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Constructive Criticism
Corporate Dog
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Let me get all the gushing out of the way: I love this game, and will purchase Episode II. The writing and art are as good as I would expect them to be, and I've definitely laughed on more than one occasion. Good job, guys.
Also: if anyone at Hothead/PA is genre shopping, I MUST see 'Penny Arcade Adventures: The Warsun Prophecies'. Use the same general formula as 'Precipice', throw in aspects of a sandbox-y space combat/trading sim, and you have a license to print money.
Having said all that, I'd like to recommend a few game engine tweaks to the guys at Hothead for the next go-round:
1.) I understand why a pause button wouldn't really jive with the combat system. But once a special attack or item usage fires off, and you're essentially playing a minigame or selecting one of a number of similar looking inventory icons, it would be IMMENSELY helpful if the rest of the action would pause in the background. I HATE going to inventory, trying to find a specific buff, and being hit two or three times while I'm looking for it.
2.) In the 360 version, if you sidle up too close to an item of interest, you suddenly lose the 'Interact' icon. That needs to be made A LOT less finicky. At the very least, give us the option of cycling through nearby items of interest, maybe with the trigger buttons.
There. That's it. That's all I've got. See how easy I am to please?
Regards,
Corporate Dog
PS: Framing the gameplay and conversations in comic panels? Real nice touch.
Also: if anyone at Hothead/PA is genre shopping, I MUST see 'Penny Arcade Adventures: The Warsun Prophecies'. Use the same general formula as 'Precipice', throw in aspects of a sandbox-y space combat/trading sim, and you have a license to print money.
Having said all that, I'd like to recommend a few game engine tweaks to the guys at Hothead for the next go-round:
1.) I understand why a pause button wouldn't really jive with the combat system. But once a special attack or item usage fires off, and you're essentially playing a minigame or selecting one of a number of similar looking inventory icons, it would be IMMENSELY helpful if the rest of the action would pause in the background. I HATE going to inventory, trying to find a specific buff, and being hit two or three times while I'm looking for it.
2.) In the 360 version, if you sidle up too close to an item of interest, you suddenly lose the 'Interact' icon. That needs to be made A LOT less finicky. At the very least, give us the option of cycling through nearby items of interest, maybe with the trigger buttons.
There. That's it. That's all I've got. See how easy I am to please?
Regards,
Corporate Dog
PS: Framing the gameplay and conversations in comic panels? Real nice touch.
Corporate Dog on
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Or maybe twisp and catsby.
* I wish I had the ability to make the box along the bottom with the dialog bigger somehow; or at least the text. I frequently wished I could make the text just a little bigger.
* The music when you enter Pelican Bay get annoying fairly quick.
* Too short.
As I said I loved the game, but there just wasn't enough of it to satisfy me. I really like the detective game potential they have, but I would have liked there to me more substance. Like in Discworld Noir (if anyone have played that; also Lovecraft inspired theme) where you gather clues in your notebook and combine them to advance the case. I realize of course that it might be a lot to ask for, just an idea for future reference. There is no doubt that I will buy episode 2. But if they want to keep me as a paying customer for more than the first few episodes I really would like more game for my money; not that 20$ is a lot; but I feel "Penny Arcade Adventures" have the potential to be so much more (then again I have always been more drawn to the adventure aspect of adventure/action games).
Then again I am sure that if people support the developers and continue to buy the coming episodes they will be able to give us content and more of that witty writing we have come to crave. (Especially now that they have an engine/platform ready).
And a lot of you guys are playing the 360 version aren't you. I don't have the problems in battle and with the text size you guys seem to. They probably need to tweak the 360 version so it's as easy to play as the PC/Linux/Mac version if what you guys say is true..
Ooh, that's useful to know. So I can just hit A, watch for any blocks that need to be done, and then select a potion or whatever at my leisure? Sweet.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
The only hotkeys are space bar for blocking and gabe's and rake-man's special and wasd or directional keys for Tycho's special. Beyhond that it is all point and click.
Minor gripe I know.
Pros:
1. Excellent art and writing.
2. Good production values and bonuses.
3. General game flow is a nice mix of explore and linear based fighty-stuff.
4. Base combat system is fun.
Cons:
1. Everything is too small unless I sat much closer to the TV (not a small TV) than I normally do.
2. In-line with above, the fighting screen is way too busy. Valuable information is given the least real estate (whether an attack has reloaded or not, health of characters), and the skinning for which character is currently selected is too subtle. Also, the inventory icons are crazy small.
3. Combat is a little chaotic. Some of this may be because of the above, where your attention is constantly drawn to different parts of the screen (scanning characters for reloads or choosing items while trying to watch attackers so you can block). In general, it feels like the turn-based/realtime mix isn't quite right. This is probably because of the block mechanic that requires constant attention, rather than focusing on being ready with your troop's next action. Most games seem to get around this by allowing explicit pausing and queuing actions. Here, it might be too fluid for its own good. I think either removing the block or an explicit pause when accessing the inventory would make the system significantly better.
4. The difficulty curve is...weird. I'm not sure if I'm doing things in the wrong order, but the difficulty really spikes at unpredictable points.
The short version is that I like game based on the presentation, and the idea of the combat system, but the combat system could use some tweaking. I can see the battle system, as it is today, eventually getting annoying and being something I put up with (rather than enjoy) to get to the rest of the game.
I like it - I've got the PC version, and although I'd prefer keys assigned to actions over clicking, I enjoy it. My only gripe is that it really is linear, even with the side-quests. There's no "investigation" exactly. You just find an item and take it to Anne. You don't have to figure out what to use where. I guess I was expecting more of a Blazing Dragons style game with combat when I heard point-and-click adventure.
Also, I agree with the carnival game complaint - it seems like a framerate issue for Vandalism, because the meter on Balls and Holes is very fluid.
I was best at that one.
... then remembered I had possession of volume settings.
A crude broom stand.
It's not a HUGE issue, but is something that could be streamlined for episode 2.
1. I'd like to be able to bind keys. Not sure exactly how that'd work, but dragging my cursor all over the place isn't always as efficient as I'd like.
2. I'd really love it if the cursor could bump down to 50% opacity in the dialogue windows. I click on a dialogue choice and then I've got to move the cursor out of the way, then back. I'm using the keyboard now, but it'd be nice to have this as an option.
This is pretty much what I was getting at with my previous post. Good to see that I'm not the only one who thinks this way.
I thoroughly enjoyed the game. The music, the art, the dialog, the combat. All quite superb.
Minor cons:
The text in the word balloons sometimes fits too tightly, it looks sloppy.
Example and spoiler:
Also, the concept art and some of the text was disgustingly low resolution. I was running it on a Mac with the highest res and graphics, and it still looked blurry.
That's about all I can think of. Great game!
I'd still recommend embiggening everything, at least on the 360 version. I'm pretty much content with everything else now.
1. The writing is great. But not $20 great.
2. Funny game. But not $20 funny.
3. Art was good. But not $20 good.
Disliked:
1. TOO FRICKIN' SHORT! (OMG!!! Youve got to be kidding me!!!)
2. The Price. $20? Come on, are you serious?!?!?! I hope Episodes 2-4 are free now, cause you wont see me buying another episode for anything CLOSE to $20!!
3. It's TOO SHORT! I finished this in two settings. Puzzle Quest on XBLA is cheaper than this game, and I had about 30+ more hours in that game. I _got_ my moneys worth out of PQ.
I'm sure I'll get flamed, or even banned for saying something bad, but hey, I hope _someone_ at PA or Hothead gets a gander at what _other_ fans may be saying about this game and not just the fanboys who will eat this up.
The interview they did with Major Nelson seemed like the game was going to be great. And then one of them mentioned the time it took. 5-10 hours. OUCH GUYS!!! come on! We know what games you're fans of. We know you like Puzzle Quest. Where is our never-ending battles, where's the replay?
I'm so disappointed in the fact that I spent $20 on a game I can't sell back used or even let someone borrow so they dont make the same mistake of wasting $20.
Sure, you can take my rant one way: I had a great time for the 4 hours or so I played it and want more. But really? I'd be satisfied with having spent $5-$10 on this game with how short it is. $20 feels like I was just raped.
Sorry guys. Gotta tell it like I see it.
Does Puzzle Quest make you laugh?
I guess I'm looking for the adventure portions to be a bit closer to the Lucas Arts style while the combat becomes more similar to that of Super Mario RPG.
I'm also seconding the atrocious carnival games. The skee-ball was especially awful to play. I'm sorry if I hurt anyone at Hothead's feelings but you guys could have come up with a better mechanic. I'm hoping we don't see anything too similar in up coming PAA properties.
I agree. I do wish that there were actually puzzles to solve instead of all of the answers being laid out in front of you.
Mini-games like the ones in Pelican Bay always make me cringe a little, but at least I was able to get the hang of them and get my tokens relatively quickly. Hell, the biggest issue I had with that area was how every color token was essentially worth the same. Most games would have had a Silver/Gold/Platinum type relationship between the Red/Blue/Green tokens. At least it cut down on how much total time I needed to spend playing the games.
...
I agree with those who complain about the inventory system and the 'adventure' portion of the game. It would be great if it was a little more like a LucasArts/Sierra adventure game as there were times I naturally wanted to open an inventory or select "use + item + 'environment-object'" but instead had to find the right person to talk to and open a dialog tree.
My only other complaint... I didn't use any items for the most part. Sure I needed some healing items, I also used some dynamite on the final boss to speed it up a bit. Other than that, no buffs, no traps, nothing. Mostly because I didn't like the inventory system during a battle. I know it's been addressed already, but I hope something is revamped with it in the future.
I thought that was clear. I noticed that pretty quick myself.
Perhaps it could have simply been mentioned in the early battle tutorials.
Agreed. Really enjoyed the game, but $20 is too much.
I enjoyed it. It was funny, looked great, and had no real down time.
Biggest complaint: after you finish the game (or nearly finish), you can't go and use your newly leveled dudes to fight around and have a little fun. That's too bad. I would have liked some enemy re-population.
All and all it was fun. I mean, I guess I would have spent the $20 on booze, and there's no replay with that either.
But, the whole thing is a pretty unique experience for me...and I'm excited for when I get to sit down with it properly.
Also...I'm bad at multi-tasking and fairly ADD...so the combat and I are having trouble getting along.
Also, getting too close to something voids interaction with it, you have to back up a bit and try again.
I'm on 360.
Wii U NNID: MegaSpooky
That said, point and click is fine for the field view, but I wonder about its necessity since the field view is pretty much, well, like the field view in a traditional RPG.
-Art design
- Humor
- Combat
- The narrator
- Dialogue
- Cool cameos (like Jim as the skull in jar)
Cons
- Way too short for $20 - if every episode is this short, then its not worth $80 for the set
- Not enough customisability in your characters looks - I was suprised at how few clothing options were available
Ideas for improvement
- Add a timing to standard attacks the way theres a timing element to blocks (ala the Mario RPGs)
- More variety in areas
First of all some of us consider 20$ too much (for what we get). This has nothing to do with me not being able to pay that (because I am), but rather, as the poster above pointed out; because if I am going to continue to pay 20$ for each episode (and I am willing to do that) I want a bit more (yes so I am a greedy whiny bastard).
Now some of the criticism is for a slightly better interface, perhaps a different inventory system; or at least BIGGER icons. Personally, as mentioned by others, Lucasarts and Sierra did it fairly well; though I reckon the PA developers want to avoid parts of the "use everything on everything" syndrome that came with it.
Personally, as I have said before, my main hope for the future is a more fleshed out Detective/Case part of the game. More clues to find, more to research and investigate. Perhaps a bigger Office with a Case Board (you know big space on the wall for notes and pictures).
A way to change clothes/hairstyle of the character AFTER creation. This is just a minor thing I know, but it I am unable to change the appearance of my character through several episodes I will get a bit tired of looking at it :P
When it comes to weapons and the "RPG" side of the game. I like that there is experience, levels and weapons upgrades; and I like that they try to keep it simple and light. However as things were in Episode 1 I felt that it had no purpose. You can upgrade your weapons, but there is no choice, only choice of which order to upgrade. No customization, no choices, and I had max level and max weapons at the last boss; so it felt hollow somehow. Then again, this aspect of the game isn't what interested me the most; but I wouldn't complain if they fleshed it out and improved upon it a bit.
The Pelican Bay minigames weren't that hard to master, at least I didn't struggle much. Though they felt like a minor annoyance I had to complete to continue. And the music really really got on my nerve.
I think I will play through the game again just to see if there is anything else I can think of. I really love the humor and wit in this game (and I have always been a big Lovecraft buff regardless of what format it is served in
Then stop complaining. 20 bucks for 10 hours. 10 hours of awesome hilarity.
On that note, what hope do team special attacks stand? I prevent multiple characters from using items, and I don't even get a minigame out of it. Utter shite. I didn't even use them outside the tutorial.
Also: Please, add multiple difficulty settings and modifiers to the next episode. Nintendo is wrong. Every player isn't the same; I can't be the only one that didn't have a single character death until the final moments. Game modes that drastically increase the damage recieved from missed blocks, dramatically increased enemy speed, an option to increase the difficulty and speed of special attack minigames for more damage, experience penalties, or even an enforced "level 1" run should be very easy to implement and would increase the game's value substantially to those of us who enjoy a good arse-kicking.
Just don't make them unlockables. If I have to play through Pansy Mode on another would-be enjoyable game just to get to the fun stuff, I'll cry. I swear to whatever gods you worship, I will.
Too short and no replaybility.
I had about $11 of fun.
Be it +1 strength if male vs +1 speed if female. Or just a single special attack base on clothing.
The top hat is +1 Classy.