FesterSilently
March 31st, 2011, 10:56 PM
Well, as I've been buried with finishing the game the past few days, I guess there's no better place than here to offer up my initial bile...I mean, vitriol...I mean, anger...I mean, thoughts.
Strap in, y'all.
I'm gonna preface this by saying, It Is A Good Game. Probably the best (looking) game for current consoles yet. But on the PC? Not a great game. Not at ALL Crysis 1. In fact, this takes the improvements/debasements from the Dragon Age 1/Dragon Age 2 debacle, and increases the gap between the sequel and it's original a hundredfold.
Interface with suit? Better. I LOVE the fluidity of the suit now. Actual suit functions? Much more streamlined and easier (with both good and bad connotations.) Graphics engine? Smooth, beautiful and...well, some other warm adjective.
But at it's heart, it's a just generic shooter with a nice engine and a Nano-Suit. The last half of which is goddamned Medal of Duty(tm) with a Nano-Suit.
I was in New York? Yeah...kinda. Here and there. But not so's you'd really remember. (Native Nor'easter, and liver in New York now and again; I didn't really get a sense of New York nostalgia playing this game, as others have said.)
****STOP HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT (minor) SPOILERS****
Awesome stealthy, tactical shooter, you say? Yeah, well...about halfway (?) through the game, you meet up with your old Marine unit (the guys from the submarine in the opening cut-scene), and the game becomes Call of Fucking Honor.
"RUN, ALCATRAZ!"
"COVER ME!"
"SHOOT THOSE MOTHERFUCKING ALIENS!"
"RUN!"
"RUN, MOTHERFUCKER!"
"SHOOT!"
"RUN!"
"WATCH OUT - INCOMING!"
"SHOOT...RUN...FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"
But...but...I have a Nano-suit, fer Chrissakes - I can be stealthy and take these guys out from behind and stuff and be a LITTLE bit tactical about all this and...ah, nevermind. *sigh*
And the sheer AMOUNT of interactive and non-interactive in-engine cut-scenes? Deplorable. I would venture to guess that approximately an eighth of the game was not played by me, but, rather, by cut-scenes. In point of fact, there was one part where, after slaughtering over seventy-one guys (I started counting a wee bit into the map) to get to a particular mini-boss, healing and gearing up and emotionally readying myself to charge through the door and start this epic battle with said mini-boss...I KICK the door in and aim in on him...AND a fucking NON-INTERACTIVE FUCKING CUT-SCENE takes me out of the action, and I watch as the STUPID FUCKING GAME KILLS THE BOSS FOR ME.
End cut scene.
What. The. FUCK?
Then there are the cut-scenes that I ASSUMED were just wrapping up a level, where you're: falling from a cliff, falling from a plane, falling from the top of a tower or building, dying from some suit overload...whatever...to your apparent death - until the next map loads. When, as I'm sitting watching this end-of-map snuff film, starring ME, the screen suddenly goes RED and says "Do You Want To Load Last Save"?
Um, excuse me...WHAT?
I was watching a wonderful, relaxing cut-scene after clearing that exciting level, NO?
"Well, yes, but in the VERY last second of that falling-to-your-death scene, we told you to "PRESS F" to grab hold of something. So you could live. But you were stupid and ignored us, so now you're dead. Idiot."
Really? (Is this some console trope of which I was previously unaware?)
And what the fuck is with enemies coming (seemingly endlessly) in WAVES? I had flashbacks of trudging through Dragon Age 2 with these unending waves of bad guys. Now don't misunderstand - you can shoot who you need to shoot, sneak past who you need to sneak past, and make your way to whatever your goal is on a given map, but if you're (like me) a completist and want to be sure you've killed ALLL the baddies on the map...you're gonna be in for a surprise.
And before anyone jumps on my head and says "Well, if you aggro-ed them, then of course they're gonna pop a flare and spawn in more baddies." True. But I'd thought of that, and, after my first completion of the game, started again (with all my bonuses/abilities carried over) and ran through to a particularly nasty re-spawning area that I remembered from my first go-round: that pier you infiltrate to find, and destroy, Gould's computer(s): I had all my "suit energy" and mobility suit bonuses, so I could stay stealthed basically the entire time, and take out the entire map (of enemies) without ever being seen or discovered or aggro'ing anyone (and, in so doing, not getting a flare popped on my ass). So I had my silenced Scarab, my extraextra Stealth energy (from my purchased suit bonuses), and I very methodically (headshiots) took out everyone I could see on the pier (from my initial perch in the warehouse). About a dozen-and-a-half guys, all told.
Then I jumped down to the wee shack below and replenished my ammo. Then I worked my way (slowly) up the street, capping baddies as they popped up, all the time stealthed; pulling way back to cover whenever I needed to recharge. Another two dozen guys appeared from that wee shack in the center of the pier (although how two dozen guys could've fit in there is, frankly, beyond my imagining).
I finally got to the far warehouse (in which was ensconced Gould's computer[s]). About half-a-dozen baddies came out of there.
Now BEFORE I went into that final warehouse, I decided to double-back and make sure I didn't miss even one baddie, just for completeness' sake.
AND THERE WERE THE SAME AMOUNT OF GUYS PATROLLING AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MAP AS WHEN I STARTED THE LEVEL!
So I killed them. Silently. Never popped a flare. Continued my slow progress back to the target warehouse. Paused. Decided to try my luck and go back to the beginning of the map again...and guess what?
Yup.
More insta-spawn baddies.
I did this for well over an hour; probably...ten iterations, same result. Infinite bad guys.
Yup. Definitely a highbrow, immersive and believable mechanic at work THERE.
Finally, be warned - there are at least two areas that I can remember - areas that you simply CANNOT fight/sneak through: you just have to RUN FOR YOUR LIFE and dodge the five-thousand aliens/soldiers/whatever in the area and get to the map change marker. Seriously, Anonymous Developer Guy? So...you basically designed and rendered this ENTIRE map level so I could run through at full speed and not interact with, not enjoy, not soak in the visual glory of your creation AT ALL?
*sigh*
Again - it is by NO means a bad game. It is fun and BEAUTIFUL game and...well, it's a great way to shoot off a LOT of (virtual) rounds in a cool suit. But if you were looking for the openness, tactical strategy or slow thoughtfulness of the original Crysis...look elsewhere, friends.
Me - I'm'a run through the original Crysis and possibly the original Deus Ex to get this half-assed taste out of my mouth.
Peace, y'all,
Fester
Strap in, y'all.
I'm gonna preface this by saying, It Is A Good Game. Probably the best (looking) game for current consoles yet. But on the PC? Not a great game. Not at ALL Crysis 1. In fact, this takes the improvements/debasements from the Dragon Age 1/Dragon Age 2 debacle, and increases the gap between the sequel and it's original a hundredfold.
Interface with suit? Better. I LOVE the fluidity of the suit now. Actual suit functions? Much more streamlined and easier (with both good and bad connotations.) Graphics engine? Smooth, beautiful and...well, some other warm adjective.
But at it's heart, it's a just generic shooter with a nice engine and a Nano-Suit. The last half of which is goddamned Medal of Duty(tm) with a Nano-Suit.
I was in New York? Yeah...kinda. Here and there. But not so's you'd really remember. (Native Nor'easter, and liver in New York now and again; I didn't really get a sense of New York nostalgia playing this game, as others have said.)
****STOP HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT (minor) SPOILERS****
Awesome stealthy, tactical shooter, you say? Yeah, well...about halfway (?) through the game, you meet up with your old Marine unit (the guys from the submarine in the opening cut-scene), and the game becomes Call of Fucking Honor.
"RUN, ALCATRAZ!"
"COVER ME!"
"SHOOT THOSE MOTHERFUCKING ALIENS!"
"RUN!"
"RUN, MOTHERFUCKER!"
"SHOOT!"
"RUN!"
"WATCH OUT - INCOMING!"
"SHOOT...RUN...FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"
But...but...I have a Nano-suit, fer Chrissakes - I can be stealthy and take these guys out from behind and stuff and be a LITTLE bit tactical about all this and...ah, nevermind. *sigh*
And the sheer AMOUNT of interactive and non-interactive in-engine cut-scenes? Deplorable. I would venture to guess that approximately an eighth of the game was not played by me, but, rather, by cut-scenes. In point of fact, there was one part where, after slaughtering over seventy-one guys (I started counting a wee bit into the map) to get to a particular mini-boss, healing and gearing up and emotionally readying myself to charge through the door and start this epic battle with said mini-boss...I KICK the door in and aim in on him...AND a fucking NON-INTERACTIVE FUCKING CUT-SCENE takes me out of the action, and I watch as the STUPID FUCKING GAME KILLS THE BOSS FOR ME.
End cut scene.
What. The. FUCK?
Then there are the cut-scenes that I ASSUMED were just wrapping up a level, where you're: falling from a cliff, falling from a plane, falling from the top of a tower or building, dying from some suit overload...whatever...to your apparent death - until the next map loads. When, as I'm sitting watching this end-of-map snuff film, starring ME, the screen suddenly goes RED and says "Do You Want To Load Last Save"?
Um, excuse me...WHAT?
I was watching a wonderful, relaxing cut-scene after clearing that exciting level, NO?
"Well, yes, but in the VERY last second of that falling-to-your-death scene, we told you to "PRESS F" to grab hold of something. So you could live. But you were stupid and ignored us, so now you're dead. Idiot."
Really? (Is this some console trope of which I was previously unaware?)
And what the fuck is with enemies coming (seemingly endlessly) in WAVES? I had flashbacks of trudging through Dragon Age 2 with these unending waves of bad guys. Now don't misunderstand - you can shoot who you need to shoot, sneak past who you need to sneak past, and make your way to whatever your goal is on a given map, but if you're (like me) a completist and want to be sure you've killed ALLL the baddies on the map...you're gonna be in for a surprise.
And before anyone jumps on my head and says "Well, if you aggro-ed them, then of course they're gonna pop a flare and spawn in more baddies." True. But I'd thought of that, and, after my first completion of the game, started again (with all my bonuses/abilities carried over) and ran through to a particularly nasty re-spawning area that I remembered from my first go-round: that pier you infiltrate to find, and destroy, Gould's computer(s): I had all my "suit energy" and mobility suit bonuses, so I could stay stealthed basically the entire time, and take out the entire map (of enemies) without ever being seen or discovered or aggro'ing anyone (and, in so doing, not getting a flare popped on my ass). So I had my silenced Scarab, my extraextra Stealth energy (from my purchased suit bonuses), and I very methodically (headshiots) took out everyone I could see on the pier (from my initial perch in the warehouse). About a dozen-and-a-half guys, all told.
Then I jumped down to the wee shack below and replenished my ammo. Then I worked my way (slowly) up the street, capping baddies as they popped up, all the time stealthed; pulling way back to cover whenever I needed to recharge. Another two dozen guys appeared from that wee shack in the center of the pier (although how two dozen guys could've fit in there is, frankly, beyond my imagining).
I finally got to the far warehouse (in which was ensconced Gould's computer[s]). About half-a-dozen baddies came out of there.
Now BEFORE I went into that final warehouse, I decided to double-back and make sure I didn't miss even one baddie, just for completeness' sake.
AND THERE WERE THE SAME AMOUNT OF GUYS PATROLLING AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MAP AS WHEN I STARTED THE LEVEL!
So I killed them. Silently. Never popped a flare. Continued my slow progress back to the target warehouse. Paused. Decided to try my luck and go back to the beginning of the map again...and guess what?
Yup.
More insta-spawn baddies.
I did this for well over an hour; probably...ten iterations, same result. Infinite bad guys.
Yup. Definitely a highbrow, immersive and believable mechanic at work THERE.
Finally, be warned - there are at least two areas that I can remember - areas that you simply CANNOT fight/sneak through: you just have to RUN FOR YOUR LIFE and dodge the five-thousand aliens/soldiers/whatever in the area and get to the map change marker. Seriously, Anonymous Developer Guy? So...you basically designed and rendered this ENTIRE map level so I could run through at full speed and not interact with, not enjoy, not soak in the visual glory of your creation AT ALL?
*sigh*
Again - it is by NO means a bad game. It is fun and BEAUTIFUL game and...well, it's a great way to shoot off a LOT of (virtual) rounds in a cool suit. But if you were looking for the openness, tactical strategy or slow thoughtfulness of the original Crysis...look elsewhere, friends.
Me - I'm'a run through the original Crysis and possibly the original Deus Ex to get this half-assed taste out of my mouth.
Peace, y'all,
Fester