NEOPHYTE'S PROFILE

This is good. Very good.

Definitely the best game I've played this year. I love the atmosphere and setting, and the beginning was almost perfect in executing the type of world it was. Obviously, the main thing that stood out were the animations. This is a CLEAR example of what animations can do to a game, they do so much to keep things interesting. The battle system was decent too.

Now for criticism! Your favorite part!
Like Neok said, this is way too wordy. I didn't mind it too much for NPC's since they're optional to talk to, but the cutscenes are too much. Everything is needlessly long, especially the train scenes and the ones afterward. You're trying too hard to build character development with these characters, and it's actually hurting your game more than it's helping it. That coupled with the slow text speed, and it gets annoying.

This brings me to my other point. This game isn't friendly to the average game player. It's fucking beautiful, yes, but that appeal wears off after a certain time. There's no gameplay in sight for the first 45 minutes other than some action event things. You even named them something like "Option interaction action event" or something (name it something simple)! The story did a decent job, but the last part of the prologue kinda took away the experience. Moving from one specific setting to another is good, but when it takes 45 minutes to do so, it can turn a lot of players off, even if the story might get good later. The fact that you even jumped from the prologue to the gameplay section kinda seems like you know that this is an issue. My guess is you were trying to show both sides of the coin here (storyline in the first part, gameplay in the second). I think the gameplay section could have been more about the gameplay, where the core mechanics of the game would come out. Unfortunately they haven't yet, other than some DBS battles. Though it would pain me (and you as well) if you took out certain parts of the prologue, because it really is well done. There needs to be a way to engage the player more than just relying on your graphics.

Also yeah, the screen shaking on the train wasn't too good. It especially hurt my eyes when in battle and opening the menu screen (incredible animation here). The last thing I want to say is that while the battles were decent, they weren't...fun...I guess. Maybe it's because I only have one character at the moment, but it just isn't that engaging. Unfortunately I can't pinpoint the issue here, but hopefully I can soon. Awesome music, by the way.

This was very entertaining overall, your animations alone kept me interested to keep playing. I was always wondering what you would pull off next. I'm not quite finished with this demo yet, but I guarantee you that I will finish it. This really is an incredible game, I'm just trying to help you improve on it. There are certain parts in this game where you will literally say something out loud because of how detailed things are.

An RPG is whatever you want it to be. Some like ones with good stories, some like ones that are just a blast to play. It's personal preference! =)

Certain aspects of a game can draw a player in more than the other aspects. Sometimes it's the story or theme of the game, other times it's the gameplay mechanics. =)

author=Neok link=topic=3326.msg66730#msg66730 date=1237161797
Well your partner in RE4 doesn't really do anything on her own accord. If attacked, she'll just cower there until you save her or she gets carried off.

The enemy AI is pretty predictable though. One trick I always like doing is to run up to them until they bring their weapons back to swing at you, backpedal a bit so that they whiff, then run past while they're in their post-swing recovery phase.

Seriously, every generic human enemy re-acts this way to getting run'ned towards. It's funny to watch and show off.

That is the issue I have with the game. Honestly, I don't mind the controls or the not moving while shooting. I do have an issue with the enemies, because they ALL act the same exact way. Some do more damage than others or have projectiles, but they all follow some weird timing rule. I guess this is to compensate for the controls, but they still could have done something a little different at times. The partner AI is obviously bad, this game is meant for co-op. Sheva (and Chris) will do some stupid things. They will sometimes be on the other side of the map while you are in the dying condition and just never come in time. That, and they will refuse to heal you at times. Playing Co-op is much better.

The game is still great, and Mercenaries is really fun too. I think the earlier bosses were better than the later ones, though. I was especially disappointed with the last boss.

The production value of the cutscenes are incredible. You guys will enjoy this game a lot if you liked RE 4.

Also the bosses. They're amazing. I am pretty sure you get to play as another character once you beat the game. ;)

Can someone tell me the main difference between them?

It seems like if you've played one of them, you've played them all. The only thing that changes is the character and story. I don't mind games using the same formula, but when you use it 12 times it kinda loses its spark. I've only played Abyss, Phantasia, and the Vesperia demo. The only one I really enjoyed was Phantasia, and that was almost 10 years ago when I played it. From what I've played of Abyss and Vesperia, they play the exact same way, just with different characters and a new story.

I guess if you like the formula then you will like the series. There is a lot of pointless dungeons and tasks to do in the ones I've played, especially Abyss. I couldn't stand the dungeons in that game. Seriously, I was hoping the dungeons would get better in that game but nope, they don't.