I think we're Alone (In The Dark) now. With added NSF56k!

Doronron · June 2008

Keep in mind, this game is a few years old, and they did a grainy film filter to give it the feel of a silent film, so...it's not going to look like shit, but it's no half life 2.

Play it in the dark, with headphones.

urahonky · June 2008

Oh I certainly Will. It's ~5 years old, so yeah I don't expect top of the line. I can deal with bad graphics, if the gameplay makes up for it. And it sounds like it does.

Doronron · June 2008

I certainly enjoyed the gameplay.

brynstar · June 2008

Satanic Jesus wrote: »

Ah. Sorry. My mistake. How come Europe is getting it earlier?

Because they didn't screwed on a release date for once. They got it this week.

Mr_Grinch · June 2008

I am now regretting my purchase. Buggy, annoying, frustrating, awful to control, stiff animation, horrible inventory.

It's such a shame because parts of the game are AMAZING. The building coming down around you at the start of the game is fantastic. It's just a shame the rest of the game really isn't up to much.

:EDIT::
Spoiler contains rant about third stage of game after the boos

Spoiler:

I feel better now.

urahonky · June 2008

Mr_Grinch, take a break, and come back to it.

Mr_Grinch · June 2008

I did it! Wahoo!

::Edit:: After playing for a bit my friend and I have realised the problem with the game.

It's shit.

That may sound more damning than it is. You see it might be better if it was just an awful game, but it's not. The scenery, the destruction, the puzzles and the fire...it's all incredibly cool and there are parts that can take your breath away. If the entire game was dreadful then it might actually be better, as it is there's some really good stuff in there which is wasted.

There are some nice clever puzzles too, for example:

Spoiler:

Some of the physics with the bodies are cool but by and large they're glitchy. The controls are awful and using objects is fiddly. You can't ACTUALLY hold an object and walk through a door at the same time. I had an axe and was trying to go through a door, each time he dropped the axe to open the door. Then you have to turn round (awkwardly), stumble for the axe, turn back around for the door, by which point it's closed on it's own.

It literally took me three attempts to walk through a door and still keep a hold of my axe.

Sadly I really couldn't recommend buying this game. A rental, sure, but it's not worth a full price purchase.

JoJoHoraHora · June 2008

Little question, why are all levels of the game except for the last unlocked from the start of the game? O_o

Seems like a weird decision.

Mr_Grinch · June 2008

Really? I hadn't noticed that at all!

Weird.

brynstar · June 2008

Thanks for the opinions Mr. Grinch. It's always disheartening to hear when good concepts are marred by poor execution. I'm looking forward to more impressions!

JoJo, I think that whole unlocked level thing was part of their "DVD style" presentation. The idea being that if you got stuck, or were replaying the game and only wanted to play specific moments, you could skip to the appropriate level.

It's kind of a weird idea.

Haikira · June 2008

I think i remember the developers saying something like, they wanted it to be like a movie DVD. Since you don't actually have to watch a movie once to unlock the chapters. Also, Didn't they say it was for people that maybe get stuck with certain puzzles?

EDIT - Damn, Beat'd by brynstar. I'm just too slow at making posts :oops:

B:L · June 2008

urahonky wrote: »

Doronron wrote: »

urahonky wrote: »

Doronron wrote: »

urahonky wrote: »

brynstar wrote: »

urahonky wrote: »

This game was made by the same people as Obscure II, so I have faith they can do it. The controls for that game were really solid.

With the Obscure devs doing the Wii/PS2 version, and all the crazy physics stuff in the Eden-developed 360 version, I'm kind of interested in both of them. I can't wait to see some more reviews as this game really has the chance to be something cool, in both forms.

EDIT: Urahonky, I would play a randomly generated survival horror. You could do it Diablo style, with randomly generated rooms connecting set piece areas together that would have bosses and story content. There's also the ability for easy DLC there if the company making it really wanted to milk their customers.

No kidding. How awesome would that be? You'd never be able to learn the structure of the place, which is half the fun in my opinion. The whole "where does this door lead" feeling needs to happen more often.

http://www.amazon.com/Nosferatu-The-Wrath-Of-Malichi/dp/B0000DC5TC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1213898087&sr=1-1

Nosferatu: This comes very close to what you want. What the Amazon page doesn't list is the fact that you've got a few hours real time to complete the quest. This was a blast for Halloween game night a couple years ago.

Dammit Don. I didn't need to spend more money this week!

You're welcome. Have fun saving the family.

I haven't looked at any screenshots of the game, but the concept is amazing. FPS, non-linear, and a randomly generated mansion? Bought'd.

Look at the publisher. Tri-Synergy.

I knew I've heard of that company before, so I clicked to see a list of their other games.

Take a look at the first game on their list.

I hope the Wii version of this is good.

brynstar · June 2008

No worries Haikira, that happens to me all the time.

I think the Wii version of this game is totally different since it came out of a different dev. The Obscure games aren't too buggy, so hopefully it will fare well. After Mr. Grinch's appraisal of the 360 version, I'm leaning more towards checking it out on Wii. It's a shame about the bugs because I got sucked in by all the physics demos.

Willeth · June 2008

Grinch - pretty much my exact opinion. There's so much cool stuff but it's just wrapped up in so much awfulness it's dragged down.

darleysam · June 2008

Tri-Synergy.. facepalm.jpg

Something Witty · June 2008

I think the game looks pretty good and I really like the music they've used in the trailers but I'm kind of apprehensive about it now that I've looked up some of the other games in the series.

2 and 3 had plots that involve things like zombie pirate gangsters and zombie cowboy outlaws, so I'm just worried about how the plot will turn out.

Also how can every game have the same lead character? Is he like immortal or something?

Haikira · June 2008

Ok, so i rented this out today. Just played the first few hours with friends, and i think we're all in agreement on this one. Its a pretty awesome game, but seriously flawed. I've encountered at least 10 bugs so far, and some are pretty awful. Also the controls couldn't be anymore unintuitive.

If your a pretty big survival horror fan, you should definitely check it out, but rent first.

Also, i really suck at driving...had to leave that part to my friends.

EDIT: Just thought I'd mention, its the 360 version I'm talking about.

Sorenson · June 2008

Soooo...how's the dev team's history of patching, if even existant?

Something Witty · June 2008

Man I really wish I could rent games where I live but unfortunately all I can do is buy them.

Alas.

Daemonion · June 2008

Anyone played it on the PC?

Mr_Grinch · June 2008

Haikira wrote: »

Ok, so i rented this out today. Just played the first few hours with friends, and i think we're all in agreement on this one. Its a pretty awesome game, but seriously flawed. I've encountered at least 10 bugs so far, and some are pretty awful. Also the controls couldn't be anymore unintuitive.

If your a pretty big survival horror fan, you should definitely check it out, but rent first.

Also, i really suck at driving...had to leave that part to my friends.

EDIT: Just thought I'd mention, its the 360 version I'm talking about.

Don't worry, it's not you sucking at the driving, it's more that the driving sucks (Although once you've got it down doing it all in one run, first time providing you don't hit any weird physics glitches, looks really quite impressive. Oh and except for the horrid pop up when you smash through that window!).

I'm still teetering on if I like the game or not, I'm sticking with it purely because some parts are awesome. If they beefed up the animation (it sucks), the script (it's pretty bad) and got rid of the physics glitches it would be a stunning game. If it had the animation/script/acting of uncharted then it would be perfect.

As it is I thoroughly intend to play through it and just put up with the incredibly frustrating bits.

Still a rent not a purchase though.

Haikira · June 2008

I was almost completely certain, the lead voice was from the same actor that done Max Payne. Pretty surprised when i looked it up, it wasn't.

Also, concerning the middle of episode 5.

Spoiler:

Renzo · June 2008

Haikira wrote: »

I was almost completely certain, the lead voice was from the same actor that done Max Payne. Pretty surprised when i looked it up, it wasn't.

Also, concerning the middle of episode 5.

Spoiler:

That part where you have to kill every monster before the gaurd opens the door, can go die in a fire (no pun intended, well maybe a little).I had like no supplies for that fight, so it got seriously tedious.

It's definitely the same voice actor. Nobody is credited for it on imdb or wikipedia, but it has to be the same guy. What does the manual say?

Haikira · June 2008

Renzo wrote: »

Haikira wrote: »

I was almost completely certain, the lead voice was from the same actor that done Max Payne. Pretty surprised when i looked it up, it wasn't.

Also, concerning the middle of episode 5.

Spoiler:

That part where you have to kill every monster before the gaurd opens the door, can go die in a fire (no pun intended, well maybe a little).I had like no supplies for that fight, so it got seriously tedious.

It's definitely the same voice actor. Nobody is credited for it on imdb or wikipedia, but it has to be the same guy. What does the manual say?

I only rented it out, so i couldn't check the manual

.

Going to make the final push to complete the game now, since i have to take it back tomorrow.

urahonky · June 2008

I'm going to be that guy that buys the Wii version and everyone waits for my impressions. Aren't I?

Haikira · June 2008

urahonky wrote: »

I'm going to be that guy that buys the Wii version and everyone waits for my impressions. Aren't I?

The canary? Yup, seems it.

Gyral · June 2008

As posted on the homepage, apparently there's some hullabaloo over the reviews of the game so far:

Shacknews
Aeropause

The short of it? Apparently some sites got (bought? downloaded?) early copies of the game so they could post reviews that were less than nice, so Atari is threatening legal action and whatnot.

Willeth · June 2008

Haikira wrote: »

urahonky wrote: »

I'm going to be that guy that buys the Wii version and everyone waits for my impressions. Aren't I?

The canary? Yup, seems it.

Oh bugger, I forgot to ask my co-worker what she thought.

Tomorrow!

jeddy lee · June 2008

urahonky wrote: »

I'm going to be that guy that buys the Wii version and everyone waits for my impressions. Aren't I?

Do it to it Honky, cuz I gotsta know!

urahonky · June 2008

It should be out tomorrow right? I'll pick it up at lunch and post impressions as soon as I can. If the controls suck ass I'll post them immediately.

B:L · June 2008

urahonky wrote: »

It should be out tomorrow right? I'll pick it up at lunch and post impressions as soon as I can. If the controls suck ass I'll post them immediately.

I'll join in on the reviewing. I'll pick up my Wii copy tomorrow (if GameCrazy gets it in) because hey, a free zippo lighter.

None of those "controversial" reviews were for the Wii version, right?

Fawst · June 2008

Where the hell is the demo?

randombattle · June 2008

Didn't you hear? Bad games don't get demos.

DarkPrimus · June 2008

I'll wait and hear if Wii or 360 is a better version, but I really doubt the Wii will have controls good enough to make up for the loss of graphical quality. I'm the last person to equate graphics to quality, but a horror game like this, I am more than willing to put up with controls that are a little clunky for a more atmospheric experience.

brynstar · June 2008

B:L wrote: »

urahonky wrote: »

It should be out tomorrow right? I'll pick it up at lunch and post impressions as soon as I can. If the controls suck ass I'll post them immediately.

I'll join in on the reviewing. I'll pick up my Wii copy tomorrow (if GameCrazy gets it in) because hey, a free zippo lighter.

None of those "controversial" reviews were for the Wii version, right?

That's correct, the Wii version was made by the Devs of the Obscure games.

Willeth · June 2008

Wii opinions!

my coworker wrote:

I got it on Saturday and haven't played it since. I was bitterly disappointed with it. It's riddled with bugs, the graphics are awful (really murky, foggy & blurry). I got stuck so many times cuz there is just no clue as to how to progress & the game doesn't even explain the controls in-game which is really poor.

Cant believe how much they cut out for the wii version compared to the 360. Im sure the wii can handle more. Graphics wise it looks like something you would get on PS1

DarkPrimus · June 2008

Welp, no question about it, 360 version is the one for me.

Darius Black · June 2008

Why even try to port to the Wii? What were they thinking?

Anyway, can someone who has played this comment on the music score for the game? I was mostly (I know, my priorities are messed) impressed by that one Xenogears-ish, choral tune they played during one of the trailers, where buddy ends up hanging out over Central Park.

Gyral · June 2008

Darius Black wrote: »

Why even try to port to the Wii? What were they thinking?

Large (and growing) installed userbase and a number of people who prefer tacked on waggle controls over pretty graphics.

Darius Black · June 2008

Gyral wrote: »

Darius Black wrote: »

Why even try to port to the Wii? What were they thinking?

Large (and growing) installed userbase and a number of people who prefer tacked on waggle controls over pretty graphics.

The industry is surely at a Golden Age.

Penny Arcade

I think we're Alone (In The Dark) now. With added NSF56k!

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