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Angry Joe The Order 1886 Review.

But I've played indie games worse than Sonic 06. That game at least had an ending. And functioned, kind of.
You finished Sonic 06? I think you deserve a medal for that kind of masochism.

I really wish people would be fine with games you hated getting low scores too, and not just technically broken games. That's the meaning of reviews being subjective, something you hated so much even if it technically functions should be allowed a lashing. A boring mediocre game can often be a worse experience than a busted game all around.
 
You finished Sonic 06? I think you deserve a medal for that kind of masochism.

I really wish people would be fine with games you hated getting low scores too, and not just technically broken games. That's the meaning of reviews being subjective, something you hated so much even if it technically functions should be allowed a lashing. A boring mediocre game can often be a worse experience than a busted game all around.

The life of a Musou Fan.
 

wildfire

Banned
Okay. Isn't one of the points of reviews for people who are thinking about buying a game to get a sense of what they're buying...without ruining the whole game? All of this guys reviews are FULL of spoilers.

When you watch Joe enough times you notice how he'll spoil a game is different depending on whether the entire game was shit or not. If the game is good he'll spoil sections that have little consequence or to illustrate one glaring flaw. If the game is bad he will show you why even the story fails from dialogue mistakes, to incoherent themes, to poor considered transitions. He will attack everything to get across the problems with the story, which is useful, even if you don't care about gameplay.
 

EL CUCO

Member
Joe absolutely crushed The Order...as expected, but I didn't expect to laugh so hard throughout the massacre lol

I'm sorry RAD
 

FeiRR

Banned
And it's pretty ridiculous to claim Lycans don't have any intelligence, when the game clearly pretends otherwise. Even if they were just wolfs they would have better attack patterns.
The game tells you exactly that those are just animals. Even Galahad has a line on that "another London morning" or something like that, I don't remember.

Wolves are actually very clever animals, especially in a pack. A human, with a gun, against a pack of wolves has barely any chance. A human with a gun against 5 other average intelligent humans also has no chance but games pretend otherwise. Suddenly, some youtuber wants to make a fuss and makes a video about it. For the clicks, of course.
Then why hide in the first place? Since it's pretty much a brain dead animal?
No idea. I shot them dead and went on to save the day. This part wasn't difficult at all.
 

KORNdoggy

Member
Believe it or not, not everyone runs out to get the game the first day. His reviews generally get about 1 million - 2 million views. Seems like the games are relevant enough to generate that many views.

i'd say those viewing figures was more to do with entertainment value over any sort of relvance for the game or his opinion. who knows
 
I agree that the focus on the human enemies is a disappointment considering setting and concept of the game, it's like Alien Colonial Marines when it focused on the mercenary shit instead of the actual aliens.

I get that they probably wanted the Werewolves to have more of an impact but the ai for them seems about the same as the ai for Aliens in Colonial Marines as well. Wasted potential.
 

Haunted

Member
Neither case points to his "late" reviews being irrelevant though.
Oh yeah, sure. A lot of people see the content, and I don't mind his review timing, at least it makes sure that he doesn't miss anything and his critiques are as thorough as that of any professional outlet.
 
Wolves are actually very clever animals, especially in a pack. A human, with a gun, against a pack of wolves has barely any chance.
I'm pretty sure if you just fired one shot off they'd run away...like any animal at the sound of gunfire lol.
 
died at dickbutt
e8ivBzT.gif

(credit to TheDutchSlayer)


Ok I enjoyed that bit.



Also, did not realise that The Order turned out exactly like how its CGI unveil trailer looked (that's what was shown at the end right?).
 
Same conclusion I had for inspecting items and some of the walking sections. Its just there specifically for asset admiration.

Look at how realistic this photo looks. Look at how much detail went into modeling this. aint it purrty. No, you walk around the long way and take in how amazing this Order conference room looks. God damn this is amazing aint it? Wtf, are you trying to run through these graphics??? We knew you'd try something like that, that's why we'll only let you walk through here. Now lets continue this cutscene. Wait, I know you wanna check out this beautifully rendered hallway so we'll let you walk around in this section before continuing to the next cutscene.
 

FeiRR

Banned
I'm pretty sure if you just fired one shot off they'd run away...like any animal at the sound of gunfire lol.
I met a rabid fox once... We didn't have a gun, of course, but no noise or shout we tried to make was able to scare it off. It was quite an unpleasant experience, even though it was one small fox and three adult people.
 

nib95

Banned
I really enjoyed the game and would rate it much higher than Joe did, but I do find his reviews funny and entertaining, this one was no different. It's certainly interesting getting his perspective, and he explains himself better than the vast majority of other journalists out there. Regarding this review, I agree with a lot of the complaints, disagree with others.

I must say though, having watched him play through several games on Twitch etc, I've come to the realisation that Angry Joe can be pretty bad at a lot of games lol, or probably talks so much during his play throughs, or has such little focus, he makes a lot of rookie errors and fails to capitalise on the tools afforded to gamers within these titles. One key example was in his Shadow Fall twitch play through where he sort of forgot the OWL existed much of the game, barely taking advantage of it's many tide turning, immensely useful features, but insisted on complaining when he kept dying over and over again without the use of it. It was a truly frustrating play through to watch. Cringe worthy even. In this Order review video, there's a point where the armoured shotgunner is charging him and killing him over and over, and he insists on using the same strategy over and over, and cursing and shouting as if surprised the outcome is no different each time. There is a grenade in that room for a reason, use it. It can be used to hold the enemy off from charging and/or controlling his position, alternatively you can hang back and use the scenery, tables chairs etc to your advantage too. He does neither.

Also, whilst I agree the ending did leave me wanting, I can't agree that every little narrative development has to be spelled out as if we're idiots. The game doesn't need to tell us who helped to arm the rebels with Order armaments, it's implied and rather obvious that Tesla was the one responsible. You know the guy who is in charge of developing all their weapons, and also the one who happens to know and work with the rebels towards the end?

Lastly, he puts way too much emphasis on a lack of "originality" for me personally, and also far too little time talking about the actual gunplay.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
When you have a menacing, scary enemy you just don't fill the entire game with encounters with them.

I fully agree, but The Order (note: I enjoyed it nonetheless) underwhelmed pretty horrendously with every lycan encounter. The two variants are beatable effortlessly with minimal effort. Numerous shootouts with rebels provide more challenge, depth, and intensity. The lycan encounters are drowsy, like the designers just couldn't work out how to integrate them into the formula.
 

MAX PAYMENT

Member
I watched half the review Before I got tired of joe. I knew the game was bad, but he makes it look horrible. Glad I skipped it.
 

Markitron

Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
I like his reviews, but I would disagree with him on this one. It's got problems, but it's an enjoyable shooter with a great story and graphics.

As usual he goes WAY too far with the spoilers, has it not occured to him that people may not want the final boss fight detailed in a review? He doesn't even give any kind of warning, I'm still pissed at him for ruining two amazing parts of Alien Isolation that take place 10 and 15 hours into the game.
 

Alo0oy

Banned
If he watched the entire game from start to finish on Youtube, then yes, he knows the story and can talk about it. I don't like when people comment on gameplay without having played the game, but for story I'm pretty sure you can get the most out of The Order by just watching someone else play it.

While I agree that's the case with The Order, there are a lot of games where you need to play in order to understand thr story, like Shadow of the Colossus or certain sections in The Last of Us.
 

Prine

Banned
Holy shit at the Lycan AI. God damn what the hell how did the game ship in that state? I was in tears, "oop he got me that time"
 

Jaeger

Member
Glad I passed on this. I was looking into getting it this month along with my console for my birthday. Now I'm certain it's just gonna be Bloodborne.
 
Hah, well i agree with a lot he says, i just enjoyed it more than he did. My score was 7,5 out of ten for the game. But i could have scored it less for having to little content.
I liked the elder Lycan QTE fights. I don't QTE-s are necessarily bad. And in these fights they were done pretty well. There were just too many silly button prompts throughout the game.
And i do see it as a prologue to the "real" game. I just hope RaD also sees it this way....

Very funny review. That Zelda sound!
 

Seanspeed

Banned
It would be the same below average game at that price.
But it helps the justification of buying it more on the consumer end. I would totally buy The Order just to experience the graphics. I bought Ryse for a similar reason. But I only paid $17 for Ryse, where I feel I more or less got my money's worth as a graphics showcase(the game not being total shit helped). I can see buying The Order for a similar price and being content with it.

That's all these games are - just tech demos, as Angry Joe and plenty of others have said. A way to show off what the system can do visually. Treat them as tech demos, and price them accordingly, and their value proposition increases quite a bit.
 

KORNdoggy

Member
I really enjoyed the game and would rate it much higher than Joe did, but I do find his reviews funny and entertaining, this one was no different. It's certainly interesting getting his perspective, and he explains himself better than the vast majority of other journalists out there. Regarding this review, I agree with a lot of the complaints, disagree with others.

I must say though, having watched him play through several games on Twitch etc, I've come to the realisation that Angry Joe can be pretty bad at a lot of games lol, or probably talks so much during his play throughs, or has such little focus, he makes a lot of rookie errors and fails to capitalise on the tools afforded to gamers within these titles. One key example was in his Shadow Fall twitch play through where he sort of forgot the OWL existed much of the game, barely taking advantage of it's many tide turning, immensely useful features, but insisted on complaining when he kept dying over and over again without the use of it. It was a truly frustrating play through to watch. Cringe worthy even. In this Order review video, there's a point where the armoured shotgunner is charging him and killing him over and over, and he insists on using the same strategy over and over, and cursing and shouting as if surprised the outcome is no different each time. There is a grenade in that room for a reason, use it. It can be used to hold the enemy off from charging and/or controlling his position, alternatively you can hang back and use the scenery, tables chairs etc to your advantage too. He does neither.

Also, whilst I agree the ending did leave me wanting, I can't agree that every little narrative development has to be spelled out as if we're idiots. The game doesn't need to tell us who helped to arm the rebels with Order armaments, it's implied and rather obvious that Tesla was the one responsible. You know the guy who is in charge of developing all their weapons, and also the one who happens to know and work with the rebels towards the end?

Lastly, he puts way too much emphasis on a lack of "originality" for me personally, and also far too little time talking about the actual gunplay.

i've noticed that too. he plays up his own failings in a game for effect as if it's the games fault. i guess he hasnt heard the definition of insanity. lol. that encounter you used as an example with the armoured guard showed 3 attempts doing the exact same thing. if it fails once, chances are it'll fail again. so why didnt he try something new? hell, he had a full bar of blacksight ability. he could have used that.
 
I knew Joe would not even begin to be a fan of The Order so I'm not surprised at his low score and criticisms of the game. This was a funny and interesting review nonetheless.

That being said I really enjoyed The Order and would rate it much higher! Really hoping for a sequel from RAD with some things ironed out.
 

Jito

Banned
It also has an 80 page OT full of satisfied customers.

RAD has been telling us for months that it was going to be a "filmic" QTE fest with gameplay as a second thought. Maybe people were surprised at the length but the game itself seems to be living up to expectations for most people involved, whether they like it or don't.

Well this is an outright lie, I've seen plenty of posts stating how disappointing and shit this game was in the OT. Easily the worst game I've played in the last year.
 
Has anyone from the development side responded to any of the criticism?
There was a guy complaining that they shouldn't send out review copies and should pull advertising. I don't remember if he was a dev but pretty sure he was attached to the game somehow.

Well this is an outright lie, I've seen plenty of posts stating how disappointing and shit this game was in the OT. Easily the worst game I've played in the last year.
Apologies, i haven't read the whole thing but the few ganders i took were pretty typical OT "i like it and fuck any haters" snapshots.
 

danm999

Member
Has anyone from the development side responded to any of the criticism?

I'm guessing between the Ready at Dawn 'bullying' controversy pre-release and the Sony Santa Monica Dev suggesting on Twitter they shouldn't send out review copies there's been a moratorium from higher up on commenting.
 

Derpyduck

Banned
I'm guessing between the Ready at Dawn 'bullying' controversy pre-release and the Sony Santa Monica Dev suggesting on Twitter they shouldn't send out review copies there's been a moratorium from higher up on commenting.

Wasn't it Andrea who tweeted out a link to a review the other day that not only was positive towards the game but also incredibly (and stupidly) critical of people who gave the game negative reviews? Between that, the bullying comment, and the Santa Monica tweet, it's not been a good look for them.
 

Betty

Banned
Not always true, I thought KH2 had a great implementation of QTEs.

That's because they are used sparingly to either pull off a finisher or context sensitive move.

Metal Gear Rising also does QTE's well, so does God of War, the ones in Heavy Rain were alright too.

Of course they all had lots of other things going for them too.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Holy shit at the Lycan AI. God damn what the hell how did the game ship in that state? I was in tears, "oop he got me that time"

It's atrocious and highlights weaknesses within the design.

Thing is, I don't give a fuck about the excessive cutscenes and bare bones shootouts if the game rules are at least consistent and feel rewarding to play. The shootouts are mostly monster closet enemies in tiny rooms with knee high cover, and game doesn't bother to give you any real abilities or functions to distinguish from a stock standard shooter. But I still have to engage in the fight to win. I still take cover, watch out for the enemy, manually aim, and manage my ammo. The weapon sounds are punchy and there's some great (if broken) weapons to use. Hit feedback was satisfying to me. Ergo, as basic as the combat is, shootouts were fun enough for me to get into them and enjoy the intensity (helped I was playing on hard).

Both Lycan fight variants are built incompetently. They don't consider the game mechanics and how to engage or interact with them, and both can be beaten effortlessly. I actually got a little excited with the first lycan encounter because
after you pummel the first full of lead it retreats, and I thought you would then have to go and hunt it out in this dark spooky industrial area while it hunted you
. But nope. The game just bottle neck funnels each lycan towards you in the exact direction your looking, gives you a clear obvious single button cue to automatically avoid all damage, and if you damage the lycan enough it either runs away or falls down for the deathblow. Similarly, the second variant
teases you with deeper game functions that aren't used. Three attack buttons, only one actually required. No need to ever circle. Every lycan attack widely telegraphed in slow motion and dodged with the flick of a control stick
.

So yeah. Shootouts against old timey toffs and chavs are simple but fucking work and use basically all of the game systems to the best of their ability. You have to invest and try. Lycan fights are forgettable and like they were pushed into the wrong game. Ironically even if they emphasised presentation and mood, all of that is undone by how easy they are. Monsters that torment humans for centuries and are the very reason The Order exists end up less intimidating than cockney chavs with peashooters.

IRAD has been telling us for months that it was going to be a "filmic" QTE fest with gameplay as a second thought.

I don't mind this, and being in this mindset helped me get into the game's groove. But I judge The Order the same way I judge any game, based on its own merits. When you do have parts that I play, I'm going to judge them based on exactly that. A shit shootout is a shit shootout and no marketing schick or advertised direction makes it less so.
 

RPGCrazied

Member
I listened to it audio only, cause I do want to play it someday, but he is right about waiting for a price drop. I'll probably pick it up for $20 - $25 dollars.
 

SmokedMeat

Gamer™
I'm pretty sure if you just fired one shot off they'd run away...like any animal at the sound of gunfire lol.


I'm sure they'd create some distance, but they'd still be observing. And if they were hungry they'd probably start closing in again from different angles.
 

OsirisBlack

Banned
Joe is the last person I'd expect to enjoy this game.

I watch most of Joes reviews just for the entertainment but I also agree that he is the last person I expect to enjoy this game.

Seems consistent with what other reviewers think.

Not surprising.

Wow. From that review the game looks like an almost 3/10. How were people enjoying the game in the ot?

Maybe playing it would allow you to ... enjoy it.


Graphics can make people forgive the bland gameplay.

very bland indeed.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10205820867938874

I do agree that the Lycan fights were handled poorly and you have to go out of your way to make them interesting. Playing it on hard running around with the combo gun air blasting them and not staying in the corner helps a bit ... they are the weakpoint of the gameplay.
 
I fully agree, but The Order (note: I enjoyed it nonetheless) underwhelmed pretty horrendously with every lycan encounter. The two variants are beatable effortlessly with minimal effort. Numerous shootouts with rebels provide more challenge, depth, and intensity. The lycan encounters are drowsy, like the designers just couldn't work out how to integrate them into the formula.

That killing lycans has become relatively trivial is actually a major plot point in the game. So is the fact that the Order is being wasted on human opponents for that matter.

Still, the lack of variety in the lycan fights is obviously disappointing and the only thing in the whole game that actually points to them not having the time or money to do more with those enemies.

It is hardly a game breaking issue, though. Still a fun game in an amazing setting with a really cool story.
 

Mohonky

Member
It also has an 80 page OT full of satisfied customers.

RAD has been telling us for months that it was going to be a "filmic" QTE fest with gameplay as a second thought. Maybe people were surprised at the length but the game itself seems to be living up to expectations for most people involved, whether they like it or don't.

Stockholm syndrome.

RAD could be saying whatever they wanted to for months, it doesnt change whether a reviewer enjoys the experience or not. People review games on whether they enjoy it or not, not on whether the game hit the developers design brief.
 
From what I have seen of the order, I think the gun feed back is nice, but the encounter design is poor and lacks anything new or even really good polish. For example, the enemy movement and locations appear uninspired as well as there being no height differentiation or variety int eh beadtiary.

Doom for example has meaty feedback from its weapons like the order, but has enemies of a wide variety attacking in different patterns from all range of heights and distances. Likewise, each enemy has a cone of danger that is radically different. An imp is pretty useless from halfway accross the map, but upclose it is a nightmare.

Beyond shotgun enemies... the variety and intelligent thought in such enemy and encounter diesgns doesnt seem to be in the order from what I ahve seen (i.e. the whole game).
 
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