So I got the Special Edition early thanks to a friend lending me the cash. I really wanted to play it now since I just finished HR and am really on that David Cage kick.
So far, it's pretty....hm. It's hard to explain. No more R1 Walking and a lot of the simple actions like opening doors and the like feel quite a bit more natural. I can't say much about how her powers will play into things because, as I write this, I'm only at The Party. For the beginning part, The Experiment, I did go a bit crazy with the power demonstration. Part of it was me just wanting to test it out and part of it was me thinking that it was "natural.' Move this, move this, now she just keeps moving more and more things ya know? She stopped eventually when the lady in the other room was really freaking out.
Oh I forgot to mention, I like the dialogue options not flying across the goddam screen. I mean, that must be hard for people that can see way better than I can. Just having them all nice and stationary? Thank you game. It made the conversation with the British kid so much more enjoyable. I had Jodie mostly be sincere because this is her first party, her first real interaction with people her own age, so she'd want to open up. Hell, I hung out with a ton more people than Jodie ever did and yet I was still so shy and reserved that when I first got on the Internet, I all but exploded because I had so much I wanted to say and stuff. The Internet was my outlet so I feel like I kinda understand where she's coming from. She finally has an outlet so of course she's gonna say everything and admit everything. Maybe I'm naive, maybe she's naive, but you really don't think about how all the information you give out can be used against you. You're just glad to have someone to tell. I totally had that jerk move his hands though. I then had her kiss him because....well, ass groping is a no-no for a boy you've known for five minutes but kissing can be romantic and sweet and I think Jodie would want that; be desperate for that. I know I was desperate for kisses at her age. But she's a girl, not a boy, so maybe I'm projecting too much. Oh and I had her take a sip of beer just to try and be cool. God, I remember those awkward teenage years. Again, maybe more projecting, but the poor sweetheart seemed so out of her element and
she'd just want to do anything to fit in. Still, it was only a sip, just so she didn't look too lame. Kinda like how I took sips or hits at various points in my life, in spite of my hatred of beer and pot.
I dunno why I'm reporting all these extremely minor details. I didn't report on all my choices in Heavy Rain, like how I cooked eggs or if I fed Shaun or other inconsequential stuff. I guess because Jodie is so much younger than our four PCs in HR that she feels...vulnerable. This could be a pivotal moment for the rest of her life and I want to make every detail of it perfect.
Also what the smurf is with a book of poetry for a birthday present for a teenage girl? Or a teenage boy? I guess maybe one-in-a-thousand might like that, I might even have liked that, but average? I was a more stereotypical kid than I was a teenager and the best analogy I can think of is getting socks for Christmas. You just don't do that to a kid and you don't tive a book of poetry to a teenager for their birthday.
I had Jodie show off her powers because...well, she wants to impress; to be cool. But they got over that quickly enough, in spite of saying they were scared. "OOH, CAKE! FORGET ABOUT THE GHOSTS, WE HAVE CAKE!"
Yeah, the girl was over the moon to get a thong for her birthday.... Well, that doesn't say too much...I know a few girls who wear them and like poetry but...God, I hate awkward embarrassing moments in fiction. I dunno about you but they hit a little too close to home for me so I always change teh channel or do something because I just can't handle feeling embarrassed for whoever is being embarrassed.
And now they're making fun of her...GRRR.... USE GHOST POWERS TO PUNCH THEM IN THE FACE!
That...British dickhead! Well I took Revenge on all of them. Busted up every goddam thing. Jodie said enough but I don't think her guardian angel will let what they did stand. smurfing burn, ya little trouts, smurfing burn. Oh and the music for that section really got me into it. I liked it a lot.
Just did The Condenser. The combination of slow mo and "press right analog stick where she's moving" makes the combat a lot more intuitive in this game. I don't need to pause half as often in this game. And speaking of this chapter or level or whatever, the final stretch was probably the most intense section yet. Really awesome music and visuals and camera angles. Very climactic and awesome getting to shut down the machine.
Now everything has slowed down though with the Homeless section but I like it. I realize her powers are an important part of Jodie but I like just having a Jodie section if you understand my meaning. I am very curious to see what will develop here or how she will leave them or what will happen. I honestly hope EAiden kinda stays out of this part. I mean, he stopped her slitting her wrists (that was an awkward QTE I didn't much feel like doing) but mostly it's just her doing he own thing and I like that. It keeps the "tone" intact ya know?
Overall, I will say this game hasn't quite sucked me in like HR did but HR was a very, very different story with very, very different characters. So far this is like a mix of Action and Supernatural while HR was....I dunno, wanna call it Noir-ish but I dunno. I guess the tagline for this game suits it well - it's a blockbuster. HR was was not a blockbuster-type project, at all. On a positive side, the voice-acting in this game is galaxies better than in HR.
Last edited by Forsaken Lover; 01-01-2015 at 06:35 AM.
I enjoyed reading this post so much. Did you go in the room where Nathan and Cole were during the Experiment? Because there's some more stuff you can do with Aiden in there.
For the most part, I did the same as you in Party. Only I didn't drink, didn't even talk to the guy who had the cigarette the first time, didn't show off my powers, and I didn't kiss the British boy. The moment I saw revenge as an option I went to town yelling "DON'T SMURF WITH ME! YOU DON'T LIKE ROCK! I'LL ROCK YOUR SKULL AGAINST THE WALL BITCH! ASKING FOR IT HUH? ASKING FOR IT?!" *stabs British kid with a knife* "HOW'S THAT?! FEEL GOOD DOESN'T IT?! DOESN'T IT?!"
Yeah I went into the other room with Nathan and Cole. I didn't do anything except listen to them for a few seconds though but they wee only talking about SCIENCE so I left.
I do have to mention though, the arbitrariness of some of Aiden's powers is kinda annoying. USE POWERS TO IMMOBILIZE THIS GUARD. BUT YOU CAN'T IMMOBILIZE HE GUY TEN FEET AWAY FROM HIM BECAUSE.........
Oh well, that's video games for you. Why do the magic pockets of the Resident Evil characters have eight slots? That doesn't make sense either.
Those kids were beyond stupid. I just showed them my powers and they thought it was a good idea to torment me? It be like Carrie if everyone at the prom had seen Carrie blasting people around with TK. Too Dumb To Live.
I guess I should say comment on the non-linear storytelling. That's what this is called right? It's...interesting. It gives B:2S its own kind of mystery, just like HR. The mystery being "why the hell did they all turn on Jodie?" I'm really interested to see what is Nathan's role in all this. I don't necessarily think he's evil or anything but I'm sure there's something bigger with him going on.
Yeah, it makes more sense when you decide not to demonstrate, but when you do you're just like "You guys KNOW what I can do."
Not being able to possess some guys, but possess others annoyed me too. And the game choosing who you get to strangle. Can't I just break this guy's neck? No. Okay.
I like the way they went with the narrative, too. You get a real sense of a woman trying to put her life together piece by piece, and after you beat the game you can go back and play all the chapters in order if you want. Though you have to keep going back to the main menu because otherwise the game will just continue to go in the order its programmed to.
Hey, I kinda like Sexy Rebellious Jodie in Like Other Girls. Although the chapter started off pretty bad. I had no smurfing direction or clue what I had to do or what the game wanted me to do. Then I smurfed up those random hicks.
Speaking of smurfing up people, I've hit my first real "goddammit, let me control it" moment in the game. I choked Jodie's "father" and stopped when she asked me to. However I changed my mind and reloaded and didn't stop because this time I wanted to kill him. I thought it was my choice to kill him or not. But nope, you stop either way, whether you do it yourself or the game forces you to. That sucks.
Jodie wields a gift - power to hurt those who hurt us. Maybe it says something about me but I'm very happy to use that gift. Blow their brains out, choke them, do whatever. No mercy.
But yes...where was the "rape" in Homeless? That was the best, mot atmospheric section by far, I will agree. But all that happened was I played a guitar and sang a song by Beck or somebody and then helped deliver a baby. Oh and saved my buddies from some gangbangers. Should have just killed those mothersmurfers earlier. Oh well....
Mostly I try to be as honest as possible with everyone. I told my homeless friends about Aiden and I was going to tell the one kid in Najavo but it got cut interrupted. The only thing recently I've lied about was I didn't tel Nathan that I saw anything when I did Flashback or whatever it is on the one thing. I figure Jodie would want to be....tactful?
And speaking of Navajo, I wasn't as sold on it as some others. It was okay but Homeless was better. I think maybe it just dragged on a bit too long for me. It was nice to see some happiness in Jodie's life however.I also only hugged the one guy because there ain't no romance there, come on.
I like Dafoe a lot but I'm pretty sure I heard his accent slipping in the one line before he goes and meets this Clayton guy. He said something like "I'll be back in a moment" and it sounded way different to me.
WOW, talk about whiplash. I cussed that Ryan guy out when he came to take Jodie away. I would have gone Carrie on him but the doc stopped me. But the whiplash comes in the form of "smurf you!!" and then "I wanna date this guy" next chapter. Kinda weird. I guess there is quite a span of time between the two chapters though and Jodie did seem to make a happy life at Welcome to the CIA.... I dunno. Also, is it optional what you take or do before leaving in Separation? I took the bunny. You gotta take the bunny. I was scared she might leave it behind but I picked it up again and put it in her bag.
I'm making Asian Beef for the guy because....well, I'd be happy with eating pizza with my GF but this is their "first date" and the guy wanted a fancy restaurant so.... Plus Jodie said it was quick and simple but it also sounds exotic. It asked me what seasoning to use though and smurf if I know. Maybe it said on the recipe but I didn't see it. Maybe Ginger? I didn't add anything. I also didn't have Aiden interrupt while Jodie and Clayton were talking. I just...I couldn't do that to her. Oh and I didn't say Jodie had time enough for a shower because....well, again maybe this says too much about me, but unless you're working out in the hot sun or it's been like a week, what's going without a shower? Jodie in her Elegant dress should be enough for any man of decent taste.
Okay I did have Aiden interrupt when they were eating and actually talked about him. Jodie said he didn't know who or what he was and then Ryan asked if he was there and I did something. Moved a plate maybe? Just to show a general annoyance. I just thought Aiden might be annoyed at being talked about in such a way.
Had Jodie kiss Ryan. Whatever my misgivings about the man, Jodie is clearly over-the-moon for him so what's one kiss? Only they start making out and it looks like things are gonna get hot and heavy. (Taking it a bit fast, aren't you guys?) Then I think Aiden interrupts....somehow and she starts crying and the jackass bails on her. If my girlfriend ever starts crying and I take that as a cue to bail, I should be shot.
Oh no! The blooming romance with Clayton went...about as well as I expected. I mean, I saw Salim being this Jamal's son coming a mile away but I didn't think it was some smurfing Cold War Era CIA trout with murdering a guy we just didn't like. I honestly thought it was just some random warlord we were offing. smurfin' government. They engineered Jodie's birth or something too, didn't they? There was like one scene forever ago implying that. Anyway, the whole Middle East mission took way too long and the only parts I liked were the last bits with Salim and the ending.
And speak of the devil. I mention not seeing much about Jodie's mom and then, boom, Jodie's mom. I dunno if it's optional or not but I had Aiden put her out of her misery. And then of course she gets caught immediately after. Saw that coming. Now we're off to destroy a country's Condenser while the Evil USA is building the best one ever. What could go wrong? I'm still not sure if Nathan is gonna turn out to be evil or not, or at least more of an asshole than he seems.
I gotta admit, despite my loathing of Ryan, I liked The Dinner chapter. It felt teh most like something from Heavy Rain, if that makes sense.
Think I'm gonna stop there for tonight. Tomorrow I get Mass Effect Trilogy and maybe beat Beyond.
Just started watching a playthrough of this a few days ago and I really like it. I'm a fan of Quantic Dreams. My miff in their games is the voice acting. Random French accents that sneak through is a bit distracting. My other miff is Ellen Paige's character being a badass and going through CIA training, but not getting buffed up? She should at least be some what meaty after all that rigorous training yet she still looks scrawny. Otherwise it's pretty good so far. Right now I'm on The Condenser episode so no unmarked spoilers please.
There is no rape scene in Homeless to my knowledge. I only know of the attempted rape in Like Other Girls. I think. It's been so long since I watched the scene on YouTube and I didn't hang around at the bar. I just remember there being a big stink over it.
Dinner ChapterI ruined Jodie's dinner and don't regret a damn thing. Ryan is an asshole, and the game doesn't help by showing him in his assholeness in the previous chapter before dinner. I can't remember the last time I actually argued with a video game character before. Fun chapter. *knocks trout over* Oh no! If only there was some way we could have prevented that from happening.
Goddammit, I gotta replay all of Black Sun? I missed ONE QTE, I smurfing swear. I missed Triangle. The next one was shake the controller and I did that. smurf you game, i gotta repeat the whole damn level just for that ending part? The smurf.
I was wondering what the smurf happened. I looked it up and everyone was saying "you gotta choose your ending." I didn't get a chance to choose trout, everyone was dead, the end. I figured "well hey, she says she is piecing together her life while trapped in this hell so it makes sense. It explains the way the story is being told." I thought it was the "right" ending. Guess not. Now I gotta replay ALL OF THIS.
Okay, so that's Beyond: Two Souls.
I....don't hate it. But it be a stretch to say i like it, or want to replay it.
The problem with this game, compared to Heavy Rain, isn't the the absence of choice or punishment for failure. The problem for me is that B2S is much less interactive than HR. I commented when I started the game that I was happy for the more intuitive gameplay. To move left you just nudge teh control stick left. In HR, for the same action, you mmight have to hold down two or three buttons or to move the joystick in a sort of angular shape. To knock on a door in B2S, you just press the joystick, to knock on a door in HR you do the...it's sort of a U shape I guess I'd call it? The point I'm trying to get across is that, in HR, you had to be on your toes to do a decent amount of work. It was a lot more involved than you nudge the control stick in one direction here and there and that is it. A lot of B2S saw me just kind of staring at the screen and forgetting I had a controller. I can assure you that never happened in Heavy Rain.
As for the ending....
(SPOILER)I chose Beyond. I've played the game, I've played Jodie's life, and there is nothing left in the Life for her. Life has done nothing for her except kick her in the ass every chance it got. There was no reason to stay. Sorry Ryan, I don't hate you or anything, but there is a whole new, far better world out there for Jodie.
As for the story and all that...it was okay. The problem is, as I mentioned earlier, is that it is Jodie's story. Heavy Rain was four peoples' story. It was Ethan's story, it was Norman's story, it was Scott's story and it was Madison's story. I like Jodie, I really do. She was a good character. But she's a solitary rock in a sea of forgettable characters. I mean, Stan was okay, Nathan was okay, Cole was okay, but the best I can say for everyone besides Jodie and Aiden is that they were "okay." Speaking of Aiden, I liked him. I liked the reveal at the end. It makes sense. I think Aiden has good presence in spite of having no voice. I liked to play him as wild and overprotective and that really works IMO. I think Aiden is probably the most....flexible character in B2S. You get more control over him than Jodie even and he's better for it. Your Aiden might not be teh same as mine.
Overall, B2s had its good points, I won't deny. But it failed to live up to my expectations unfortunately. Heavy Rain was a really good game, one of the best games I've played in a long time, but this was....just kinda okay.
If I had to confess my single greatest disappointment, it would be: (SPOILER)the torture bit. That could have been so much better. Believe me, I had my thumb hovering over the X button if it got ugly but it really didn't. I mean, if that guy had started to carve out Ryan's eyes? I probably would have talked. But I stayed silent because this game just didn't get it. I know Cage can do it, he did it in HR with The Lizard, but here....it was like he pulled his punches. I dunno why.
I disagree. I think Beyond is an awesome game. I can't compare it to Heavy Rain, but I found immense enjoyment in playing it and I definitely plan to replay it. The gameplay mechanics in HR sounds like a chore and I'm glad Beyond was nothing like that.
Ending SpoilersI chose life because honestly, who'd choose death? Aiden wasn't with me anymore, but I chose to reunite with the guys from Homeless and now Jodie is set to train the woman's daughter for the next time trout hit the fan. If there's a sequel anyway.
Beyond: Two Souls
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