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Post by Chema on Apr 16, 2024 15:25:41 GMT -5
Fair enough. But for what's worth, Resistance 3 can be played as a standalone game because it discards almost every plot element of the previous games (the only thing that matters is summarized in two minutes) and completely changes the settings and aesthetics. It might as well have been a reboot.
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Post by toei on Apr 17, 2024 15:05:43 GMT -5
Altered Beast, aka Project Altered Beast, PS2 (2005)
Straight from Sega's dark ages following the discontinuation of the Dreamcast, we have an attempt at bringing back a (much-maligned) '80s hit. Though sometimes described as a remake, this is really a sequel / reboot, as everything about it is new. The basic idea was certainly good. A big 3D brawler set in one large world made up of interconnected areas, in which you acquire DNA chips from bosses that allow you to transform into new beasts. Each beast has unique abilities used both for fighting and to access new parts of the map, including tons of optional areas, in a manner similar to Zelda or Metroivanias. Once you get the bird transformation, you can even fly above the town, with the sky acting as a small RPG-style overworld. The story is minimal, and told in short cutscenes (they literally range from 30 seconds to maybe 2 minutes) that generally trigger after boss fights. It's more or less Resident Evil, but with cyborgs, and animals turned into monsters rather than zombies. Dubious secret science project went wrong, etc.
This was a bad period for Sega games, and this one in particular was a joint development by their newly set-up Shanghai studio (also known as Sega of China) and a Japanese team, which probably didn't help matters. Following this game, Sega of China has mostly worked on ports and development support. So what went wrong?
-Bad cameras. -Bad controls. This is particularly egregious when swimming or flying and fighting at the same time. Some of those sequences demand unusual levels of patience. -No lock-on. It can be hard to hit enemies. Again, the bird is worst culprit, with its projectile attack being very tricky to use. The fish is nearly as bad. -Awful final boss with six phases, an insane difficulty spike designed to waste your time as much as possible.
Still, sometimes it's kind of cool. I like having some exploration with my beatin'em up. The Minotaur is fun to use - it can turn to steel to block almost all attacks temporarily and spit fire. Some of the boss designs are clever and act as action puzzles. Highlights include turning into a Wendigo to throw cars at an enormous mutated baby thing, or turning to steel just as an invincible panther lunges at you to knock it out so you can wail on it. I felt like there were too many bosses at times, though, slowing down your progress. There are tons of hidden paths. The basic mechanic of the gauge that drains out when in beast form, which you can replenish by killing enemies or by draining it out of weakened enemies in human form, provides some necessary tension so it doesn't get too monotonous. And the general game concept is dope. With more competent programmers and much more polish, this could have been really cool. I haven't played anything else quite like it. But it was too crudely made and too frustrating, too often, and that final battle was such unbelievable bullshit.
Final score: 5/10.
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Post by Ex on Apr 17, 2024 15:47:09 GMT -5
Sad that the end result turned out so crappy toei. I agree the premise on its face would make for an interesting game. I like the idea of having multiple beast forms to transform between, and use those forms to access new areas of a segmented hub world. With brawler combat on top, yeah cool stuff. But it sounds like the core development team were too green for such a project, and likely communication issues between the two studios involved. Interesting that Europe and Australia got this one in English but no North America release, huh. Guess Sega of America said "we'll pass, thanks".
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Post by Sarge on Apr 17, 2024 16:24:46 GMT -5
I honestly hate how the original Altered Beast gets so much crap now. I don't think it's amazing or anything, but it's good, simple fun. And it impressed the heck out of young me whenever I saw the cabinet, so they clearly did their job.
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Post by toei on Apr 17, 2024 16:59:08 GMT -5
Yeah, I like the original Altered Beast. It's just a very '80s, arcade-style game and people can't appreciate that anymore. Short and to the point. It would make a great set-up for a Metroidvania, though. I think with the different beasts and their abilities, it could be actually be a hit. They could even integrate shmup sequences with the Dragon, which is probably not something you see often in Metroidvanias. Ex Funny enough, Sega of America appears in the end credits after Sega of Europe, I think in the Localization section. So they were going to release it at first. But I don't fault them for passing on it. It's probably the most interesting 5/10 I've played, though. Lots of good ideas, but unfortunately lots of deep flaws in the execution. After you beat them game, you unlock the "Elevator of Doom", which is a straight beat-'em-up mode in which you pick a transformation first and then have to fight either 20 or 40 enemies per floor, for 8 floors. I did it with the Wendigo and the Minotaur, and it was pretty fun. The Minotaur has this combo where it hits with its horns twice, then you can charge up an explosion that hits everyone around (the longer you hold, the more damage it does - most of the time it's more practical to trigger it right away, though). This charges up your Special Attack gauge really fast, so you can then follow that with fire-breathing, making short work of these monsters. It really feels like you're a powerful beast. The Minotaur is the most successfully realized part of the game, but he's the next-to-last transformation you get. Even then, his charge (which can hit enemies or break open cracked walls) takes forever to start, so he still has some issues. If you beat all the elevator levels there's a boss and then you can unlock the Grizzly I think, but that would mean doing it with the weak, shitty bird and the Merman, and I don't see that happening.
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Post by Chema on Apr 19, 2024 15:49:03 GMT -5
Halo Reach on the Series X.
Well, it was more Halo. My thoughts are the same as with every other game in the franchise: there are strong gameplay mechanics, but nowadays they are not as impressive as they might have been when it released originally. Like every other Halo, I have no idea what the story is about and I'm glad it doesn't matter.
The Master Chief Collection has an awful sound mix, by the way. The dialogue is buried under the music and sound effects. I wonder if they hired Cristopher Nolan's audio team.
The 4K and 60fps update looks and feels great, though.
Overall, Halo Reach is a strong 7/10. Entertaining enough for me to finish it, but nothing memorable or special.
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Post by Xeogred on Apr 19, 2024 17:11:47 GMT -5
Halo Reach is where you can clearly see them trying to go a bit more in the Call of Duty direction story wise. I do appreciate that Reach made the Elites more intimidating again and stripped them from their English we hear in Halo 2-3. So they were just some menacing, highly skilled aliens again. The level design is more straightforward than past Halo's though and not as great. I loved it at release but yeah, last time I ran through Reach a few years ago with the rest of them, I thought it was just okay now myself.
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Post by Ex on Apr 21, 2024 23:20:35 GMT -5
Title: Gears of War: JudgmentGenre: third person cover shooter Platform: Xbox 360 Region release played: USA Year of release: 2013 Developer: People Can Fly Publisher: Microsoft Studios Graphics: 4/5 Audio: 3/5 Challenge: 3/5 Fun factor: 3/5 Premise: The last hurrah for Gears of War on the Xbox 360. This time Epic Games let another studio do most of the development; People Can Fly. The plot is a prequel to the original trilogy, based on a military trial because the protagonists disobeyed orders to save some soldiers. Game design focuses strongly on big open areas with loads of enemies, often via tower defense scenarios. Somehow this game cost $60,000,000.00 to develop?!; Embezzlement of War. +Very strong graphics (technically speaking) for Xbox 360. +That same ol' GoW split-screen co-op goodness. +Difficulty is better balanced than previous GoW entries. +This game knew when it was time to be done. +There's an unlockable GoW3 mini-campaign included. -Barely any innovation over previous GoW games. -Way too much tower defense for my tastes. -The few (two?) new weapons are not great. -Only one actual boss in the main campaign. -Squad dialogue not as humorous as earlier GoW entries. Conclusive thought: The verdict is Judgement's a bit of fluff for series fans craving a GoW snack. Ex's time to beat: 6 hours 30 minutes (beat co-op with my wife) Ex's rating: 7/10
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Post by Xeogred on Apr 21, 2024 23:26:58 GMT -5
-Only one actual boss in the main campaign. Ex's time to beat: 6 hours 30 minutes (beat co-op with my wife) Ex's rating: 7/10
Ah yes, this was very much probably the era when Western devs and journos said "boss battles should go the way of the dodo, gaming doesn't need them anymore".
Then they... Dark Souls happened. ' This looks like the highest score I've ever seen someone give Judgement. Never heard good things about this one. lol
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Post by Ex on Apr 21, 2024 23:33:24 GMT -5
Yeah GoW3 only really had 2 bosses, and then the next GoW (this one) has one real boss. Lame. But Judgment got a 79 on Metacritic, that's not too high over what I gave it. Keep in mind, I would only recommend this GoW to people who already enjoy GoW and like to play split-screen co-op. This is not a game I would have beaten solo. But it's pleasant co-op. And it does have strong graphics for its hardware.
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