Well,
I completed it and I gotta say that like Max Payne 3; DmC: Devil May Cry isn’t
all that bad. Oh that’s not to say it
doesn’t piss me off, especially in that opening, but honestly it’s really only
the first hour or so and some small nitpicks here and there that ruins it for
me. So let’s get the good out of the way
before we jump right into the bad.
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Alien: Isolation
Well,
I just completed Alien: Isolation, otherwise known as the Alien game the
franchise has always deserved. This is,
unsurprisingly, the first time any developer has tried to capture the more
tense and claustrophobic nature of the original film. Instead of being a Colonial Marine mowing
down countless Xenos with your Pulse Rifle, you have nearly zero defenses. Sure Amanda’s got a revolver
and a shotgun with which to defend herself, but, for once, the Alien is the
nigh indestructible threat it was in the first and third films. Your only line of defense against the
creature is a flamethrower, which only scares it off for a few minutes. If you don’t happen to have that handy, you
better know how to sneak like a champion and in the chance that there’s not a lot to hide behind, you can hide in lockers, crates, under beds or
tables. If you think you’ve got bigger
balls than the Alien you can try to take it on with your conventional weapons,
but you’ll quick learn, this does nothing but piss it off.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Murdered: Soul Suspect
A
few months back I’d bought Murdered: Soul Suspect, but with work and such
getting in the way, I rarely have the time to play my console titles for more
than a few hours at a time – save for weekends. I’d decided to start giving
myself a bit of a schedule and focusing on one game at a time during the
weekends, given my rather larger list of uncompleted games. The first on the
list was Murdered: Soul Suspect.
To
get this out of the way first, I did enjoy the game. It has an interesting
premise, I like the location and its sordid real life history. But there are
some major issues that hold it back from being anything more than an
interesting idea.
For
starters, the game has one of the most sputtering frame rates I’ve ever seen;
constantly dropping down to like 10-15 frames a second. The laughably bad
Colonial Marines frame rate was more consistent than this. While it’s not a
game breaker, it is frustrating when the frame rate constantly takes a shit,
making exploration quite disorienting.
The
biggest issue really is the gameplay itself. It’s not that it’s bad, I have no
problems with a title that focuses more on investigation and less on combat.
L.A. Noire succeeded in that regard just fine, and honestly I think the game
would have been better if there wasn’t an occasional high octane action scene. Problem
is, while Murdered is basically L.A. Noire with ghosts, the game treats the
player like a moron, which in turn, makes main character Ronan, look like he’s
got the cognitive abilities of a small child. Even when all the information is
spelled out to him, Ronan needs it spelled out some more, just in case the
audience doesn’t quite get it. For instance, the obligatory twist is made
obvious about a quarter of the way through, but Ronan’s surprise is
understandable. The problem is, the twist comes and he kind of forgets it later
on. He knows who the killer is, but then forgets who the killer is, blaming
someone else instead.
The
clues and answers are far too obvious. It’s less about deduction and reasoning
and more like “put circle in circle.” Many of the clues are spelled out to the
player, 10 times out of 10, you will find yourself clicking on the clue that
the game already said is the relevant clue. The girl escaped to the church,
what is the most relevant clue? The church of course. I get the feeling that it
was either a developer or publisher decision to make the
investigation/deduction stuff as simplistic as possible. Wouldn’t want to
challenge the audience and make them think. No, it might scare some people
away. It’s insulting how little respect the game has for its audience’s
intellect.
In
the end, the real crux of the game is the story. And while serviceable with
some nice character moments, it’s mostly kind of forgettable. The plot is
borderline Quantic Dream bad, complete with the signature David Cage narrative
nosedive. For all of its interesting ideas and the grounded historical premise,
it’s all very run of the mill.
Hero
character Ronan is the most cliché of detective clichés. He’s got a bad past,
has a lot of tattoos, is cynical, world weary and wears a trilby/fedora. While I
appreciate his design, he’s, well he’s overdesigned. It looks nice, but the
design feels like a caricature, he looks like he’s going to a Halloween party
as an Irish gangster from the 1950s. He’s got the vest, the pocket chain, a
button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a trilby to complete the look.
It’s just dishonest. If the game maybe took place in the ‘50s I’d let it slide,
but it’s got a modern day setting. Ronan looks like he just stepped out of a
time capsule. It’s not like it would’ve been hard to give the guy a modern day
design, but instead of going for a modern fedora/trilby w/ suit get up, they
went for the classic old school noir anti-hero look. It makes Ronan look like a
douche, a poser. Someone pretending to be this cynical chain smoking badass.
His
design also isn’t helped by his dreadful monologues. It sounds like Max Payne
fan-fiction at points. Like someone with no writing ability thought “man this sounds
so deep” and rolled with it. It feels forced, false and dishonest. Max Payne
may have had some cheese ball monologues and moments, but there was an honesty
to it and a poetry to the prose. You can tell Sam Lake loved and understood the
genre and had fun with some of its sillier tropes. That’s where Max Payne
worked, it was an honest pastiche of the genre and while it had a serious
narrative, it didn’t always take itself to seriously.
Murdered
just feels like someone who thought the noir idea and tropes sounded cool, but
had no understanding or love for it. It’s hollow, a cheap imitation. It’s less
Robert Mitchum and more Christian Slater in Alone in the Dark.
And
while the dishonesty and clichés really bring the game down a couple notches,
the best parts are the characters. Both Ronan and Joy are quite interesting to
watch. While they’re both overdesigned clichés –he’s the tough guy and she’s
the rebel teen- their banter between each other gives the game some heart.
Maybe it’s the performances or the writer is better at lighthearted dialogue
than noir pastiche. Whatever it is I enjoyed every moment of their time
onscreen together.
There’s
some nice lighthearted moments such as his inability to pass over a puddle of
tortured souls.
Joy:
“Can’t you just fly over.”
Ronan:
“Fly? I’m a ghost, not a plane alright?”
Not
quite as funny in text, but you get the point. The actors really get into their
roles and their lighthearted sarcastic banter brings some character, to an
otherwise characterless story. Honestly, if the game just focused more on their
relationship I would’ve been much more satisfied with the overall experience.
The
whole thing feels like a lost opportunity and it feels rather rushed. There are
little seeds planted throughout the story that never amount to anything and the
final act is anti-climactic as they get and comes straight out of left field. You
get the sense that they had more they wanted to put into it, but had to rush to
meet a deadline. Especially with the ending. There was so much more story that
could’ve been explored, but then, out of nowhere it just hits you and it’s
over. And it wraps everything up as quickly as possible. We never see Ronan and
Joy give their goodbyes, just some narration and a short montage to give the
audience some semblance of closure.
I
really feel bad about being so critical of this game and this review turned out
harsher than I anticipated. I really do like it and what they were trying to
do. But Murdered is a half a masterpiece. All the pieces are there, but most of
the puzzle is lost.
Monday, September 15, 2014
Corpse Party
After
recommendation after recommendation, and me mostly writing if off as some weird
Japanese-Hentai-Horror hybrid, I finally gave Corpse Party a shot. After first
purchasing the constantly recommended PS Vita of course. I gotta say, the man
was right, the game is that good and I’m honestly a little sad knowing it’s
something of a cult title and doesn’t get anywhere near the recognition it
deserves. Corpse Party is a shoe in for one of the best survival horror games I’ve
ever played. From the scares, to the story, to the characters, CP delivers in
spades. Which I’ve gotta say is pretty impressive, given the absolutely huge
cast of characters. Even the best of writers would have some issues keeping this
many characters in order. The main cast is comprised of nine characters, at
least four of which could be considered a lead. And that’s not counting the
supporting cast, of which there are three primary players, as well as several
others.
It’s
impressive how well they jumbled these characters and how each one has their
own fully fleshed out story and personality. It’s rare that you find this kind
of sharp, complex character writing in, well in any fiction really.
Anyway
the main game. Yeah, it’s survival horror, so there’s not much to it. Combat is
non-existent and most of your time is spent exploring Heavenly Host, running
from some ghost kids occasionally and solving the odd puzzle here and there.
There are some neat moments that break up the monotony, mostly in the shape of
the Wrong Ends, or Game Overs.
While
they work as game over scenarios, there’s a little something to them that
livens them up from the typical “You Died” screen present in so many survival
horror titles. The game kind of fucks with the player a little bit with these,
sometimes you’re not even sure you’re getting a game over. You’ll be marching
around all fine and doing your thing, when suddenly the game’s like “yeah that
choice you made back there, wasn’t the right choice. Now your friend's dead as
shit.”
While
it was an end I didn’t get, there was one I saw after my initial play through
in which a main character is cut straight in half. Prior to that she gets possessed
and decides to be a crazy lady for a few seconds. If the player chooses to
ignore the character and continues on with a certain puzzle, right as you solve
said puzzle, she will come out and the wire necessary for the mechanism to
work, will slice her right in half, in Ghost Ship fashion. (Note: this game is
not as stupid as Ghost Ship, it’s actually very good) It’s little touches like
that that keep you on the edge of your seat, never knowing what choice is the
right choice. Should I read this paper or will my character lose sanity if I
do? Should I say this, or will it screw things up for me down the line? It’s
like Mass Effect, only the choices actually matter.
I’d
talk about story, but, I’ll at least lay out the basic premise of the story. During a going away party the students of Kisaragi Academy find themselves trapped in the “closed spaces” of a heavily dilapidated, super haunted, elementary school called Heavenly Host. Really though, I’d say just get a PSP, Vita, or PC (as it’s
originally a PC title and this version is being released on PC sometime soon) and
purchase the title. It’s more than worth the entry fee. Especially since the
core game offers about fifteen hours of gameplay on the first run through,
extending its replay value by offering what are called Extra Chapters, of which
there are ten. On top of that there are several alternative endings, both for
the whole game as well as the Chapters. And of course little pieces here and
there, such as collecting all student ID tags, etc. There’s a lot of game here
for the small price.
From
the pacing, to the score, the game just gets everything right. Each chapter ends with a
bang and a cliffhanger, getting the player pumped for the next sequence.
Chapter Four’s closing and Chapter Five’s opening, were probably some of the
most intense, twisty turny “oh shit” moments I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing. The game had
me in a chokehold, I was glued to the screen.
There’s really not enough good I can say about this title. It’s just that good. If you haven’t played it, go out, buy it and play it. Don’t download it all illegal like either. This game was independently funded, all in house and shit. Even the VA cast is comprised of unknowns. Buy it! Buy it now!
Monday, June 9, 2014
Resident Evil 6 (Amended Review)
So,
Resident Evil 6; it appears I have yet another moment where I enjoy a nice big
plate of crow for going by my earlier judgments and not really giving the title
a chance. Resident Evil 6 managed to win me over, I wouldn’t have even
attempted the game again had it not been for the praises of a good friend. So swallowing
my pride I purchased it again and took Resi6 on one more time. There’s a couple
things I want to get out of the way first, many of my earlier complaints still
stand, and like with Alpha Protocol it is not a point in the game’s favor that
it takes some time to get used to before you actually have any real fun with it
and its convoluted control scheme. I would only suggest that you give it some
time to get used to and you’ll be pleasantly rewarded with a very fluid very fun
time. If it still puts you off it’s only the developers fault. Not all of us
are willing to re-coordinate ourselves to learn weird control schemes and it
shouldn’t be expected.
Anyway,
on to the title. Once everything is figured out and you feel comfortable with
the game (if you try I suggest setting your camera to 10, 10, 5, it’ll greatly improve
the experience and the FOV) it’s an intense and extremely satisfying shooter.
Sliding and just dominating the combat area is always a blast and mastering the
combos and counters just helps add to the fluidity of the game. While each campaign has its own style, the
controls and gameplay remains consistent throughout.
Where
the game succeeds in the gameplay is the clever mixture of modern third person
combat and aesthetics, with the sensibilities of character action titles like
Bayonetta or Devil May Cry. While the mixture of styles is (I’m guessing) the
reason the controls are confusing, you’d be hard pressed to find a more fluid
and satisfying shooter once you’re used to it all.
Each
campaign offers up nice variety, having four different play styles altogether.
Leon’s campaign is more survival/horror focused and is the closest we get to
the series’ roots. Chris offers us the Call of Duty experience, with some
Resident Evil flavor and a surprisingly affecting story. Jake’s campaign is
more focused on chase sequences than all out action, and has the most touches
of the character action style I mentioned above, given that Jake is the gifted
(obviously) son of Albert Wesker. Ada’s bonus campaign (now automatically
unlocked) is more stealth focused and is the only solo campaign.
Altogether
each campaign offers the player a great amount of variety and are about six to seven hours
on initial playthrough. Meaning altogether the game can max at around twenty or
so hours, depending on player skill of course. It definitely gives the game some high replayability, and that's not counting the mini-games and the multiplayer.
The story, while not all that great (it is a Capcom game after all) is surprisingly good and some of the best Capcom has done in a while. As stated above Chris’ campaign is surprisingly affective, even if it is bogged down by the very cliché, very inaccurate portrayal of military operations and lingo. They try to get it right, but it’s obvious the writers have no clue how military units communicate or how they speak during operations. For a campaign obviously inspired by Call of Duty and other modern military shooters, it’s rather jarring how out of place and cartoonish some of the military dialogue really is.
The story, while not all that great (it is a Capcom game after all) is surprisingly good and some of the best Capcom has done in a while. As stated above Chris’ campaign is surprisingly affective, even if it is bogged down by the very cliché, very inaccurate portrayal of military operations and lingo. They try to get it right, but it’s obvious the writers have no clue how military units communicate or how they speak during operations. For a campaign obviously inspired by Call of Duty and other modern military shooters, it’s rather jarring how out of place and cartoonish some of the military dialogue really is.
Among the occasional crap dialogue and the fake military speak it's Resident Evil’s comic book-ish story in top
form, complete with some: memorable lines, characters and events. It’s flashy and at
times absolutely ridiculous, but it’s a helluva ride.
As
for complaints I still have some of the same and a couple I failed to mention.
For
starters, the pause system is still counter intuitive bullshit and the player
should not be punished for their batteries dying or the controller disconnecting
mid-gameplay, as I stated in my earlier review there’s a reason every game
pauses when the controller is disconnected. The cover system while cool looking
when you slide into it, still feels unnatural and doesn’t always work as the
player wants. Luckily cover isn’t exactly a necessity so it’s not a major
issue.
The
new menu, while neat with its real time fun, is still a step back from the hotkey
menu of Resident Evil 5. I shouldn’t have to fumble through three different
weapons before I select my shotgun. It’s cumbersome and often slows down an
otherwise fluid game.
An
entire block of health should not be gone every time a zombie grabs me. This is
incredibly annoying and takes away health more than any other factor in the
game - yes even bosses. Not only is the loss of a full bar a cheap way to challenge
the player, the zombies themselves are extremely cheap. While you’re taking on
a few, you may not notice the one crawling that you’d swear jumps right out of
Leon’s ass and tackles him to the ground. Some like to jump from off
screen and then there’s the Bloodshots. Big time
assholes who jump great distances, always from out of your field of vision and
tackle the ever living fuck out of Leon. This does not offer challenge, it is a
cheap way to limit the player and make the game harder than it really is. You’d
think with Capcom being the same company responsible for Devil May Cry, they’d
find better fairer ways to actually challenge the player.
But
the biggest complaint would be in regards to the “search for X” sections and the stupid
regenerating leech monster thing that they totally stole from RE0 and Outbreak.
The sections are already tedious as is, given that you run around a pretty good
sized map while searching for random keys. But Capcom thought it would be a
good idea to throw in an enemy that endlessly pursues you, keeps on
regenerating and apparently multiplies. It makes the already tedious sections
that much more tedious. When I’m doing a "search for X" section of a video game I
should be left the fuck alone so I can search thoroughly. You want to throw in
a couple enemies in some of the rooms that’s fine. But having a stupid
regenerating monster constantly pursuing me, means I don’t search as thoroughly
and I dump ammo into the damn thing when I get cornered or it happens to be
blocking the way.
In
the end I’d give Resident Evil 6 a solid 8 out of 10. I’d give it a 9, but it
loses a point on the grounds that the controls are damn near counter intuitive
and the cheap lazy design decisions they use to “challenge” the player are…
well… cheap and lazy.
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