Never pre-order, they said. After the mess with SimCity it's madness to pre-order before the reviews are out (and the inevitable sales).
But with Bioshock Infinite I just couldn't wait - I was so confident that the game would be great and I just had to have it on release day. Even if the reviews were mediocre (they aren't) I would still have wanted to see for myself the game we've been waiting so long for.
The fact that GMG had such a good deal on made it a no-brainer for me.
First impressions? I'm not disappointed. Far from it.
I've played 3 or 4 hours - although I think I'm at about the point that most of the reviews describe as being "after the first hour" (I'm sneaking around and exploring everything, just like in the original)
The main thing for me is that it still feels like Bioshock. The setting is VERY different, but the creepy and surreal sense of danger, the period music (which somehow manages to be creepy too) give it the same atmosphere. I spent the first hour expecting to be attacked by splicers any second!
Maybe the start will be a little too slow paced for players who aren't already fans of the series - but I'm sure your average COD player would race through it in 5 minutes anyway (which would completely miss the point IMNSHO)
The mechanics do seem improved on the original; it's more a slick FPS with precise and accurate targeting (using mouse and keyboard, natch). XBox controller does work OK too, but isn't precise and does seem to rely a little more on auto-targeting.
I'm particularly pleased that the action on a rail, which we've seen right since the first trailer 2(?3?) years ago isn't on rails - you do have full control and it works very well.
Obviously it's too soon to tell whether the plot will have the same depth, twists or lasting impact as the original (and it would be impossible to talk about without spoilers anyway) but so far I'm very happy indeed.
Wednesday 27 March 2013
Saturday 23 March 2013
The Witcher 2
Can't decide whether I liked The Witcher 2 more or less than the first in the series.
It's slicker and more focussed; while there are still plenty of fetch quests there was less aimless wandering about - I never felt like ALL my quests were at a dead-end (for more than a few minutes).
That said, the side quests didn't quite gel so well with the plot as the first game - there were definitely more quests that felt like an irrelevant (and unrealistic) distraction from the world-shaking events of the main story.
The simplification to the combat was probably for the better, I didn't miss the QTEs, but I could probably have done with more choice of weapons - I kept the equipment for most of the game. Maybe I just missed something major!
I think my real issue with the game was the constant nagging feeling that I'd missed something important about the plot. Characters were doing and discussing things that didn't make sense, like I was missing background knowledge. Playing a character with amnesia, this is probably realistic, but did give me a few "huh? What?!" moments.
Of course, the REAL reason I felt I was missing something was that I really was.
Near the end of Chapter 1, you make a critical decision under pressure and that completely changes the rest of the game - at least Chapter 2 has a completely different story, with different characters in a different location.
So you really do need to play the game twice (at least from a convenient save about 15 hours in) to get the full story. The decision I made was different to the majority consensus on-line; sounds like the choice I made had the better quests but was out of character for Geralt. I really didn't agree with that - I was happy with the choice I made - but maybe the story would have made more sense played the other way.
So I'm really torn about this.
In terms of player agency and meaningful choice it was great; to choose which side of a war to be on and for that to actually carry through the rest of the game is outstanding. Most games give you the illusion of choice then quickly force you back onto their pre-defined path, with perhaps just a few dialogue changes to reflect the decision. This was the real thing.
On the other hand, I'm kind of cheesed off that I have to play half the game again to get the whole story. I'm happy with the choices I made and the outcome - for better or worse, the story is told. I don't like having to retell the story.
I enjoyed the game and its mechanics, even playing straight after the first game, so (unusually for me) I am playing through again - which I guess is testament to how good it is.
At least... I was playing it again, until Bioshock Infinite was released... :-)
It's slicker and more focussed; while there are still plenty of fetch quests there was less aimless wandering about - I never felt like ALL my quests were at a dead-end (for more than a few minutes).
That said, the side quests didn't quite gel so well with the plot as the first game - there were definitely more quests that felt like an irrelevant (and unrealistic) distraction from the world-shaking events of the main story.
The simplification to the combat was probably for the better, I didn't miss the QTEs, but I could probably have done with more choice of weapons - I kept the equipment for most of the game. Maybe I just missed something major!
I think my real issue with the game was the constant nagging feeling that I'd missed something important about the plot. Characters were doing and discussing things that didn't make sense, like I was missing background knowledge. Playing a character with amnesia, this is probably realistic, but did give me a few "huh? What?!" moments.
Of course, the REAL reason I felt I was missing something was that I really was.
Near the end of Chapter 1, you make a critical decision under pressure and that completely changes the rest of the game - at least Chapter 2 has a completely different story, with different characters in a different location.
So you really do need to play the game twice (at least from a convenient save about 15 hours in) to get the full story. The decision I made was different to the majority consensus on-line; sounds like the choice I made had the better quests but was out of character for Geralt. I really didn't agree with that - I was happy with the choice I made - but maybe the story would have made more sense played the other way.
So I'm really torn about this.
In terms of player agency and meaningful choice it was great; to choose which side of a war to be on and for that to actually carry through the rest of the game is outstanding. Most games give you the illusion of choice then quickly force you back onto their pre-defined path, with perhaps just a few dialogue changes to reflect the decision. This was the real thing.
On the other hand, I'm kind of cheesed off that I have to play half the game again to get the whole story. I'm happy with the choices I made and the outcome - for better or worse, the story is told. I don't like having to retell the story.
I enjoyed the game and its mechanics, even playing straight after the first game, so (unusually for me) I am playing through again - which I guess is testament to how good it is.
At least... I was playing it again, until Bioshock Infinite was released... :-)
Friday 8 March 2013
The Witcher (Enhanced Edition)
This is how RPGs should be done.
A fairly big, open, world - but not so big and empty you feel like you're walking for ever.
A main plot-line that drives the game and carries on throughout, rather than just being an elongated side-quests.
Side quests that feel like they actually contribute something - some are interesting in their own right, otherwise actually contribute to the main story in unexpected ways.
Plenty to do, without overwhelming you with a huge number of meaningless side-quests.
OK - it's not perfect.
I could, personally, have lived without the in-game sex scenes. I understand this is close to the original books and some were important and relevant to the plot, but much of it just seemed a bit gratuitous.
The combat, being objective, was really just a long sequence of QTEs - but for that still felt more engaging and satisfying than Skyrim.
I suppose the key facts are I put almost 50 hours into The Witcher in less than 3 weeks (compared to around 120 over a year for Skyrim). Having finished it, I then went straight into the (bundled) DLC for another few hours and am now moving on to The Witcher 2 - Assassin of Kings.
It's pretty much unprecedented for me to bother with DLC at all and I usually need a fairly lengthy break before playing sequels.
It's probably close, but I think this has taken the title of my favourite fantasy RPG from Dragon Age: Origins. We'll see how the sequels (and Dark Souls) compare over the next few months :-)
A fairly big, open, world - but not so big and empty you feel like you're walking for ever.
A main plot-line that drives the game and carries on throughout, rather than just being an elongated side-quests.
Side quests that feel like they actually contribute something - some are interesting in their own right, otherwise actually contribute to the main story in unexpected ways.
Plenty to do, without overwhelming you with a huge number of meaningless side-quests.
OK - it's not perfect.
I could, personally, have lived without the in-game sex scenes. I understand this is close to the original books and some were important and relevant to the plot, but much of it just seemed a bit gratuitous.
The combat, being objective, was really just a long sequence of QTEs - but for that still felt more engaging and satisfying than Skyrim.
I suppose the key facts are I put almost 50 hours into The Witcher in less than 3 weeks (compared to around 120 over a year for Skyrim). Having finished it, I then went straight into the (bundled) DLC for another few hours and am now moving on to The Witcher 2 - Assassin of Kings.
It's pretty much unprecedented for me to bother with DLC at all and I usually need a fairly lengthy break before playing sequels.
It's probably close, but I think this has taken the title of my favourite fantasy RPG from Dragon Age: Origins. We'll see how the sequels (and Dark Souls) compare over the next few months :-)
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