Posted March 28, 2009
Well.... mixed feelings on this one.
The game is good enough, the story is interesting and fun, some of the characters are very well thought out - others not so much.
Intrigue and plots and all that. Definitely a well thought out game with a solid story.
The combination of stealth and action, both fighting and racing around, is a good mix and the game can be difficult at times, but never so bad that you actually get stuck for prolonged period of time.
The camera option is a fun little gimmick for earning money as well, and provides a nice twist.
The combat is basically okay , but it does lack diversity and options in my book. Fast click, slow click or "power load up" the weapon when in melee makes combat little more then a click fest. Hovercraft combat is pretty much the same - fast click or power up.
However - and in my book it is a huge however.
The controls and especially camera is atrocious. It causes unneeded frustrations, especially when sitting on a PC with a keyboard+mouse control combination.
A lot of the time the camera can not be moved, causing problems when you have to navigate either fast between obstacles and/or enemies - or sneak around trying not be be seen.
It just feel like a lazy port to the PC from a console, because you can clearly feel the limitations of the consoles controls even when playing on PC.
Another annoyance factor is with the stealth aspect. It is something which plagues most stealth games, but it is also in here. 2 enemies can look at each other turn around for a moment allowing you to take out one. The remaining one will then look to face his now missing comrade and - lo and behold - not notice something is missing.
Another thing which annoys me is the save point system. You can only save in specific terminals - sure enough they are littered somewhat around the maps, but it is a stupid limitation. At least on death you'll respawn a bit prior to the fight, but it can still be frustrating that you do not decide when to save.
Also a thing which annoys me is the inventory system and how I'm keep being told what a specific item does even though I pick up the hundred of it. Yes, I heard it the first time.
Lastly - I am not a huge fan of the graphical style. The human and alien characters are well made and fits together nicely, but then you get humanoid pigs, cats, rhinos and what not - all in a Japanees graphical style. Not my cup of tea, but that is of course a subjective opinion. (like anything else here).
Had the camera been much more flexible and had the controls been more responsive (likely due to camera limitations), then this game would have scored a solid 4 on story and game play alone.
But as "interesting" as the game is - those things do detract so much in my own enjoyment - that the game doesn't IMO deserve more then 2/5 on the PC (on a console, I'd properly score it higher).
The game is solid, but the surrounding circumstances bring it down from its true potential.
The game is good enough, the story is interesting and fun, some of the characters are very well thought out - others not so much.
Intrigue and plots and all that. Definitely a well thought out game with a solid story.
The combination of stealth and action, both fighting and racing around, is a good mix and the game can be difficult at times, but never so bad that you actually get stuck for prolonged period of time.
The camera option is a fun little gimmick for earning money as well, and provides a nice twist.
The combat is basically okay , but it does lack diversity and options in my book. Fast click, slow click or "power load up" the weapon when in melee makes combat little more then a click fest. Hovercraft combat is pretty much the same - fast click or power up.
However - and in my book it is a huge however.
The controls and especially camera is atrocious. It causes unneeded frustrations, especially when sitting on a PC with a keyboard+mouse control combination.
A lot of the time the camera can not be moved, causing problems when you have to navigate either fast between obstacles and/or enemies - or sneak around trying not be be seen.
It just feel like a lazy port to the PC from a console, because you can clearly feel the limitations of the consoles controls even when playing on PC.
Another annoyance factor is with the stealth aspect. It is something which plagues most stealth games, but it is also in here. 2 enemies can look at each other turn around for a moment allowing you to take out one. The remaining one will then look to face his now missing comrade and - lo and behold - not notice something is missing.
Another thing which annoys me is the save point system. You can only save in specific terminals - sure enough they are littered somewhat around the maps, but it is a stupid limitation. At least on death you'll respawn a bit prior to the fight, but it can still be frustrating that you do not decide when to save.
Also a thing which annoys me is the inventory system and how I'm keep being told what a specific item does even though I pick up the hundred of it. Yes, I heard it the first time.
Lastly - I am not a huge fan of the graphical style. The human and alien characters are well made and fits together nicely, but then you get humanoid pigs, cats, rhinos and what not - all in a Japanees graphical style. Not my cup of tea, but that is of course a subjective opinion. (like anything else here).
Had the camera been much more flexible and had the controls been more responsive (likely due to camera limitations), then this game would have scored a solid 4 on story and game play alone.
But as "interesting" as the game is - those things do detract so much in my own enjoyment - that the game doesn't IMO deserve more then 2/5 on the PC (on a console, I'd properly score it higher).
The game is solid, but the surrounding circumstances bring it down from its true potential.