Monday 22 December, 2014

I could have sworn I already wrote about this, but there's nothing in the DB so I guess I've been thinking about writing this entry SO MUCH that I tricked my mind into thinking I had actually written it?

I picked this up for $2 or something really low like that. So, I had low expectations (can I get a few hours of fun?) and I remembered the buzz about this game from (many) years ago that, in a nutshell, said the game was broken and flawed but that everyone was right to have been really excited about it.

Truth is the game is really wonky in so many ways (controles, collisions, etc.) BUT it is such a compelling idea that almost works AND the world is really fun and intriguing. I'm trying to figure out how to best describe it: it's the rockeeter taking place in an alternate dimension reached via the bermuda triangle with pulpy action, aliens, shooting, blasting, and flying. There is SO much there that is fun and sounds fun as well.

I played all the way through Episode 1 (there are three in all) and only quit due to a really frustrating moment with a friend's AI (more on that later).

What made this game special for me, even if it doesn't quite work (control issues mostly) is how it combines two scales of game: the cover-based shooting bits (that really work) + flying around with a rocket pack (mostly works). In most games you can do one or the other, but never really both at the same time. Here, there are moments when you can do either. It took me a while to realize this - I was in the middle of a firefight with some alien beasties crouching behind some rocks or something when I realized I could just take off and fly somewhere else.

Whoah! It worked - sort of. I could definitely fly elsewhere, landing is tricky, but I could really fly over the enemies to my goal - so mission design was a bit wonky. But the feeling of freedom there was exhilarating!
That's when I realized this was a very different kind of game in it's concept. Not fully realized or implemented and all the rest. But such an exciting idea!

As for why I've stopped playing? I reached a point where I'm supposed to protect another dude and he just keeps on walking into enemy fire and dying. I haven't been able to figure out the best strategy for me to follow and I just got frustrated. Some times he dies really quickly, other times he seems to last longer. So, I gave up and decided to move along to the next thing.

This sounds similar to Vanquish. Did you ever play that? It's a third-person shooter with cover and rocket boosters. Instead of flying, you turn on your rocket boosters and slide around the environment, very fast. So you can slide from cover to cover, slide to close in on enemies, slide circles around them...If I remember, it also had some sort of bullet time too, so you could slide toward an enemy, enter slo-mo, shoot him, exit slo-mo, continue sliding to cover. I still mark Vanquish as one of the best action games I've ever played.

Haven't played it but it's on my download queue (it was a free PSN game a while back). Edge magazine wrote wonders of it not too long ago which made me curious.