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NotASenator
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
The new UI is absolutely awesome and I love the "comic frames" during the cut scenes.
http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/17149
http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/17149
NotASenator on
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Summary that will be updated:
- Created characters represented in-game as well as cut-scenes.
- Not a lot of customization options for girl characters.
- It's a fusion of RPG/point and click. Not much to adventure aspect so far (sounds like they only played the beginning of the game)
- No random battles, you see enemies. Roll dice for initiative. Can use spacebar to block attacks.
- Progress wheels fill up for attacks and once full you can attack at any time. Previewer said it seems like you spend more time watching the wheels fill instead of watching the battle animations.
- Think it could be an RPG for people who aren't RPG-people. There is a timing aspect to attacks.
- Text is hilarious. Different dialogue trees offered.
- No voices for Gabe or Tycho. Not the same G&T from the comic but their dynamic is still there (???). Lots of bits for fans, certain real comic panels are stuck places in-game.
- "And when you see what the little Fruit Fuckers do..." "What do they do?" "They...fuck fruits".
Some screen caps:
I hope this does not constitute a glimpse into a bunch of reviews saying 'if you do not like PA humor, this game is not for you'. I could not care less, since I do and it is (for me), but it may constitute an interesting conundrum for reviewers and people who get uppity about review scores. Reviewers seem so eager to review a game by its mass appeal and genre adherence instead of its core merits.
Games still lack the real differentiation of market groups that movies and books have. In the game world, genres classify what you do in which way as a player (FPS, RPG, and the utterly generic 'Adventure') instead of what the game is actually about: Romance, Humor, Fantasy, Thriller. This is due to the dual appeal (gameplay and storytelling) games have, yet evaluating the latter is totally glossed over in most game reviews. They just say 'good humor', or 'good story', yet a game like this needs much more than just a single line like 'if you do not like PA humor, this game is not for you'.
It might be a bit much to expect an evaluation of that in a preview though. Khoo and comrades really have a tough challenge in promoting this game to previewers like these. Giving previews in the traditional sense must be like standing next to a book that isn't totally finished and having people come by to read excerpts and comment on the typesetting.
If I look at the game closely, the RTB battle system and minigame special attacks make it already seem at least as fast paced as most RPGs. It's just that you can't see or hear that pressure that makes people watching the video's bored. Also, it's the first half hour of the game, it's alright to ease people into it.
I know the game will most likely have proper battle music and 'not only mouse' controls down the line, so I'm not worried.
Oh noez, am I falling into the fanboy trap of refuting any little nitpick people throw at this game? I guess as long as I do it here I will be fine. :P
Reading the kotaku replies, I noticed more level-headed and thought-out responses, even on the topic of which webcomic they like more, something that rarely brings out the best in people on the internet. They seemed to (for the most part) lay out specific things they liked or disliked.
The commenters at Joystiq just seemed spitful, which immediately made me suspicious, and it didn't take long to see the evidence that the most vocal critics weren't actually raging against the game as much as they were expressing some sort of rage at PA itself. At least the guys at kotaku were able to just say when they didn't like PA and not try to mask their burning internet rage in the guise of useful critiques.
I think, especially with professional previews like the one at Wired's Game|Life, the guys at HotHead know which crits they should be taking to heart.
Also, I was unaware that there was a burning internet rage towards PA... it appears that there is. Some people also hate sunshine and butterflies, so there really is no accounting for taste.
I agree by the way that they shoudlnt voice Gabe and Tycho, everyone has a voice for them that is different
If this was a PA animated series, obviously they'd need to talk, but given the fact it is a game and the style of the game, I really like the text heavy presentation.
There are a lot of idiosyncrasies that are in Tycho's writing style that would likely not translate very well into spoken word.