fun to mess around with, you'd be forced to stop doing the one thing in the game that is actually definitely fun. Thankfully, the skill progression element is an afterthought and not worth your time.
- Towards the end, I started ignoring the prompts to open up the binocs and tag enemies and sub-objectives. Firstly, because it was taking some of the fun out of exploration. Secondly, because the HUD gives you so much unnecessary information even before you tag things (I lost count of all the times I ran past a wall and double taked because I mistook a 'lean here!' prompt for a weapon pickup).
- Squads do precisely what they would do in real life, before they do precisely what they do in every game ever. Firstly, they run off full-pelt when you'd rather have a look around. Secondly, they suck and die, whilst you get on with the real killing.
- As with Crysis 1 and Warhead, I suspect that replaying will get you more familiar with the suit functions, opening up a better game as a result. The difference here is that the two remaining 'special' suit powers (strength is gone and power is default) is enough to get you through any extended encounter. Armour breaks the balance and Invisibility breaks the AI. Take your pick.
I'm surprised just how much I dislike this game. Is the multiplayer any good? I'm not sure I care to find out, and it's certainly not the reason I own the game. I'll give it another run through on a harder setting (I went through on the equivalent of 'normal' I guess. Though it did say 'for experienced FPS gamers'). I'm not expecting much.
edit: Point of contrast: Crysis 1 has a giant Alien spire in a mountain on a secluded Pacific island. Crysis 2 has
an Alien spire below Central Park. What. The. ****.
FrostedxB
Tank
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2009
- Messages
- 1,276
- Reaction score
- -2
Operation Flashpoint: Red River - 7.5/10
It's a pretty solid game, but it really isn't a simulator at all. Plays kinda like a smarter version of Medal of Honor. Still retains the bullet drop/distance features but there is a LOT more cqb firefights then Dragon Rising had. A nice added touch is the ability to customize your weapons, but there isn't a lot of depth to it. Basically which of 4 guns do you want, select a scope/suppressor/grenade launcher and your sidearm. Kinda like the new leveling feature as it gives me a reason to really try and do each mission decently. Basically you level up one of 4 classes as you play it to unlock new weapons/attachments and you get points towards your overall abilities (not retarded shit like CoDs juggernaut, but you can sprint a little more or aim a little steadier). Combat is different, being that 1 shot can kill you if it's in your head, but arm shots just hurt. It's different because it only takes 1 round to kill an enemy even if you shoot them in the arm. Still need to stop yourself from bleeding out but now you can also fully heal yourself with a medkit instead of needing the AI medic to hold your dick together.
The dialogue is a big improvement, not everyone sounds like a damn robot and the squad leader of the team has some pretty funny moments. Overall the AI is much improved, they can kill enemies efficiently and follow any order you give quite well. As for the command system though, it's dumbed down quite a bit. In Dragon Rising it was possible to have your team engage only after being fired upon or engage only after you've started firing. In Red River there's only a hold fire and weapons free option which kinda blows. Enemy AI are pretty poorly scripted, I've shot quite a few point blank and they didn't even notice I was there (while staring straight at me) but that may be because the Insurgent AI isn't supposed to be as effective as the PLA AI which come later in the game. (Learned in DR that standard AI soldiers weren't as well scripted as the enemy spec ops) Haven't run into the PLA as of yet though, nor have I done any driving so I can't comment on that yet.
Overall it's a pretty solid game worth checking out after the price drops 15-20 dollars. But by then BF3 will be out so no one's going to care.
It's a pretty solid game, but it really isn't a simulator at all. Plays kinda like a smarter version of Medal of Honor. Still retains the bullet drop/distance features but there is a LOT more cqb firefights then Dragon Rising had. A nice added touch is the ability to customize your weapons, but there isn't a lot of depth to it. Basically which of 4 guns do you want, select a scope/suppressor/grenade launcher and your sidearm. Kinda like the new leveling feature as it gives me a reason to really try and do each mission decently. Basically you level up one of 4 classes as you play it to unlock new weapons/attachments and you get points towards your overall abilities (not retarded shit like CoDs juggernaut, but you can sprint a little more or aim a little steadier). Combat is different, being that 1 shot can kill you if it's in your head, but arm shots just hurt. It's different because it only takes 1 round to kill an enemy even if you shoot them in the arm. Still need to stop yourself from bleeding out but now you can also fully heal yourself with a medkit instead of needing the AI medic to hold your dick together.
The dialogue is a big improvement, not everyone sounds like a damn robot and the squad leader of the team has some pretty funny moments. Overall the AI is much improved, they can kill enemies efficiently and follow any order you give quite well. As for the command system though, it's dumbed down quite a bit. In Dragon Rising it was possible to have your team engage only after being fired upon or engage only after you've started firing. In Red River there's only a hold fire and weapons free option which kinda blows. Enemy AI are pretty poorly scripted, I've shot quite a few point blank and they didn't even notice I was there (while staring straight at me) but that may be because the Insurgent AI isn't supposed to be as effective as the PLA AI which come later in the game. (Learned in DR that standard AI soldiers weren't as well scripted as the enemy spec ops) Haven't run into the PLA as of yet though, nor have I done any driving so I can't comment on that yet.
Overall it's a pretty solid game worth checking out after the price drops 15-20 dollars. But by then BF3 will be out so no one's going to care.
I cannot believe City of Lost Children had a video game..
D
Deleted member 56031
Guest
Castlevania Lords of Shdaow Ressurection DLC
I ****ING HATE THIS DLC!!!!!! AAARRRRRRGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
I actually never thought the Prince of Persia 2008 epilogue DLC could ever be topped as the worst DLC i have ever played but unbelieveably this trumps it in every regard. I can't even look at this game in the same way now, damn shame cos i liked castlevania LoS until this putrid vile POS came along.
I should have known something was wrong when this game's DLC release schedule being completely ****ed is a toal understatement. It is now june, this game was released last october so wtf took so long especially when this is all you've got to show for it?
The last dlc was pretty poor but it was inoffensive at least. This one is shorter, more expensive, less imaginative and downright frustrating, cheap and features one of the hardest bosses i have ever seen in a video game. I managed to completely finish te main game and reverie on the defualt difficulty but this? After about an hourish i could do the first level, second level? I had to do it on easy, it simply was not possible to beat. Every time i die i get restored to half my max health, he deals a ridiculous amount of damage, you can only hit him on specific hard to reach places on his body and he has an insanely large health bar too. I couldn't even get to the first checkpoint on normal difficulty and i dare not waste any more time on this complete crap.
Even when i did manage to beat him on easy all i got was a piss poor excuse of an ending which left us nonethewiser from the main games cliffhanger.
PS: Would it really have been too much to ask for health or supplies for this boss? Easily the hardest boss of the game, most people haven't bothered playing this game since october and you throw us this crap with not even any magic too help this burden? **** you game.
yeah....i hate this game...soo much
I feel better now
I ****ING HATE THIS DLC!!!!!! AAARRRRRRGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
I actually never thought the Prince of Persia 2008 epilogue DLC could ever be topped as the worst DLC i have ever played but unbelieveably this trumps it in every regard. I can't even look at this game in the same way now, damn shame cos i liked castlevania LoS until this putrid vile POS came along.
I should have known something was wrong when this game's DLC release schedule being completely ****ed is a toal understatement. It is now june, this game was released last october so wtf took so long especially when this is all you've got to show for it?
The last dlc was pretty poor but it was inoffensive at least. This one is shorter, more expensive, less imaginative and downright frustrating, cheap and features one of the hardest bosses i have ever seen in a video game. I managed to completely finish te main game and reverie on the defualt difficulty but this? After about an hourish i could do the first level, second level? I had to do it on easy, it simply was not possible to beat. Every time i die i get restored to half my max health, he deals a ridiculous amount of damage, you can only hit him on specific hard to reach places on his body and he has an insanely large health bar too. I couldn't even get to the first checkpoint on normal difficulty and i dare not waste any more time on this complete crap.
Even when i did manage to beat him on easy all i got was a piss poor excuse of an ending which left us nonethewiser from the main games cliffhanger.
PS: Would it really have been too much to ask for health or supplies for this boss? Easily the hardest boss of the game, most people haven't bothered playing this game since october and you throw us this crap with not even any magic too help this burden? **** you game.
yeah....i hate this game...soo much
I feel better now
EvolvedPie
Community Writer / The Fake Pie
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2011
- Messages
- 46
- Reaction score
- 2
Fable 3... Ugh
My first post so go easy on me. I thought I would bring to the table a game that I'm unsure of.
Fable was, for me, a very good game. It doesn't take too long to run through the story but has enough to make it an enjoyable experience. Fable 2 was appalling as it felt shorter with less to do and the final battle was pitiful. Fable 3 however, regains some of what I loved within the first game.
I first got it on Xbox (for my sins) when I heard about the delay for the PC release. First play through was enjoyable enough, again long enough but it doesn't out stay it's welcome. The progress system left something to be desired as battling didn't really give you much experience and you couldn't upgrade with progressing through the story line; which is fine as it means you can't be over powered for the point you are in the game, but also means that the benefits for training and doing the side quests are limited. So although not an amazing game enjoyable enough.
For the second run through I did wait for the PC port and was very disappointed. V-sync seems to limit your frames to 30 a second which is playable but also it does show. The controls have not been mapped well and are a little awkward to use. Were as on the Xbox I was able to shoot off a spell and then attack with my gun, on the PC I had to change weapons from spells to gun or sword respectively and although this doesn't take too long it takes long enough when you're trying to fend off enemies. Putting aside that the characters sometimes disappear during the cut scenes, leaving you staring at empty space when people are talking to you, the main problem with this is that it runs through Games for Windows Live (Hence forth referred to as GWL)... YAY!
My friend and I decided to give the multiply player a go. Simple right, log on, send invite and away we go. But alas GWL had other ideas. You appear to have different downloadable content, cannot connect. This was before we had download any content you see. It appears that GWL thinks that is you have content that can be downloaded that you are going to do so mid game and insists that it's all installed before you can connect, after playing around with this for a good 30 minutes we were able to join the game together. By this point one character was a much higher level than the other and there was no point in the lower level character being there. This is why the progression system needed work.
In short, an alright game that is fairly enjoyable. But not worth the effort on PC.
My first post so go easy on me. I thought I would bring to the table a game that I'm unsure of.
Fable was, for me, a very good game. It doesn't take too long to run through the story but has enough to make it an enjoyable experience. Fable 2 was appalling as it felt shorter with less to do and the final battle was pitiful. Fable 3 however, regains some of what I loved within the first game.
I first got it on Xbox (for my sins) when I heard about the delay for the PC release. First play through was enjoyable enough, again long enough but it doesn't out stay it's welcome. The progress system left something to be desired as battling didn't really give you much experience and you couldn't upgrade with progressing through the story line; which is fine as it means you can't be over powered for the point you are in the game, but also means that the benefits for training and doing the side quests are limited. So although not an amazing game enjoyable enough.
For the second run through I did wait for the PC port and was very disappointed. V-sync seems to limit your frames to 30 a second which is playable but also it does show. The controls have not been mapped well and are a little awkward to use. Were as on the Xbox I was able to shoot off a spell and then attack with my gun, on the PC I had to change weapons from spells to gun or sword respectively and although this doesn't take too long it takes long enough when you're trying to fend off enemies. Putting aside that the characters sometimes disappear during the cut scenes, leaving you staring at empty space when people are talking to you, the main problem with this is that it runs through Games for Windows Live (Hence forth referred to as GWL)... YAY!
My friend and I decided to give the multiply player a go. Simple right, log on, send invite and away we go. But alas GWL had other ideas. You appear to have different downloadable content, cannot connect. This was before we had download any content you see. It appears that GWL thinks that is you have content that can be downloaded that you are going to do so mid game and insists that it's all installed before you can connect, after playing around with this for a good 30 minutes we were able to join the game together. By this point one character was a much higher level than the other and there was no point in the lower level character being there. This is why the progression system needed work.
In short, an alright game that is fairly enjoyable. But not worth the effort on PC.
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2004
- Messages
- 20,876
- Reaction score
- 419
Sonic 4 Episode One (PS3)
I've only finished the first zone but despite being a bit on the easy side most of the stuff in the game seems good. It looks good and the level design is pretty alright. The homing attack does make some things a bit easy but it's actually pretty fun to use. I also like the new special stages. They're nicely done. The game has one flaw though, in the same way the Death Star had one flaw. The physics are god-awful. Who ever was in charge of the physics should be fired.
Sonic has absolutely no inertia. You press forward and he picks up speed very strangely. It's like he's floating along instead of walking (the wonky walking animation doesn't help) and he can just sort of glide up vertical surfaces far too easily. This is not only weird and unnatural but it makes the spin dash fairly useless. He also stops dead as soon as you stop pushing forward even in midair. It's ****ing awful. You hit off a spring and are launched into the air but if you don't press the right direction after Sonic will just stop and fall vertically down. How the **** did this get past playtests?
Edit: Ok I've finished it now and to be honest it grew on me. The levels are good and not just nostalgia trips (though it's full of elements from the Mega Drive games) and each act has its own unique elements which keeps the whole thing interesting. I was able to get used to the physics after a while but it doesn't stop them being any less terrible. If you're thinking I'm only bitching because I'm a rabid fanboy who hates that they made a minor change to the physics just look at this video:
Sonic 4 Physics
You just go straight from flying through the air to vertically falling if you don't hold down the directional button. It's like they've never heard of Newton. The other major problem is that other than at the last boss I almost never died other than by instant death. Bottomless pits and crushings were the result of the vast majority of my deaths and that is never a fun way to die. Of course that's pretty much normal for most Sonic games, you can usually regrab rings and almost always avoid dying by normal means but I seriously find this a huge problem with the Dimps developed Sonic games in general. Making a mistake in Mega Drive Sonic usually resulted in loosing all your rings, making a mistake in Dimps Sonic usually results in either nothing or instant death.
But it really is pretty good overall despite the flaws and the final boss is a damn good fight (not sure if there's a final final boss to beat after you collect all the emeralds, I must find out) so yeah if they fix the wonky physics I'll gladly get the next episode.
I've only finished the first zone but despite being a bit on the easy side most of the stuff in the game seems good. It looks good and the level design is pretty alright. The homing attack does make some things a bit easy but it's actually pretty fun to use. I also like the new special stages. They're nicely done. The game has one flaw though, in the same way the Death Star had one flaw. The physics are god-awful. Who ever was in charge of the physics should be fired.
Sonic has absolutely no inertia. You press forward and he picks up speed very strangely. It's like he's floating along instead of walking (the wonky walking animation doesn't help) and he can just sort of glide up vertical surfaces far too easily. This is not only weird and unnatural but it makes the spin dash fairly useless. He also stops dead as soon as you stop pushing forward even in midair. It's ****ing awful. You hit off a spring and are launched into the air but if you don't press the right direction after Sonic will just stop and fall vertically down. How the **** did this get past playtests?
Edit: Ok I've finished it now and to be honest it grew on me. The levels are good and not just nostalgia trips (though it's full of elements from the Mega Drive games) and each act has its own unique elements which keeps the whole thing interesting. I was able to get used to the physics after a while but it doesn't stop them being any less terrible. If you're thinking I'm only bitching because I'm a rabid fanboy who hates that they made a minor change to the physics just look at this video:
Sonic 4 Physics
You just go straight from flying through the air to vertically falling if you don't hold down the directional button. It's like they've never heard of Newton. The other major problem is that other than at the last boss I almost never died other than by instant death. Bottomless pits and crushings were the result of the vast majority of my deaths and that is never a fun way to die. Of course that's pretty much normal for most Sonic games, you can usually regrab rings and almost always avoid dying by normal means but I seriously find this a huge problem with the Dimps developed Sonic games in general. Making a mistake in Mega Drive Sonic usually resulted in loosing all your rings, making a mistake in Dimps Sonic usually results in either nothing or instant death.
But it really is pretty good overall despite the flaws and the final boss is a damn good fight (not sure if there's a final final boss to beat after you collect all the emeralds, I must find out) so yeah if they fix the wonky physics I'll gladly get the next episode.
Shem
The Freeman
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2009
- Messages
- 2,011
- Reaction score
- 192
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - 7/10
Quite a captivating game. The graphics are splendid, the animation of the characters -- whether they're talking, walking, running, or jumping -- is done well, and the music is breathtaking. Just listen to this wonderfully orchestrated piece:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VTPqumuXbA
The violins... oh, the violins...
Gameplay can be frustrating at times, though. Climbing is a mess, and from time to time you'll find yourself falling from unimaginable heights to your death because of a flawed sequence. Rope-climbing will most likely grant the individual the most trouble. Not only that, but you'll find yourself battling seemingly endless waves of enemies rather frequently in your travels. The repetitiveness of this device begins to kick in around halfway through the game, but it never seems to go away completely. It's not only tiring and cumbersome for the player, but seeing the same enemy with the same clothing and the same weapon rushing at you every few seconds is enough to make you roll your eyes and question the developer's decisions. Oh, and the survival horror element implemented about three-fourths of the way through the game was another moment where I cringed.
However, the story and characters were enough to keep me going. Don't get me wrong, this game is unoriginal with the plot, and the twists don't require a magnifying glass to see coming, but the way it developed compelled me to endure all of those infuriating firefights and troublesome climbing sequences. It's a grand Hollywood tale, and the characters, with their own unique personalities, fulfilled the archetypical roles commonly found in such movies. I only wish the bad guys had been given more time to develop before they were ultimately defeated.
Quite a captivating game. The graphics are splendid, the animation of the characters -- whether they're talking, walking, running, or jumping -- is done well, and the music is breathtaking. Just listen to this wonderfully orchestrated piece:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VTPqumuXbA
The violins... oh, the violins...
Gameplay can be frustrating at times, though. Climbing is a mess, and from time to time you'll find yourself falling from unimaginable heights to your death because of a flawed sequence. Rope-climbing will most likely grant the individual the most trouble. Not only that, but you'll find yourself battling seemingly endless waves of enemies rather frequently in your travels. The repetitiveness of this device begins to kick in around halfway through the game, but it never seems to go away completely. It's not only tiring and cumbersome for the player, but seeing the same enemy with the same clothing and the same weapon rushing at you every few seconds is enough to make you roll your eyes and question the developer's decisions. Oh, and the survival horror element implemented about three-fourths of the way through the game was another moment where I cringed.
However, the story and characters were enough to keep me going. Don't get me wrong, this game is unoriginal with the plot, and the twists don't require a magnifying glass to see coming, but the way it developed compelled me to endure all of those infuriating firefights and troublesome climbing sequences. It's a grand Hollywood tale, and the characters, with their own unique personalities, fulfilled the archetypical roles commonly found in such movies. I only wish the bad guys had been given more time to develop before they were ultimately defeated.
Wanted Bob
Companion Cube
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2006
- Messages
- 5,212
- Reaction score
- 49
STALKER: Call of Pripyat - 8.4/10
The best STALKER game out there right now. Refines some of the new ideas that were introduced in Clear Sky (ie. weapon upgrades), and removes other features that were a huge mess (faction wars *shudder*). Shooting is very satisfying with a plethora of guns to choose from, and the game can be tense and challenging especially at the start. The colour palette for the world is a tad drab, but the locations themselves can be pretty cool, and nighttime in The Zone can be eerie due to realistically dark nights. Speaking of which, the underground labs return in this game and are some of the scariest parts of any game I've played recently. The familiar mutants return (**** you bloodsuckers), along with at least one addition from a fan made mod for the original game (Dwarves).
There are a couple of things that dragged this game down unfortunately, the main issue being the story. It just wasnt interesting enough to get me hooked, and I only found myself progressing just to get to different areas in the Zone. The ending was pretty good at wrapping up the story, and will probably mean more to those who completed the first game (dunno about the second as I never finished it). In addition, the voice acting is pretty poor, though that is to be expected of this series, and never really bothered me. Lastly I suppose I should mention the bugs. This iteration is by far the most stable one that GSC has released, but there were still some bugs that hindered my progress (nothing a save reload couldnt fix though).
In short, I would highly recommend this game to those that loved Shadow of Chernobyl, but were dissapointed by Clear Sky. This game is the proper sequel with the best gameplay and graphics the series has to offer. For the rest of you, this game isnt for everyone, but look up some videos to judge for yourself.
The best STALKER game out there right now. Refines some of the new ideas that were introduced in Clear Sky (ie. weapon upgrades), and removes other features that were a huge mess (faction wars *shudder*). Shooting is very satisfying with a plethora of guns to choose from, and the game can be tense and challenging especially at the start. The colour palette for the world is a tad drab, but the locations themselves can be pretty cool, and nighttime in The Zone can be eerie due to realistically dark nights. Speaking of which, the underground labs return in this game and are some of the scariest parts of any game I've played recently. The familiar mutants return (**** you bloodsuckers), along with at least one addition from a fan made mod for the original game (Dwarves).
There are a couple of things that dragged this game down unfortunately, the main issue being the story. It just wasnt interesting enough to get me hooked, and I only found myself progressing just to get to different areas in the Zone. The ending was pretty good at wrapping up the story, and will probably mean more to those who completed the first game (dunno about the second as I never finished it). In addition, the voice acting is pretty poor, though that is to be expected of this series, and never really bothered me. Lastly I suppose I should mention the bugs. This iteration is by far the most stable one that GSC has released, but there were still some bugs that hindered my progress (nothing a save reload couldnt fix though).
In short, I would highly recommend this game to those that loved Shadow of Chernobyl, but were dissapointed by Clear Sky. This game is the proper sequel with the best gameplay and graphics the series has to offer. For the rest of you, this game isnt for everyone, but look up some videos to judge for yourself.
Shem
The Freeman
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2009
- Messages
- 2,011
- Reaction score
- 192
Great review, Wanted Bob.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - 9/10
This game takes the original and improves almost every aspect of it to successfully produce a wonderful experience. The graphics are beautiful as always, the gameplay and combat are both equally satisfying, and the sound effects do a great job of defining the atmosphere. And this game is all about the atmosphere presented to the player. It's tense, thrilling, and even suspenseful. It follows in the original's footsteps and plays out just like an action movie, and that's great. This time, though, there are more environments to explore rather than the luscious jungle you're stuck in for almost the entirety of Drake's Fortune. There are snowy mountains, dilapidated cities, and even a moving train that provides some nice scenery. Yeah, it gets that detailed.
Even the story and characters are better this time around. Of course, like any Hollywood flick, the plot isn't something we haven't seen already, but I still enjoyed it as I met up with new and old characters alike. I was glad to be able to travel with my companions yet again, and whenever something bad happened to them, I hoped to myself that they wouldn't pass. I became involved with them so much that I even yelled out at a specific moment, "No, [REDACTED], don't leave just yet. I wanted to see more of a relationship between you and [REDACTED]!"
So yes, I enjoyed this game. I enjoyed it a lot, which is why I said in the E3 thread that I would have to clean my hands after watching a video for the next game in the series: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. You know what I mean, don't you? White liquid, all that stuff.
Oh wait, you're wondering why I took off a point, right? Yeah, this game still suffers from infuriating firefights with an unrealistic amount of enemies. They're not as frequent as they were in the original, though.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - 9/10
This game takes the original and improves almost every aspect of it to successfully produce a wonderful experience. The graphics are beautiful as always, the gameplay and combat are both equally satisfying, and the sound effects do a great job of defining the atmosphere. And this game is all about the atmosphere presented to the player. It's tense, thrilling, and even suspenseful. It follows in the original's footsteps and plays out just like an action movie, and that's great. This time, though, there are more environments to explore rather than the luscious jungle you're stuck in for almost the entirety of Drake's Fortune. There are snowy mountains, dilapidated cities, and even a moving train that provides some nice scenery. Yeah, it gets that detailed.
Even the story and characters are better this time around. Of course, like any Hollywood flick, the plot isn't something we haven't seen already, but I still enjoyed it as I met up with new and old characters alike. I was glad to be able to travel with my companions yet again, and whenever something bad happened to them, I hoped to myself that they wouldn't pass. I became involved with them so much that I even yelled out at a specific moment, "No, [REDACTED], don't leave just yet. I wanted to see more of a relationship between you and [REDACTED]!"
So yes, I enjoyed this game. I enjoyed it a lot, which is why I said in the E3 thread that I would have to clean my hands after watching a video for the next game in the series: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. You know what I mean, don't you? White liquid, all that stuff.
Oh wait, you're wondering why I took off a point, right? Yeah, this game still suffers from infuriating firefights with an unrealistic amount of enemies. They're not as frequent as they were in the original, though.
YROC
Formerly Hokey McSmokey
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2008
- Messages
- 2,966
- Reaction score
- 65
Shem
The Freeman
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2009
- Messages
- 2,011
- Reaction score
- 192
Infamous - 7/10
Got this game for free during the Welcome Back sale. Everything about this game is acceptable, but it could've been better.
First off, let me get the easy stuff out of the way. The graphics are great, so I can't really complain about that. However, I felt like I was experiencing déjà vu most of the time while I was traveling across the city. Everything looks almost exactly the same. Sometimes I'd even feel like I was on the right island for the main objective when I'd actually be on the wrong one. It gets confusing, and the blandness of the city doesn't help. Not much else to say on the matter.
Gameplay isn't something we haven't seen already. Yeah, sure, you can shoot lightning bolts out of your arms and throw shock grenades at enemies, but compare it to any other shooter game out there and you're bound to notice some similarities. The regular lightning attack is like a semi-automatic pistol, the precision shot is like a sniper rifle, the megawatt hammer is like a rocket launcher, and the shock grenade is pretty self-explanatory. For Pete's sake, they've even got an electrical riot shield for the player to use. The game looks creative from first glance when it comes to the implementation of electricity in the main character's body, but once you begin to peel down the layers of it, it's nothing really that original. Can't say it's not satisfying to shock people, destroy cars, and watch as enemies fall hundreds of feet to their death, though.
Oh, which brings me to another flaw. You'd expect every modern game to use ragdoll physics for corpses, right? This game doesn't. It's not a huge problem, but I'm surprised they didn't implement this feature when games like Half-Life 2 had it back in 2004. Water has no value, either.
Infamous excels in some aspects, though. Fueled by a cast of interesting characters and hand-drawn comic book scenes, the gripping story of the game had a few unexpected twists that I never saw coming. I also felt that my moral choices had an impact on the city's physical appearance and the well-being of its inhabitants. As a good character, people would run up to me and thank me for what I was doing. They'd even form a crowd and take pictures, knowing they were safe and I wouldn't harm them. However, as an evil character, people would know to stay away from me. They would retreat, whisper to each other, and even throw rocks if they were feeling brave enough. This was a feature in the game that was done well, and I enjoyed it.
What's the verdict, then? It's a good game with a few flaws.
Got this game for free during the Welcome Back sale. Everything about this game is acceptable, but it could've been better.
First off, let me get the easy stuff out of the way. The graphics are great, so I can't really complain about that. However, I felt like I was experiencing déjà vu most of the time while I was traveling across the city. Everything looks almost exactly the same. Sometimes I'd even feel like I was on the right island for the main objective when I'd actually be on the wrong one. It gets confusing, and the blandness of the city doesn't help. Not much else to say on the matter.
Gameplay isn't something we haven't seen already. Yeah, sure, you can shoot lightning bolts out of your arms and throw shock grenades at enemies, but compare it to any other shooter game out there and you're bound to notice some similarities. The regular lightning attack is like a semi-automatic pistol, the precision shot is like a sniper rifle, the megawatt hammer is like a rocket launcher, and the shock grenade is pretty self-explanatory. For Pete's sake, they've even got an electrical riot shield for the player to use. The game looks creative from first glance when it comes to the implementation of electricity in the main character's body, but once you begin to peel down the layers of it, it's nothing really that original. Can't say it's not satisfying to shock people, destroy cars, and watch as enemies fall hundreds of feet to their death, though.
Oh, which brings me to another flaw. You'd expect every modern game to use ragdoll physics for corpses, right? This game doesn't. It's not a huge problem, but I'm surprised they didn't implement this feature when games like Half-Life 2 had it back in 2004. Water has no value, either.
Infamous excels in some aspects, though. Fueled by a cast of interesting characters and hand-drawn comic book scenes, the gripping story of the game had a few unexpected twists that I never saw coming. I also felt that my moral choices had an impact on the city's physical appearance and the well-being of its inhabitants. As a good character, people would run up to me and thank me for what I was doing. They'd even form a crowd and take pictures, knowing they were safe and I wouldn't harm them. However, as an evil character, people would know to stay away from me. They would retreat, whisper to each other, and even throw rocks if they were feeling brave enough. This was a feature in the game that was done well, and I enjoyed it.
What's the verdict, then? It's a good game with a few flaws.
Edeslash
Party Escort Bot
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2009
- Messages
- 607
- Reaction score
- 70
I played inFamous a year ago and I always felt like water should have had a role in the game. It was just a simple don't-drop-here element. I would have wanted to somehow control the water, maybe throw some on my enemies and more effectively kill them. I pretty much agree with every point in your review.
dfc05
Tank
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2003
- Messages
- 3,111
- Reaction score
- 6
Enviro-Bear 2000
It's a free downloadable gave. It's not something I like to admit to playing and having a bizarre fondness for. But I was just browsing the IGF Finalists page, and there it was. Finalist for the Nuovo Award, whatever that is. So, no more shame!
The concept is that you are a bear driving a car, and you need to gather and eat enough food, then drive into a cave, before winter comes. Controls suck. You can only drive with one hand. You have to manually do everything, like steering, pushing the gas and brake pedals, switching drive/reverse, and grab food to eat. But you only have one hand to use. Also it is pretty frickin' ugly. For about the first five minutes, I thought it was terrible. Then --maybe this happens to everyone or maybe it was a consequence of playing while dead-tired-- I realized...
Now I kinda like the game.
Can't say I'd recommend it to everyone (or maybe even anyone), but if you're bored and feeling kinda loopy, go for it. It's free. Also, IGF Nuovo Finalist stamp of approval.
It's a free downloadable gave. It's not something I like to admit to playing and having a bizarre fondness for. But I was just browsing the IGF Finalists page, and there it was. Finalist for the Nuovo Award, whatever that is. So, no more shame!
The concept is that you are a bear driving a car, and you need to gather and eat enough food, then drive into a cave, before winter comes. Controls suck. You can only drive with one hand. You have to manually do everything, like steering, pushing the gas and brake pedals, switching drive/reverse, and grab food to eat. But you only have one hand to use. Also it is pretty frickin' ugly. For about the first five minutes, I thought it was terrible. Then --maybe this happens to everyone or maybe it was a consequence of playing while dead-tired-- I realized...
You're a bear. Of course the controls are going to suck, of course you're too dumb to figure out how to use two hands at the same time, because you're a bear driving a car!!!!!
Now I kinda like the game.
Can't say I'd recommend it to everyone (or maybe even anyone), but if you're bored and feeling kinda loopy, go for it. It's free. Also, IGF Nuovo Finalist stamp of approval.
GreatEmperor
Full of shit...
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2007
- Messages
- 808
- Reaction score
- 9
Red Dead Redemption 6/10- The controls are crap, they are horrible stinky crap that brings everything down around it. Its like youre a left 4 dead 2 Jockey trying to control a cowboy. Every move is exaggerated so even the slightest jerk of a thumbstick puts him through a full range of motion, or one big wide gaping step no matter what. This is a horrible problem especially when moving around on catwalks or on that barn siding at whats her names ranch.
The game was enormous action sequences with cougar spawns and very little feeling of emptiness or vastness except for soothing music. The gunfights were all cover to cover and easy. The only challenging part was the river crossing and that was flat out annoying. Liked most of the characters and dialogue, a much better western story than Gun or previous ones. Ill say this for Rockstar they do what they do and you know what youre getting. No big surprises in style or tone for this one with decent being the only thing Ill describe it as, awards not considered
The game was enormous action sequences with cougar spawns and very little feeling of emptiness or vastness except for soothing music. The gunfights were all cover to cover and easy. The only challenging part was the river crossing and that was flat out annoying. Liked most of the characters and dialogue, a much better western story than Gun or previous ones. Ill say this for Rockstar they do what they do and you know what youre getting. No big surprises in style or tone for this one with decent being the only thing Ill describe it as, awards not considered
kupocake
Tank
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2004
- Messages
- 6,127
- Reaction score
- 11
Alice: Madness Returns - 7/10
Read the full review here
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Assassin's Creed Brotherhood 9/10
The series goes from strength to strength, but the stretch marks are showing in the main campaign. I mean, can you imagine how the Half-Life 2 Episodes would have played out if Gordon just decided he wasn't going to destroy the Citadel because he was 'above' doing so?
I wrote something about series' like Assassin's Creed that suffer from lousy first installments.
Read the full review here
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Assassin's Creed Brotherhood 9/10
The series goes from strength to strength, but the stretch marks are showing in the main campaign. I mean, can you imagine how the Half-Life 2 Episodes would have played out if Gordon just decided he wasn't going to destroy the Citadel because he was 'above' doing so?
I wrote something about series' like Assassin's Creed that suffer from lousy first installments.
Remus
Companion Cube
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2006
- Messages
- 7,919
- Reaction score
- 45
In other words it's great as a work of art, but falls short as a game. Just like the first one...
Pass
just like bioshock
GreatEmperor
Full of shit...
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2007
- Messages
- 808
- Reaction score
- 9
Mega Man 10 6/10-Its much better than all the NES ones, proving that the tech wasnt the only problem. The story is well ...... lets not bother with that. The game is enormously difficult and if you want to beat it, you have to grind the stage with all the money in it a couple of times. The store has a ton of upgrades that can make the game very easy, keeping with the JRPG tradition of its not hard as long as you spend more time on it than you should. The difference being that this game is still fun if you bulk up excessively.
Its not much of a game but its not priced the same. Still I could get Bioshock 2 for that price and be more rewarded. The "you cant say its bad because its trying to be retro" argument is overused, same with "its trying to mimic schlocky 70s b movies" its used as a smokescreen way too often. This tried to be like the original games and succeeded there but it is not on par with Shadow Complex, which tried to be like Metroid or many other things that took old style or aesthetics and advanced them with new ideas, just aiming for low expectations and hitting
Its not much of a game but its not priced the same. Still I could get Bioshock 2 for that price and be more rewarded. The "you cant say its bad because its trying to be retro" argument is overused, same with "its trying to mimic schlocky 70s b movies" its used as a smokescreen way too often. This tried to be like the original games and succeeded there but it is not on par with Shadow Complex, which tried to be like Metroid or many other things that took old style or aesthetics and advanced them with new ideas, just aiming for low expectations and hitting
Dandan
Medic
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2011
- Messages
- 317
- Reaction score
- 0
pORTAL 2 9/10
awesome game, just didn't get around to finishing it. and since I live at my girlfriends but haven't brought my desktop over yet I remembered I had my laptop with Steam Cloud game saves.
Anyway, solid gameplay, challenging puzzles, more time spent solving and as much fun and humorous as the first. Throughout the game I kept thinking this is just a ripoff of the first but over time they added more and more improvements. The ending was superb, and I got stuck twice in the game and had to look up two small puzzles and I smacked my forehead when I saw what I overlooked. I highly recommend this game, and although late to the party I'm so glad I finished this amazing game.
awesome game, just didn't get around to finishing it. and since I live at my girlfriends but haven't brought my desktop over yet I remembered I had my laptop with Steam Cloud game saves.
Anyway, solid gameplay, challenging puzzles, more time spent solving and as much fun and humorous as the first. Throughout the game I kept thinking this is just a ripoff of the first but over time they added more and more improvements. The ending was superb, and I got stuck twice in the game and had to look up two small puzzles and I smacked my forehead when I saw what I overlooked. I highly recommend this game, and although late to the party I'm so glad I finished this amazing game.
Gargantou
Companion Cube
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2005
- Messages
- 9,582
- Reaction score
- 9
Warhammer 40,000 Kill Team (XBLA) 6/10.
A half-decent twin-stick shooter set in the 40K universe.
Pros: 40K, Perks, several different Space Marine types to choose from, co-op.
Cons: Price, co-op is offline only.
Summary: If you are bored and craving a 40K action-game to tide you over until Space Marine arrives, I'd say at least test the trial and see if you consider it worth buying.
A half-decent twin-stick shooter set in the 40K universe.
Pros: 40K, Perks, several different Space Marine types to choose from, co-op.
Cons: Price, co-op is offline only.
Summary: If you are bored and craving a 40K action-game to tide you over until Space Marine arrives, I'd say at least test the trial and see if you consider it worth buying.
Bad^Hat
The Freeman
- Joined
- May 13, 2003
- Messages
- 19,983
- Reaction score
- 530
Dungeons of Dredmor - S'pretty good
Decent graphical roguelike for a very reasonable price. Not nearly as deep as the more established ones, and it's still kind of cumbersome in some regards, but it's early days yet and what they have so far is pretty admirable. It mostly makes up for its shortcomings with a neat graphical style, a quirky sense of humour and its newbie appeal. It's designed to be more accessible than the average roguelike, which it mostly succeeds at by relegating many actions to the mouse instead of spreading them all over the keyboard and expecting you to pour through documentation to figure everything out. Could use a few patches to iron out some control and balance issues, but the developers seem dedicated to supporting it, and it's perfectly enjoyable in its current state.
Decent graphical roguelike for a very reasonable price. Not nearly as deep as the more established ones, and it's still kind of cumbersome in some regards, but it's early days yet and what they have so far is pretty admirable. It mostly makes up for its shortcomings with a neat graphical style, a quirky sense of humour and its newbie appeal. It's designed to be more accessible than the average roguelike, which it mostly succeeds at by relegating many actions to the mouse instead of spreading them all over the keyboard and expecting you to pour through documentation to figure everything out. Could use a few patches to iron out some control and balance issues, but the developers seem dedicated to supporting it, and it's perfectly enjoyable in its current state.
Tagaziel
Party Escort Bot
- Joined
- Jul 10, 2006
- Messages
- 4,085
- Reaction score
- 23
Azrael's Tear - 9/10
A much overlooked gem, Azrael's Tear is a wondrous adventure game with some great environments and characters. It's worth giving a try (even if its hard to get to run correctly). I owned it since 1997.
A much overlooked gem, Azrael's Tear is a wondrous adventure game with some great environments and characters. It's worth giving a try (even if its hard to get to run correctly). I owned it since 1997.
Shem
The Freeman
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2009
- Messages
- 2,011
- Reaction score
- 192
LittleBigPlanet - 8/10
Cute, creative, Stephen Fry. What else do you want, boy?
First off, Sackboy is adorable. Even when he's completely naked and devoid of any customization, he still looks fantastic. He can wave his arms around, make faces, and physically assault other Sackboys. He can even be dressed in different costumes to convey your own personality or style. I had him as a Shakespearean twit, a zebra, a groom, a vaquero, a gangster, a ninja, an Arab, and a Russian. Of course, I went by the theme of the levels to decide what I wanted him to wear. His naked body is the icon of the PS3.
Stephen Fry performed wonderfully as the narrator for the game. However, his unprecedented talent is only heard in the very first few levels of the game and in the tutorials. I wish I had been able to hear him more. Nonetheless, his role was done well.
The mechanics of the game are quite simple. Jump, run, and grab. That's basically it. There are also three layers to choose from as you're running around. It's a little confusing and can easily lead to your death if you aren't careful. Speaking of death, you are only allowed four lives each checkpoint you come across. This means that if you use them all up at a certain sequence, you have to start all over from the very beginning. There are many difficult situations in the game, especially in the later levels, and I became quite frustrated when I had to restart because of a challenging platform section. Granted, though, there are many checkpoints spread throughout the levels to minimize the amount of times you have to start over.
Wow, the music. It's very energetic and I enjoyed almost all of the songs that were played. 'My Patch' by Jim Noir is my favorite for its catchy and mesmerizing tune. All of the songs are appropriate for the levels they are featured in.
The Story mode is quite short, but that's why Media Molecule decided to add in Create mode. This means that any player can create their own levels, publish them, and have other Sackboys play, rate, and comment on them. This allows for an endless amount of replay value. However, it requires a lot of time and effort to create a decent level, and most of the levels you will find are poorly designed and not worth your time.
Cute, creative, Stephen Fry. What else do you want, boy?
First off, Sackboy is adorable. Even when he's completely naked and devoid of any customization, he still looks fantastic. He can wave his arms around, make faces, and physically assault other Sackboys. He can even be dressed in different costumes to convey your own personality or style. I had him as a Shakespearean twit, a zebra, a groom, a vaquero, a gangster, a ninja, an Arab, and a Russian. Of course, I went by the theme of the levels to decide what I wanted him to wear. His naked body is the icon of the PS3.
Stephen Fry performed wonderfully as the narrator for the game. However, his unprecedented talent is only heard in the very first few levels of the game and in the tutorials. I wish I had been able to hear him more. Nonetheless, his role was done well.
The mechanics of the game are quite simple. Jump, run, and grab. That's basically it. There are also three layers to choose from as you're running around. It's a little confusing and can easily lead to your death if you aren't careful. Speaking of death, you are only allowed four lives each checkpoint you come across. This means that if you use them all up at a certain sequence, you have to start all over from the very beginning. There are many difficult situations in the game, especially in the later levels, and I became quite frustrated when I had to restart because of a challenging platform section. Granted, though, there are many checkpoints spread throughout the levels to minimize the amount of times you have to start over.
Wow, the music. It's very energetic and I enjoyed almost all of the songs that were played. 'My Patch' by Jim Noir is my favorite for its catchy and mesmerizing tune. All of the songs are appropriate for the levels they are featured in.
The Story mode is quite short, but that's why Media Molecule decided to add in Create mode. This means that any player can create their own levels, publish them, and have other Sackboys play, rate, and comment on them. This allows for an endless amount of replay value. However, it requires a lot of time and effort to create a decent level, and most of the levels you will find are poorly designed and not worth your time.
FrostedxB
Tank
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2009
- Messages
- 1,276
- Reaction score
- -2
Bulletstorm. 5/10. An amazingly unoriginal, mediocre game.
The good: The weapons are relatively fun to use, I mean a grenade launcher that shoots a bouncing ball which explodes everytime it hits the ground is pretty cool. And kicking people is actually quite satisfying. There's even a point system implemented (loosely) that rewards you for "skillful" kills, like kicking someone off a cliff.
The bad: The controls are pretty confusing. Shooting and aiming are the same as always, but A is now the sprint button, B is to kick and the joystick makes you crouch. The worst is firing a weapons secondary fire though. You actually need to hold down the right bumper and fire with the trigger. Why they couldn't let you fire the secondary with one button is beyond me. The whole kicking someone and shooting their balls off while they fly through the air gets old after about 2 minutes. The characters are clunky, slow space marines similar in design to the characters of the GoW series and the environments are full of chest high clutter to suck your thumb behind while you regen health. The leash could be cool but it's not unique or special in any way, gravity manipulation has been done before and done far better. An average game from EPIC games, what else is new?
The good: The weapons are relatively fun to use, I mean a grenade launcher that shoots a bouncing ball which explodes everytime it hits the ground is pretty cool. And kicking people is actually quite satisfying. There's even a point system implemented (loosely) that rewards you for "skillful" kills, like kicking someone off a cliff.
The bad: The controls are pretty confusing. Shooting and aiming are the same as always, but A is now the sprint button, B is to kick and the joystick makes you crouch. The worst is firing a weapons secondary fire though. You actually need to hold down the right bumper and fire with the trigger. Why they couldn't let you fire the secondary with one button is beyond me. The whole kicking someone and shooting their balls off while they fly through the air gets old after about 2 minutes. The characters are clunky, slow space marines similar in design to the characters of the GoW series and the environments are full of chest high clutter to suck your thumb behind while you regen health. The leash could be cool but it's not unique or special in any way, gravity manipulation has been done before and done far better. An average game from EPIC games, what else is new?
