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Jawdropping

  • NicoB
  • 03/21/2009 09:57 PM
  • 1481 views
Presentation/Graphics/Sound

If you haven't already noticed from the screenshots and the super-duper indepth discussion of the setting in the forums, let me tell you now: this game's presentation is absolutely gorgeous. I'm serious, there were times when I actually put my face close to the computer screen and muttered, "Holy shit..". It's that good. The prologue is the best example of this, with a bustling city full of so many different individuals. I loved the setting so damn much, I spent about thirty minutes just wandering around and talking to NPCs. Chains dangling on the train, flying ships, elevators, escalators: everything looks fantastic. Also, the animations of all of the character sprites is very impressive (all of their different movements) and the main menu, as a mentioned in one of the videos, is probably the coolest CMS I've ever seen. Really top notch.

5 out of 5

Storyline

As was pointed out by the goofy little guys who talked to the player at the start of the demo, it's hard to tell what exactly is going on plot-wise(because we skipped the first act). But what is there has me excited and I expect it will all make sense by the next demo (at least that's what I hope). I cannot really explain the story to people because I was truthfully, pretty lost, so I think it's best to just let the players found out for themselves.

My only gripe, actually probably my biggest gripe, is that the dialogue can be painfully slow. I don't mind long dialogue and I don't mind slowing down the text to make it more natural, but both make the story drag horribly. There were times where I just wanted to open up the editor just so I could use SHIFT through everything. Besides this one gripe, everything is good, and the dialogue is well-written (a few typos, but not many).

4 out of 5

Gameplay

The prologue doesn't have any battles, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Rei has created an ACTION TIME system where you have to hit the action key at a certain time to pull a cool cinematic. It really is enjoyable, and there are some moments where be you'll saying to yourself, "Damn that was sweet."

However, the system isn't perfect. I'm talking about when you're on the train, I found it extremely difficult to get around the soldiers' gunfire because for some reason, I could only use the action button when the exclamation point appeared above his head. This led to me basically just sitting there waiting for the gunfire to stop at the exact moment the exclamation point appeared, which grew rather frustrating. There were other similar instances, and one in particular (getting around the passenger who ties you up) had me cursing my screen. The battles were fun, but there weren't that many so it's difficult for me to give a verdict on it yet. I did enjoy the PSI system however, and it looks to have alot of potential.

3.5 out of 5

Conclusion

I see what Rei meant when he said he was reluctant in releasing this demo. It gives the player only a small piece of what looks to be a huge and epic game. However, personally, I am very glad he did decide to release it, because now I have a game that I absolutely cannot wait to see finished!

Posts

Pages: 1
Happy
Devil's in the details
5367
Thanks for the heads up, NicoB! The gunfires part was aimed to be that way, so you can slip in only when they reload. I guess it could help if I made the reaction time for it a bit longer. And slow those damn passengers!

What comes to the dialogue speed and whatnot, I'll get onto it. And the gameplay must have been kinda hard to rate, because in its form it is in the demo, it is very questionable!

Anyway, cheers!
No problem, mate! You really have a solid game on your hands and a dedicated fanbase, so I hope you stick to it. If you ever need another beta tester, give me shout!
Pages: 1