I go back and forth but I probably play with it on more often than not. They really did a good job balancing Sebastion's place the in the frame with the letter box (especially when crouched). Without the bars it feels off compositionally the same way that film composition of a 2:35:1 film feels of when the frame is opened up.
Also the lantern can interfere a bit with the letter box off since the direct light shining front and center where it's normally concealed under the bars.
Yeah it definitely felt designed with letterboxing in mind. And honestly, given a lot of the empty verticle space in EW2 it might look a lot nicer with the letterboxing on as well, Im surprised they didnt make the option available from the start.
You have over 600 gunpowder ammo on your first blind playthrough? My first blind playthrough is on Nightmare — I don't know where everything is, and I'm just trying to survive — and I have nowhere near that much ammo. I don't exactly miss most of my shots either, and I lean pretty heavily on stealth kills.
RE4 was a cakewalk compared to this, both the first time and subsequent playthroughs. TEW2 is definitely the scarier game in the "survival action" or "action horror" genres.
Not on a blind playthrough no (my first was blind, but it was on Survival), however I had a huge surplus on my first playthrough simply because of how frugal I was with shotgun ammo (the only ammo worth crafting for most of the game) and because 90% of my kills were ammoless, or with a bottle. I never once had any problems. Well, I did restart after dumping 12K gel into Predator and finding it worthless in the middle of Chapter 3 if that even really counts. I played on Survival for my first playthrough, and I shouldn't have. I actually have more ammo with this Nightmare playthrough than I did on my first, and resources in general are a lot lower, plus ammo costs more to craft too. The only time I used ammo on my first playthrough after Chapter 3 and realizing how fucking awful the pistol was, was on a boss, an elite or those crawly fucks until I realized they died with a single axe swipe.
You don't need ammo for most of the enemies, and playing blind doesn't really change that after you kill the first one or two. It really boils down to whether or not you have the patience to kill everything that way.
The only enemies you cannot stealth kill are:
1.
Buzzsaw things
2.
Crawly things
3.
Exploding things - these suck, but to save a lot of ammo, simply have them blow up on you and just heal it back with coffee. Or just use a single exploding bolt.
4.
Most of the few bosses that are actually in the game other than the one in Chapter 11 or 12.
Not on a blind playthrough no (my first was blind, but it was on Survival), however I had a huge surplus on my first playthrough simply because of how frugal I was with shotgun ammo (the only ammo worth crafting for most of the game) and because 90% of my kills were ammoless, or with a bottle. I never once had any problems. I played on Survival for my first playthrough, and I shouldn't have. I actually have more ammo this playthrough than I did on my first, and resources in general are lower. The only time I used ammo on my first playthrough was on a boss, an elite or those crawly fucks until I realized they died with a single axe swipe.
I know what "cartoonish" means. Acting angry and on edge when you're drunk and someone tells you your child is alive isn't it. That's a pretty understandable reaction.
As for the rest of the game, again, I'm only on Ch. 11, so I don't know if Seb goes off the rails later, but his tone has been pretty fitting so far.
I know what "cartoonish" means. Acting angry and on edge when you're drunk and someone tells you your child is alive isn't it. That's a pretty understandable reaction.
As for the rest of the game, again, I'm only on Ch. 11, so I don't know if Seb goes off the rails later, but his tone has been pretty fitting so far.
Even implying that the vocally (lazily) angry and disillusioned drunk trope (as portrayed by Seb) is proper characterization is... I can't. I can't get to you and I'm so sorry.
Even implying that the angry disillusioned drunk trope as portrayed by Seb is proper characterization is... I can't. I can't get to you and I'm so sorry.
The man was bordering on suicidal depression and someone strikes the rawest nerve possible ("your child is alive") while his inhibitions are down. I don't find his anguish and anger in that moment to be unbelievable at all. As a career journalist I've seen real people get that animated and more. So we'll just have to agree to disagree, I guess.
The man was bordering on suicidal depression and someone strikes the rawest nerve possible ("your child is alive") while his inhibitions are down. I don't find his anguish and anger in that moment to be unbelievable at all. So we'll just have to agree to disagree, I guess.
I see you quoted me before my edit. I've seen a range of people suffering from that stuff. Not everyone deals with it the same.
(On a lighter note, don't take our debate the wrong way. If you ever want to talk about anything, hit me up on a PM. I don't judge anyone about anything other than the kindness in their heart.)
Stop watching lazy writing. Please. I don't mean that in a confrontational way. I've never met someone who acted like those horrible tropes. Not to say that there isn't some realistic basis, but those characters are always just awful in execution. (That includes our boy TEW2 Seb)
I've heard some people outside of this forum complain about the boss fight against
Stefano
in Chapter 8. Am I the only one who really liked this fight? It was a great mix of learning the different attacks, their windups, and learning how to punish them effectively. I played it on Nightmare and it's been my favorite part of the game so far (I'm at Chapter 13).
Stop watching lazy writing. Please. I don't mean that in a confrontational way. I've never met someone who acted like those horrible tropes. Not to say that there isn't some realistic basis, but those characters are always just awful in execution.
Even if you consider the characterization in that scene to be lazy (i.e. him being upset and confused when he's drunk and depressed and someone strikes his rawest nerve)... even if you consider that "lazy writing" (not just tropey, but lazy), I still don't see how it would be considered cartoonish to the point that it undermines the entire character for you.
I'm just happy he actually is a character this time around.
The first TEW1 was in execution, a blandish character POV protagonist. I won't deny that. But what little characterization he had, even if its just in the notes you find, and inferred slightly by his odd dialogue in-game- he was more realistic than TEW2 Seb. There was more evidence that he could be closer to realistic, I should say. So yeah, the negative change in personality and writing does kind of undermine what little I found fond of in him. In the bar scene alone, he has zero character of TEW1 Seb. Even with the events of the original game under his belt, it's not at all a natural progression.
It's just... a disappointing loss. Kidman too. I won't lose sleep over it, but it's enough for me to rant about on a message board.
I've heard some people outside of this forum complain about the boss fight against
Stefano
in Chapter 8. Am I the only one who really liked this fight? It was a great mix of learning the different attacks, their windups, and learning how to punish them effectively. I played it on Nightmare and it's been my favorite part of the game so far (I'm at Chapter 13).
I liked it, and I also liked Stefano a lot more as the villain. I wish he would've had some more powerful options or another escalated stage of attacks. It was a cool fight, had a bit of a light RE5 Wesker feel to it.
I've heard some people outside of this forum complain about the boss fight against
Stefano
in Chapter 8. Am I the only one who really liked this fight? It was a great mix of learning the different attacks, their windups, and learning how to punish them effectively. I played it on Nightmare and it's been my favorite part of the game so far (I'm at Chapter 13).
he was pretty decent. But there wasn't that many bosses anyway. The game has 17 "Chapters" but really more like 8 or less overall areas to actually do anything in.
The first TEW1 was in execution, a blandish character POV protagonist. I won't deny that. But what little characterization he had, even if its just in the notes you find, and inferred slightly by his odd dialogue in-game- he was more realistic than TEW2 Seb. There was more evidence that he could be closer to realistic, I should say. So yeah, the change in personality and writing does kind of undermine what little I found fond of in him.
Well, OK. It obviously worked more for me. Hopefully you'll warm up to it in time if you liked the game enough to revisit it some day. I really like Seb's character here.
I've heard some people outside of this forum complain about the boss fight against
Stefano
in Chapter 8. Am I the only one who really liked this fight? It was a great mix of learning the different attacks, their windups, and learning how to punish them effectively. I played it on Nightmare and it's been my favorite part of the game so far (I'm at Chapter 13).
I thought the Stefano/Aperture fight was awesome. It was SUPER TOUGH until I figured out that I should
stay at the front of the arena, right under the eye, in the corner so my rear and right side were protected, and so I don't have to deal with the explosions,
and that I should
run -toward- the tentacles when they attack
. It's a very demanding fight, at first, but it's also a classically Japanese one where there are distinct patterns telegraphed by his dialogue ("Philistine!" "There will be nothing left of you when I'm done!" "Time to bleed!"), and when you realize you can bait certain attacks.
I'm very pleased with pretty much everything about Stefano. He had super-cool monsters at his service, the Aperture is a strong key visual, and his locations (City Hall, Theater) were both atmospheric and interesting. Also had tons of unsettling artwork/sculptures/time-frozen victims, a neat puzzle here and there, and some great cutscenes.
This is exactly what I had thought. This game seems more 'gamey' than TEW1.
Main guy is drinking in a bar, more grizzled, talks too much.
I'm liking this game, but the grittier, more grizzled returning character thing.. terrible, terribly lame and cliche. As a long time survival horror fan, most of my protagonists were mostly silent.. Silent Hill, Fatal frame, Resident Evil, etc.
fight is pretty good. There's enough baiting and pattern recognition to make it interesting. It's pretty interactive for a shooter boss fight, but Japan has always been better at that stuff.
Exploding things - these suck, but to save a lot of ammo, simply have them blow up on you and just heal it back with coffee. Or just use a single exploding bolt.
4.
Most of the few bosses that are actually in the game other than the one in Chapter 11 or 12.
This is exactly what I had thought. This game seems more 'gamey' than TEW1.
Main guy is drinking in a bar, more grizzled, talks too much.
I'm liking this game, but the grittier, more grizzled returning character thing.. terrible, terribly lame and cliche. As a long time survival horror fan, most of my protagonists were mostly silent.. Silent Hill, Fatal frame, Resident Evil, etc.
It's a strange thing that game designers think that anyone who goes through any fucked up ordeal automatically turns into that. No, it's more a sad thing that game designers (media makers as a whole) realize that being over-the-top and cliche is often the only (and easiest) way to get a character across to the general audience. It's inherently familiar because it's been used so much since the beginning of time.
I get it. But I don't like it. And there is usually leeway if you're actively looking.
I do agree with Sanctuary that the one real blemish on the Stefano fight is
that ridiculous grab range on the running stab
. The strategy I mentioned mitigates this somewhat since it allows you to focus your attention in certain places and react more quickly, but yeah it's a pretty cheap move he does, lol.
About to be on chapter 4 but spend a good 3 hours on chapter 3. I was so so on the first game mainly due to cheap deaths and giving me survival horror ammo drops but Gears of War combat situations. I was also leery with this one but after learning more of the mechanics and exploring Union getting new guns and doing upgrades it's starting to grow on me. It's reminiscent of The Last of Us to me at times.
Well, OK. It obviously worked more for me. Hopefully you'll warm up to it in time if you liked the game enough to revisit it some day. I really like Seb's character here.
I thought the Stefano/Aperture fight was awesome. It was SUPER TOUGH until I figured out that I should
stay at the front of the arena, right under the eye, in the corner so my rear and right side were protected, and so I don't have to deal with the explosions,
and that I should
run -toward- the tentacles when they attack
. It's a very demanding fight, at first, but it's also a classically Japanese one where there are distinct patterns telegraphed by his dialogue ("Philistine!" "There will be nothing left of you when I'm done!" "Time to bleed!"), and when you realize you can bait certain attacks.
I'm very pleased with pretty much everything about Stefano. He had super-cool monsters at his service, the Aperture is a strong key visual, and his locations (City Hall, Theater) were both atmospheric and interesting. Also had tons of unsettling artwork/sculptures/time-frozen victims, a neat puzzle here and there, and some great cutscenes.
I absolutely adored this element. I know for some people who care about their "cinematic experiences" they think it kills the "immersion" but I love cheesy stuff like this that you only see in games. It actually felt nostalgic to fight a genuinely great boss in a modern day TPS where the boss exclaims their attacks!
Edit: I will say that they're two things that disappointed me about this boss though. The first is that you can shoot the frozen explosions to unfreeze them and hurt Stefano. The second is that the giant eye doesn't do anything. Would've been neat if they expanded on that segment before the fight and made you stay out of it's line of sight.
I absolutely adored this element. I know for some people who care about their "cinematic experiences" they think it kills the "immersion" but I love cheesy stuff like this that you only see in games. It actually felt nostalgic to fight a genuinely great boss in a modern day TPS where the boss exclaims their attacks!
Aww, man. I wanted to look at the models of Guardian, Obscura, etc. Also, like you said, the first game's model viewer provided some pretty important information about how the monsters formed and what they represented (i.e. Laura Reborn was Ruvik's unresolved guilt, etc).
I wonder if TEW2 will get a hardcover artbook like the first game. I have that book and it's great for additional lore, etc.
I absolutely adored this element. I know for some people who care about their "cinematic experiences" they think it kills the "immersion" but I love cheesy stuff like this that you only see in games. It actually felt nostalgic to fight a genuinely great boss in a modern day TPS where the boss exclaims their attacks!
Jumping and ducking under Cyberdemon's flame attack between those rock pillars is some of the most fun boss-battlin' I've had in an FPS since the Metroid Prime trilogy
The more I think about the Stefano/Aperture fight, that really is a Mikami-ass Mikami boss battle. Just rigorously gameplay-driven and carefully designed, with an eccentric quotable villain to boot. I love it.
The more I think about the Stefano/Aperture fight, that really is a Mikami-ass Mikami boss battle. Just rigorously gameplay-driven and carefully designed, with an eccentric quotable villain to boot. I love it.
It feels like the Ruvik encounters from chapter 9 in TEW1 expanded out into a proper combat encounter. The core of those moments is still there with the boss continually moving forward, teleporting to avoid attacks, and messing the player up when they get in close. But it's developed quite a bit more with the threat of ranged attacks and the large tentacles destroying the environment. Great music and one-liners, too. It's a strong moment for sure.
It feels like the Ruvik encounters from chapter 9 in TEW1 expanded out into a proper combat encounter. The core of those moments is still there with the boss continually moving forward, teleporting to avoid attacks, and messing the player up when they get in close. But it's developed quite a bit more with the threat of ranged attacks and the large tentacles destroying the environment. Great music and one-liners, too. It's a strong moment for sure.
I also liked that Aperture had a solo moment to shine during the
hide-and-seek searchlight segment
. I said it before but I friggin' love that giant eye in the sky. If Laura and Keeper were the strong key visuals for TEW1, I'd say Aperture is definitely one of the strong key visuals for TEW2. The kind of thing you'd put on an epic Star Wars-style movie poster.
Well both RE4 and TEW feel like a hodgepodge of ideas kept in the games that would've been chiseled down by most other studios. RE4 was rebooted a number of times but it feels like they kept elements from all of it. TEW came off as a much more horror based experience in early rumors and concept art, but still comes out with 1,001 different scenarios, many of which are action based in nature. The Evil Within 2 is absolutely more coherent and cohesive on a conceptual and world building level than either of those games. It starts at one speed, changes to another, and keeps bouncing between them all the way to the end. Alongside that, it feels like there's a concerted effort to have Union and The Marrow act as grounding tools for you to become familiarized with and comfortable in (to an extent) in order to make some sense of the journey and how your actions are affecting STEM. Even through the more surreal and gamey sections, it still feels like a title that's trying to keep you in the loop and keep its internal logic intact.
I just don't know if the changes they made are worth it for me, personally. The immersion factor is not strong enough make up for the change in design.
That's fair enough. A consistent tone goes along way in games for me, this visceral feeling that there's a real cohesive vision and world-logic behind it. It can make even budget games feel greater than the sum of their parts (for me).
But I don't think there's any question that the actual game design in TEW1, for instance, is better on some crucial level.
The main problem with TEW2 is combat mechanics and enemy designs. TEW2 has better world, survival and encounter design but the actual combat feel and systems are just brutal, mainly because of the enemy animations and attack patterns. They really bring TEW2 down. Enemies lunging into you, no good crowd control solutions (until you bloody unlock a kick ability), the super-zoomed aim mode of TEW1 being borderline useless in more open encounters.
Do I really suck at this game or is it pretty damn hard? I have died at least 7 times by now and I have only played for couple of hours. (I have finished Evil Within and the DLC previously)
Had to switch from Steam Controller to PS4 controller, as I just couldn't get handle of it which was weird because I only play the SC nowdays on PC. The camera just wouldn't handle properly with it.
That said, so far the game has been pretty damn good, I have no idea what I am doing but I am having tons of fun.
The main problem with TEW2 is combat mechanics and enemy designs. IMO TEW2 has better world, survival and encounter design but the actual combat feel and systems are just brutal, mainly because of the enemy animations and attack patterns. They really bring TEW2 down. Enemies lunging into you, no good crowd control solutions (until you bloody unlock a kick ability), the super-zoomed aim mode of TEW1 being borderline useless in more open encounters.
Like the first game, the crossbow bolts (when upgraded) seem incredibly powerful for crowd-control. A single shock bolt can knock down up to four regular enemies, allowing you to stomp them. Smoke bolts allow you to sneak kill upwards of approximately five if they're grouped close and you're fast enough. Not all enemy types seem susceptible to either/or, but I mean you don't really want the game playing itself for you.
And from what I've seen of Chapter 3, there's probably enough weapon parts to get at least one bolt type upgraded to where it's moderately/highly effective. And there's always upgrading your shotgun and aiming at groups of heads.
Do I really suck at this game or is it pretty damn hard? I have died at least 7 times by now and I have only played for couple of hours. (I have finished Evil Within and the DLC previously)
Had to switch from Steam Controller to PS4 controller, as I just couldn't get handle of it which was weird because I only play the SC nowdays on PC. The camera just wouldn't handle properly with it.
That said, so far the game has been pretty damn good, I have no idea what I am doing but I am having tons of fun.
Focus on slowly picking off enemies with stealth kills in the early going. Then spend the gel you get to buys upgrades for weapon sway reduction. Buy a couple of those, a stamina upgrade, a health upgrade. Upgrade your firepower so your bullets hit harder. Then you should be fit for more direct confrontations.
It's worth slowly picking off each enemy, because they stay dead, and there are lots of crafting supplies in the various houses, garages, trucks, trashcans, pickup beds, etc.
2.5 hours in and it's actually really good minus the God awful PC performance. I wasn't a massive fan of the first game but this is definitely a step up.
Like the first game, the crossbow bolts (when upgraded) seem incredibly powerful for crowd-control. A single shock bolt can knock down up to four regular enemies, allowing you to stomp them. Smoke bolts allow you to sneak kill upwards of approximately five if they're grouped close and you're fast enough. Not all enemy types seem susceptible to either/or, but I mean you don't really want the game playing itself for you.
And from what I've seen of Chapter 3, there's probably enough weapon parts to get at least one bolt type upgraded to where it's moderately/highly effective. And there's always upgrading your shotgun and aiming at groups of heads.
It definitely gets better once you've got the shotgun, bow and a couple of abilities.
But that doesn't change the fact when you put simple encounters in a petri dish they appear mechanically flawed. E.g. tiny, simple encounters like an enemy appearing in a small room can lead to a really scrappy, imprecise and awkward encounter, involving them immediately going off camera while you aim at them, you sprinting away, rotating, trying to aim again but them immediately stepping off-camera once more, etc. Then actually shooting them is really hard unless you're using a mouse because of the crosshair and how their animations are designed (but even with a mouse it can be super awkward).
Had to switch from Steam Controller to PS4 controller, as I just couldn't get handle of it which was weird because I only play the SC nowdays on PC. The camera just wouldn't handle properly with it.
Do I really suck at this game or is it pretty damn hard? I have died at least 7 times by now and I have only played for couple of hours. (I have finished Evil Within and the DLC previously)
That said, so far the game has been pretty damn good, I have no idea what I am doing but I am having tons of fun.
Definitely think it's hard and pretty well balanced, even on 'normal' difficulty it's easy to die (although you're dripping in resources pretty quick).
2.5 hours in and it's actually really good minus the God awful PC performance. I wasn't a massive fan of the first game but this is definitely a step up.
Dark Souls 2 isn't a bad game by any means, but it changes enough from the previous games that the whole of the game is worse than its predecessor. The Evil Within 2 is certainly not a bad game. In fact I'd say it's a solid 8/10. But it has enough changes from the first one that it just feels "lesser". I hope that Mikami comes back to direct TWE3, assuming there is a third game.
I agree with this, aside from the score thrown out with what I wrote.
Mikami needs to come back and be fully in charge. Not some random ass never before heard of vegan stoner looking type. This guy doesn't look the type to have a mind to create a game that is better than EW1 in any department.
The only two upgrades in EW2 from EW1 are visuals and use of sound. The rest is all a downgrade.
It has pre-patch Uncharted 3 aiming where moving the stick in a circle will register as a square on-screen. Basically the diagonal inputs are borked, which makes it feel weird to aim. Not sure if there's a technical term to describe it.
I agree with this, aside from the score thrown out with what I wrote.
Mikami needs to come back and be fully in charge. Not some random ass never before heard of vegan stoner looking type. This guy doesn't look the type to have a mind to create a game that is better than EW1 in any department.
The only two upgrades in EW2 from EW1 are visuals and use of sound. The rest is all a downgrade.
"doesn't look like the type to have a mind to create", right
He's an evidently skilled and valued director/designer who designed both the story DLCs for TEW and did a great job. IMO TEW2 is superior to TEW1 and I'm a giant Mikami fan.
I do agree it would be brilliant for him to come back on 3 though.
It has pre-patch Uncharted 3 aiming where moving the stick in a circle will register as a square on-screen. Basically the diagonal inputs are borked, which makes it feel weird to aim. Not sure if there's a technical term to describe it.
Pretty sure. I play a lot of shooters and am very sensitive to aiming response quirks. TEW2 just doesn't feel good (not that it's any better or worse than the first game), but at least the series' combat is mostly horizontal so diagonals aren't as necessary. Still a problem, though.
The DLCs are super lackluster other than the story holes they plug and help flesh lore on.
Superior how? What makes this game an improvement over the original? Less mechanics? Less interesting villain/s? Less interesting environments?
There's no suspense in the enemies in this game because they are so god damn loud you can never be caught off guard by them. Just sneak up and exterminate the mouth breathers.
I'm not full on disagreeing but I'm just wondering what your reasoning is to say something as bold as this game is an improvement compared to the first without what you think is better.
He's an evidently skilled and valued director/designer who designed both the story DLCs for TEW and did a great job. IMO TEW2 is superior to TEW1 and I'm a giant Mikami fan.
I do agree it would be brilliant for him to come back on 3 though.
Okay I like the first game but holy shit the first DLC for that game is 'crouch walk through gray reused corridors and areas from the main game for four hours with no weapons'
I have no idea why people keep telling others that the DLC is better than the base game
If Mikami thinks someone is good enough to direct, then they're good enough to direct. Mikami knows what he's doing. I have faith in his apprentices.
Rather than expecting the new guy to be a clone of Mikami, let him be himself. He'll learn and grow and develop his own style.
I'm glad I just... like both games. They're different, but rather than looking at one as "better" or "worse" than the other, I look at them as two halves of a whole — a franchise that is richer for each of them being there.
It's also pretty great we still have lengthy survival horror titles of this scale and caliber in this day and age of loot-boxed micro-transactional multiplayer titles.
