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KnightXENO · 23-05-2009, 08:17 PM

*EDIT* I was playing the PC version.

"exceptional" is about all I can say about the experience. Very different type of game that was fun, fast paced, and absolutely gorgeous. Its quite different, but the only other game I've played recently that was just as different in a good way was portal. (and they do share some similarities since there are a few puzzles in ME).

#1: Visuals/graphics/music/overall theme/world. 11/10 The ME city is easily my favorite of any recent game. Its a very distintive look, and I for one appreciate the gameplay in sunlight and white instead of the usual shadowed corridors in tones of brown and grey. On top of that, its very consistent, rarely are there noticeable clashes or errors. The setting is easily 1/3-1/2 the game in this instance, and it fits a maincharacter who is a free-running messanger perfectly.

#2: The free-running. 11/10 I was sceptical at first, but its a very immersive feeling and the difficulty is just about right. You start the game off not able to flow well (being new) and the level design compensates by having multiple paths light with red of runner vision. As you progress in the game less items are visible in runner vision. In a few instances this became a problem as I couldn't find how I needed to go somewhere, but mostly it was almost perfect. You would see a high vent shaft (or crane) and had to figure your way there for the rest. That made it much more satisfying when you did reach the destination.

#3: The combat. 8.5/10 I liked it as a whole, although it is a bit rough. I really liked the concept of having no gun most of the time, and it was a good feeling to see a few guards and have no doubt you could liberate a gun and waste the rest. However, there times when you needed to run away instead of fight that weren't obvious. There were also a few times when you needed to kill the guards but it was difficult because there were too many. Disarm needs some work also... A flying kick or a sliding nutstomp should chain instantly into a disarm (even shows this in the loading demo things) but it doesn't work.
Despite that though, the combat worked mostly well and blended with the game most of the time. The best instance I can think of was a long pursuit by the taser ninja people, and then at the end 2-3 cops with machine pistols. If you got enough of a lead on the pursuit, you could disarm 1 cop, use his weapon to kill others, pick up a spare weapon, and then kill your pursuit (which is impossible by melee). Only happened once on my original playthrough, but that whole sequence was gold and highly satisfying.
Even the final level was well designed and logical. Being the final level, you expect it to be hard (and it was). The sniper section was especially a bit hard, atleast until you figured out you were only supposed to go for a gun towards the very end of the lvl.... and THEN kill the other snipers. It probably took me 10-15 tries to clear the sniper area (and once because I missed the final jump) but by that point I was expecting hardness and the checkpoint system is usually very forgiving (only requiring you to replay a minute or two). I really couldn't see making it easier

#4: The cutscenes. Undecided. I felt they could have just as easily been ingame or rendered, but even the cell-shading look grew on me. The visual way they were presented had less impact on me (by mid game) than whether I thought the plot was welldone or not.

#5: The length. 7/10 Well I'll be honest the game seemed a bit short for a AAA title..... but then I thought about it. The entire game was designed around flow. Its supposed to feel fast to give a better simulation of free-running, and also to give the sense of constant pressure. It does that quite well. If you explore the levels some (or get lost) instead of following the main path the game loses the feeling of flow, but does slow down. A player not very good at the jump/manuver etc puzzles could theoretically take 12-15h. I did around average at ~8 (i died alot starting off lol). As a first game in series and a new genre thats not terrible... but a bit hard at $50. ME2 (if its planned) should either double the number of levels or shoot for a different pricepoint ($30 would be about perfect). But either of those are assuming the quality is maintained.

Overall a mostly seemless whole, with only 2 areas for improvement. Make the combat flow a bit better (and it you do this right could maybe even put in a bit more), and add some length to the game. Despite these 2 slight detractions (8/10 instead of 11/10 like rest of game), its still an immersive game that started its own sub-genre of FPS. We already have plot driven FPS, multiplayer only FPS, sneeker FPS, and now the flee or chase FPS. When the game works its immersive and the visuals look like a cross between reality and a work of art. At its worst moments its still a very good game. It does exactly what it set out to do (I think), to play like an extreme chase scene out of a movie (casino royal for example). I would definately play a sequel, especially if it was a bit longer.

9/10, would recommend to friends (especially when its currently ~$20-30 US new right now).

23-05-2009, 08:17 PM	#48 (permalink)
KnightXENO Hi, I'm New! Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 1	exceptional EDIT I was playing the PC version. "exceptional" is about all I can say about the experience. Very different type of game that was fun, fast paced, and absolutely gorgeous. Its quite different, but the only other game I've played recently that was just as different in a good way was portal. (and they do share some similarities since there are a few puzzles in ME). #1: Visuals/graphics/music/overall theme/world. 11/10 The ME city is easily my favorite of any recent game. Its a very distintive look, and I for one appreciate the gameplay in sunlight and white instead of the usual shadowed corridors in tones of brown and grey. On top of that, its very consistent, rarely are there noticeable clashes or errors. The setting is easily 1/3-1/2 the game in this instance, and it fits a maincharacter who is a free-running messanger perfectly. #2: The free-running. 11/10 I was sceptical at first, but its a very immersive feeling and the difficulty is just about right. You start the game off not able to flow well (being new) and the level design compensates by having multiple paths light with red of runner vision. As you progress in the game less items are visible in runner vision. In a few instances this became a problem as I couldn't find how I needed to go somewhere, but mostly it was almost perfect. You would see a high vent shaft (or crane) and had to figure your way there for the rest. That made it much more satisfying when you did reach the destination. #3: The combat. 8.5/10 I liked it as a whole, although it is a bit rough. I really liked the concept of having no gun most of the time, and it was a good feeling to see a few guards and have no doubt you could liberate a gun and waste the rest. However, there times when you needed to run away instead of fight that weren't obvious. There were also a few times when you needed to kill the guards but it was difficult because there were too many. Disarm needs some work also... A flying kick or a sliding nutstomp should chain instantly into a disarm (even shows this in the loading demo things) but it doesn't work. Despite that though, the combat worked mostly well and blended with the game most of the time. The best instance I can think of was a long pursuit by the taser ninja people, and then at the end 2-3 cops with machine pistols. If you got enough of a lead on the pursuit, you could disarm 1 cop, use his weapon to kill others, pick up a spare weapon, and then kill your pursuit (which is impossible by melee). Only happened once on my original playthrough, but that whole sequence was gold and highly satisfying. Even the final level was well designed and logical. Being the final level, you expect it to be hard (and it was). The sniper section was especially a bit hard, atleast until you figured out you were only supposed to go for a gun towards the very end of the lvl.... and THEN kill the other snipers. It probably took me 10-15 tries to clear the sniper area (and once because I missed the final jump) but by that point I was expecting hardness and the checkpoint system is usually very forgiving (only requiring you to replay a minute or two). I really couldn't see making it easier #4: The cutscenes. Undecided. I felt they could have just as easily been ingame or rendered, but even the cell-shading look grew on me. The visual way they were presented had less impact on me (by mid game) than whether I thought the plot was welldone or not. #5: The length. 7/10 Well I'll be honest the game seemed a bit short for a AAA title..... but then I thought about it. The entire game was designed around flow. Its supposed to feel fast to give a better simulation of free-running, and also to give the sense of constant pressure. It does that quite well. If you explore the levels some (or get lost) instead of following the main path the game loses the feeling of flow, but does slow down. A player not very good at the jump/manuver etc puzzles could theoretically take 12-15h. I did around average at ~8 (i died alot starting off lol). As a first game in series and a new genre thats not terrible... but a bit hard at $50. ME2 (if its planned) should either double the number of levels or shoot for a different pricepoint ($30 would be about perfect). But either of those are assuming the quality is maintained. Overall a mostly seemless whole, with only 2 areas for improvement. Make the combat flow a bit better (and it you do this right could maybe even put in a bit more), and add some length to the game. Despite these 2 slight detractions (8/10 instead of 11/10 like rest of game), its still an immersive game that started its own sub-genre of FPS. We already have plot driven FPS, multiplayer only FPS, sneeker FPS, and now the flee or chase FPS. When the game works its immersive and the visuals look like a cross between reality and a work of art. At its worst moments its still a very good game. It does exactly what it set out to do (I think), to play like an extreme chase scene out of a movie (casino royal for example). I would definately play a sequel, especially if it was a bit longer. 9/10, would recommend to friends (especially when its currently ~$20-30 US new right now).