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El Shaddai: Gettin Biblical on your ass

135

Posts

  • TurkeyTurkey So, Usoop. TampaRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    I don't like the combat. To me it feels like Ninja Gaiden, but too slow.

    Really pretty though.

    Turkey on
  • Transdimensional WhaleTransdimensional Whale Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    The devs are people that were involved in Okami and Devil May Cry? Huh, I'd have expected better. It's a really pretty game, but it just doesn't play well at all. I downloaded the demo on a lark after being disappointed by the lack of BG&E. The first thing I noticed was how pretty everything was. The second thing was that I didn't like the combat. The third is that boy, those holes in the ground sure do look exactly the same as the water you can stand on.

    The 2D section was better, I think, but that may just because there was nothing to fight. I dunno. It's pretty, but I hope the final game plays better than that.

    Transdimensional Whale on
  • Wandering IdiotWandering Idiot Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Played the demo, was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I quite like the Evangelion-esque cracked-out take on Christian mythology (it also reminded me of Neo Ranga, or at least the trailer, since I've never seen the actual series).

    Some of you are being pretty dismissive about what's probably the most visually unique game to come out on a mainstream system in what, the last decade? I guess you could point to Little Big Planet and the last Kirby game, but the whole arts-n-crafts thing had been done before, if not as well*. The flat cell-shaded look makes everything stand out cleanly, although there's a lot of aliasing and some slowdown considering the simplicity of the graphics.

    I thought the combat was fairly fun and fluid once you get the hang of it. The auto-targeting is pretty generous, but you can't really switch directions in midair, the distance requirements for melee combos can be picky, and blocking doesn't seem to cancel and gets broken easily, unlike say Ninja Gaiden. It was fun replaying it to beat down that midboss in armor that I thought was a story-required loss at first. I only liked one of the two weapons in the demo, although that makes the disarm system kind of interesting in deciding when to use it on which enemies. My main fear is that the combat will become boring and repetitive after a while, although I'm still not sure how the blade corruption/super burst thing works (I'm guessing you have to activate it right when the weapon gets corrupted?)
    The third is that boy, those holes in the ground sure do look exactly the same as the water you can stand on.
    The price you pay for interesting use of negative space with a minimalist art style, my friend. It's pretty easy to get used to, and it's not like there's much penalty for falling (can I mention how much I like the pause/checkpoint load noise being Lucifer snapping his fingers, as he seems to have control over time, btw?)


    *EDIT: Forgot about the upcoming Child of Eden, although that's still kind of a takeoff on Rez, and everything I've seen about the integration of that pop singer or whoever she was looks cringingly awkward and immersion-breaking.

    Wandering Idiot on
  • manwiththemachinegunmanwiththemachinegun METAL GEAR?! Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    You take scratch damage from falling, but you have to fall like, three times for a piece of armor to break.

    manwiththemachinegun on
  • Evil MultifariousEvil Multifarious Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    The main thing about combat in this game is that you cannot interrupt enemies while they are performing attacks. You MUST dodge/block and wait for an opening. Once you wrap your head around that, battles will become much easier.

    once i wrapped my head around that i realized that i did not like the combat

    Evil Multifarious on
  • manwiththemachinegunmanwiththemachinegun METAL GEAR?! Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Because all battle systems must be the same?

    This game rewards you more for evasion and timing, they say as much in the previews.

    manwiththemachinegun on
  • Evil MultifariousEvil Multifarious Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Because all battle systems must be the same?

    This game rewards you more for evasion and timing, they say as much in the previews.

    and i didn't like it

    unstoppable enemy strikes with huge amounts of health per enemy make for long, drawn out battles that make the protagonist seem underpowered. i find it tedious.

    is there a dodge roll or something, like block+jump? i was resorting to just-blocking to parry enemy attacks

    Evil Multifarious on
  • cj iwakuracj iwakura The Rhythm Regent Bears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Just gonna leave this here.
    247587_215082905191477_195592417140526_714395_3922001_n.jpg

    cj iwakura on
    wVEsyIc.png
  • manwiththemachinegunmanwiththemachinegun METAL GEAR?! Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Because all battle systems must be the same?

    This game rewards you more for evasion and timing, they say as much in the previews.

    and i didn't like it

    unstoppable enemy strikes with huge amounts of health per enemy make for long, drawn out battles that make the protagonist seem underpowered. i find it tedious.

    is there a dodge roll or something, like block+jump? i was resorting to just-blocking to parry enemy attacks

    Depends on the weapon, the 'funnel' shooter has a dash move which is very nice. The sword, I usually double jump out of the way or block. If you block and hold attack + back, you can do a launch move to juggle the enemy for a good while and rack up damage.

    Awesome boxart, as expected.

    manwiththemachinegun on
  • KazakaKazaka Asleep Counting SheepRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Because all battle systems must be the same?

    This game rewards you more for evasion and timing, they say as much in the previews.

    and i didn't like it

    unstoppable enemy strikes with huge amounts of health per enemy make for long, drawn out battles that make the protagonist seem underpowered. i find it tedious.

    is there a dodge roll or something, like block+jump? i was resorting to just-blocking to parry enemy attacks

    Depends on the weapon, the 'funnel' shooter has a dash move which is very nice. The sword, I usually double jump out of the way or block. If you block and hold attack + back, you can do a launch move to juggle the enemy for a good while and rack up damage.

    Awesome boxart, as expected.
    Played the demo. This game is awesome, but they do a very poor job of explaining things, so I can understand people's complaints.

    I know that the funnel is called Gale, but I never got the name of that scimitar. Anyway, both weapons so far seem to have an evasive maneuver with block+jump. Gale's is better, but it has a very weak guard too, so it's balanced defensively. With the blade, you can block a couple of hits, but evasion or Just Guard is preferable.

    Combat is deeper than most people I've talked to seem to think - mashing attack isn't the only way to combo. Leaving pauses in your combo timing creates different attacks and can even change the properties of your charge attack too. For example, with Gale, attack, pause, hold attack lets you do a charged up artillery type attack, while attack, pause, attack, pause, etc. let's you shoot arcing shots that break enemy guard.

    Charging an attack and releasing just as enemy attacks is a counter strike. Prevents damage.

    Block+attack is a launcher for both weapons. Lift, then attack a bit. From there you can hold attack or use block+attack again for a downward slam type move for both.

    Gale's charged attack has multiple phases, so try mashing attack after you use it.

    That's all I've discovered so far.


    EDIT: Went back and read more of the thread to find that everyone thinks the gameplay is mediocre, so this post probably will generate some backlash. Sorry if everyone already knew this stuff.

    Kazaka on
  • manwiththemachinegunmanwiththemachinegun METAL GEAR?! Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Yeah, I don't think it'll be a blockbuster release. But I hope it does okay, I'm picking up a copy at least.

    manwiththemachinegun on
  • mastriusmastrius Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Yeah, I don't think it'll be a blockbuster release. But I hope it does okay, I'm picking up a copy at least.

    I will be as well my friend!

    mastrius on
    "You're like a kitten! A kitten who doesn't speak Japanese." ~ Juliet Starling
  • Liquid GhostLiquid Ghost DO YOU HEAR THE VOICES, TOO?! Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    That box art is fantastic.

    Liquid Ghost on
  • JihadJesusJihadJesus Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Kaza, it'd be nice if the demo told you even a fraction of that. It doesn't even hint that there ARE different ways to trigger weapon combos, let alone how to do it. Block also seems to be utterly useless, and somehow there's no 'dodge' button (and wtf is with that in a game where you can't interrupt your enemies?).

    I also took ~2 dozen hits to kill enemies for me using the basic combo, and so I understandably found the combat incredibly annoying. It might be that there's more there than the demo lets on, but I'm not really willing to drop more than bargain bin dollars to find out.

    JihadJesus on
  • KazakaKazaka Asleep Counting SheepRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    JihadJesus wrote: »
    Kaza, it'd be nice if the demo told you even a fraction of that. It doesn't even hint that there ARE different ways to trigger weapon combos, let alone how to do it. Block also seems to be utterly useless, and somehow there's no 'dodge' button (and wtf is with that in a game where you can't interrupt your enemies?).

    I also took ~2 dozen hits to kill enemies for me using the basic combo, and so I understandably found the combat incredibly annoying. It might be that there's more there than the demo lets on, but I'm not really willing to drop more than bargain bin dollars to find out.

    Yeah, sitting there and blocking is clearly not what the designers intended in this game. What the best defensive option is, I don't know and won't until I buy the game. As for dodge, block+jump together does that.

    As for the enemies having a lot of health, personally I enjoy combat, so enemies that don't die before I get to have fun with them are a blessing, not a curse.

    Plus you can't die in this game very easily...even if you get close you can just mash and come back with some armor fragments restored. It's like PoP2k8 in more ways than one, and I will love it because of this, and I think the same people that hated that game will dislike this one for some of the same reasons.

    PS: YO UBI WHAT'S UP MAN CAN I GET A SEQUEL TO POP2K8 YET GOTTA KILL ARHIMAN AND REDEEM MYSELF IN ELIKA'S EYES YO

    HURRY UP

    Kazaka on
  • JihadJesusJihadJesus Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    I enjoyed PoP2k8, but that was largely because I thought it was quite aware that it was mocking many of the people who were playing it. I don't get that from this game at all - the controls and combat system just seem obtuse for no real reason, although aesthetically it's very cool.

    JihadJesus on
  • KazakaKazaka Asleep Counting SheepRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    JihadJesus wrote: »
    I enjoyed PoP2k8, but that was largely because I thought it was quite aware that it was mocking many of the people who were playing it. I don't get that from this game at all - the controls and combat system just seem obtuse for no real reason, although aesthetically it's very cool.

    dude what

    Kazaka on
  • manwiththemachinegunmanwiththemachinegun METAL GEAR?! Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    The Prince magically not dying everytime he has a paper cut being due to Elika doesn't make as much sense to me as the situtation in this game.

    I mean, you're working for God, a few ressurections thrown in is to be expected.

    manwiththemachinegun on
  • JihadJesusJihadJesus Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Kazaka wrote: »
    JihadJesus wrote: »
    I enjoyed PoP2k8, but that was largely because I thought it was quite aware that it was mocking many of the people who were playing it. I don't get that from this game at all - the controls and combat system just seem obtuse for no real reason, although aesthetically it's very cool.

    dude what

    I think I have a loooooong post in the history somewhere about it, but basically it's mocking the typical badass ladies man hero fantasy escapism bullshit that defines videogames in general. On a narrative level, the prince is a loser. He's a completely uneccessary tagalong in someone else's story who never got the memo. He'd rather destroy everything the hero worked for than recognize that he was unecessary the entire time.

    What makes it really brilliant is that the game mechanics reflect this. You don't really have to *do* anything to 'win' and be a hero - you'll get ressurected immediately if you die, the timing windows for the platforming features are almost comically loose, and you don't even have to take action for most of them in order to complete stunning and impossible feats of acrobatics. The primary complaint I hear from people who didn't like it is that they didn't feel like a badass prince because it was just too easy, which is hilarious and the basis of the statement you bolded - that was the point. You weren't a badass prince hero. You were an utterly replaceable, juvenille sidekick with delusions of grandeur.

    I suppose I shouldn't have said they did it on purpose. I don't know that. It's more than possible they just did a hilariously shitty job of creating yet another hero fantasy escapism title. But it felt pretty self aware as I played it - some of the dialogue asides very much so, and if so it's probably the best piece of gaming satire I've ever played.

    JihadJesus on
  • zllehszllehs Hiding in a box, waiting to strike.Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    love the art direction... controls could use some work but story seems very engaging

    zllehs on
  • ShadowfireShadowfire Vermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Kazaka wrote: »
    As for the enemies having a lot of health, personally I enjoy combat, so enemies that don't die before I get to have fun with them are a blessing, not a curse.

    I like it, but I'd prefer lower health with more enemies to be honest.

    Shadowfire on
    WiiU: Windrunner ; Guild Wars 2: Shadowfire.3940 ; PSN: Bradcopter
  • GilderGilder Aw snap Macaroni PartyRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    It feels like it might run into the problem that DMC does on DMD mode, where enemies just take too many hits for it to be fun anymore. I know a lot of people just consider DMD in DMC3 to be incredibly boring because nothing ever wants to die. So even though there's only two or three enemies in the room you're stuck in it for 10 minutes just killing enemies with more health than the last boss on normal mode.

    Gilder on
  • manwiththemachinegunmanwiththemachinegun METAL GEAR?! Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    DMC has a pretty commited fanbase though that likes the drawn out combat.

    I forsee El Shaddai as a new cult favorite of the perfectionist action gamer. No hit runs, time attack, etc. The game is already set up for such rankings I believe.

    manwiththemachinegun on
  • JurgJurg In a TeacupRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    The art in this game looks badass. I'm going to try out the demo ASAP.

    Jurg on
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  • mastriusmastrius Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Gilder wrote: »
    It feels like it might run into the problem that DMC does on DMD mode, where enemies just take too many hits for it to be fun anymore. I know a lot of people just consider DMD in DMC3 to be incredibly boring because nothing ever wants to die. So even though there's only two or three enemies in the room you're stuck in it for 10 minutes just killing enemies with more health than the last boss on normal mode.

    I liked DMD mode honestly. It's also like. Once you get really good and can combo things like crazy and you just kill shit while never touching the ground and stuff you just feel like a badass and it doesn't feel like it takes forever. Plus you know what to do to kill them quickly. I don't know.

    mastrius on
    "You're like a kitten! A kitten who doesn't speak Japanese." ~ Juliet Starling
  • manwiththemachinegunmanwiththemachinegun METAL GEAR?! Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    New three part gameplay demonstration up on Gametrailers. Some cool stuff especially on the difficulty levels and unlockables.

    http://www.gametrailers.com/video/story-and-el-shaddai/716833

    manwiththemachinegun on
  • MattakuevanMattakuevan Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Question to those who've played it, what FPS is it running at? I'd hope 45-60 but you know how this gen is >.>

    Mattakuevan on
  • TcheldorTcheldor Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    So I finally got the demo. You guys who were complaining about combat know that there is a dodge, block, launcher, combos that vary based on delay input, and a counterattack function right?

    Overall things died pretty reasonably once I realized I could just combo them a bit, launch them, and then counterattack their eventual attack.

    Tcheldor on
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  • manwiththemachinegunmanwiththemachinegun METAL GEAR?! Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    To be fair, the demo didn't really explain much. But I do think it's not fair to the game to call the combat shallow, it isn't.

    The game developer guy at gametrailer said you won't get past the later stages on normal if you don't learn the combat system.

    manwiththemachinegun on
  • KazakaKazaka Asleep Counting SheepRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Tcheldor wrote: »
    So I finally got the demo. You guys who were complaining about combat know that there is a dodge, block, launcher, combos that vary based on delay input, and a counterattack function right?

    Overall things died pretty reasonably once I realized I could just combo them a bit, launch them, and then counterattack their eventual attack.

    Thank you!

    Also I have a huge post about it like a page back I think? if you wanna discuss mechanics

    I think the game is supposed to be pretty tough

    Kazaka on
  • milk ducksmilk ducks High Mucky Muck Big Tits TownRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Yeah. Pretty excited about this, because, you know, art.

    milk ducks on
  • Xenogear_0001Xenogear_0001 Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Yeah, it's pretty. But I just don't like the gameplay. Am I a bad person?

    Xenogear_0001 on
    steam_sig.png
  • mastriusmastrius Registered User regular
    Hm. So this releases sometime in August now. I could be wrong but I could have sworn it was supposed to be next week? Or maybe the 26th? I'm not positive. I just thought it was. Can't find anywhere saying it was pushed back so...maybe I'm crazy...

    "You're like a kitten! A kitten who doesn't speak Japanese." ~ Juliet Starling
  • KrathoonKrathoon Registered User regular
    I tried out the demo. The combat gets repetitive. It is 1.Disarm 2.Kill. Still, I bet it changes things up the further you get into it.

  • manwiththemachinegunmanwiththemachinegun METAL GEAR?! Registered User regular
    In later levels though, you're penalized somewhat for disarms. Certain weapons are most effective against certain bosses, and sometimes the only way to keep a weapon is to not steal from enemies.

  • XaviarXaviar Registered User regular
    Just poking my head in to say that the ridiculous ads all over everywhere are actually starting to annoy the shit out of me and have pretty well killed any interest I may have had in this game.

  • MattakuevanMattakuevan Registered User regular
    Xaviar wrote:
    Just poking my head in to say that the ridiculous ads all over everywhere are actually starting to annoy the shit out of me and have pretty well killed any interest I may have had in this game.

    Did ads kill your interest in Portal 2 as well? Because they were far more numerous and prevalent.

  • XaviarXaviar Registered User regular
    I didn't notice them as much. It isn't the banners that bother me. It's that several sites have top and side banners, that margin/background image thing that people are doing more often now (which annoys the shit out of me, as I click there to take the focus out of whatever flash thing I might have interacted with), inline ads in the articles, expand-o ads on top of the article that have to be closed, and those "skip this ad to view your article" ads. All for this game.

    That's what kills me.

  • MattakuevanMattakuevan Registered User regular
    Xaviar wrote:
    I didn't notice them as much. It isn't the banners that bother me. It's that several sites have top and side banners, that margin/background image thing that people are doing more often now (which annoys the shit out of me, as I click there to take the focus out of whatever flash thing I might have interacted with), inline ads in the articles, expand-o ads on top of the article that have to be closed, and those "skip this ad to view your article" ads. All for this game.

    That's what kills me.

    Ah, I haven't noticed any (NoScript must be blocking them) but that honestly does sound annoying :\

  • KrathoonKrathoon Registered User regular
    edited August 2011
    The crazy artwork is catching my interest. I may go ahead and get it.

    Lens of Truth has a screen shot comparison. 360 looks better. More defined.

    http://www.lensoftruth.com/head2head-el-shaddai-ascension-of-the-metatron-demo-screenshot-comparison/

    Krathoon on
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