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[Foxtastical]

If I was reviewing it I obviously wouldn't come out and say I hated it but I would extrapolate on why I view those aspects as problematic. I would have at least played it to completion and got a feel for everything it offers - I personally didn't play more than 3 hours. If I did despise it to the point that I would rather just get it over with and play something else I would be entirely the wrong person to be reviewing the game in the first place. If I had to I would at least look at every aspect and judge it fairly. Fairness is the key thing. I was a little overdramatic with my example but there is no denying that there is a LOT of excessive vitriol directed by a handful of reviewers that don't even make the effort. I expect reviewers to be honest and opinionated, but I also want them to at least take the time to form one properly. It's what they're paid for after all. I mean, almost all of the negative reviews didn't even seem to know about the autotransition feature when they complained about the alien's 'awkward' movement.

EDIT: When I said I'd "probably give it an A" that's assuming I took the time to play it all the way through beforehand.

Isn't playing a game for 3 hours, realizing you don't really enjoy it and then stop playing it, a form of criticism? I don't want to go much further (games being interactive and not necessarily about story, movies are about story, etc), but I think having a "guide" to reviewing video games is a bad idea (you have to beat it before reviewing it!). Let people play games how they want to, let them review them how they want to as long as they're being fair and honest to their audience and readers. We're all different, but we do find agreement with certain types of critics.

The whole beating a game before reviewing thing, though, I really don't feel like debating about. I've had it a million times before, and it's late night. Maybe later.

 

[-tetsuo-]

Wait, whats going on with these prices now?

 

[luka]

Don't get us started on the faults of ME2, we could derail this thread for pages and pages.

:lol Hah. No I don't necessarily hate the game I just hate that it's just taken the path of least resistance design-wise and because more of a straightforward shooter like every other big big name mainstream game. It's a crowd pleaser for sure but it just doesn't do anything for me.

Now that I've finally got my copy of ar tonelico 3 and shattered horizon has a community again I've got so much on my plate it's gonna be tough to fit significant AvP time in.
TOO MANY GOOD GAMES WOE IS ME.

Another point I have to make, the marine's health system is literally the best ever. Its the perfect mix between a regenerating and health pack setup imo, and it has the benefits of both. There's a great risk-reward system there and it adds a good bit of depth to survivor mode, as using a health stim leaves you temporarily vulnerable, making a dash to stock up on them is risky as hell and using one when you have between 1 and 2 bars is wasteful but often necessary. How you manage them is key to doing well in survivor mode.

Anyway just buy this game PC GAF, its awesome.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=386339

 

[brain_stew]

Since I got relegated to the last post on that page I'll repost and add some additions here


I've nearly finished the marine campaign and its been awesome, I can get really tense at times and nails the atmosphere of the universe. Playing in the dark with headphones is the way to go. Length wise it seems to be about the same as MW2 so 4-5 hours or so, and I've got two new campaigns with completely different gameplay to go through after that, I just can't begin to understand the hate.

Another point I have to make, the marine's health system is literally the best ever. Its the perfect mix between a regenerating and health pack setup imo, and it has the benefits of both. There's a great risk-reward system there and it adds a good bit of depth to survivor mode, as using a health stim leaves you temporarily vulnerable, making a dash to stock up on them is risky as hell and using one when you have between 1 and 2 bars is wasteful but often necessary. How you manage them is key to doing well in survivor mode.

Anyway just buy this game PC GAF, its awesome. If you're unconvinced, but a cheaper price ($35) would push you over the edge I'll help out another bunch of you lot get it for cheap again once the first batch arrive tomorrow.

 

[luka]

Here are the extra survivor maps that come with the hunter edition. Again basically reworked campaign rooms.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YOElkqR-sk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8SNdamf0zw

The other two that I couldn't find videos of are deathmatch maps, docks and hive. Very "alien." It's really disappointing that 5 of the 6 maps that came with retail are all samey jungle/temple variants. I'm probably not going too far on a limb when I say most people playing this are more in it for the Alien than the Predator, but they give us only one Alien themed map out of the gate.

 

[brain_stew]

Here are the extra survivor maps that come with the hunter edition. Again basically reworked campaign rooms.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YOElkqR-sk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8SNdamf0zw

The other two that I couldn't find videos of are deathmatch maps, docks and hive. Very "alien." It's really disappointing that 5 of the 6 maps that came with retail are all samey jungle/temple variants. I'm probably not going too far on a limb when I say most people playing this are more in it for the Alien than the Predator, but they give us only one Alien themed map out of the gate.

They've already announced that they'll be added for regular players very shortly, so no big loss, really.

 

[luka]

They've already announced that they'll be added for regular players very shortly, so no big loss, really.

Oh I know, but it's a silly thing to do when the game is pretty map-starved as it is. I wonder if anyone who bought the hunter edition has even managed to play on those 2 DM maps yet.

 

[JoeBoy101]

Playing some multiplayer right now and loving the Team Species Deathmatch. Infestation is awesome but WAY too short. Once a 1/3 of the team becomes aliens, it won't even be a minute before its all over.

 

[Stallion Free]

Finished up the Predator campaign completing the game. There were some pretty frustrating bits on Hard and for some reason it didn't give me the achievement at the end. Aliens seem to combo you quite easily and I found that in most situations it was better to just run by them until you get the glorious Combi Stick.

Highlights:
-Atmosphere in Marine campaign
-Alien AI in Marine campaign
-Stalking Marines/civilians as both Predator and Alien
-Leaping all over the place as Predator and Alien
-Kill animation gruesomeness
-Graphics
-Sound design

Dislikes:
-Aliens (the enemy, not the campaign) difficulty on Hard... their combos are annoying as hell
-Stupidly long kill animations
-Environments became tiresome after the third time through
-Vague story that isn't very satisfying because it feels like a prologue

 

[CENOBITE]

Well... nipples.

Here I was all excited about diving into PC multiplayer... and the game 100% freezes whenever clicking to join any online game. Sonofab!tch!!!!!

 

[Raide]

After playing through the Marine Chapter (360) I must say they really nailed the "Oh shi..." feeling. Graphically I love the early levels which transition from indoors to outdoors and you get that red/brown dusty haze around. Framerate seems stable and only once faltered for me (nn a lift). I did not notice any tearing but that might be because I sat staring at the damn Motion Tracker. Every time that damn motion tracker bleeps, it makes you freak out. :lol

I am playing this through headphones and its amazing. It adds so much more to the immersion factor when you can only hear the friendly clicks of the Motion Tracker and then the Sudden bleep of doom. Its great to hear Aliens scream and explode like they do from Aliens. The sound is nailed perfectly, expect maybe for the Smart Gun which sounds a little off.

I would advise new players to head to the options and change the VerticalHorizontal Controller settings. It starts on full and is a really sickly experience. I put it down to half and it made aiming so much easier.

Some have complained about the lack of Ammo but you really need to pay attention to what Hicks said in Aliens.

"Hicks: Remember: short, controlled bursts. "

Going flat out on the trigger will have you spent quicker than a 12 year old boy in the lingerie section. Then an Alien eats your face.

Overall I loved the pacing and overall feel of the game but I was also a little disappointed how short the Marine Campaign really was. I am glad I still have the Alien and Predator side but it was a shame to end the Marine story so quickly.

If you love Aliens, you will enjoy AvP because playing a Marine feels like Aliens and the game even make a few references to Aliens to make you at home.

Off to play the Alien now!

 

[CENOBITE]

This really is a game that is in ways a lot like a Star Wars game (like Battlefront) ... as compared to other games it's middle of the road, but where it gets its power from are the - --

- atmosphere
- sound fx
- music
- Lance Henrickson's familiar voice overs
- and the art direction borrowing mostly from the Aliens film universe

for some reason, if you are into the original movies, this game totally draws upon those intense memories... and, in my case, nightmares. Long time ago I even bought the original Playstation console just for ALIEN LEGACY and Wipeout.

now if only I could get this game from crashing when trying to join a PC multiplayer game.
>.<

 

[cdyhybrid]

How well/horribly would this run on my machine? Not necessarily interested in running the game on max or even high settings until I get a new machine, just want to tail whip/tongue stab people online. I'd like to play as the Alien in particular.

2.5 GB RAM
Pentium D 3GHz
GeForce 9400 GT (512MB? I think)
Windows XP

 

[brain_stew]

This really is a game that is in ways a lot like a Star Wars game (like Battlefront) ... as compared to other games it's middle of the road, but where it gets its power from are the - --

- atmosphere
- sound fx
- music
- Lance Henrickson's familiar voice overs
- and the art direction borrowing mostly from the Aliens film universe

for some reason, if you are into the original movies, this game totally draws upon those intense memories... and, in my case, nightmares. Long time ago I even bought the original Playstation console just for ALIEN LEGACY and Wipeout.

now if only I could get this game from crashing when trying to join a PC multiplayer game.
>.<

Have you tried using the DX9 renderer instead?

I'm in total agreement with yours and the post above, the marine campaign (and survivor mode) really make you feel like you're part of an Aliens movie There's just nothing quite as haunting as that motion tracker beep, it'll have you panicking like crazy especially if you're using headphones.

 

[todahawk]

Wait, whats going on with these prices now?

do tell

Spoiler

off to google

 

[LocoMrPollock]

It's pretty ridiculous that they released the multi-player in this halfassed state. Even if you're lucky enough to get into a game after 5 minutes of searching, if the hosts gets mad and quits it's back to the menu screen for everyone with no credit for anything. And if you're actually lucky enough to finish a match, guess what? It's back to the fucking menu screen to search for 5 minutes once again. Woo hoo!

360 version by the way.

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

The fuck is wrong with them. I'll need to read the review but jesus christ, there are so much worse games out there. I mean, this game is pretty good. Don't see many faults in it other then the SP isn't long and the Melee system isn't perfect.

Understatement of the year. It's quite horrid in its own way (finished yesterday), but the issue at hand is what to compare it to for a quantitative judgement.

And that 'other' is not some other shooter, but the previous two games, which are GLORIOUS compared to this game. And with AvP 1 "classic" available for next to nothing, that means that the better choice is buying AvP 1 & 2, play those multiplayers and forget about this iteration alltogether.

If a score gives out the incentive to either leave it or buy it, then the incentive should be as low as possible for this one and I can really see why a critic (1up) would reach for the bottom of scores.


I had hoped to say something more positive on this game, but I found myself quite bored while playing and even unwilling to continue playing when I hit the Praetorian as a marine. (and then I still had to go the other two campaigns)
I also do not understand at all why of all things they had to use the first AvP movie as a reference point... which is like making a Resident Evil from the movies and thinking that it somehow wouldn't suck. It didn't help Silent Hill either.


edit: 360 version btw, because there is a really big difference in texture quality between PC and 360 as far as I can tell from the pics in this thread.

 

[MMaRsu]

It's pretty ridiculous that they released the multi-player in this halfassed state. Even if you're lucky enough to get into a game after 5 minutes of searching, if the hosts gets mad and quits it's back to the menu screen for everyone with no credit for anything. And if you're actually lucky enough to finish a match, guess what? It's back to the fucking menu screen to search for 5 minutes once again. Woo hoo!

360 version by the way.

What state? So what if you don't get some fucking rank, who cares about that. All you can unlock are skins anyway.

 

[ThaddeusMcGee]

"Game Revolution" gave a fairly brutal review, but homeboy used an old screenshot of the canned Colonial Marines game on the review page. If you can't even pay enough attention to get that right, how can you expect me to believe your review does not also suffer from the same half-assery?

 

[Milpool]

It's pretty ridiculous that they released the multi-player in this halfassed state. Even if you're lucky enough to get into a game after 5 minutes of searching, if the hosts gets mad and quits it's back to the menu screen for everyone with no credit for anything. And if you're actually lucky enough to finish a match, guess what? It's back to the fucking menu screen to search for 5 minutes once again. Woo hoo!

360 version by the way.

It's the same on the PC for me at the moment, but the dedicated server should be appearing on steam tools soon... Lag is a real nightmare, as an alien sneaking up on a marine the grab icon appears for a split second when I'm nowhere near them, then I'm dead all of a sudden because apparently I ran right through them and they shot me in the back.

 

[Unicorn]

"Game Revolution" gave a fairly brutal review, but homeboy used an old screenshot of the canned Colonial Marines game on the review page. If you can't even pay enough attention to get that right, how can you expect me to believe your review does not also suffer from the same half-assery?

Lol, it's worse because that's a screen from Aliens: Colonial Marines!

 

[AstroMan]

"Game Revolution" gave a fairly brutal review, but homeboy used an old screenshot of the canned Colonial Marines game on the review page. If you can't even pay enough attention to get that right, how can you expect me to believe your review does not also suffer from the same half-assery?

Colonial Marines isn't canceled.

 

[LocoMrPollock]

What state? So what if you don't get some fucking rank, who cares about that. All you can unlock are skins anyway.

Yeah, well, that's actually the least of my problems with it. Everything else is still fubar.

 

[ThaddeusMcGee]

Colonial Marines isn't canceled.

Oh SHIII- You're right. Just Wikipedia'd it. Last I heard it had been canceled, but that was a while ago. Glad to hear it's still in development.

 

[Stitch]

matchmaking seems to be better than in the demo? (pc)

played a ranked species deathmatch as an alien. got killed a lot but it was fun. is it possible to select a species? the menus are so clunky

not sure why the reviews are so fucked up. it plays like the other 2 AvP games (with some enhancements and really great graphics) and those games were awesome.

but the game needs more maps. only 2 survivor maps? meh, i guess they gonna release lot's of DLC...

 

[Volcynika]

matchmaking seems to be better than in the demo? (pc)

played a ranked species deathmatch as an alien. got killed a lot but it was fun. is it possible to select a species? the menus are so clunky

not sure why the reviews are so fucked up. it plays like the other 2 AvP games (with some enhancements and really great graphics) and those games were awesome.

but the game needs more maps. only 2 survivor maps? meh, i guess they gonna release lot's of DLC...

Most matches unless they are mixed species, you are put into a role and cannot change it.

 

[yankeehater]

Yeah, well, that's actually the least of my problems with it. Everything else is still fubar.

What mode are you trying to play? I have played a ton of species TDM the last 3 days on the 360 and I haven't had any problems joining games.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

How do you play a Survivor match online? I only see an option for the single-player match.

nvm: found it. Looks like it's not a Ranked Match.

 

[MMaRsu]

What mode are you trying to play? I have played a ton of species TDM the last 3 days on the 360 and I haven't had any problems joining games.

Same.

 

[yankeehater]

I should have said I am playing nothing but ranked. I tried unranked at first but that took a lot longer to find games.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

I should have said I am playing nothing but ranked. I tried unranked at first but that took a lot longer to find games.

Same here which is why I couldn't find Survivor at first.

 

[MMaRsu]

Yeah I only play ranked as well

 

[Raide]

Survivor is damn terrifying. :lol

 

[CENOBITE]

Have you tried using the DX9 renderer instead?

yah, using that. Have no idea why I can't join any multiplayer game. Stupid bugs. This is what happens when game studios/publishers decide to cut back quality spending in QA.

 

[jufonuk]

completed marine mode kinda felt like "is that it??" still good though

tried pred mode but the game crashed on me

 

[erpg]

I loaded up the game for the first time today, and jumped into some single-player survivor. Thought it was the easiest and lamest thing ever, until I realized that the default PC brightness was way too high. Brought it down to 1 bar so I can just see the WU symbol, and now I'm shitting my pants!

 

[Unicorn]

I loaded up the game for the first time today, and jumped into some single-player survivor. Thought it was the easiest and lamest thing ever, until I realized that the default PC brightness was way too high. Brought it down to 1 bar so I can just see the WU symbol, and now I'm shitting my pants!

Isn't it grand!?

 

[Sill4]

They've already announced that they'll be added for regular players very shortly, so no big loss, really.

Wat?

 

[brain_stew]

I loaded up the game for the first time today, and jumped into some single-player survivor. Thought it was the easiest and lamest thing ever, until I realized that the default PC brightness was way too high. Brought it down to 1 bar so I can just see the WU symbol, and now I'm shitting my pants!

Its soo much better in co-op mode. Stick a bunch of headphones on, play in the dark and its just about as close to being a Colonial marine as you'd ever want to get! :lol

On the map with two separate areas you think your team is doing just fine as the first room is a just a shooting alley but if just one alien gets through all hell breaks lose and everyone loses their shit. You dinally recouperate from that and the next room is massive and the damn things spawn from all over the place. Above you, below you infront of you, behind you, you're completely fucked if you don't stick in a tight pack together, making quick solo dashes for stims and ammo is such an adrenaline rush and bloody terrifying.

Wat?

Precisely what I said, they'll be free for all players shortly. Since survivor is the best mode (imo) another two maps for that mode is certainly welcome.

 

[Sill4]

Precisely what I said, they'll be free for all players shortly. Since survivor is the best mode (imo) another two maps for that mode is certainly welcome.

For realz? Can I have a link to wherever you got this from?

That's fucking awesome, but will they be free? And what about the other 2 non-survivor maps?

-edit- I'm on 360, so if it's free for Pc, I'm probably fucked

 

[luka]

Its soo much better in co-op mode. Stick a bunch of headphones on, play in the dark and its just about as close to being a Colonial marine as you'd ever want to get! :lol

On the map with two separate areas you think your team is doing just fine as the first room is a just a shooting alley but if just one alien gets through all hell breaks lose and everyone loses their shit. You dinally recouperate from that and the next room is massive and the damn things spawn from all over the place. Above you, below you infront of you, behind you, you're completely fucked if you don't stick in a tight pack together, making quick solo dashes for stims and ammo is such an adrenaline rush and bloody terrifying.

Then comes wave 7 or 8: wall of pretorians! I've never wished I could toss a flare more than I do in survivor, but I get why they left it out. Goddamn that is intense. My highest kill streak is around 90-100 and every moment is a tense, terrifying battle for survival. You literally feel like if you stop shooting or moving for a single second you will die. The time between opening a stim and the needle hitting your arm feels like eternity.

 

[Pimpbaa]

Ugh, stupid amazon canada still hasn't shipped my ps3 copy. Fuck that, I'm just gonna get the PC version on steam.

 

[I should be doing hw]

For the price you're paying, I can't imagine you being disappointed, there's so much gameplay between the 3 campaigns, survivor co-op and bunch of different competitive multiplayer modes. Its a hell of a deal.

Just like to confirm that brain_stew is awesome. I got my copy of AvP from him today! For an Aussie $40 is fucking amazing to pay for a game like this, now its just a matter of me having to download 15Gb on my shitty internet. Ironically I'll probably be capped once it finishes downloading :lol

 

[Feathers]

Just played through the marine campaign on PC, pretty decent stuff. Multiplayer wise, Infestion is brilliant, really gets the heart pumping playing as the marine towards the end. Only problem is this bug, where after I've been killed and should respawn as an alien, I'm still a marine. However I show up on other marines motion trackers (funnily enough they show up on mine as enemies), I get points for killing them and vice versa and I can't kill the aliens. I'm literally an alien in a human body. Nobody figures this out though, so I can just roll up and give them all a quick shot in the head and lead the game. Saps the fun out of it and it's happened more than once. Otherwise, love the multiplayer.

 

[brain_stew]

The time between opening a stim and the needle hitting your arm feels like eternity.

This can't be stated enough, the health system actually adds so much to survivor mode. Health stims are actually pretty plentiful but actually making a dash to pick one up or even using one can be the mistake that costs you your life. Its the perfect risk-reward mechanic and its a little thing that adds so much and makes me believe Rebellion actually properly understand decent game design. Of course, you'll not find a single review that mentions this.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

Tried Survivor. Got the achievement for 20 kills which I didn't even realize until later today. Didn't know friendly fire was possible, although. Oops.

 

[luka]

Tried Survivor. Got the achievement for 20 kills which I didn't even realize until later today. Didn't know friendly fire was possible, although. Oops.

hah. -1000 points for you. It's a fitting punishment though because killing a friendly in survivor is like killing your entire team.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

hah. -1000 points for you.

Yeah, more than that. I think it said -1999 or something like that so I really fucked up. It was my first time playing Survivor Mode so I learned my lesson there.

Too bad you can't earn experience or have the score recorded. Why isn't this mode on Ranked Matches. Gears 2 Horde mode is ranked. Can't see why they wouldn't include this Ranked as well.

 

[Anton Sugar]

Damn. You guys really make me want to buy this. But between Metro 2033 and Bad Company 2...I wish there were more Steam 4-packs.

 

[brain_stew]

Just like to confirm that brain_stew is awesome. I got my copy of AvP from him today! For an Aussie $40 is fucking amazing to pay for a game like this, now its just a matter of me having to download 15Gb on my shitty internet. Ironically I'll probably be capped once it finishes downloading :lol

Since the last bunch all went through just fine, I'm happy to sort out cheap copies for as many as another ~6 GAFers. So anyone that wants to buy the PC version for $35US / $40AUD / $35 CAD, send me a PM asap and I'll sort it out for you. Basically what I'll do is put in an order to a UK retailer, get the game shipped to me for free within 2 days, then send the activation code to you via email and it'll be added to your Steam list. You can PM Lyphen or "I should be doing hw" if you need someone to verify I'm good on my word.

Any takers, then?