UK 360. I'm pretty far into the game and it keeps getting better and better. There are some odd design choices here and there which have surprised me in a Mikami game. Concessions to a modern audience? But wow, the content!Icarus wrote:UK 360 or J-360?dan76 wrote:I'm playing on the 360 - there isn't any screen tearing except for in cut scenes. There's the occasional pop up but it really doesn't distract from how great the game is.
The Evil Within
Re: The Evil Within
Re: The Evil Within
Pretas wrote:It's a deliberate artistic effect to make it feel more "cinematic."MX7 wrote:Am I being naive or are borders a bit of an anachronism for a modern game? Is it not just in proper widescreen (none of that 16:9 crap?)
Seems that way.
For me, 'borders' involve squeezing the original aspect ratio. We bitched about this in the 16/32 bit days, and film fans have bitched about this for far longer.
I don't think a game is made better through aping the aesthetic of films. But if it does appropriately utilise a 2.35:1 ratio, then that's fine with me. Now everyone has huge TVs, it'd be stupid not to capitalise on that real estate.
Re: The Evil Within
Seems like people found a way to change the FOV.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaG8xplgjic
I've completed the game as well. Overall, it's a solid shooting game with a bit of stealth and instakill obstacle courses. Nothing exceptionally good though. Don't expect horror, because there is none to be found.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaG8xplgjic
I've completed the game as well. Overall, it's a solid shooting game with a bit of stealth and instakill obstacle courses. Nothing exceptionally good though. Don't expect horror, because there is none to be found.
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iconoclast
- Posts: 1754
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Re: The Evil Within
Finished my first playthrough this morning (Xbone version). I thought it was great. I really like all of the options you have for combat, most of all. You can stealth kill enemies when they're off on their own, you can shoot an enemy's legs out when he comes charging at you then run up to him and light him on fire, you can shoot an axe or torch out of an enemy's hand and use it to instakill him, you can use your crossbow to freeze, blind, stun, or harpoon enemies, and of course you can use all of the traps that are littered throughout each stage to save ammo. It never gets repetitive because there are a bunch of different ways you can approach each encounter.
The only things I didn't like about the game are the first couple of chapters (it doesn't pick up until Ch.3), the frequent checkpoints (makes death meaningless since you usually only lose a couple minutes of progress), and the general jankiness. Sebastian's running animations look pretty bad imo and movement can feel a little clunky in certain areas. The framerate isn't that great either, but it only bothered me in one section so I don't really care. I'm assuming they used the black bars in order to keep the vertical resolution low to get the game running smoother, rather than for some type of cinematic effect (that's just a 'bonus'). Having Japanese developers work with a western engine usually isn't the brightest idea (although UE seems fine now).
I'll probably start Akumu mode later. It has remixed encounters and apparently everything kill you in one hit. That should be fun.
The only things I didn't like about the game are the first couple of chapters (it doesn't pick up until Ch.3), the frequent checkpoints (makes death meaningless since you usually only lose a couple minutes of progress), and the general jankiness. Sebastian's running animations look pretty bad imo and movement can feel a little clunky in certain areas. The framerate isn't that great either, but it only bothered me in one section so I don't really care. I'm assuming they used the black bars in order to keep the vertical resolution low to get the game running smoother, rather than for some type of cinematic effect (that's just a 'bonus'). Having Japanese developers work with a western engine usually isn't the brightest idea (although UE seems fine now).
I'll probably start Akumu mode later. It has remixed encounters and apparently everything kill you in one hit. That should be fun.
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Battlesmurf
- Posts: 1435
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Re: The Evil Within
Just starting it on PC tonight. Really looking forward to it. I made the viewable area a little bigger. I get the feeling that was done for technical reasons more than anything else, but we'll see.
Twitch.TV/redhothero
Twitch.TV/redhothero
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iconoclast
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Re: The Evil Within
Finished Akumu mode earlier today. There are a few really tough spots, but overall it's pretty manageable if you try and play smart. I'm far from done with the game, but I'll post a review since I don't see my opinion changing much:
+ Combat is top notch. It's a bit like RE4 without the godly melee attacks and far more limited resources. You have to make every shot count and think about how you want to approach each encounter to try and conserve your ammo. Enemies can be dealt with in a variety of ways: you can throw a bottle at their face to blind them for a moment, giving you the opportunity to stealth kill them, you can shoot dynamite out of somebody's hand to kill everyone around him, you can shoot an enemy's leg when he comes running at you to knock him down, giving you the chance to light him on fire, you can use the traps that are scattered throughout the environment, you can use your crossbow to blind, freeze, stun, or harpoon an enemy, you can use an axe or torch as an 1-hit kill melee attack, or you could simply blast their head off (unless they're wearing a bulletproof helmet). Combat never gets boring because of the excellent feedback and because there are so many ways to deal with everything.
+ Sebastian is also more vulnerable than his RE4+ counterparts. His sprint is limited, especially at the start of the game. Hold it for too long and you'll start to slow down; let the meter drain and you'll be immobile until it fully recovers. He may have the cardio of a 500lb asthmatic, but it's obviously a design choice to stop you from feeling too safe. Likewise, his melee attack is only useful as a way to stun enemies for a moment when they get too close, giving you the chance to either run away or line up a shot. You won't be able to headshot somebody and run in for a followup german suplex, (un)fortunately.
+ The upgrade system seems smartly designed. Right now I feel like there's an ideal path to take through it, but maybe that's just my playstyle. Just about everything is useful.
+ Exploration. The stages are usually pretty narrow, but you are constantly rewarded with green gel, ammo, map pieces, or locker keys for thoroughly searching every nook and cranny. All of that stuff is incredibly useful (besides maybe the map pieces, I dunno what you unlock for collecting all of them).
+ The higher difficulties. Most of the encounters have been remixed, so you'll be fighting enemies that normally appear toward the end of the game in the first few chapters. Aside from that, the enemies are more aggressive, they have more health, traps are harder to disarm, and resources are more limited. I'm always glad when developers go the extra mile and rebalance the higher difficulties instead of taking the easy way out and simply changing some damage modifiers, even though only a small percentage of the audience will ever play them. I'd expect nothing less from Mikami & co.
+ New Game+. Always a great feature, and it's done perfectly in this game. You can't play through easy mode and carry your upgrades into the higher difficulties; you always have to start from scratch when moving up.
+ Good boss fights. There aren't a ton of them, but they're all fun to fight.
+ Good art and aesthetics. The environments are varied and are full of detail to make them look really run down and destroyed. The lighting also looks fantastic.
+ This game has one of the best sets of achievements I've seen in a long time. There's one for beating each difficulty, one for speed running the game, one for maxing out your character, one for completing the game without upgrading your character at all, one for finding all of the collectibles, and individual achievements for completing a specific task in each chapter. It encourages mastery and 100% completion, so I don't see much room for improvement.
= The story is alright. I like it as a way to transition between environments, but the characters and plot aren't all that compelling.
= The final boss isn't much of a boss, it's just a cinematic setpiece battle. I suppose it's one of the best examples of that type of design, but a proper boss fight would have been much better.
= There are several "walk slowly while scripted events unfold" sections in the game. They aren't frequent enough to be annoying, but it would be better if they didn't exist. Maybe they're just there to mask loading or something.
- Checkpoints are very frequent, which makes death pretty meaningless most of the time. It would have been great if the game had a Dark Souls-esque structure where the save room would act as the bonfire. Akumu mode would be brutal if it weren't for those checkpoints, though. Each one is a relief.
- The black borders. They aren't a big deal to me, but it does make the FOV quite narrow. It's easy to miss stuff if you don't search thoroughly.
- No bonus content. There are unlockables for beating each difficulty, but I wish the game had some type of challenge mode with a bunch of combat arenas, like Resident Evil's Mercenaries or Vanquish's tactical challenges.
- Chapter 1. There's absolutely nothing interesting about it from a gameplay perspective, it's only there as a tutorial and to setup the story, I guess.
- Chapter 2. It's too focused on stealth. You probably don't want to shoot every enemy you see since you're still extremely low on resources, so you spend most of the chapter slowly crouching through it. Stealth is fine every now and then for some variety, but this is just too much. (For reference, the only stealth games I've ever liked are Splinter Cell's multiplayer and the Metal Gear series. So that doesn't help.)
- Tech issues. The framerate isn't great (though it hardly ever bothered me) and it froze on me at one point. First the sound cut off, then a few minutes later the game crashed. Every time I tried restarting the game, it would crash at the start screen. I had to clear my Xbone's cache to get it to work again, so maybe that was just a problem with the console?
I thought the game was excellent overall and, for now, it might replace Dark Souls II as my #2 pick for GOTY (Crimzon Clover: World Ignition is #1). It's not Mikami's best work (that would be either God Hand or Vanquish imo), but it is yet another impressive entry on his resume. I don't think anybody else is even in the same league as far as current game directors go, to be honest.
Now I think I'll activate my "fighting chance" download and mess around with all of the new weapons in New Game+.
+ Combat is top notch. It's a bit like RE4 without the godly melee attacks and far more limited resources. You have to make every shot count and think about how you want to approach each encounter to try and conserve your ammo. Enemies can be dealt with in a variety of ways: you can throw a bottle at their face to blind them for a moment, giving you the opportunity to stealth kill them, you can shoot dynamite out of somebody's hand to kill everyone around him, you can shoot an enemy's leg when he comes running at you to knock him down, giving you the chance to light him on fire, you can use the traps that are scattered throughout the environment, you can use your crossbow to blind, freeze, stun, or harpoon an enemy, you can use an axe or torch as an 1-hit kill melee attack, or you could simply blast their head off (unless they're wearing a bulletproof helmet). Combat never gets boring because of the excellent feedback and because there are so many ways to deal with everything.
+ Sebastian is also more vulnerable than his RE4+ counterparts. His sprint is limited, especially at the start of the game. Hold it for too long and you'll start to slow down; let the meter drain and you'll be immobile until it fully recovers. He may have the cardio of a 500lb asthmatic, but it's obviously a design choice to stop you from feeling too safe. Likewise, his melee attack is only useful as a way to stun enemies for a moment when they get too close, giving you the chance to either run away or line up a shot. You won't be able to headshot somebody and run in for a followup german suplex, (un)fortunately.
+ The upgrade system seems smartly designed. Right now I feel like there's an ideal path to take through it, but maybe that's just my playstyle. Just about everything is useful.
+ Exploration. The stages are usually pretty narrow, but you are constantly rewarded with green gel, ammo, map pieces, or locker keys for thoroughly searching every nook and cranny. All of that stuff is incredibly useful (besides maybe the map pieces, I dunno what you unlock for collecting all of them).
+ The higher difficulties. Most of the encounters have been remixed, so you'll be fighting enemies that normally appear toward the end of the game in the first few chapters. Aside from that, the enemies are more aggressive, they have more health, traps are harder to disarm, and resources are more limited. I'm always glad when developers go the extra mile and rebalance the higher difficulties instead of taking the easy way out and simply changing some damage modifiers, even though only a small percentage of the audience will ever play them. I'd expect nothing less from Mikami & co.
+ New Game+. Always a great feature, and it's done perfectly in this game. You can't play through easy mode and carry your upgrades into the higher difficulties; you always have to start from scratch when moving up.
+ Good boss fights. There aren't a ton of them, but they're all fun to fight.
+ Good art and aesthetics. The environments are varied and are full of detail to make them look really run down and destroyed. The lighting also looks fantastic.
+ This game has one of the best sets of achievements I've seen in a long time. There's one for beating each difficulty, one for speed running the game, one for maxing out your character, one for completing the game without upgrading your character at all, one for finding all of the collectibles, and individual achievements for completing a specific task in each chapter. It encourages mastery and 100% completion, so I don't see much room for improvement.
= The story is alright. I like it as a way to transition between environments, but the characters and plot aren't all that compelling.
= The final boss isn't much of a boss, it's just a cinematic setpiece battle. I suppose it's one of the best examples of that type of design, but a proper boss fight would have been much better.
= There are several "walk slowly while scripted events unfold" sections in the game. They aren't frequent enough to be annoying, but it would be better if they didn't exist. Maybe they're just there to mask loading or something.
- Checkpoints are very frequent, which makes death pretty meaningless most of the time. It would have been great if the game had a Dark Souls-esque structure where the save room would act as the bonfire. Akumu mode would be brutal if it weren't for those checkpoints, though. Each one is a relief.
- The black borders. They aren't a big deal to me, but it does make the FOV quite narrow. It's easy to miss stuff if you don't search thoroughly.
- No bonus content. There are unlockables for beating each difficulty, but I wish the game had some type of challenge mode with a bunch of combat arenas, like Resident Evil's Mercenaries or Vanquish's tactical challenges.
- Chapter 1. There's absolutely nothing interesting about it from a gameplay perspective, it's only there as a tutorial and to setup the story, I guess.
- Chapter 2. It's too focused on stealth. You probably don't want to shoot every enemy you see since you're still extremely low on resources, so you spend most of the chapter slowly crouching through it. Stealth is fine every now and then for some variety, but this is just too much. (For reference, the only stealth games I've ever liked are Splinter Cell's multiplayer and the Metal Gear series. So that doesn't help.)
- Tech issues. The framerate isn't great (though it hardly ever bothered me) and it froze on me at one point. First the sound cut off, then a few minutes later the game crashed. Every time I tried restarting the game, it would crash at the start screen. I had to clear my Xbone's cache to get it to work again, so maybe that was just a problem with the console?
I thought the game was excellent overall and, for now, it might replace Dark Souls II as my #2 pick for GOTY (Crimzon Clover: World Ignition is #1). It's not Mikami's best work (that would be either God Hand or Vanquish imo), but it is yet another impressive entry on his resume. I don't think anybody else is even in the same league as far as current game directors go, to be honest.
Now I think I'll activate my "fighting chance" download and mess around with all of the new weapons in New Game+.
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DestroyTheCore
- Posts: 298
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Re: The Evil Within
Even though I have only complete 1/3 of the game, I generally agree with your post, inconoclast (except for the NG+ stuff, which I haven't experienced yet). Nevertheless I am skeptical about Vanquish being among Mikami's best games.
Re: The Evil Within
I don't see how the upgrades are well designed. A number of them feel like useless money sinks, and others like old holdovers from RE4. Even with upgrades into melee, it still took forever to kill anything. Reload speed and capacity upgrades don't mean very much as you are free to move and sprint around during reloads. Out of the 4 ability upgrades the only one that feels useful is the stamina upgrade.
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iconoclast
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Re: The Evil Within
Well yeah, the melee upgrade was obviously going to be useless. I was mostly talking about the weapons, sprint, and stock. Capacity will also let you hold more ammo overall, but it's not important. Otherwise you have to choose what to upgrade between your damage, pistol accuracy, critical chance, and the various bolts for your crossbow. Health upgrades are also good for anything below Akumu, since you get a full health refill each time. What could they do to improve it?
It's not perfect, but it's still the best game in its genre imo. I've never played anything else that comes close. You could probably say the same for Resident Evil (2002), though. That game is another masterpiece, but I prefer the relentless pacing and mechanical depth of Vanquish.DestroyTheCore wrote:Nevertheless I am skeptical about Vanquish being among Mikami's best games.
Re: The Evil Within
have you not played it yet? :SDestroyTheCore wrote:Even though I have only complete 1/3 of the game, I generally agree with your post, inconoclast (except for the NG+ stuff, which I haven't experienced yet). Nevertheless I am skeptical about Vanquish being among Mikami's best games.
forgive me if I missed something, but it is by far one of his best/most adrenaline fueled games. easily his best since god hand.
REmake was top notch....and I thoroughly enjoyed shadows of the damned too even though it wasn't technically directed by mikami. vanquish tho..
this. at least for me... it blows away all of last gen's TPS games... including naughty dog efforts, GeOW (laf), and the others.iconoclast wrote:It's not perfect, but it's still the best game in its genre imo. I've never played anything else that comes close. You could probably say the same for Resident Evil (2002), though. That game is another masterpiece, but I prefer the relentless pacing and mechanical depth of Vanquish.
-----
I got stuck in TWE on chapter 6 (since my last update) when I used all of my ammo before one of the main events... I have to restart the chapter but I've been dragging my feet ever since. I hate replaying parts in the same playthrough..
a creature... half solid half gas
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DestroyTheCore
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Re: The Evil Within
I finished the game the other day. I was a bit disappointed towards the end of the game (underwhelming final boss, cheesy ending, etc.). Nevertheless I really enjoyed the game and the unlockables are worth a second playthrough.
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evil_ash_xero
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Re: The Evil Within
OK, I got back into this just recently.
I know that a lot of people are OK with the way the PS360 version looks, but it left an awful taste in my mouth. And the screen tearing, on the PS3 version, just drove me nuts. So, I just quit, knowing that I was going to get a PS4 this month, due to Bloodborne.
Well, I like the game a lot better now.
It looks nice. The frame rate is a little unstable, and I do not like the black bars. It seems like the PC version, with it's patches, is the best version to have.
The game has it's ups and downs. It starts off strong, then gets a little weaker, then gets better. I don't know where it's going from here. I have heard people complain to the heavens about stage 10. I don't know why, I just know they really dislike it. Some people like it though. I'm assuming it has to do with one hit kills.
The weakest stage for me, was kind of the ones that were trying to emulate RE 4. It wasn't bad, but I was enjoying the game more, when it wasn't all guns a' blazing.
I did "The Keeper" stage, which I liked a lot. And now I'm in the house. Which is right up my alley.
Anyone know how well this sold? I've heard various numbers, but it's hard to say what's what. VGChartz is crap, but I don't know of any other numbers.
I look forward to the DLC. It's not Mikami's best, but it's a good game. I love how you are so low on ammo all the time. It really makes you think the situation through.
EDIT: Reading through some of the above posts, I would definitely recommend Vanquish to anyone. It's not "epic" enough, or long enough. But holy cow, it's insane. There is no other TPS game like it.
I don't care about it's story not touching my soul. It is insane fun.
I know that a lot of people are OK with the way the PS360 version looks, but it left an awful taste in my mouth. And the screen tearing, on the PS3 version, just drove me nuts. So, I just quit, knowing that I was going to get a PS4 this month, due to Bloodborne.
Well, I like the game a lot better now.
It looks nice. The frame rate is a little unstable, and I do not like the black bars. It seems like the PC version, with it's patches, is the best version to have.
The game has it's ups and downs. It starts off strong, then gets a little weaker, then gets better. I don't know where it's going from here. I have heard people complain to the heavens about stage 10. I don't know why, I just know they really dislike it. Some people like it though. I'm assuming it has to do with one hit kills.
The weakest stage for me, was kind of the ones that were trying to emulate RE 4. It wasn't bad, but I was enjoying the game more, when it wasn't all guns a' blazing.
I did "The Keeper" stage, which I liked a lot. And now I'm in the house. Which is right up my alley.
Anyone know how well this sold? I've heard various numbers, but it's hard to say what's what. VGChartz is crap, but I don't know of any other numbers.
I look forward to the DLC. It's not Mikami's best, but it's a good game. I love how you are so low on ammo all the time.
It really makes you think the situation through.EDIT: Reading through some of the above posts, I would definitely recommend Vanquish to anyone. It's not "epic" enough, or long enough. But holy cow, it's insane. There is no other TPS game like it.
I don't care about it's story not touching my soul. It is insane fun.
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evil_ash_xero
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Re: The Evil Within
I've heard so much complaining about levels 9 and 10. Is it because of Ruvik, in 9? He only shows up a few times, and is easy to avoid.
Level 10 is hard as hell. I just made it to the hub save point. But I love this stage. It's beating me down, but the last two stages have impressed me more than a lot of the earlier ones.
Level 10 is hard as hell. I just made it to the hub save point. But I love this stage. It's beating me down, but the last two stages have impressed me more than a lot of the earlier ones.
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Re: The Evil Within
So it sounds like most of you are really enjoying The Evil Within (with some concessions.) I keep hearing a lot of reviews like that, but it sounds like the good outweighs the bad. I'm also in the bloodborne holding pattern with a brand new shiny ps4. I might have to pick this one up.
SHMUP sale page.Randorama wrote:ban CMoon for being a closet Jerry Falwell cockmonster/Ann Coulter fan, Nijska a bronie (ack! The horror!), and Ed Oscuro being unable to post 100-word arguments without writing 3-pages posts.
Eugenics: you know it's right!
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MOSQUITO FIGHTER
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Re: The Evil Within
I got it on 360. I think it runs a little flakey though. It's making me want to wait until I go next gen to play it.
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evil_ash_xero
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Re: The Evil Within
Yeah, I don't know how it looks on 360, but I'm assuming similar to PS3 (minus the screen tearing).
I quit playing the PS3 version, at the end of chapter 6. It's technical performance was very poor. On the PS4, it has all this dynamic lighting, that really makes things look eerie. It looks a lot better.
That being said, make sure you download the big patch, when you start the game. If you don't, the frame rate is worse. It runs much better after the patch.
I only tried it again, because I was waiting to get Bloodborne, and had nothing else. It's actually pretty good. The good does outweigh the bad, but it has a lot of trial and error, one hit death parts that are CHEAP. I like hard games, but this isn't done in a way I like.
It may actually be more entertaining on "Casual" (I can't believe I said that), perhaps?
If you have a PS4, and are waiting for BB, I'd say go ahead and get it. I don't regret it. I was dumb and paid 60 dollars for it at Wal-Mart, and I don't regret it. So, you can get it on Amazon for half of that.
On a side note, I downloaded the demo for Destiny, since I have nothing else on PS4, and was interested in this "let down" 500 million dollar game.
Jesus, what a bore. I don't like FPS, but this is some of the worst game design in a AAA game, I have seen. All you do is fight off wave after wave of enemies, as your robot scans a ship. It's.....god, it sucks.
Great missions, guys.
I quit playing the PS3 version, at the end of chapter 6. It's technical performance was very poor. On the PS4, it has all this dynamic lighting, that really makes things look eerie. It looks a lot better.
That being said, make sure you download the big patch, when you start the game. If you don't, the frame rate is worse. It runs much better after the patch.
I only tried it again, because I was waiting to get Bloodborne, and had nothing else. It's actually pretty good. The good does outweigh the bad, but it has a lot of trial and error, one hit death parts that are CHEAP. I like hard games, but this isn't done in a way I like.
It may actually be more entertaining on "Casual" (I can't believe I said that), perhaps?
If you have a PS4, and are waiting for BB, I'd say go ahead and get it. I don't regret it. I was dumb and paid 60 dollars for it at Wal-Mart, and I don't regret it. So, you can get it on Amazon for half of that.
On a side note, I downloaded the demo for Destiny, since I have nothing else on PS4, and was interested in this "let down" 500 million dollar game.
Jesus, what a bore. I don't like FPS, but this is some of the worst game design in a AAA game, I have seen. All you do is fight off wave after wave of enemies, as your robot scans a ship. It's.....god, it sucks.
Great missions, guys.
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evil_ash_xero
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Re: The Evil Within
Holy shit guys. A new patch is up, and it removes the black bars.
Not enough people have played it much yet to comment if it hurts the frame rate or not.
Also, I am not sure if this is the case on all systems. I just know it's on the PS4.
Not enough people have played it much yet to comment if it hurts the frame rate or not.
Also, I am not sure if this is the case on all systems. I just know it's on the PS4.
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iconoclast
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Re: The Evil Within
Good timing. I'm probably going to buy the season pass and play through the game again pretty soon. Hopefully it doesn't hurt the performance, though.
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evil_ash_xero
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Re: The Evil Within
I've been reading some impressions, and it seems that it doesn't. But somebody could always chime in.
However, I'm sure Tango and Bethesda know that the frame rate and the black bars were two BIG issues people had with the game, so I'm sort of hoping they wouldn't fix one thing, and worsen the other. It would just look bad.
From the pictures I've seen, the FOV looks so much better. I didn't mind the black bars, but I didn't like them either. And the FOV wasn't so hot. So, this is really great news.
I think the patch is for all console versions. The PS4 one is over 4 gigs, the PS3 is 72 MB.
Weird.
They made some changes to "Casual Mode", but no one knows what yet. I'm hoping maybe they toned down the one hit kills. That would be nice. I think that scares away a lot of players.
However, I'm sure Tango and Bethesda know that the frame rate and the black bars were two BIG issues people had with the game, so I'm sort of hoping they wouldn't fix one thing, and worsen the other. It would just look bad.
From the pictures I've seen, the FOV looks so much better. I didn't mind the black bars, but I didn't like them either. And the FOV wasn't so hot. So, this is really great news.
I think the patch is for all console versions. The PS4 one is over 4 gigs, the PS3 is 72 MB.
Weird.
They made some changes to "Casual Mode", but no one knows what yet. I'm hoping maybe they toned down the one hit kills. That would be nice. I think that scares away a lot of players.
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Re: The Evil Within
I've been wanting to grab this for a while, but since I finally got a PC capable of running it about a month ago, I started it up about a week and a half ago, and finished it last night.
What a game. Easily my favorite so far of this gen.
If I have one small criticism, it's the way it places its best content. TEW's best two levels come about 2/3rds of the way through, and Mikami seemed to be at a bit of a loss as to how to follow them up, settling for "screw it, let's recalibrate the player with a few throwaway levels so we can hammer them again with the final two chapters". It works, and I suppose it's probably better than just letting the final two chapters be an anti-climax, and I really don't know how one would go about trying to follow up chapter 10's insanity, but it seems like it would have been better to find a way to put chapters 9 and 10 at the end of the game, instead of ending on a "well, that's ok, but this game has already done far wilder" kind of note.
Aside from that, pretty much everything about the game is brilliant (I would say it's probably Mikami's best [although I haven't played Vanquish]). I love the way it keeps the classic survival horror vulnerability while keeping the controls relatively decent. The stealth system works reasonably well, and plays well with the idea that you're not BadDude McToughGuy. The environments are unsettling, the gory death animations are awesome, the threat of sudden death everywhere keeps things tense (I certainly disagree with the people who hated the one-shot kills!), the environments combined with the occasional camera effects are incredibly unsettling; it's just about everything you want out of a horror game. Heck, I even loved the first chapter! "Solve stealth puzzles while immensely vulnerable, die instantly and messily if you get it wrong" ratchets the tension up ultra-high from the start, and is a great party-starter.
(Final death count: 191. I suck at third person shooter boss fights!)
What a game. Easily my favorite so far of this gen.
If I have one small criticism, it's the way it places its best content. TEW's best two levels come about 2/3rds of the way through, and Mikami seemed to be at a bit of a loss as to how to follow them up, settling for "screw it, let's recalibrate the player with a few throwaway levels so we can hammer them again with the final two chapters". It works, and I suppose it's probably better than just letting the final two chapters be an anti-climax, and I really don't know how one would go about trying to follow up chapter 10's insanity, but it seems like it would have been better to find a way to put chapters 9 and 10 at the end of the game, instead of ending on a "well, that's ok, but this game has already done far wilder" kind of note.
Aside from that, pretty much everything about the game is brilliant (I would say it's probably Mikami's best [although I haven't played Vanquish]). I love the way it keeps the classic survival horror vulnerability while keeping the controls relatively decent. The stealth system works reasonably well, and plays well with the idea that you're not BadDude McToughGuy. The environments are unsettling, the gory death animations are awesome, the threat of sudden death everywhere keeps things tense (I certainly disagree with the people who hated the one-shot kills!), the environments combined with the occasional camera effects are incredibly unsettling; it's just about everything you want out of a horror game. Heck, I even loved the first chapter! "Solve stealth puzzles while immensely vulnerable, die instantly and messily if you get it wrong" ratchets the tension up ultra-high from the start, and is a great party-starter.
(Final death count: 191. I suck at third person shooter boss fights!)
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SuperDeadite
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Re: The Evil Within
Just finished up my first play-through today (Steam Version). Played on Survivor and had 91 deaths. The chapter difficulty pacing was a bit odd at times, but otherwise really enjoyed it. Now it's time for the DLC, then gonna try and tackle the higher difficulties. The internet seems to claim this game is too hard, but I found Survivor quite forgiving. You just have to be smart about your play style, and stick to upgrades that are useful. Just about everything went down with a single flaming harpoon bolt which really took the challenge out of it, but I suppose clearing Chapter 10 is the true goal of the game. lol
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evil_ash_xero
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Re: The Evil Within
The DLC (Kidman's) explains just about everything to the story. So, buckle up.SuperDeadite wrote:Just finished up my first play-through today (Steam Version). Played on Survivor and had 91 deaths. The chapter difficulty pacing was a bit odd at times, but otherwise really enjoyed it. Now it's time for the DLC, then gonna try and tackle the higher difficulties. The internet seems to claim this game is too hard, but I found Survivor quite forgiving. You just have to be smart about your play style, and stick to upgrades that are useful. Just about everything went down with a single flaming harpoon bolt which really took the challenge out of it, but I suppose clearing Chapter 10 is the true goal of the game. lol
I thought this game was pretty good too. But I've always been frustrated by it's performance on console. You guys are lucky to have played it on PC.
My Collection: http://www.rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/col ... Collection
Re: The Evil Within
As much as I loved the base game, I thought the DLC was pretty bad. The Executioner was a cool idea, but so buggy that I couldn't finish it. The Kidman DLCs were just lame; "Amnesia with brief shooting galleries" isn't something I ever wanted.
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SuperDeadite
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Re: The Evil Within
Finished the Kidman DLCs. I appreciate what they tried to do and all the extra story, but yeah they were rather weak in gameplay compared to the main game. About as linear as it gets since combat was so restricted.
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SuperDeadite
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Re: The Evil Within
Spent some time with Executioner. Kind of a stupid mode, but it costs nothing, and I was enjoying it, just short and easy. At least until the bullshit extra battle royale. Last part of it seems to be pure bull, just spam rockets and hope you get lucky, ugh...
So playing through the main game again on Nightmare. Really enjoying the extra surprises.
So playing through the main game again on Nightmare. Really enjoying the extra surprises.
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SuperDeadite
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Re: The Evil Within
Apologies for the triple post, but this game needs more love. Just completed Chapter 6 on Nightmare, and holy shit was that insane. Ironically the boss fights on this chapter were all piss easy, but the parts with your buddy were easily the hardest part of the game so far.
I only have one real complaint, and that is the always stupid contextual actions. I have been killed so many times during crazy parts when these triggers just don't do what I want them too. Countless times I have died because Seb pulled a switch or got on a ladder when I was trying to do the opposite. Why must they be the same button? ugh. Still though this game is totally worth the frustration.
I only have one real complaint, and that is the always stupid contextual actions. I have been killed so many times during crazy parts when these triggers just don't do what I want them too. Countless times I have died because Seb pulled a switch or got on a ladder when I was trying to do the opposite. Why must they be the same button? ugh. Still though this game is totally worth the frustration.
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evil_ash_xero
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Re: The Evil Within
I liked the Kidman DLC, as an addition. They were different and explained the story. If the main game was like that, yeah, it wouldn't have been that great.
Haven't played the Executioner DLC. I heard it was lame.
I also liked the game, but I did have some gripes with it. Like I said, it runs poorly on consoles. I didn't like all the insta-kills. And the game is a bit more linear, than I would have liked. Forced walking/talking scenes are never a good thing either. But better than any RE game, since 4.
I think it sold pretty well, for the most part. I hope for a much improved sequel.
Haven't played the Executioner DLC. I heard it was lame.
I also liked the game, but I did have some gripes with it. Like I said, it runs poorly on consoles. I didn't like all the insta-kills. And the game is a bit more linear, than I would have liked. Forced walking/talking scenes are never a good thing either. But better than any RE game, since 4.
I think it sold pretty well, for the most part. I hope for a much improved sequel.
My Collection: http://www.rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/col ... Collection
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SuperDeadite
- Posts: 1009
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Re: The Evil Within
Nightmare was a fairly easy clear. In fact I enjoyed it a lot more then Survival simply because there is a lot more variety in the enemy groups, really feels more natural in its layout.
Anyway now on Akumu mode. Just cleared the infamous burning building on Chapter 6. That was truly one insane bitch of a section. No idea how many times I died in there, but after a lot of practice, a lot of flash bolt spam, and a good dose of luck, it's done.
Currently I've put 90 hours into the game/dlc total. Certainly a fantastic game. Though if I have one complaint, it's that on the higher difficulties, the challenge entirely comes from the basic grunt type haunted. The bosses are the same as before so they go down easy, but one random glitchy slap from a grunt and it's all over lol.
Anyway now on Akumu mode. Just cleared the infamous burning building on Chapter 6. That was truly one insane bitch of a section. No idea how many times I died in there, but after a lot of practice, a lot of flash bolt spam, and a good dose of luck, it's done.
Currently I've put 90 hours into the game/dlc total. Certainly a fantastic game. Though if I have one complaint, it's that on the higher difficulties, the challenge entirely comes from the basic grunt type haunted. The bosses are the same as before so they go down easy, but one random glitchy slap from a grunt and it's all over lol.
Re: The Evil Within
Not enjoying this as much as I’d expected. Audio-visually it’s quite brilliant, and the framework of a really good game is there, which makes its failings all the more frustrating.
Stealth is a hot mess. It’s never really obvious whether it’s working properly or not, and I’m fighting the temptation to switch on the visual indicators because I really don’t feel as though I’m to blame most of the time I’m spotted. Movement feels occasionally stiff and awkward, and it makes the terrible mistake of making certain stuff climbable, while other, similar-sized stuff remains part of the scenery. There’s a numbers of ways of approaching combat, but poor controller response/frame rate renders half of them hit and miss – I’m never 100% confident of being able to shoot dynamite from an enemy’s hand for instance , and trying for headshots with the handgun can be a frustrating experience. Turning on the borders improves response somewhat, at the expense of a massive amount of visibility. Insta-fail situations are not my bag, and happen just frequently enough to destroy the atmosphere that the game has worked so hard to build up.
Finally, the flow of a level seems pretty poorly signposted. I’m on chapter 5, and after a few restarts to conserve ammo on the invisible dudes (also, fuck invisible enemies in any game, ever) I made it through to the arena fight with the drowning cop. Scraped through that on the first attempt with little ammo left but didn’t worry too much, as arena fight + rescued partner = level end, surely? Nope, back into another bunch of dark corridors that I can’t explore properly because I’m low on ammo - and where the enemies now seem able to spot me instantly, lantern or not – topped off by, yes, another mob, this time in a claustrophobically small space, still with barely any ammo. I can see what’s been attempted, and it’s an almost great of mix of classic and modern Resi with a sprinkle of Silent Hill, but there are just too many inconsistencies and aggravations for me to really enjoy it. I’ll replay chapter 5 tonight and give 6 a go, but I can’t see myself making it through this.
Stealth is a hot mess. It’s never really obvious whether it’s working properly or not, and I’m fighting the temptation to switch on the visual indicators because I really don’t feel as though I’m to blame most of the time I’m spotted. Movement feels occasionally stiff and awkward, and it makes the terrible mistake of making certain stuff climbable, while other, similar-sized stuff remains part of the scenery. There’s a numbers of ways of approaching combat, but poor controller response/frame rate renders half of them hit and miss – I’m never 100% confident of being able to shoot dynamite from an enemy’s hand for instance , and trying for headshots with the handgun can be a frustrating experience. Turning on the borders improves response somewhat, at the expense of a massive amount of visibility. Insta-fail situations are not my bag, and happen just frequently enough to destroy the atmosphere that the game has worked so hard to build up.
Finally, the flow of a level seems pretty poorly signposted. I’m on chapter 5, and after a few restarts to conserve ammo on the invisible dudes (also, fuck invisible enemies in any game, ever) I made it through to the arena fight with the drowning cop. Scraped through that on the first attempt with little ammo left but didn’t worry too much, as arena fight + rescued partner = level end, surely? Nope, back into another bunch of dark corridors that I can’t explore properly because I’m low on ammo - and where the enemies now seem able to spot me instantly, lantern or not – topped off by, yes, another mob, this time in a claustrophobically small space, still with barely any ammo. I can see what’s been attempted, and it’s an almost great of mix of classic and modern Resi with a sprinkle of Silent Hill, but there are just too many inconsistencies and aggravations for me to really enjoy it. I’ll replay chapter 5 tonight and give 6 a go, but I can’t see myself making it through this.
XBL & Switch: mjparker77 / PSN: BellyFullOfHell
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SuperDeadite
- Posts: 1009
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Re: The Evil Within
It's one of those games you really need to "git good" at. On my first few play throughs, the dog boss was frustrating as hell, but after doing an Akumu run, I learned how to finally fight him properly, and now he's a complete pansy.
The game gives you plenty of supplies. You just have to learn the tricks needed to win with them. The invisible enemies seem irritating at first, but a single flash bolt fired anywhere near them will instantly blind them, reveal their body, and allow you to just walk up and stealth kill them.
On my first 2 play throughs, Survival and Nightmare, I relied on guns way too much. This game is all about the crossbow, upgrade those bolts and learn how to use them. Completing Akumu was one of the most satisfying challenges I've had with a new game in years.
Performance wise though, yeah stick to the PC version if you can. The consoles just can't handle this one.
The game gives you plenty of supplies. You just have to learn the tricks needed to win with them. The invisible enemies seem irritating at first, but a single flash bolt fired anywhere near them will instantly blind them, reveal their body, and allow you to just walk up and stealth kill them.
On my first 2 play throughs, Survival and Nightmare, I relied on guns way too much. This game is all about the crossbow, upgrade those bolts and learn how to use them. Completing Akumu was one of the most satisfying challenges I've had with a new game in years.
Performance wise though, yeah stick to the PC version if you can. The consoles just can't handle this one.