mothra on 16/10/2008 at 13:51
I love playing an "intellectual wank fest", I miss those kinda games and the only one getting near it (in dialogue) was AssassinsCreed but its story was so ridiculous and their gameplay that shallow it didn't amount to anything.
still better than a game where you have to "wank" to progress, e.g. GTA or WOW, even STALKER sometimes. that's my personal reference in games. that's why I actually like the "talky" ending of STALKER SOC although it felt forced and more like reading a novel than engaging in a good conversation with an NPC.
While I like Valve's storytelling as well (no dialogue, show don't tell) it sometimes feels like "not enough" and I hope for a nice shakespearian monolog now and then. that's the cheese I like.
Jason Moyer on 16/10/2008 at 14:13
Deus Ex is super fucking subversive. Half-Life 2 fails because it's not super fucking subversive enough.
pdenton on 16/10/2008 at 16:05
So I'm about two hours in right now, playing it on medium setting.
In regards to the save game features, the game saves checkpoints for when you die. This is awesome, especially if the last save game you had was quite a bit back, but it's easy to turn off the console, come back, and realize the game doesn't permanently save your checkpoint, it's only for that round of playing (I hope that made sense?). As for he save games themselves, there are little "save game kiosks" scattered throughout the levels. Sometimes they're kinda easy to miss, but their placement is frequent enough to warrant a comfortable gaming experience.
The combat, honestly, is awesome, but the whole emphasis on dismemberment is a bit over-hyped. I've found it's just as easy to place three rounds into a creatures head and then whack it in the face at close quarters. I should say though, the weapons alt-fire modes are pretty fantastic. Especially the assault rifle that flips up and gives you a 360 degree burst of death bullets.
The story hasn't really gripped me yet. I feel like I'm running errands for someone. It's not that I don't care at all, I'm just hoping the game drops something soon, a twist, a reveal, anything.
Ostriig on 16/10/2008 at 16:17
Quote Posted by pdenton
In regards to the save game features, the game saves checkpoints for when you die. This is awesome, especially if the last save game you had was quite a bit back, but it's easy to turn off the console, come back, and realize the game doesn't permanently save your checkpoint, it's only for that round of playing (I hope that made sense?). As for he save games themselves, there are little "save game kiosks" scattered throughout the levels. Sometimes they're kinda easy to miss, but their placement is frequent enough to warrant a comfortable gaming experience.
"Dogshit" mouse controls? Retarded fixed-point legacy console saves? I'm beginning to think I just might give this a miss. A pity it's painting this picture for me now, after release, I was really looking forward to this game.
pdenton on 16/10/2008 at 16:22
Since you mention the mouse controls, I take it you're getting it for PC?
The 360 controls are pretty fluid, can't complain there. Too bad you can't "rent" games for PC, it's definitely worth checking out.
Bjossi on 16/10/2008 at 16:28
I'm going to give it a shot. To me, a fixed-point save spots feature is a way of saving progress, a gameplay feature, not some outdated tech.
My guess is that the developers didn't want the player to be able to save every third step they make. Imo fixed save spots build up some excitement; facing an enemy and you haven't found a "save kiosk" for a while. This would be annoying if the kiosks were few and far between, of course, but judging by pdenton's post above they are frequent enough to not cause frustration.
But of course you could just choose to save the progress rarely with a save-when-you-want method, but to be honest I can't really tackle that part; I want to keep saving to a minimum but I just never get far before I start saving often again. Like a habit I can't get over. :o
Ostriig on 16/10/2008 at 16:53
Quote Posted by pdenton
Since you mention the mouse controls, I take it you're getting it for PC?
The 360 controls are pretty fluid, can't complain there. Too bad you can't "rent" games for PC, it's definitely worth checking out.
Yeah, if I'm getting it, it's for the PC. I don't own a console, and I cracked open the piggybank for a graphics card upgrade just two weeks ago. I considered getting a console controller for my PC, per the PC Zone reviewer's suggestion, though. My flatmate's got one he uses every now and then and he seems pretty happy with having spent the money for it.
Quote Posted by Bjossi
[...]
But of course you could just choose to save the progress rarely with a save-when-you-want method, but to be honest I can't really tackle that part; I
want to keep saving to a minimum but I just never get far before I start saving often again. Like a habit I can't get over. :o
Because it's comfy, and it helps prevent possible frustration down the line. I do sometimes get so drawn into what I'm doing that I forget to save for half an hour, one hour, or more, and when the poopy hits the fan, the splatter's messy. Quicksave is your friend.
An example with the checkpoints system in general - if I'm not doing something right to get past a specific challenge the game puts up, I understand being required to face that specific problem again and again until I figure it out, but to also be forced to replay even just the last 10 minutes before that encounter over and over... I don't find that arousing. And to tackle this particular system's improvement of "death checkpoints" or whatever it's called, if something comes up and you have to leave the PC/console you can't just save and pick up where you left later.
I just find checkpoint systems to be an artificial and tacky solution to keeping up tension, that's no longer backed up by hardware limitations, and often runs the risk of turning into
cruel and unusual punishment.
pdenton on 16/10/2008 at 17:48
I *think* I just had my first boss encounter. I don't think this is a spoiler but oh well why not: Out of nowhere a giant tentacle thing grabs Isaac and starts dragging him down a hallway. There's no highlighted weak spot on the thing, only a puss colored spot on it's body. I have to say the thing was pretty intense as Isaac is fighting to hold on, aiming gets pretty hard, and if you don't kill the thing by the end of the hallway Isaac gets pulled into a dark, bloody abyss.
I don't know if the rest of the boss fights are implemented like this (I'll be pissed if I enter a room and there's a huge tank shaped boss for no reason, cough cough Doom 3), but I sure hope so, it was pretty thrilling.
Morgoth on 16/10/2008 at 18:34
Does the game make you feel vulnerable? Is it just another shooter with cheap scare effects, or is it really tense a'la System Shock 2?
mothra on 16/10/2008 at 19:30
not so spoily but gonna cover it up nonetheless.
the end of the tentacle can be seen in the last, in the launch trailer. that's why I was so surprised since the tentacle has been seen before in a gameplay vid but I never thought they'll show who it belongs to before game launch
thanks for your impressions, I will still wait up how the pc controls hold up and actually, buying a pc game nowadays is the same as renting, you only get a few installs and don't own the game anymore ;)
