Honestly I do like the look of it (lack of PC port makes me sad) I just wish it had a bit more colour in it over all.
It used to.
Remember when Fuse, Insomniac's latest co-op shooter, was originally known as Overstrike? Well, the reason for the name change from one generic title to the other came with the change in the art-style. Why did the art-style have to change? Because focus groups thought it was too cartoony and for their kid brothers.
In a well-written, well-documented, well-researched article over at IGN regarding all things Insomniac Games, the studio was asked about the recent name change and art-style re-direction for the upcoming Xbox 360 and PS3 game, Fuse.
According to the creative director for Fuse, Brian Allgeier...
“The game started out with a much more stylized and campy direction. We were actually going for something on the level of Ratchet & Clank, except with humans,” ... “Maybe it was going to appeal to gamers who, we thought at the time, might be in their late teens. The industry’s changed quite a bit… We would focus test the game in front of a lot of gamers, and get their opinion. These are people that regularly play PlayStation 3 and Xbox games. We started to discover that everyone thought this was a game for their younger brother. We would hear this from 12-year-olds. So we decided that we needed to make a game that had an older appeal.”
That's why I wish it had. I don't expect most shooters to have masses of colour :P
It just seems a shame that some people attribute mature with grey. One of my favourite shows in recent memory Utopia was definitely for grown ups and had stunning yellow as it's main colour.
man what an uninspiring demo. it seems like it would be fun enough playing co-op with some friends, but nothing about this game stands out in any way. generic character design, generic weapons, generic cover based third person shooting, just a case of the blahs everywhere you look. will probably pick this up for $15-20 sometime down the road and bang through it with my co-op people.
Insomniac really took their time with this project. It can be fun but when you play you can go down pretty easy. It seems this was a really old demo they showed the press a few months ago.
Dang.
XBL - ArchSilversmith
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
I really want to root for this game but that demo... what the heck man. It's like 12 minutes long, if that. Oh and stuff is both over explained (here's the FULL LEVEL UP TREE while you're being shot!) and not explained at all (uhh... so what button makes me invisible? does that button do stuff for other people?) My group was rather unimpressed. It's too bad, a solid demo might have earned them a bunch of purchases right then and there...
Played the demo. So uh... can you not go out of stealth on command with Naya? I would use stealth and I wouldn't be able to get out of it until all of my Fuse was gone. Tried every button and nothing worked.
That issue aside, it seemed alright, nothing really groundbreaking and the skill trees looked pretty lackluster. Probably won't pick it up for a while.
I like demos and want to reward companies for putting them out, but... yeah, that demo did nothing to sell the game.
I think my "favorite" moment was discovering sprint and "jump to the other side of cover" are the same button. That might actually be an innovation in how it is even more aggravating than having sprint and take cover be one button.
G RolDorsia? Nobody goes there anymore...Nell'sRegistered Userregular
After Tomb Raider's brilliant, completely intuitive take on cover shooting I just can't abide the constant prompts and button presses to navigate cover in this game.
Even the original Gears of War cover mechanics "feel" better than Fuse's. The guns seriously lack oomph too. Maybe this is awesome in co-op, but my allies' AI in single player was garbage.
The Fuse team will be playing the Fuse demo WITH YOU from 5pm PDT until 6pm PDT TODAY. You can join us! Here's a list of Insomniacs who will be playing:
I am still super mega excited for this. Any multiplayer where there are differences in the classes gets my attention. It looks like Borderlands meets . . . I don't know, something else cool where you shoot people in the face. I'm not sure which system I'll be grabbing it for, but maybe both - stupid fractured friend base.
I can't believe I didn't know there was a demo. I have been playing too much Super Metroid.
As a personal note, one of my best friends was working on this and was very proud of what they were doing. He took his NDA pretty seriously, so I never really got anything more than "it's really really good and I can't wait for us to play it online." Michael (Zilo on these forums) died in a motorcycle crash last year, so we don't ever get to play it together. I'm looking forward to seeing his name on the credits.
LaPuzza on
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Brainiac 8Don't call me Shirley...Registered Userregular
Oy, this game is Spyborgs all over again.
And yea, that demo is a definite unseller of the game.
As a personal note, one of my best friends was working on this and was very proud of what they were doing. He took his NDA pretty seriously, so I never really got anything more than "it's really really good and I can't wait for us to play it online." Michael (Zilo on these forums) died in a motorcycle crash last year, so we don't ever get to play it together. I'm looking forward to seeing his name on the credits.
This hit me in the feels gland...
I'm interested in FUSE, but I'd be playing solo and I'm hearing not so great things about the squad AI. I think you can switch characters on the fly, so that might help.
Everyone has a price. Throw enough gold around and someone will risk disintegration.
I'm interested in FUSE, but I'd be playing solo and I'm hearing not so great things about the squad AI. I think you can switch characters on the fly, so that might help.
I believe you can swap on the fly, which will be the big thing. I don't really mind if the AI's not spectacular on your teammates, even in single player, as long as the game doesn't punish you for its shortcomings. I mean, the first GoW felt like your team was just there for moral support in a firefight, but the difficulty was tuned such that you didn't absolutely need their help.
Still, I'm looking forward to having buddies to play with online. Or, for that matter, maybe this thread will fill up with some names come release.
I read an interview on Gamecritics.com that said they worked on the AI for a long time to make it really smart. Uhh it didn't work. The IGN 15 minutes play features their teammates being idiots and not going for the revives. I experienced less harsh versions of a similar phenomenon.
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Johnny ChopsockyScootaloo! We have to cook!Grillin' HaysenburgersRegistered Userregular
After doing the demo co-op, I feel safe in saying that co-op is how I'm going to play this game with no exceptions. Its great fun mixing and matching your team's specials for crazier and crazier enemy deaths. Reminds me a little of Syndicate 2012's co-op (which is great fun and I will fight those who say otherwise in a darkened alley).
I played the demo and really enjoyed it. The AI was above average, which was nice. However, I agree that the game will be much better with teammates.
What I liked was that the skills/fuse guns were legitimately different, but it actually made the demo a little busy. I had a lot of skills and such to figure out in a fairly short span.
Still, I like it and I have high hopes for the game. I am afraid the game is going to get trampled by XBox news from last week.
I don't know if I am going to play on xbox or PS3 at this point. Anyone here committed to buying and playing online at this point?
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
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Brainiac 8Don't call me Shirley...Registered Userregular
Reviews are coming in and they are not so pretty.
Jim Sterling pretty much mimics my feelings on this:
Whether it's true or not, Fuse does feel every bit like another victim of the heavily focus-tested, leader following, perpetually terrified mainstream game industry. It's every cloying and desperate element of the retail console market, brought together -- fused, if you will -- to create a factory standard example of a game that tries to be everything the hypothetical mainstream consumer drools over, and ends up as nothing remarkable.
I've read a bunch of the reviews. When we cut out the weirdest comments on the high and the low, here's what we have left:
Pros:
1) The Weapons feel good and work well together.
2) at 8-10 hours, story mode is plenty long enough to have a good time.
3) The game shines in co-op where you can make the most of the team dynamic.
Cons:
1) AI isn't smart enough to make the diverse skill-based squad shooting feel like anything but GoW.
2) The controls for cover-based shooting are less than perfect.
3) Echelon mode isn't somthing you'll replay endlessly as a Horde mode.
Neutral:
1) It looks and sounds good, but isn't spectacular.
2) The art style isn't as cool as Overstrike
3) The story is forgettable and confused.
Most telling review quote:
(comparing the game Fuse to the band The Hives)"The Hives play loud and fast. They may not be the most technically proficient band out there, but they’ve got a certain raw kinetic energy most bands would dream of having. Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist struts out on stage with his best Mick Jagger impression, doing split kicks and swinging his mic around with such force that it’s a wonder it doesn’t fly off the cord and pelt someone in the front row. Their music may not be “deep” in any real sense of the word, but it’s damn fun to listen to, and you know they had fun playing it."
Summary:
Fuse is better than your average shooter at its core, but it didn't meet the lofty goals set by Inosmniac when it started pushing the game as Overstrike 2 years ago. The game works, but reviewers feel betrayed by the change in look and tone. The game got caught between being its own thing and being a GoW clone, and ends up in no man's land.
I will say that, from my having played the demo, there were 2 complaints in the reviews that didn't match my experience. Multiple reviews commented on the lack of AI revivals when you're down, and difficult wall hugging controls. Playing on 360 on the demo, I didn't have either of those issues. Luck, rose colored glasses, or demo vs. release? We'll see.
I'm getting it today. I love a great co-op shooter more than almost anything, and I want to believe this one has the makings.
I detected the issue with AI on the demo. But it boiled down to teammates not being able to revive you if you were in an area swarmed by enemies 'cuz they would end up in the same situation as you.
Archsorcerer on
XBL - ArchSilversmith
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
That's a pretty interesting article. I think this would have a much better chance to do well on PC, ala Payday The Heist.
Basically, reviews say single player is either horrible or passable, and 4 man multiplayer is passible or awesomesauce. I'm planning on beating my friends into submission on Xbox live.
BTW, @archsorcerer its time for a thread title change. Perhaps something that references the Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles comic about the hidden cost of hooker playing partners.
I mean, they never would, especially since they'd require a publisher, but I'd like to see Insomniac scrap the Fuse thing for the sequel, call it Overstrike (or maybe Fuse 2: Overstrike. It'd be a unique word after a colon in the title of a video game in forever), bring back the cartoon visuals, and go from there.
Listening to the Bombcast and they are talking about Fuse and it sparked some good shooter discussion. Maybe it was on the schedule but it is interesting.
XBL - ArchSilversmith
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
I finally got this in last night, and I’m impressed. I understand what the game did to piss off a few reviewers, but those are forgivable sins. I can’t wait to play co-op.
I think it is getting punished for having a first level that plays like the rest of the game. It’s got sub-bosses, lots of pickups, and variety in the types of skirmishes you end up in. You organically end up combo-killing using the different guns, without convoluted setups pushing you into it. You get to have some fun with the characters – I think a good bit of the dialogue’s funny without being too pushy – and you get to use whatever guns you want. Your Teammates actually kill people and use their Fuse weapons smartly – especially Mr. Mag Shield. It plays well, and aside from having to learn the particulars of the cover system, it’s controls are pretty natural. You get to start off in a big set piece that isn’t too easy, but lets you have fun wiping the floor with forces that have you outnumbered. You level up a few times in the first level already, so you’re getting to use and advance all the characters. It’ll play well the second and third time through, I think.
However, the first level is a bad first level. Powerups scattered on the floor before your first gunfight? That encourages you to look at the floor instead of notice the cool things they put in the level. Having your first combat experience be with 3 teammates? Doesn’t encourage you to learn how YOU can kill a guy. Open battlefields? Those are great later, but when you’re first learning the game you might not think to move up closer to the enemy, because you don’t have your effective range dialed in.
By the end of the first level, I felt like I’d had to do an annoying amount of self-testing that was not aided by the level design. But I was still having fun. After that, it’s just more fun.
I ended up playing the crossbow guy the most. His sniping is a huge deal to even out the numbers. The black hole gun is awesome and allows for some pretty smart mass murder on the battlefield. I’d use the shield gun more, except that’s the smartest AI design so I leave that to the AI. The crystal firing gun is also well left to the AI, because you can hit the targets they paint to double up the Fuse-y goodness.
It will be much better on once 1) I have friends to play with, and 2) I get a better feel for where I want to put my exp points. Still, I’m looking forward to it. Anyone want to come over to my place this weekend? Or, you know, Xbox Live? (Live tag – LaPuzza)
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It used to.
It just seems a shame that some people attribute mature with grey. One of my favourite shows in recent memory Utopia was definitely for grown ups and had stunning yellow as it's main colour.
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
3DS Friend Code: 2165-6448-8348 www.Twitch.TV/cooljammer00
Battle.Net: JohnDarc#1203 Origin/UPlay: CoolJammer00
Insomniac really took their time with this project. It can be fun but when you play you can go down pretty easy. It seems this was a really old demo they showed the press a few months ago.
Dang.
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
- https://d3cw3dd2w32x2b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Fuse_PS3_ControllerMap.jpg
And for the Eggs Box
- https://d3cw3dd2w32x2b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Fuse_Xbox360_ControllerMap.jpg
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
That issue aside, it seemed alright, nothing really groundbreaking and the skill trees looked pretty lackluster. Probably won't pick it up for a while.
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
It's not very good.
3DS Friend Code: 2165-6448-8348 www.Twitch.TV/cooljammer00
Battle.Net: JohnDarc#1203 Origin/UPlay: CoolJammer00
I think my "favorite" moment was discovering sprint and "jump to the other side of cover" are the same button. That might actually be an innovation in how it is even more aggravating than having sprint and take cover be one button.
Even the original Gears of War cover mechanics "feel" better than Fuse's. The guns seriously lack oomph too. Maybe this is awesome in co-op, but my allies' AI in single player was garbage.
Boo.
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
I'm losing interest in the game.
Mitch Dyer from IGN probably has his review ready by now. It will be posted on launch day.
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
I can't believe I didn't know there was a demo. I have been playing too much Super Metroid.
As a personal note, one of my best friends was working on this and was very proud of what they were doing. He took his NDA pretty seriously, so I never really got anything more than "it's really really good and I can't wait for us to play it online." Michael (Zilo on these forums) died in a motorcycle crash last year, so we don't ever get to play it together. I'm looking forward to seeing his name on the credits.
And yea, that demo is a definite unseller of the game.
Nintendo Network ID - Brainiac_8
PSN - Brainiac_8
Steam - http://steamcommunity.com/id/BRAINIAC8/
Add me!
This hit me in the feels gland...
I'm interested in FUSE, but I'd be playing solo and I'm hearing not so great things about the squad AI. I think you can switch characters on the fly, so that might help.
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
I believe you can swap on the fly, which will be the big thing. I don't really mind if the AI's not spectacular on your teammates, even in single player, as long as the game doesn't punish you for its shortcomings. I mean, the first GoW felt like your team was just there for moral support in a firefight, but the difficulty was tuned such that you didn't absolutely need their help.
Still, I'm looking forward to having buddies to play with online. Or, for that matter, maybe this thread will fill up with some names come release.
Steam ID XBL: JohnnyChopsocky PSN:Stud_Beefpile WiiU:JohnnyChopsocky
What I liked was that the skills/fuse guns were legitimately different, but it actually made the demo a little busy. I had a lot of skills and such to figure out in a fairly short span.
Still, I like it and I have high hopes for the game. I am afraid the game is going to get trampled by XBox news from last week.
I don't know if I am going to play on xbox or PS3 at this point. Anyone here committed to buying and playing online at this point?
EDIT:
I liked Max's description of Overstrike, "Pixar's take on G.I. Joe."
Here Giant Bomb's review (they have a quick-look on their site): http://www.giantbomb.com/reviews/fuse-review/1900-578/
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
Jim Sterling pretty much mimics my feelings on this:
Nintendo Network ID - Brainiac_8
PSN - Brainiac_8
Steam - http://steamcommunity.com/id/BRAINIAC8/
Add me!
Pros:
1) The Weapons feel good and work well together.
2) at 8-10 hours, story mode is plenty long enough to have a good time.
3) The game shines in co-op where you can make the most of the team dynamic.
Cons:
1) AI isn't smart enough to make the diverse skill-based squad shooting feel like anything but GoW.
2) The controls for cover-based shooting are less than perfect.
3) Echelon mode isn't somthing you'll replay endlessly as a Horde mode.
Neutral:
1) It looks and sounds good, but isn't spectacular.
2) The art style isn't as cool as Overstrike
3) The story is forgettable and confused.
Most telling review quote:
(comparing the game Fuse to the band The Hives)"The Hives play loud and fast. They may not be the most technically proficient band out there, but they’ve got a certain raw kinetic energy most bands would dream of having. Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist struts out on stage with his best Mick Jagger impression, doing split kicks and swinging his mic around with such force that it’s a wonder it doesn’t fly off the cord and pelt someone in the front row. Their music may not be “deep” in any real sense of the word, but it’s damn fun to listen to, and you know they had fun playing it."
Summary:
Fuse is better than your average shooter at its core, but it didn't meet the lofty goals set by Inosmniac when it started pushing the game as Overstrike 2 years ago. The game works, but reviewers feel betrayed by the change in look and tone. The game got caught between being its own thing and being a GoW clone, and ends up in no man's land.
I will say that, from my having played the demo, there were 2 complaints in the reviews that didn't match my experience. Multiple reviews commented on the lack of AI revivals when you're down, and difficult wall hugging controls. Playing on 360 on the demo, I didn't have either of those issues. Luck, rose colored glasses, or demo vs. release? We'll see.
I'm getting it today. I love a great co-op shooter more than almost anything, and I want to believe this one has the makings.
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
Nintendo Network ID - Brainiac_8
PSN - Brainiac_8
Steam - http://steamcommunity.com/id/BRAINIAC8/
Add me!
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
That's a pretty interesting article. I think this would have a much better chance to do well on PC, ala Payday The Heist.
Basically, reviews say single player is either horrible or passable, and 4 man multiplayer is passible or awesomesauce. I'm planning on beating my friends into submission on Xbox live.
BTW, @archsorcerer its time for a thread title change. Perhaps something that references the Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles comic about the hidden cost of hooker playing partners.
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
Gametrailers review: http://www.gametrailers.com/reviews/jbhyw6/fuse-review
I hope next-gen can bring a good Overstrike experience.
Anyone here remembers SOE's The Agency project? It started to look really slick but it died. They even got a facebook game from it for a while.
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
3DS Friend Code: 2165-6448-8348 www.Twitch.TV/cooljammer00
Battle.Net: JohnDarc#1203 Origin/UPlay: CoolJammer00
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
I think it is getting punished for having a first level that plays like the rest of the game. It’s got sub-bosses, lots of pickups, and variety in the types of skirmishes you end up in. You organically end up combo-killing using the different guns, without convoluted setups pushing you into it. You get to have some fun with the characters – I think a good bit of the dialogue’s funny without being too pushy – and you get to use whatever guns you want. Your Teammates actually kill people and use their Fuse weapons smartly – especially Mr. Mag Shield. It plays well, and aside from having to learn the particulars of the cover system, it’s controls are pretty natural. You get to start off in a big set piece that isn’t too easy, but lets you have fun wiping the floor with forces that have you outnumbered. You level up a few times in the first level already, so you’re getting to use and advance all the characters. It’ll play well the second and third time through, I think.
However, the first level is a bad first level. Powerups scattered on the floor before your first gunfight? That encourages you to look at the floor instead of notice the cool things they put in the level. Having your first combat experience be with 3 teammates? Doesn’t encourage you to learn how YOU can kill a guy. Open battlefields? Those are great later, but when you’re first learning the game you might not think to move up closer to the enemy, because you don’t have your effective range dialed in.
By the end of the first level, I felt like I’d had to do an annoying amount of self-testing that was not aided by the level design. But I was still having fun. After that, it’s just more fun.
I ended up playing the crossbow guy the most. His sniping is a huge deal to even out the numbers. The black hole gun is awesome and allows for some pretty smart mass murder on the battlefield. I’d use the shield gun more, except that’s the smartest AI design so I leave that to the AI. The crystal firing gun is also well left to the AI, because you can hit the targets they paint to double up the Fuse-y goodness.
It will be much better on once 1) I have friends to play with, and 2) I get a better feel for where I want to put my exp points. Still, I’m looking forward to it. Anyone want to come over to my place this weekend? Or, you know, Xbox Live? (Live tag – LaPuzza)