[quote name='clok1966']so, out to day (im loading now on steam... and at work for 4 more hours!) hows it play? somebody must be checking it out. Dang just DL BFBC2 last night, and this today, and still havent beat AvP..... so much gameing goodness (and STEAM IS LEGAL CRACK!).[/QUOTE]
So much to love, so much to hate. Sombody mentioned STALKER, yes this game is alot like that, with a little FEAR mixed it. This is long, most likley boring, and only opinion (mine) after about 5 hours of gameplay. And yes, I'm at work and bored, thats why its so long.. cant do anything but read forums.
The game has great envroments, fair voice acting, some pretty good scripted events (so far) that tell the games story pretty well. As far as look/story/prestintation go, I like it and think they did a pretty good job.
Ammo is money so to speak, and is also, err, Ammo. Bullets made before the bombs are money (and suposed to be better) they show up ingame as shiny and they lay all over in random spots (strange) but are also on people you kill and loot. Nice touch that you can actually see the clips on the belts and vests of the guys you loot. You will need to search all the dead bodies you find.. AMMO is like water in a desert in this game. 1 pre bomb bullit is worth 2-3-5 "homemade" bullets depending on which type of bullet. I'm not sure but I would guess they also do more damage?
The game is dark, and when outside its all gray/white nuke winter like. Very dreary. it also makes for some pretty jumpy moments as things blend in really well. When you start and fight the first mobs (monsters) they take quite a few shots to kill and you are informed they are the "weak" easy ones. And yes, its pretty true. 2 point blank shotgun blasts will kill most mobs, but people, not so much. The game is pretty unforgiving for the standard FPS player, spray and pray wont work, ammo is just to valueble to waste. And sometimes (early in game) its really easy to run out as you are gaugeing what it takes to kill stuff and are pumping a few extra shots in here and there. The game also rewards stealth, as there is no reason to kill anything (yet) if you can sneak by. You will most likley use as much ammo as the corpse yields if you shoot it (and almost all humans have friends) and mobs do not carry ammo. SO the game seems to push a little towards stealth.
Good thing, this game does stealth well, the dark locals play strong to sneaking around. There are alot fo tripwire traps, some that kill you with objects and then as simple as dangling tin cans. And as I said, stelath is good in this game.. sneaking around as long as you dont make noise and stick to shadows works well. BUT.. the ground is littered with broken glass (well crunchy stuff) tin can traps, boxes that make noise when bumped into etc.. And this game inst like othere stelath games where a noise will alert people close to you.... you step on glass, they know your out there...if they find you, you deal with um all, not the just the ones close to you.. Once your spotted they dont seem to give up.. but if you make noise and can avoid um long enouhg they seem to quit looking. Honeslty of all the stealth games this one works pretty well, maybe a little more real then most i have played. Up to you if you like that.
gas masks... my hate part of game. They have canisters that last 15 minutes (wristwatch timer so you alwasy know when its out), and from what i see you have to wear them at all times Outside. You can carry extra canisters (filters) and you can rob corpses of them (just think, a dead rotting corpse, pulling that mask off the rotting face, good stuff!) but not all corpse will have a mask. but the problem is, when you first get a mask its like a real mask, the edges blur your vision, and even in its "best" shape it still has bad spots in your field of vision. Then you go fight somthing and it hits you, your mask gets more and more damaged, and harder to see out of. Well you cna alwasy get a new mask.. well not always, somtimes outside you gotta live with that mask covering 50-60% of your vision for quite a stretch of gameplay. I like the idea, and its exucuted well, but its one of those ideas that doesnt translate into fun gameplay. Outside the mobs normally come in bunchs, your weak (and inacurate) weapons mean you cant shoot stuff at to far a distance as you will waste to much ammo. SO you need it to get closer, well in packs that means alot of close fighting and you taking damge (no big deal, you heal slowely with time out of combat, so you live throuhg the fight, you are good) well damage means blood in vision.. guns mean smoke from shells.. you stack bad mask/blood/smoke and 4 mobs on all sides of you, horribly long reloads, and combat can be really hard.. I know the mask adds the urgency to get back into the underground, but they give you a stealth game and then make you rush (kinda not part of stealth).. just not a part of game I like, I'm sure some will love the challange. Also teh masks need to be used sometimes inside.. problem is it seems that "smoke" areas sometimes need it.. i havent seen a way to tell untill i actualy walk in and take dmage. there is Green smoke, maybe this is only type that harms? not sure yet.
My other gripe would be the "object" missions. There is one whre you need to blow up a tunnel and close a airlock.. simple enough, you need to find bomb to blow up tunnel, it shows as a glowing/flashing item not bright but noticble in a dark area. But where is tunnel? again, not to hard, you have a actual clipboard with a paper that shows your objectives and a compass on it too, problem is to use it you have to put away gun, and its real time. This is a interesting gameplay idea that requires you to think a bit more (so most will hate it..) you cant just look anytime, you just get a genreal idea where you want to go and then get that gun back out as you will most likley need it alot more then clipboard. so i figure where the bomb should go (sorta) i get to a point in map where there is a never ending supply of mobs.. I cant look at clipboard to see where to go (I'm in right spot but dont know it).. im in a room with fires so the whole room is flickering... so the SMALL flashing/glowing spot for bomb is really hard to see, it blends in with teh flickering pretty good when your fighting mobs, reloading and just trying to stay alive. While I like the "we are not spoon feeding you the location, you need to actually look a little" play style.. the VERY FIRST time you give me the object flashy spot, dont make it a edge of your seat fight.. give me a simple none game changing primer so I know what I'm looking for. many will figure this out right away, I didnt. I died at the never ending supply of mobs 4-5 times wandering back and forth. I was close to giving up (I dont use spoiler sites, im a weirdo that way). the tak on that I need a gasmask in this area.. its cracked, im bloody, there is gunsmoke in air, non stop mobs.. i cant look at clipboard to know Im in right area, i cant see glow spot becuase of all the above and the fire flicker....Now that I figured it out.. its kinda cool, but when I did it, hated it.
Then the darkness. this is a game where a gamma setup tool would be nice. I have hit areas where I cant see at all (where I walk) so i cant tell if its a board over a pit or if its a pit...I'm not sure if my gamma is to dark ...I know i can crank it up and see it all easy.. but is that the way its spose to be.. i "cheat" to do it? Alot of old games with dark areas had a gamma tool so you had it where the game wanted it.
Guns seem overly weak to start. The starter mobs take 2 point blank shots from a shotgun, and 3-4 of you shot from any distance.. and with ammo so important, you almost have to wait till its next to you. The starter shotgun reloads painfully slow... (but looks pretty cool, like it should , a homade shotgun), the starter machinegun also loads slow, get a cup of coffee slow. All this adds up to some real thought being put into each shot, and kills the "reload after 2 shot" syndrome many of us get (i have it bad) from games like L4D and other online shooters where reloading is almost sp[lit second. I like how its forceing me to be a better shot and player (spray and pray wont work... so many "normal" FPS fans just wont like this game).It really does make you think about how you shoot, waht you shoot and when you shoot.. but its a hard concept to grasp after the games most of us FPS players have been playing. SO you gotta get close to use ammo (and guns ) effectivly at the start.. But there in lays the problem. Mobs seldom come in less then 3-4, alot of times more. your shotgun holds 2 shots (one kill)... your machine gun holds enouhg rounds to kill 2... that leaves 2-3 that beat the living bejeezes out of you while you reaload (feels like i mined the brass, ground the powder, and packed the shell.. takes about the same time). they are making your mask take dmage, your vision gets bloody and ya its really hard to see... Again, interesting gameplay mechanic.. and right now its love/hate.. gotta admit it makes battles intense.
With all that said (way to much) I like the game alot.. may not sound like it, but I do.. its got some real problems (what game doesnt) its already lasted longer then MW2 single player by about 2 hours.. and the map on load screens makes me think im maybe 1/10 or 1/8th through it maybe... As its the start of game and I feel battles are challangeing... I'm sure i have many hours left of gameplay as it gets harder.
This is not a traditional FPS... as the shooter part isnt the main part really.. I guess it could be for the hardcore.. but its more Stealth as the guns just dont feel like "normal" FPS guns.. they are to weak, ammo is to valuable, and killing a human can yield more ammo, generaly about the same ammount it took to kill him.. most Humans have friends.. so you will be fighting more then one.. and that means in intense fire fights your ammo use will not be "optimal" and you may just end up with less then you started with.. Stealth by and you have all your ammo, any you see laying around too.. the game sems to reward stealth more then shooting.. at least to me.