pdenton on 16/10/2008 at 22:13
Oh god man, the tentacle in the trailer is about a thousand times bigger than what I'm talking about. In retrospect I think it was more of a mini boss.
I just killed a giant monster that burst and let a bunch of tiny spiders out. Gross.
Vulnerable? I've never seen a character get as brutally torn apart as in Dead Space. The sound is great. He chokes and pants when he's injured and when he's hurt the desperate limp is really quite affecting.
JohnnyTheWolf on 16/10/2008 at 23:08
Oh boy... that kinda sounds like The Thing videogame done right. And in space.
So, there's definitely nothing even remotely BS-ish in this game? Excellent news.
pdenton on 17/10/2008 at 07:17
Yep, these aliens reminded me a lot of Thing creatures.
I'm a little less than half way through and I gotta tell ya, the game keeps surprising me. The story is not as involving as I had hoped, and if you've seen (what I though was brilliant) Sunshine, and played Doom 3 and System Shock 2, you've already heard, seen, and essentially played this game before. Only DS has the best graphics and sound of any next-gen game. The weapons continue to amaze at their brutality (I just picked up the Ripper, which ejects and holds a saw blade...think gravity gun...and cuts through anything in its way) and the monsters continue to evolve.
I just really really really wished they hadn't gone the "religious fanatic in space" route. And that's in the trailer if you think it's a major spoiler. Here's to hoping something happens to make DS a bit more unique in the story department.
mothra on 17/10/2008 at 11:07
hmm, the sunshine comment makes me sad. one of the worst sci-fi movies ever. that's what you get if you think you can make tarkovsky-like sci-fi movies without ever leaving grammar school or understanding a book (not learning by heart)......
so any quicktime events yet ? or "shoot hightlighted" parts mini bosses ?
the eurogamer review certainly did not hold back with their criticism of the lost opportunities and reliance on cliched video game bosses for DS.
any PC review out yet ?
Scots Taffer on 17/10/2008 at 11:29
I think the Sunshine comment is a bit unfair, mothra, for what it's worth I reckon it's the movie equivalent of Indigo Prophecy. The entire third act is just batshit insane out of nowhere and sucks ass.
mothra on 17/10/2008 at 11:40
yeah, you are right, and of course it's subjective. If I enjoyed a movie and get reminded of it during a game it can be the atmosphere and pacing (not that bad in sunshine) or it can be the story, characters and visual design (not that good in sunshine) or a mix of it. funny thing is, sunshine for me is a "missed opportunity" movie with cheap b-movie scares at the end and c-movie acting throughout, much like the eurogamer preview sounded. I only get passionate about the things I "wanted" to care about, for e.g. Battlefield Earth I have no opinion whatsoever but sunshine certainly prompted me to "have" one.
I don't think that a "the thing" comparison can hold up too; yeah, the monsters were once humans and they transform into more monsters when shot (at least one I've seen in a trailer) but the thing had the additional horror of NPCs (hehe, other actors) that could already BE the thing without you knowing and the "overtaking" of the humans had no "grand plot" behind it (at least it isn't explained in the movie) while DS seems to have this "religion/alien intelligence marker" thing going.
so how does the weapon/armor upgrade play into the game ?
is it just a gimmick with insignificant upgrades ?
or can it turn some fights over into something totally different concerning tactics ?
pdenton on 17/10/2008 at 15:17
I'm a staunch atheist, so for me, Sunshine was damn near therapeutic: a crew of mostly Atheists trumping religious fanaticism and saving the world. Also, the idea of the sun as being god was fascinating to me. The third act is totally take it or leave it, for me though, it just became a physical manifestation of the theme running throughout the film. And the cinematography, oh the gorgeous cinematography. BUT, hey, like you said, subjective.
Back to DS:
There are no quick-time events, aside from tapping A to get the aliens off of you. The weapon and armor upgrades certainly help; the armor changes your physical appearance and improves mobility (it's also gold plated, which again reminded me of Sunshine). The flame thrower creates some of the best looking fire. Ever.
But the upgrades are nothing like System Shock 2. You can improve your telekinesis' range, your weapon's damage, etc, but it's not as varied as something like Deus Ex. It's a nice way to make the shooter a bit deeper, but it's more of a Bioshock sort of upgrade system. Your character doesn't change, but your skill set can.
FYI: I just ran through a level with asteroids tearing through the ship and it was awesome. This game is sick.
catbarf on 17/10/2008 at 19:35
So if there are only a handful of weapons, and the upgrades are superficial, then what sort of development does the game use? Skills? Abilities?
ZymeAddict on 17/10/2008 at 20:37
Quote Posted by pdenton
I'm a staunch atheist, so for me, Sunshine was damn near therapeutic: a crew of mostly Atheists trumping religious fanaticism and saving the world. Also, the idea of the sun as being god was fascinating to me. The third act is totally take it or leave it, for me though, it just became a physical manifestation of the theme running throughout the film. And the cinematography, oh the gorgeous cinematography. BUT, hey, like you said, subjective.
I've always found it interesting how Hollywood has to present religious characters as being bat-shit insane homicidal maniacs. I think that cliche is especially idiotic in the context of this particular film considering everyone is supposed to be super-high-level scientists (not exactly the most fertile ground for Al Quaeda-like craziness).
If they use that tired crap in this film too I think I'll pass on seeing it. I'm really fucking tired of that bullshit.
pdenton on 17/10/2008 at 21:22
The character in Sunshine you speak of finds God in the sun. And since he is leading the mission to re-ignite it, he sees himself, if the mission fails, as the last man alone with God. That idea fascinates him and sabotages the first mission to the sun. He's not just one dimensional. All of the characters experience what happens to him in some way.
