[PROTOTYPE]
Posted: 2009.06.29 (07:19)
Ugh, this game is beautifully frustrating as fuck. Some moments playing this game I really want to walk over to Activision and punch someone in the face. If they had held onto this game for at least another year to fine-tune it and completely re-work some of the graphics, it would have been an amazing game. For the moment it's extremely entertaining, but the instant I'm done with story mode, I will never play it again. Sure, I'll spend days playing in Game+ mode (free roam mode with all of the powers), but the storyline was fucking irritating as fuck. Never has a game made me swear and throw the control around the room as often as this game has. Many of the animations are quite intricate and aesthetically appealing, but I don't want to have to sit through five goddamn minutes of animation when there are hundreds of assholes around trying to kill me, when all I want to do is hijack a fucking tank (especially when a single rocket can knock you off mid-jack and you'll have to start to animation thing all over again). I think if you want to play the game, it's better to just free-roam Manhattan. There are numerous glitches and moments within the game that could use a makeover. It makes me sad to hear that Activision has already completely abandoned the game and moved on. That's one of the things about game developers that pisses me off sometimes. When you have a game with so much potential on your hands, you shouldn't just leave it.
Anyway, here is a mini-breakdown:
- Graphics: 2/5. This is a big letdown. I know you're in a huge city, but InFamous rendered a beautiful version of Manhattan. This is just laziness on the developers part.
- Story: 1/5. Often the story is my favorite part of the game. Honestly this game just made me not give a shit. I sat through all of the cutscenes, but they just didn't do it for me. Especially since you have to sit through three minutes of loading screens to see a two second clip (seriously, one clip was just a guy turning around). I saw a preview of the graphic-novelesque story-telling in inFamous, and it got me all wet.
- Gameplay (Freeroam) - 5/5. I had to include two categories for gameplay because of the very different aspects of free roam versus storyline. In free roam you get to do whatever the hell you want, and fight whomever. With a whole city at your disposal, often I'll just screw around with some military personnel until they call in a strike team, and then have some fun. It's quite the ride, especially because you can create combos out of all the different powers and abilities.
- Gameplay (Story) - 2/5. It's fine initially, but towards the end there are just too many enemies fighting you at once. All of the previously mentioned animations just get in the way. It takes forever to charge up "devastator attacks," which only last you a short while because of the health system (you can only perform these attacks when in "critical mass," which just means you have more health than the maximum)\, and by the time you get one ready, either you get hit by something to where you lose it, or all of you enemies have moved elsewhere and fall out of range in regards to the attack. One of the other things that always pisses me off in any game is that often when you get hit, before you can get up you'll get hit again, which just leads you to a mess of bobo doll shenanigans.
- Overall: 3.5/5. I really wished they had fine-tuned the game, because then they would really have had a masterpiece. The free running parkour is a blast, and all the abilities to choose from - while sometimes a mess of random button pushing to get the right combo - is fun as well.
VERDICT: I still highly enjoyed the game. There are many aspects to it that make for a great experience. However, with the combined frenzy of irritating enemies that become more of a hassle and an annoyance than a challenge, and the numerous bugs, glitches and aspects that could really use some more work, I sometimes wonder if it was worth it. Ah, fuck it, I just love flying around Manhattan wreaking havoc. (I think I'm going to buy inFamous and see how it is. I heard that is a beautiful game)
Anyway, here is a mini-breakdown:
- Graphics: 2/5. This is a big letdown. I know you're in a huge city, but InFamous rendered a beautiful version of Manhattan. This is just laziness on the developers part.
- Story: 1/5. Often the story is my favorite part of the game. Honestly this game just made me not give a shit. I sat through all of the cutscenes, but they just didn't do it for me. Especially since you have to sit through three minutes of loading screens to see a two second clip (seriously, one clip was just a guy turning around). I saw a preview of the graphic-novelesque story-telling in inFamous, and it got me all wet.
- Gameplay (Freeroam) - 5/5. I had to include two categories for gameplay because of the very different aspects of free roam versus storyline. In free roam you get to do whatever the hell you want, and fight whomever. With a whole city at your disposal, often I'll just screw around with some military personnel until they call in a strike team, and then have some fun. It's quite the ride, especially because you can create combos out of all the different powers and abilities.
- Gameplay (Story) - 2/5. It's fine initially, but towards the end there are just too many enemies fighting you at once. All of the previously mentioned animations just get in the way. It takes forever to charge up "devastator attacks," which only last you a short while because of the health system (you can only perform these attacks when in "critical mass," which just means you have more health than the maximum)\, and by the time you get one ready, either you get hit by something to where you lose it, or all of you enemies have moved elsewhere and fall out of range in regards to the attack. One of the other things that always pisses me off in any game is that often when you get hit, before you can get up you'll get hit again, which just leads you to a mess of bobo doll shenanigans.
- Overall: 3.5/5. I really wished they had fine-tuned the game, because then they would really have had a masterpiece. The free running parkour is a blast, and all the abilities to choose from - while sometimes a mess of random button pushing to get the right combo - is fun as well.
VERDICT: I still highly enjoyed the game. There are many aspects to it that make for a great experience. However, with the combined frenzy of irritating enemies that become more of a hassle and an annoyance than a challenge, and the numerous bugs, glitches and aspects that could really use some more work, I sometimes wonder if it was worth it. Ah, fuck it, I just love flying around Manhattan wreaking havoc. (I think I'm going to buy inFamous and see how it is. I heard that is a beautiful game)