Last week I finally finished off Dead Space. I admit that I was late to the party on this one, but at the same time I wasn’t about to let this gem slip past. Dead Space is another new IP from EA, and I have to admit that after E3 last year I bought into a lot of the hype.
Technically, the game is sound. It looks good and feels better. If there was one big peccadillo I had it would be that they could have made it better with a first-person perspective and a proper HUD. I know that the absence of the HUD was intentional, but I found the health bar and stasis status on the back of Isaac’s rig seemed contrived, not to mention useless to him. They could have kept the 3D hologram inventory and map, but a HUD on a first-person perspective wouldn’t seem out of place from a guy who spends the entire game with his helmet on. Other than that the game was a fantastic play.
I would also like to nod my head to the level design. There are a few sequences that are completely different from the rest of the game (such as the giant turrets). While these were sometimes frustratingly difficult I still found them interesting diversions. The rest of the levels had unique layouts and didn’t feel tired when you returned to investigate them a second time. They did a great job of mapping out where everything should be and how they could make it different. I’m sure it was tough for them to create new spaces in a ship that would all be made of the same repeating metal, but each environment is a little different.
I’m not sure what it is about the Dead Space universe, but I find it strangely appealing. As a result, I had downloaded and watched all the animated comics through Xbox Live before the game’s release, and I watched the movie Downfall after completing the game*. The environment does a good job of seeming “real” and not contrived. The only real problem in terms of writing was the objectives. I swear, while I loved playing the game I seldom really knew what I was actually supposed to be doing. I spent most of the game following the dots on the map. There are also times that the objectives feel uninspired and inflated, such as having to collect not one, but four navigation disks. While the universe was great I found there was no good explanation of the technology to make me realize why the thing I did or did not have in my pocket ought to be useful.
There is one thing I want to make very clear: this isn’t Silent Hill in space. What I mean to say is that this game isn’t really survival horror. No, Dead Space is a good game. I know that the developers billed the game as survival horror, but that was a mistake on their part. This game is a great third-person action/adventure game with really creepy moments. The environment is spooky, and there are lots of moments where I jumped, but there were few moments where I felt a loss of control. Leigh Alexander once made the case that survival horror has shitty controls because that’s what makes it tense. In my opinion that’s what makes those games shitty. If you wanted a scarier Dead Space you could do the same game with less ammo and more aliens/zombies (I think I’ll go with aliens in this post), but the fact that they didn’t made me enjoy playing the game. Did I die? Yes. Did I ever get frustrated? Yes. Was I able to overcome those things to finish the game without throwing any controllers? Definitely. I’m willing to confess that the game plays a lot like a shooter. There were moments I found myself wanting grenades to throw and use to disperse my enemies. The fact that there weren’t grenades goes to prove that the game isn’t a shooter. The different weapons were each distinct and changed the way you would play the game as well. While I’m sure some survival horror fans would be disappointed with Dead Space, I think they did a good job not committing too heavily to that and made things more accessible to a broad audience.
Bottom Line:
Buy if: You like SF and third-person action adventure games. Also, when you beat the game for the first time you get a save file with some cool extras for your next play through. A nice touch for replaying the game.
Rent if:You’re a fan of survival horror and think this might not live up to your expectations.
Pass if: You’re not really a gamer and/or you have issue with gore. This game is a bloody mess.
*: The movie was a huge disappointment. It was mostly action and there was a lot which just didn’t mesh with the game. The animated comics were good though, doing a lot to set up the whole idea of the marker and the religion around it.
February 22, 2009
Along with some recent game rentals, over the last few weeks I’ve played a few demos, both new and not so new, that I thought might be worth taking a look at. Here are my first impressions:
F.E.A.R.2 : I first took notice of Monolith when they produced an awesome game for the PC called Shogo. Since then they’ve continued to keep their design top notch. I really liked the control scheme for F.E.A.R.2 and the graphics were very pretty. The guns “felt” good, meaning the recoil was well done. The A.I. was solid in that they didn’t just stand there but actually took cover. A plus that (strangely) sets this game apart in today’s FPS glutton is the use of armour and health which you have to find to refill, rather than wait a bit. Overall I was quite pleased, but I’m not in any rush to go out and buy it because I haven’t played the first F.E.A.R. yet and I still have Half-Life 2 sitting on my shelf.
Naruto: Broken Bond : Being a large child myself, I have to admit that I watch Naruto. Being an even bigger child, I have to admit that I liked this demo. The game is a third-person action adventure, though when you get into combat it switches to a fighting-game-style arena. The combat is pretty solid, but what did it for me is the variety of gameplay. You have a party of three characters in the environment, so you use their different skills to solve various puzzles and you have the ability to switch during combat. I found the controls for the chakra control to make jutsu inventive and not as awkward as one might think. What actually got me juiced about the variety though was the small side-mission where you’re running through the trees. As you leap from branch to branch in lightning-quick ninja-style, you are in a first person perspective. As you move through the air you see the two or three options for landing ahead with large rings around them. If the ring is blue it’s safe, if it’s red you’ll screw up, and if it’s green you’ll get some sort of bonus. You have to make the choice quickly, so it’s like a quick-time event, but I haven’t seen anything quite like it yet. Perhaps more for fans of the franchise, I’m definitely considering this one.
Lord of the Rings: Conquest : The Lord of the Rings franchise is one I’ve never gotten into gaming for. Perhaps this is mostly due to the fact that I have the movies and the books and enjoy them so much that I’ll go back to the source material for my fix rather than my console. While I’d heard/read poor reviews for the game, I’d also heard that some people were having a really great time with it. I should also note that I haven’t played Star Wars: Battlefront for more than a few seconds. The game looks decent, though it didn’t blow me away. I found most of the action to be about what I expected, which I don’t think is enough for me. I guess I really just don’t care about fighting through the epic battles as a foot soldier. I’d rather watch Gandalf do it. The heroes you can play are neat, but using Isildur didn’t make me feel all that special compared to a mage. The one part I really did like was the archer. The use of the bow just felt right. Not as fast as a gun, but not as slow as a sword. Unfortunately this game just doesn’t hold enough for me. I think I need something truly unique in this world before I’ll get sucked in, though I understand that sticking to canon is really a play to fan service. Perhaps next time. Perhaps.
Groove : This game was mentioned on the Xbox 360 Fanboy Fancast, and I thought I’d give it a try since it is a community game. The game plays a lot like Geometry Wars, that is to say it’s a two-stick shooter, though the rate of fire is a little slower. What really makes this game unique and awesome is the way it incorporates sound into every action and reaction to create music as you go. If you’re at all a fan of Lumines you should check this one out. Unfortunately I’m not a two-stick shooter guy, but if I was I’d definitely own this.
The Maw : Another game brought to my attention by a third party, The Maw won the Audience Choice Award at PAX during the summer. The game is a platformer of a high calibre for Xbox Live. It’s 3D and looks a lot like a retail game I might have picked up last gen. A great deal of the game’s potential is in its charm which will get you liking the characters quickly. You control Frank as he guides Maw around environments. The Maw will change in size and attributes the more you feed him, and you use these abilities to traverse the environments. It’s a great premise to a great game. While I’m not picking this one up right away (I just don’t feel like platforming right now), I do think The Maw is the type of game Xbox needs more of for those people who want something fun, casual, and that doesn’t kill things.
Halo Wars : I’ll say right up front that I haven’t finished the demo yet, but I wanted to include Halo Wars. I used to play RTS games on my PC back in the day, but fell out of love with them. I tried a few demos on the console to see if I might get back into things, but nothing had a control scheme I liked. I really enjoyed some of Ensemble’s other work, so I figured they might have got it right. Having gone through the tutorial and first mission (which was an escort mission, no resource management), I think this might work. The way units are collected and instructed makes for a solid console experience. The best way I can describe it is as much shooter as you can get in the standard RTS without making it first person. I’m not sure if RTS fans will like the way a lot of micromanagement is put in the back seat, but it sure does make for a better console experience. I’m still undecided as to whether or not I’m sold on RTS again, but if I get back into it, Halo Wars will be my first game in the genre.
February 15, 2009
Ever since I first saw the demo of Mirror’s Edge from last E3 I’ve been excited for it. My greatest reservation at the time was the controls. I couldn’t figure out just how you could make a control scheme that worked well enough for parkour. When the demo came out I was pleased to find that they had created a responsive control scheme that didn’t require the game to run on rails, but I was worried about the level design. I decided that I would check it out during my game rentals this month.
Overall, I really like the game. The movement controls are great. I understand that there are some people who would rather have the game in third perspective to give them more precision, but I found that there were few points where the game wouldn’t let you ballpark things, especially with the variety of moves you have at your disposal. The combat controls are awful, but I know why they suck. The developers wanted to hinder the player from turning the game into a run-and-gun affair. For that reason I am willing to forgive the sluggish aiming/shooting mechanics, but the melee should have been better. The ability to disarm enemies is well done, but after about the third level (of nine) the enemies become pretty damn hard to catch at the right moment. That’s the real problem with the combat. The other melee punches and kicks aren’t bad, but in order to execute any of these moves you must stand still long enough to get shot to death. I’m sure that there were some great movies you could do on the run, but I was too busy trying not to die.
I had heard that the game was not long enough, and I have to agree with that. I don’t think the main plot was too short, but you’re dropped into it right away. I thought they could have done a good job of putting together a few levels early on where Faith delivers a few “regular” parcels. Instead you literally hit the ground running after delivering only one parcel during the prologue. Probably the weakest part of the whole game is the fact that they never really talk about what kind of stuff runners carry. I was also disappointed that they didn’t have more than one level in the sewers and only one level at night. I know that dark doesn’t fit with the fresh look developers were going for to set the game apart, but it would have added to the length and depth of the overall experience.
The look of the game was as fantastic as I thought it would be. The in-game stuff is awesome, not just the atmosphere but also the in-game animations. I also personally liked the animated cut scenes between chapters. They are cell-shaded like the Esurance commercials, but I understand that they were trying to use the sharp contrast of that art style to mirror the sharp contrast of the game proper. Unfortunately the in-game stuff looked so awesome that it put the animations to shame. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of either in the sequels.
On the whole I’m really torn with Mirror’s Edge. I really wanted to like the game and I really want to reward EA with my consumer dollar for taking the proverbial leap. Unfortunately there are just a few things holding it back for me. One is the combat, which I’ve already explained. Another is the fact that the game was short (I finished it at 12:01 the night after I started). I would be a little interested in the time trials if you could do them without the enemies, but they’re still there. That means you aren’t free to explore the environments if you aren’t willing to get shot. It also doesn’t help that I’m not the kind of player who enjoys shaving a second off my time. So ultimately I don’t think I’ll be buying Mirror’s Edge, but I am glad I played the game through and will be buying the sequel when it comes out.
Bottom line:
Buy if: You want something different and are willing to play the same levels over and over again in time trials.
Rent if: You’re willing to give something new a try and have a day to invest in a great game.
Pass if: You can’t have your “FP” without some solid “S”. If you’re expecting this game to be like others you’ll want better shooting mechanics and a third-person perspective.
February 8, 2009
This post is a little late in the day since I was hoping to get through Mirror’s Edge for a review. Next time I guess.
I have a friend who’s always been a Sony guy. For Christmas he got a PS3 and over the last few weeks I’ve had the opportunity to experience it at his place. I thought I would jot down a few of my thoughts on the console and the three games I’ve tried out: Resistance, Little Big Planet, and Resistance 2.
I’ll start with Blue Ray. I have not seen HDDVD, so I can’t say which medium was better, but at any rate I must admit Blue Ray looks pretty damn sweet. We watched the first quarter of The Dark Knight and I was impressed. It is crystal clear in high def and I can appreciate why videophiles need it. I’m still happy with my DVD’s, but I am willing to say that there is a difference and if you appreciate it the Blue Ray may be worth while.
The first game I played was Resistance: Fall of Man. We played this one co-op for a few levels, without really pausing to take in the narrative. As a result, I can’t really write about the story, but it seemed pretty simple: man vs alien. Shoot things not man. Got it. The controls were similar to Halo, with an inventory system like Gears of War, so I didn’t have much trouble adapting. It is worth saying that there was no double-wielding, but I did like the “old-school” health-bar system they used. I wouldn’t say that this game would sell me a PS3, but I thought it was a pretty good launch title to have under its belt. A tip of my hat to it.
Little Big Planet was about what I expected. The customizability of the game is really cool, but as a platformer it is awful. When I say awful I mean the controls are bad. People have said that they’re “loose”, but that’s just not strong enough. It’s damn hard to land jumps, which kind of defeats the purpose of a platformer. I give Media Molecule props for the creativity behind the game, but they should have spent a little more time making it handle properly instead of putting in so many damn stickers.
Now, given my nod to Resistance, you would think I would enjoy the sequel more, no? Well it would appear that Insomnia didn’t want to actually keep any of the stuff that made the first game so good. The controls were changed for a reason I can’t think of. It effectively made the melee combat awkward, which may be to try and get away from the Halo comparison (though I thought that was the idea). There was still no dual wielding of weapons, but now in addition you could only carry two. Part of what I liked about the first one was the ability to switch between all these crazy guns, each for its own purpose. Something else they scrapped was the health-bar system. Now, like every other game, you regenerate after a few seconds. I do like that many games give you that option, but I also enjoy the occasional game that isn’t like anything else out there. My friend told me that for some reason he couldn’t get a co-op campaign running, though I don’t know if that was him or the game. If it was the game I say “FOR SHAME!” I don’t understand how you could take a game like Resistance, which gave you a PS3 shooter as solid as the big titles on the Xbox 360, and then make it unique to the point that it’s just not as good. Perhaps Insomnia didn’t get the memo, but PS3 sales are a little soft and they still need their exclusives to move consoles.
I’d like to take a moment to mention the controller. I’ve never really been much for the controller, but I’m not about to knock the layout of the sticks and such, because that’s just a personal preference. What I do begrudge them are the shapes. I realize that X,Y,A, and B buttons are just as arbitrary as the shapes, but I’ve been using those since my SNES days and I just can’t get behind the shapes. Also, the six-axis is pretty damn useless. I do think it’s neat the way that you can animate Sackboy in LBP, but I didn’t use it after the first few minutes because I was playing the game. I also think that the six-axis implementation of the melee in Resistance 2 is part of what kills it. Simply put: the six-axis suffers from the same thing as the Wii in that neither are as fine tuned as they ought to be for the precision art of gaming.
The final verdict: I’m not about to trade in my 360, but I don’t begrudge my friend his purchase either. The PS3 certainly does have some nice bells and whistles, but right now not even the exclusive stuff makes me interested in buying it. Especially not with the high price tag it has. Perhaps in 10 years I’ll think about it. Assuming I can then afford to convert my DVD collection over to Blue Ray that is.
February 2, 2009
