BoI also smurfed the graphics up but good, and it completely fails in achieving the aesthetic it was aiming for.
BoI also smurfed the graphics up but good, and it completely fails in achieving the aesthetic it was aiming for.
Warning: Possibly some minor spoilers.
Alright, apologies for the delay. First I got busy, and then I wanted to put a little bit of time into this guy before coming to conclusions.
Basically I feel like my review for this game can be split into two separate halves. The first half of my review revolves around how this is, possibly bar none, the most breathtakingly gorgeous and visually rich game I have ever played. The first half hour of the game is a true feast for the eyes packed with utterly beautiful cinematography and aesthetics. I found myself taking a screenshot probably every thirty seconds. Here's a (very) small sample of them:
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This is a game world that is rich, flavorful, atmospheric, and overflowing with cinematic influences. It's like stepping right into the pages of one of those "The Art of [Whatever Video Game]" books. The entire game feels engineered to give provide maximum visual delight from every angle, and in that aspect of things, the game is an immense success.
That does, of course, bring us to the second part of my review, which is that this is a fairly standard shooter wrapped up in a (very, very) shiny skin. The controls and general gameplay are at best pretty average for the genre, and although the trappings of a good story seem to be shaping up here it all really felt like I was spending far, far too long shooting endless waves of enemies in the face between getting to the interesting things happening.
That's not to say it's a bad game - it's got a lot of great reviews, after all. But FPS games were never really my "thing" (unless it's with friends on the couch or something), and I can't really see myself putting a huge amount of time into pushing my way through this one. Supposedly the story is amazing, so maybe I'll try again someday, in the future, when I feel more in the mood for a shooter. For now, it's simply not holding my interest.
THE VERDICT:
- Easily the prettiest game I have played in years
- The whole game is just a feast for the eyes
- Almost worth the price for the game's atmosphere alone
- But I dunno it's all about shooting people
- And I don't really do FPS games
- If you liked Bioshock gameplay or story-driven FPS games you'll love this one
- Otherwise probably wait for a sale
Last edited by Pike; 01-10-2015 at 09:27 PM.
One of my favourite games ever, and that is despite my agreement with you that the gameplay is quite bland. Every other aspect of the game was just that good though. Hopefully you go back to it and finish the story in its entirety, you'll be glad you did.
I only picked this up and played a week or so ago and I fell in love. The art design and sound direction (both music and ambient sounds/talking) are simply beautiful. Absolutely stunning and it took my breath away. Never have I ever played a game as gorgeous as this and whoever did the art direction is a genius. The story and characters were fantastic - Booker and especially Elizabeth just felt perfect and I really liked that.
For combat, I think I agree with Pheesh. You have a couple of neat unique gameplay elements like vigors, the rails and the tears to mix combat up a bit from your standard shooter, which I enjoy a lot. However, what it really does well with all of that is give you choice. There's one moment I remember where you try to go out of a door and you're pinned down by snipers who are on a rooftop. What do you do?!
- Grab the sniper rifle that's to the side of you?
- Have Elizabeth tear in a couple of air hooks and swing your way up to the snipers, engaging them at close quarters?
- Use your vigors! I think there's a water spill you can use to shock those foo's, or maybe you can possess one and have him fight the others?!
I think that's superb game design. Presenting the gamer a problem, encouraging them to look around for a variety of solutions and then letting them pick one that suits their style of play.
The only thing that I think irks me is the ability to only carry two weapons. I get why but then I think when you have heavy weapons with such a low ammo count as an option it doesn't really encourage me to use them. Two and a pistol would've been nice! Two, a pistol and a heavy would've been even nicer
I played this a little more today (I was going to play the next game on my list but it didn't have a volume option for some reason, and I wanted to Skype Mister Adequate at the same time xD) and I am finding myself getting drawn into the story and characters. The cinematography, of course, continues to be superb. I am really impressed by the visual artistry of the game.
I really need to play the second story DLC thing for this game. I have it downloaded, but I just forgot that it was a thing by the time it came out.
I absolutely adore Bioshock Infinite, though.
Only played the first BioShock. Hated it. Would not play again. If the gameplay of Infinite is largely the same (and from what I hear it is) I think I'll pass.
I have played this one and it was pretty nice, but I agree regarding gameplay - it's alright, but it's nothing that keeps me going. I hope to finish it someday, I have no idea how far in I am but I don't suspect it's that far in and I did really love the characters (well, character: the girl is awesome), "world" and story. But yeah, that gameplay can be boring on occasion.
On another note, I discovered that I had The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth via PS+, and played it the other day. Oh man is that game freakin' awesome fun. Wow. Eventually got through the first dungeon. Will definitely play again.
Bow before the mighty Javoo!
I've not liked any Bioshock's gameplay much, at best it's risen to the heights of "completely generic shooter" and normally is rubbish. I haven't honestly been too taken by the stories either. Settings and visuals though, yeah, worth it just for that.
Hi friends, and welcome to the BIT.TRIP block of Pike's Steam List. I've got four of the suckers in this series, and I've only played one, so let's see how things go.
BIT.TRIP BEAT works off of the premise: what if Pong was a rhythm game?
No, really. That's the game.
bittrip beat 1.png
Little dots come at you in the rhythm of various funky chiptune songs and you have to hit these dots back with your Pong paddle. A miss slowly but surely fills up your little miss bar at the bottom of the screen.
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Things get kind of difficult as you go on.
If the miss bar fills up, you wind up in Pong Purgatory and are given a chance to redeem yourself. There is no music in Pong Purgatory and it's actually kind of terrifying.
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Survive Pong Purgatory and go back to the game; fail it and it's game over for you.
And that's about it, that's the game.
Also there's a Portal level.
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THE VERDICT:
- It's a casual game more than anything
- It's fun but unless rhythm games are your thing you probably won't spend more than an hour or so on it max
- Good music though
- ~Retro~
Bit.Trip games are so great in my experience, I'll have to try this one!
I only have the two Runners. I would definitely try this game if it was free.
This is a game that I have in fact played before and oh I love it. I just love it. It's one of my favorite "chill out" games.
In it, you play Commander Video, who I think is an alien or astronaut or something? I'm not sure. Either way, it doesn't matter, because the point is that in this game he is merrily dashing along in time to some immensely cheery music and it is your job to help him avoid obstacles and collect gold and power-ups.
bit trip runner 1.png
So you jump...
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And slide...
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And kick, and bounce, and other fun things. This is all done in time to the music and the sounds all blend together wonderfully. The song also increases in intensity as you go along.
If you collect all the coins in a level, you get to go to a fun bonus level inspired by Pitfall and other old Activision games.
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The bonus level, by the way, is even more difficult than the normal levels.
If you mess up in the middle of one of the levels, you are sent back to the beginning. In most levels this isn't a huge deal, but in some of longer marathon levels you will definitely regret every little mistake. Especially since these levels love to throw bouncy balls at you and you have to remember which ones to duck under and which ones to jump over. So if you start playing this game and want it to be more difficult, don't worry - it'll get there eventually.
I'm not sure what it is about this game, exactly, that makes me love it so much. It might be that the music is so happy and pleasant, or it might be the solid gameplay, or it might be the fact that even when you get thoroughly frustrated at it, you just can't hate it. It's too cheerful to hate it. It's too relaxing to hate it.
Anyways, get it. It's one of my favorite Steam games.
THE VERDICT:
- So fun, so relaxing, so happy
- I honestly think pretty much everyone would like this game
- Definitely pick this up if you see it unless you really hate music games or something
- Great music
- Great art
- Great everything
- Have I mentioned that I love this game?