Friday, 25 April 2014
Dead Space: Game Design Review
I enjoyed the extremely tough (and unfair) System Shock 2 for its survival horror elements, I enjoyed Bioshock for its solid action and atmosphere and I also enjoyed The Thing with its action and creepy atmosphere. Dead Space is basically a cross between all three. It's more simplistic than System 2 or Bioshock as there are fewer types of upgrades and less RPG elements. In terms of atmosphere, its most similar to The Thing where you fight zombie like creatures that spawn out of body parts.
It's not bad but there are a few areas which I felt are worth pointing out:
Not really horror- It's more of an action game that is horror themed. Having the necromorphs jump out is almost predictable throughout the game that it quickly takes away from any potential scariness.
Melee Combat- Melee combat is very clumsy. For example, you could run up and swipe or stomp an enemy but more often than not you'll actually miss due to the way the collision detection work. Its also very difficult to attack smaller enemies.
Needs better autoaim- Isaac's inability to properly autoaim means the small enemies are even deadlier than the normal. You end up wasting ammo and dying from tiny enemies rather than the big ones.
Lack of environment interaction and damage- In games like Bioshock, fire spreads and water can be electrified. Compared to the Thing or Bioshock, fire and the flamethrower seem underpowered. In both previous games, fire had a truly deadly effect on enemies, causing them to panic and run away. Here the Necromorphs show no fear or reaction to fire and there isn't really anyway to spread fire. There is telekenesis in the game which is a good idea but difficult to use in my opinion.
Enemies feel overpowered at times- I found the enemy balance occasionally a bit off. Sometimes they were really hard, other times way too easy.
Story doesn't make sense- Unfortunately in most horror games, the plot doesn't make sense, unfortunately Dead Space's final chapter and plot twists make no sense whatsoever. *Spoiler alert here*. The Earth sends a military ship to seceretly deal with the Necromorph problem but they quickly get overrun but a single necromorph? They were sent there to deal with this problem, surely they would have been briefed on how to manage the situation. The Earth manufactured the beacon but somehow allowed the ship to mine in that sector anyway? Why not just send a normal excavation team rather than an entire mining ship? One of the characters was secretly an agent? Why not have this person in the military ship? Why steal the beacon if Earth knows how to manufacture it? All of this makes little sense. It would probably have made more sense if there was more than one faction at work here rather than just the miners and the Earth government.
Conclusion
I find Dead Space an interesting idea somewhat shallow game in my opinion. Just different enough from other mainstream games but never really seizing the chance to really break away from its 3rd person action shooter roots to innovate like Bioshock or the Thing. Like a B action movie, this game plays second fiddle to the other shooters. Go play Bioshock, System Shock 2, The Thing or Resident Evil in my opinion.
Medal of Honor: Game mini-review
Having recently picked up MEdal of Honor as part of the Humble Bundle. I finally gave it a chance. I'm going to give a quick review of the game and my thoughts on it.
Standard and linear action- It's extremely linear game with lots of scripted sections. Unlike games like Farcry or Crysis, you don't really choose the approach. If its an action section you will be shooting. If its a sniper section you will be sniping, if its a steath section you will be sneaking. If you don't follow the scripted sequence, you will fail the mission.
Confusing storyline- The opening sequences are very confusing and don't really help explain the characters, situation or plot very much. It also doesn't help that the opening sequence takes place in the night time.
Lack of squad control- You work as a squad but you can't control your squad members which is a shame really.
Is MOH propaganda?
One of the criticisms of the game is that its America propaganda. Compared to Homefront with its cartoonishly evil concentration camps and brutality or Spec Ops: The Lines criticism of the FPS genre I find MOH occupies more of a 'war documentary' space.
The more I played it, the more I feel its more similar to compare MOH to a documentary based around interviewing soldiers. Although ficitionous, MOH is based on a real operation in Afghanistan. As I played I felt that MOH is trying to show players how soldiers felt about the conditions of fighting in a mountainous terrain against a Taliban army and the various difficult scenarios they encountered while doing so.
Unlike other war games like Brothers in Arms however MOH lacks the educational aspect of a documentary. Aside from some cutscenes between commanders, there wasn't really enough context about what they were doing. No mission briefings or maps. If anything I felt kind of sorry for the Taliban I was shooting up. You are part of the US army, a hi-tech force with drones, powerful guns, helicoptors and airstrikes. The Taliban on the other hand, look like they are dresed in traditional garb, live in primitive houses, use old tanks and are having their villages and houses bombed to bits by the US army.
Conclusion
Everything in Medal of Honor is competent but the linearity and somewhat confusing storyline makes it feel more like an interactive movie than a game. I don't mind linear games, I enjoy games like Serious San, Painkiller and Brothers in Arms which are all linear but the extremely restrictive nature of MOH and lack of any real gameplay innovation just makes it feel unmemorable. I can't recommend it unless you really enjoy mediocre shooters.
Standard and linear action- It's extremely linear game with lots of scripted sections. Unlike games like Farcry or Crysis, you don't really choose the approach. If its an action section you will be shooting. If its a sniper section you will be sniping, if its a steath section you will be sneaking. If you don't follow the scripted sequence, you will fail the mission.
Confusing storyline- The opening sequences are very confusing and don't really help explain the characters, situation or plot very much. It also doesn't help that the opening sequence takes place in the night time.
Lack of squad control- You work as a squad but you can't control your squad members which is a shame really.
Is MOH propaganda?
One of the criticisms of the game is that its America propaganda. Compared to Homefront with its cartoonishly evil concentration camps and brutality or Spec Ops: The Lines criticism of the FPS genre I find MOH occupies more of a 'war documentary' space.
The more I played it, the more I feel its more similar to compare MOH to a documentary based around interviewing soldiers. Although ficitionous, MOH is based on a real operation in Afghanistan. As I played I felt that MOH is trying to show players how soldiers felt about the conditions of fighting in a mountainous terrain against a Taliban army and the various difficult scenarios they encountered while doing so.
Unlike other war games like Brothers in Arms however MOH lacks the educational aspect of a documentary. Aside from some cutscenes between commanders, there wasn't really enough context about what they were doing. No mission briefings or maps. If anything I felt kind of sorry for the Taliban I was shooting up. You are part of the US army, a hi-tech force with drones, powerful guns, helicoptors and airstrikes. The Taliban on the other hand, look like they are dresed in traditional garb, live in primitive houses, use old tanks and are having their villages and houses bombed to bits by the US army.
Conclusion
Everything in Medal of Honor is competent but the linearity and somewhat confusing storyline makes it feel more like an interactive movie than a game. I don't mind linear games, I enjoy games like Serious San, Painkiller and Brothers in Arms which are all linear but the extremely restrictive nature of MOH and lack of any real gameplay innovation just makes it feel unmemorable. I can't recommend it unless you really enjoy mediocre shooters.
Saturday, 29 March 2014
Batman Arkham Asylum: Game design review
Winner of multiple awards, Batman Arkham Asylum needs little introduction. I enjoyed my time playing the game and even went back to find all the collectibles and hidden items. That being said, there are parts of the game which I feel could be improved.
Game issues:
1) Camera is a bit too close when walking or gliding- Often your cape will obscure the action making it hard to see where you're going. This is especially annoying when gliding because you can knock people out if you glide into the right spot so its important to control where you glide.
2) Lack of freedom to decide when to engage in a brawl and when to stealth- I found as the game progresses that it was extremely limited. You have to Brawl here, you have to be a Predator here the game says. There are no multiple pathways or multiple choices like in Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
Here's another instance. Near the end of the game, I wanted to avoid the enemies in the main areas of Arkum asylum. So I went to one of the doors to the next area only to be told "You have to defeat the enemies in the area". Why couldn't I just walk through the door like I had done countless times before? It wasn't locked or anything except by the contrived requirement I beat the bad guys.
Its a small nit pic considering the game has solid action and gameplay but something I feel could have been done better.
3) Stealth system- Its sometimes hard to know when guards detect you and how hidden you actually are in Predator mode gameplay. This occasionally leads to situations where you think you're safe but get spotted or vice versa. Also, you can't hide unconscious bodies which makes guards go into the alert when spotted.
4) Detective mode is too useful to ever turn off- Detective vision is great but way too useful as it reveals important spots and enemies. It also dyes the entire world greenish grey and the only reason to turn it off is to enjoy the world in normal colour.
5) Brawling camera and distance- Brawling is fun but sometimes the brawling camera is sometimes too close. Occasionally it is also sometimes hard chain combos sometimes as its hard to judge distance and direction of how far Batman can actually attack.
7) Finishing enemies that have been knocked out is too slow. Almost pointless in a brawl as there's no way to knock enemies away so attempting to finish an enemy leaves you vulnerable to other enemies attacking
8) Boss battles are boring- Boss battles are nearly all about fighting henchmen rather than villains which is a shame really. What boss battles there are aren't particularly exciting either.
9) Villians aren't really fleshed out. No real story or understanding of their motivations. Assumes a familiarity with the world. This is good and bad in a sense. I enjoyed it being a comic book fan but others might not.
10) Instant death scenes like in Scarecrow or killer croc sections. These sequences can be very frustrating as a misstep can lead to instant death and requiring a somewhat lengthy wait for the sequence to reload while the villain mocks you.
Conclusion
Batman certainly deserves its accolades but the lack of flexibility in the gameplay in my opinion serves to remind us even great games have flaws.
Game issues:
1) Camera is a bit too close when walking or gliding- Often your cape will obscure the action making it hard to see where you're going. This is especially annoying when gliding because you can knock people out if you glide into the right spot so its important to control where you glide.
2) Lack of freedom to decide when to engage in a brawl and when to stealth- I found as the game progresses that it was extremely limited. You have to Brawl here, you have to be a Predator here the game says. There are no multiple pathways or multiple choices like in Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
Here's another instance. Near the end of the game, I wanted to avoid the enemies in the main areas of Arkum asylum. So I went to one of the doors to the next area only to be told "You have to defeat the enemies in the area". Why couldn't I just walk through the door like I had done countless times before? It wasn't locked or anything except by the contrived requirement I beat the bad guys.
Its a small nit pic considering the game has solid action and gameplay but something I feel could have been done better.
3) Stealth system- Its sometimes hard to know when guards detect you and how hidden you actually are in Predator mode gameplay. This occasionally leads to situations where you think you're safe but get spotted or vice versa. Also, you can't hide unconscious bodies which makes guards go into the alert when spotted.
4) Detective mode is too useful to ever turn off- Detective vision is great but way too useful as it reveals important spots and enemies. It also dyes the entire world greenish grey and the only reason to turn it off is to enjoy the world in normal colour.
5) Brawling camera and distance- Brawling is fun but sometimes the brawling camera is sometimes too close. Occasionally it is also sometimes hard chain combos sometimes as its hard to judge distance and direction of how far Batman can actually attack.
7) Finishing enemies that have been knocked out is too slow. Almost pointless in a brawl as there's no way to knock enemies away so attempting to finish an enemy leaves you vulnerable to other enemies attacking
8) Boss battles are boring- Boss battles are nearly all about fighting henchmen rather than villains which is a shame really. What boss battles there are aren't particularly exciting either.
9) Villians aren't really fleshed out. No real story or understanding of their motivations. Assumes a familiarity with the world. This is good and bad in a sense. I enjoyed it being a comic book fan but others might not.
10) Instant death scenes like in Scarecrow or killer croc sections. These sequences can be very frustrating as a misstep can lead to instant death and requiring a somewhat lengthy wait for the sequence to reload while the villain mocks you.
Conclusion
Batman certainly deserves its accolades but the lack of flexibility in the gameplay in my opinion serves to remind us even great games have flaws.
Megabyte Punch: Game Design Review
Megabyte Punch is an action game inspired by Super Smash Bros and Megaman with a graphical style of a Nintendo 64 game. Its the first game by a new indie studio Reptile games. There are several modes to the game. A single player campaign, a challenge mode and multiplayer modes.
What I liked:
Combat and bounce mechanics- As an action brawler Megabyte Punch is a great game. The way the robots move, fight, fly, punch, jump and use special moves are spot and feel very responsive. I can't think of a better game except Super Smash Bros itself with such great handling.
Like Super Smash Bros, you have to knock the opponent off screen to win a match and just like in Super Smash Bros, as a robot takes damage, the robot becomes lighter/bouncier. So just because you're taking damage doesn't mean you can't fight back, it just means you have to be careful not get knocked out of the arena.
Customisation and a wide of variety of parts- Once you've earned or collected arts in the game, you can then swap parts on your robot giving them new abilities or upgrades. You can only up to a maximum number of 3 active skills helping balance the game. And there are plenty of upgrades and weapons ranging from the fairly normal as the sniper rifle, to the more exotic such as teleportation.
Graphics- The block like graphics of the game are great and perfectly fit the game giving it a unique retro feel.
Destructibility- Parts of the levels and multiplayer maps can be destroyed by explosives or by attacking them. It's a good way of expanding the level as you play.
Issues:
Swapping and parts interface is terrible- The menu to do this is just plain terrible. Rather than being unlocked, parts you find are stored individually. For example, if you find two of the same leg parts you have to manually transfer them from your parts vault into your inventory and then equip them individually. It's a clumsy system that does nothing for the game.
Single player levels lack variety- As a multiplayer combat game, this game is awesome. As a single player game, it feels slightly anaemic in my opinion especially when you have to play through the single player to unlock parts in the multiplayer.
The levels feel boring and repetitive after a while and every couple of screens, you get locked into a room and have to fight some more robots. At the end of the every area, you fight a boss character one on one just like you would in a multiplayer game. There's nothing that you haven't really seen after the first few are.
There is some exploration but its mostly moving from left to right. The game really should be 'proper' Metroidvania style game rather than the current linear levels.
Lack of collectible radar and list- A large part of the game is about picking up robot parts after defeating enemy robots and collecting colour capsules. However the game doesn't tell you if you've collected all the possible parts and capsules in the area. Nor does it provide you with a list of what you've collected so you have no idea of just what you're missing.
Lack of enemy variety and bosses- Despite all the parts as mentioned there's a distinct lack of variety and boss creativity. I was looking forward to some creative large enemy units and buildings to fight like you would see in games like Megaman. The bosses (with the exception of the last boss) are all your standard robots with special parts which you get to keep after you defeat them.
Conclusion
I like Megabyte Punch, the combat is extremely solid and the ability to customise and create your robots is brilliant, but the other parts like the interface and single level design really need to be addressed. I only hope that the developers develop a second game to address the concerns. If they do, I'm sure we'll have a real classic on our hands.
What I liked:
Combat and bounce mechanics- As an action brawler Megabyte Punch is a great game. The way the robots move, fight, fly, punch, jump and use special moves are spot and feel very responsive. I can't think of a better game except Super Smash Bros itself with such great handling.
Like Super Smash Bros, you have to knock the opponent off screen to win a match and just like in Super Smash Bros, as a robot takes damage, the robot becomes lighter/bouncier. So just because you're taking damage doesn't mean you can't fight back, it just means you have to be careful not get knocked out of the arena.
Customisation and a wide of variety of parts- Once you've earned or collected arts in the game, you can then swap parts on your robot giving them new abilities or upgrades. You can only up to a maximum number of 3 active skills helping balance the game. And there are plenty of upgrades and weapons ranging from the fairly normal as the sniper rifle, to the more exotic such as teleportation.
Graphics- The block like graphics of the game are great and perfectly fit the game giving it a unique retro feel.
Destructibility- Parts of the levels and multiplayer maps can be destroyed by explosives or by attacking them. It's a good way of expanding the level as you play.
Issues:
Swapping and parts interface is terrible- The menu to do this is just plain terrible. Rather than being unlocked, parts you find are stored individually. For example, if you find two of the same leg parts you have to manually transfer them from your parts vault into your inventory and then equip them individually. It's a clumsy system that does nothing for the game.
Single player levels lack variety- As a multiplayer combat game, this game is awesome. As a single player game, it feels slightly anaemic in my opinion especially when you have to play through the single player to unlock parts in the multiplayer.
The levels feel boring and repetitive after a while and every couple of screens, you get locked into a room and have to fight some more robots. At the end of the every area, you fight a boss character one on one just like you would in a multiplayer game. There's nothing that you haven't really seen after the first few are.
There is some exploration but its mostly moving from left to right. The game really should be 'proper' Metroidvania style game rather than the current linear levels.
Lack of collectible radar and list- A large part of the game is about picking up robot parts after defeating enemy robots and collecting colour capsules. However the game doesn't tell you if you've collected all the possible parts and capsules in the area. Nor does it provide you with a list of what you've collected so you have no idea of just what you're missing.
Lack of enemy variety and bosses- Despite all the parts as mentioned there's a distinct lack of variety and boss creativity. I was looking forward to some creative large enemy units and buildings to fight like you would see in games like Megaman. The bosses (with the exception of the last boss) are all your standard robots with special parts which you get to keep after you defeat them.
Conclusion
I like Megabyte Punch, the combat is extremely solid and the ability to customise and create your robots is brilliant, but the other parts like the interface and single level design really need to be addressed. I only hope that the developers develop a second game to address the concerns. If they do, I'm sure we'll have a real classic on our hands.
Saturday, 8 February 2014
Bioshock 2: Game Design Mini Review
Bioshock 2 is the a sequel to Bioshock 1 and is set in Rapture several years later where you play as a new main character in the game. So here are my thoguhts on it.
What I liked
More slots for plasmids and gene tonics- You can now equip up to 8 plasmids now for way more tactical flexibility. Compared to the 6 of gene tonic slots in Bioshock 1, you can now store up to 18 gene tonics making the game much more fun. The plasmids and gene tonics are mostly the same however although there are some new ones.
Plasmids now charge- You can now unleash more powerful effects with plasmids such a chain lightning with your plasmids when you charge up.
Glowing plants and water sequences- A lot of sea plants have invaded Rapture allowing the artists to go crazy with adding all sorts of crazy stuff. I also quite enjoyed the water sequences which allowed them to make it feel like you're underwater.
What I didn't like
Walking around in water is boring- Because you're a prototype Big Daddy you can walk around in the sea which I actually kind of like because of all the cool plants and sea life. Unfortunately you can't actually do anything except occasionally pick things up and getting from point A to B. I wonder if there was as better way to integrate the water and ocean travel in the game. Wouldn't it be cool to actually be able to use your ability to travel in water to ambush enemies or flood areas to kill people?
Too similar to the first- There are a few game play changes such as hacking being easier and harvesting ADAM is made more complicated since you can adopt Little Sisters to extract ADAM from special corpses. But otherwise, the behaves exactly the same as the first game with almost the same enemies and plasmids.
Morality system- This ugly feature once again rears its head. It just doesn't feel required in a game like this.
Lack of enemies- Once again the game fails to bring anything imaginative to the enemies beyond the typical humans.
Lack of controller for PC- For some reason you can't use the controller in the PC. I really missed the ability to have rumble. Recently they did update this in October 2013 but its still disappointing considering how old the game is.
Conclusion
Bioshock 2 is still a very fun game full of interesting ideas etc. It's biggest problem as other reviewers have noted is that Bioshock ended with no real need for a sequel. This game just feel unnecessary from a story perspective and in my opinion is more of an expansion pack than a proper sequel. I enjoyed the game and as long as you treat is as an expansion pack, so will you.
What I liked
More slots for plasmids and gene tonics- You can now equip up to 8 plasmids now for way more tactical flexibility. Compared to the 6 of gene tonic slots in Bioshock 1, you can now store up to 18 gene tonics making the game much more fun. The plasmids and gene tonics are mostly the same however although there are some new ones.
Plasmids now charge- You can now unleash more powerful effects with plasmids such a chain lightning with your plasmids when you charge up.
Glowing plants and water sequences- A lot of sea plants have invaded Rapture allowing the artists to go crazy with adding all sorts of crazy stuff. I also quite enjoyed the water sequences which allowed them to make it feel like you're underwater.
What I didn't like
Walking around in water is boring- Because you're a prototype Big Daddy you can walk around in the sea which I actually kind of like because of all the cool plants and sea life. Unfortunately you can't actually do anything except occasionally pick things up and getting from point A to B. I wonder if there was as better way to integrate the water and ocean travel in the game. Wouldn't it be cool to actually be able to use your ability to travel in water to ambush enemies or flood areas to kill people?
Too similar to the first- There are a few game play changes such as hacking being easier and harvesting ADAM is made more complicated since you can adopt Little Sisters to extract ADAM from special corpses. But otherwise, the behaves exactly the same as the first game with almost the same enemies and plasmids.
Morality system- This ugly feature once again rears its head. It just doesn't feel required in a game like this.
Lack of enemies- Once again the game fails to bring anything imaginative to the enemies beyond the typical humans.
Lack of controller for PC- For some reason you can't use the controller in the PC. I really missed the ability to have rumble. Recently they did update this in October 2013 but its still disappointing considering how old the game is.
Conclusion
Bioshock 2 is still a very fun game full of interesting ideas etc. It's biggest problem as other reviewers have noted is that Bioshock ended with no real need for a sequel. This game just feel unnecessary from a story perspective and in my opinion is more of an expansion pack than a proper sequel. I enjoyed the game and as long as you treat is as an expansion pack, so will you.
Wednesday, 20 November 2013
Homefront: Singleplayer Gameplay and Story Opinion
Homefront is game set in an alternate future where a unified Korea decides to invade America. The game takes place several months after the invasion where Korea has instituted martial law and is increasing committing acts of brutality.
I prefer old-school shooters and I haven't played any Battlefield or Call of Duty games so Homefront is a game which is difficult for me to review because I can't compared it with anything except games I've played such as Hard reset, Half Life 2, Gears of War, Fear 3, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2, Spec Ops: The Line.
My impressions are overall that yes, it works fine as a modern chest-high wall shooter. The combat and mechanics are generally good. Shooting people is okay. The game itself seems very shy in doing anything new or different with the gameplay. It's pretty much shoot this and that with guns. There are no special abilities to speak of. Explosives are also introduced in the beginning of the game but they aren't really used until the end of the game except for grenades. There are some stealth sections which I found a bit of an interesting change of pace but like many other action games, the stealth is pretty much scripted rather than organic.
The sole new outstanding feature is the ability to remote control a six wheeled drone, basically a jeep with a machine gun and rocket launcher, which is very fun by the way. Considering this does take place in the near future, I felt that if they had increased the number of robot drones you could use the game and make you some sort of gifted robotic 'puppet master' rather than a former military pilot it might actually worked out much better to distinguish itself for the rest of the other shooters. Back when Homefront was released, there weren't many games where you get to fly and coordinate robotic drones so I think that would have really helped make a difference.
The storyline however is really too American for me, a New Zealand Chinese (formerly Singaporean Chinese). It's trying to go for a gritty realistic "America under siege" game but it's precisely because of this, that it fails to engage me. The problem is that its just so overbearingly pro-American something out of a Tom Clancy type novel that everything ends up being too cliche. Everything 'good' is American and apple pie. Everything 'bad' is North Korean.The Koreans are hilariously evil to the point of being cartoonish, committing brutal acts for the heck of it. Compared to Spec Ops: The Line, the disturbing scenes in the game feel stupid and pointless. There to deliberately elicit a knee-jerk reaction. Spec Ops really asks you to question what it means to be a hero. In Homefront, you are the standard action hero who is definitely the 'good guy' just like in a Hollywood blockbuster. The entire game is a celebration of "American values". It's like having a baseball bat wrapped in an American flag being smashed into your face while someone yells "America! Yeah!" This game isn't a thoughtful piece of social criticism but a piece of American paranoid right-wing propaganda. I won't go much more in-depth into this but it left a bad taste in my mouth.
Overall, if you're American, you might get some kicks out of Homefront but the hamfisted "Go America!" values it espouses makes it difficult for non-Americans to understand just what is so great about the game. It's an okay action game but you're better off playing Spec Ops for the social commentary or an old school shooter like Painkiller or Max Payne or you're looking for awesome action.
I prefer old-school shooters and I haven't played any Battlefield or Call of Duty games so Homefront is a game which is difficult for me to review because I can't compared it with anything except games I've played such as Hard reset, Half Life 2, Gears of War, Fear 3, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2, Spec Ops: The Line.
My impressions are overall that yes, it works fine as a modern chest-high wall shooter. The combat and mechanics are generally good. Shooting people is okay. The game itself seems very shy in doing anything new or different with the gameplay. It's pretty much shoot this and that with guns. There are no special abilities to speak of. Explosives are also introduced in the beginning of the game but they aren't really used until the end of the game except for grenades. There are some stealth sections which I found a bit of an interesting change of pace but like many other action games, the stealth is pretty much scripted rather than organic.
The sole new outstanding feature is the ability to remote control a six wheeled drone, basically a jeep with a machine gun and rocket launcher, which is very fun by the way. Considering this does take place in the near future, I felt that if they had increased the number of robot drones you could use the game and make you some sort of gifted robotic 'puppet master' rather than a former military pilot it might actually worked out much better to distinguish itself for the rest of the other shooters. Back when Homefront was released, there weren't many games where you get to fly and coordinate robotic drones so I think that would have really helped make a difference.
The storyline however is really too American for me, a New Zealand Chinese (formerly Singaporean Chinese). It's trying to go for a gritty realistic "America under siege" game but it's precisely because of this, that it fails to engage me. The problem is that its just so overbearingly pro-American something out of a Tom Clancy type novel that everything ends up being too cliche. Everything 'good' is American and apple pie. Everything 'bad' is North Korean.The Koreans are hilariously evil to the point of being cartoonish, committing brutal acts for the heck of it. Compared to Spec Ops: The Line, the disturbing scenes in the game feel stupid and pointless. There to deliberately elicit a knee-jerk reaction. Spec Ops really asks you to question what it means to be a hero. In Homefront, you are the standard action hero who is definitely the 'good guy' just like in a Hollywood blockbuster. The entire game is a celebration of "American values". It's like having a baseball bat wrapped in an American flag being smashed into your face while someone yells "America! Yeah!" This game isn't a thoughtful piece of social criticism but a piece of American paranoid right-wing propaganda. I won't go much more in-depth into this but it left a bad taste in my mouth.
Overall, if you're American, you might get some kicks out of Homefront but the hamfisted "Go America!" values it espouses makes it difficult for non-Americans to understand just what is so great about the game. It's an okay action game but you're better off playing Spec Ops for the social commentary or an old school shooter like Painkiller or Max Payne or you're looking for awesome action.
Sunday, 3 November 2013
Matrix: Path of Neo: Game Design Review
Matrix: The Path of Neo was released back in 2005 with you playing as Neo through a number of key sequences in the film. Here's my thoughts on this action game.
What I liked:
Very fun. Its a solid game with plenty of action, wall running cool kung fu moves and definitely faithful to the movies atmosphere and style. Lots of interactive explosions and debris making the world feel alive.
Controls are solid for this sort of game and the brawling feels mostly natural and fluid.
What I disliked
Camera angles- Camera angles are normally okay, however this ends up problematic in closed rooms especially when wall running. All too often it ends up blocking your view of enemies in an enclosed room. Fortunately most levels occur in large rooms or arenas so this usually isn't a problem.
Cover based shooting is there but pointless- The game makes a big deal of this cover based mechanic in the beginning with a fairly lengthy tutorial sequence. The truth is its actually kind of useless. Neo has a fair amount bullet time, enemies tend to rush you and most of the game ends up in a hand to hand brawl anyway. You eventually even get the powers to jump across rooms! I've never really needed to use the cover based system although I have on occasion hid behind a corner.
Slow beginning- The game starts you off playing a number of tutorial missions and learning how to be stealthy etc. I kind of found it dragged on too long although the locations were certainly interesting.
Stealth is useless- The game devotes an early level in stealth but I never found any real use of stealth in the missions. The enemies after the stealth level seem to automatically turn around to attack so there's no sneaking at all the game. Why they made such a big deal of it is very curious.
More attacks- What's especially missing is probably a guard crush ability to stop enemies from blocking. The hardest enemies I found were not agents but in fact police carrying shields because the shields were impenetrable and they had a special knock back ability.
Multi-attacking is hard- There's an option to launch a multi-attack move where you attack two or even three people in one attack. For example this would make Neo would punch and kick two people at the same. Unfortunately there is no visual indicator on screen to indicate you're successfully activating this ability. Its a shame because this has some of the coolest moves and attacks.
Poor story presentation- If you go into this a fan of the Matrix like I am, you'll love this. It basically expands certain scenes while fleshing out other parts of the Matrx world Those who aren't fans or who haven't watched the Matrix trilogy will be confused by how the story is told. It's told by montages comprised of quotes from the movies which aren't even in chronological order.
Conclusion
Overall I enjoyed the core mechanics despite its rough edges and I do recommend it to those who enjoy brawlers and watching the Matrix.
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