I completely agree. I'm just not super hopeful Bethesda will see it that way as well.
On some level they must be aware, since they marketed it so poorly compared to Wolfenstein, but that could very well just be them not thinking the game was worth the investment and just wanting to release it and then forget about the franchise.
Which is also fine, as long as they don't give up on Tango. :C
I hope they don't. Tango shows they are not a one trick ponies and a dev that can make two games that are so dang different but similar at the same time. Games with a lot of Jank but very unique in their approaches as well. The type of games out of Japan I am interested to see most.
And with a lot of the original team leads not on TEW2 I really am wondering what Mikami and co are doing. Here's hoping they get to do more with TEW and we get to see what else Tango has cooking.
Bethesda is a business and businesses strive to make money, but I suspect that Bethesda has long-term aspirations with this series. I don't think they expected it to make gangbusters out of the gate; they probably expect it to be a slower-burner that grows over time.
I haven't finished the game yet, so I'm not sure what to make of Myra, but I definitely care about Seb this time around. He's funny at times, but also deeply vulnerable. They took a character who was just sort of... there, in the first game, and imbued him with some meaningful humanity in this one. I hear there are some scenes later on that are poorly handled, but as of Ch. 11 I think his characterization is pretty good. I want to see things work out for him.
I hugely preferred Seb in the original. I could believe that guy had been traumatised and left deeply scarred, both in the writing and Mount's performance. And despite his trauma, he was dedicated to his work as a cop. He was great. TEW2's quippy, angry, one-dimensional Seb didn't really do it for me.
The script and performances suffer across the board, really. Characters are overly loquacious (I really could have done without those Arkham-style back and forth conversations), reciting dialogue filled with uneventful words. The original game was wonderfully abrupt, almost to the point of confusion. Between the files and too much dialogue, TEW2's story isn't one which is nearly as fun to piece together as the first, and it's not even all that interesting in its own right.
Still, the game itself is strong and I'm enjoying replaying it.
I hugely preferred Seb in the original. I could believe that guy had been traumatised and left deeply scarred, both in the writing and Mount's performance. And despite his trauma, he was dedicated to his work as a cop. He was great. TEW2's quippy, angry, one-dimensional Seb didn't really do it for me.
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How? Seriously can you point to a section of the game where Seb's background comes up in his actual character? I'm not being facetious- I just replayed most of the first game in the past week and I feel that I would have zero indication of his tragic past without reading the game's background material.
Dude just comes off a normal straight arrow cop throughout the entire game. I thought Joseph and Kidman both had more characterization than Seb.
I hugely preferred Seb in the original. I could believe that guy had been traumatised and left deeply scarred, both in the writing and Mount's performance. And despite his trauma, he was dedicated to his work as a cop. He was great. TEW2's quippy, angry, one-dimensional Seb didn't really do it for me.
The script and performances suffer across the board, really. Characters are overly loquacious (I really could have done without those Arkham-style back and forth conversations), reciting dialogue filled with uneventful words. The original game was wonderfully abrupt, almost to the point of confusion. Between the files and too much dialogue, TEW2's story isn't one which is nearly as fun to piece together as the first, and it's not even all that interesting in its own right.
Still, the game itself is strong and I'm enjoying replaying it.
I honestly can't remember if Seb ever brought up his trauma or family issues in the first game outside of a few documents and newspaper clippings you can find and read. I really can't remember anything about his character from the first game other than him saying "What the fuck?!" And bear in mind I liked the first game so much that it was my GOTY in the same year the best Smash, Mario Kart, Bayonetta and Donkey Kong Country released.
I vastly prefer Seb's character in TEW2. I can believe he actually cares about his family and wants to save them, and I can believe he's really down on himself about what happened. He has moments of genuine anguish and concern for Lily. He has moments where he struggles to trust Kidman and even feels angry toward her. He has moments where he sharply criticizes the Mobius members and their lack of ethics. This is just up to Ch. 11 so far, but I really like him a lot this time.
I also think the writing is fine. I don't find it overly wordy. Maybe a bit flamboyant at times ("it's like an Inquisitor's dream home"), but generally to the point. Maybe you can cite specific examples where people repeat things endlessly? I've been saving cutscenes to my HDD and I don't see that happening so far.
Okay to answer my own question earlier today- yes its still not too late to back track from the second open area back to the first open area. Its a long ass walk but its completely doable.
I hugely preferred Seb in the original. I could believe that guy had been traumatised and left deeply scarred, both in the writing and Mount's performance. And despite his trauma, he was dedicated to his work as a cop. He was great. TEW2's quippy, angry, one-dimensional Seb didn't really do it for me.
He has some GREAT one-liners in TEW2, at least. Though he rides a weird line between emotional family stuff and cheesy action movie stuff. I'd prefer more of the action nonsense, honestly. I don't mind the new focus of giving him humanity, but it's pulled off pretty sloppily imo. Just a lot of repetitive dialog, drawn-out cutscenes, and story encroaching on gameplay.
Honestly, the Ch. 5 cutscene where he radios Kidman while looking at the picture of his family has more humanity than anything Seb did in TEW1. So do the flashbacks at the start of the game showing his family and how he once had a life outside of work and drinking. Even the admittedly cliche trope of seeing him hit rock bottom in a bar still gives his character arc a starting point for some actual trajectory.
He didn't develop in the first game. I can point to lots of examples of growth in the 11 chapters I've played so far of TEW2, but I struggle to think of anything from TEW1.
I also think the writing is fine. I don't find it overly wordy. Maybe a bit flamboyant at times ("it's like an Inquisitor's dream home"), but generally to the point. Maybe you can cite specific examples where people repeat things endlessly? I've been saving cutscenes to my HDD and I don't see that happening so far.
I don't have problems with the writing except for the repeated "I should call Kidman" and then he calls Kidman. Like either just do it without announcing it or make the player initiate it with the communicator. But the current method is so redundant it bugs me.
I don't have problems with the writing except for the repeated "I should call Kidman" and then he calls Kidman. Like either just do it without announcing it or make the player initiate it with the communicator. But the current method is so redundant it bugs me.
I don't have problems with the writing except for the repeated "I should call Kidman" and then he calls Kidman. Like either just do it without announcing it or make the player initiate it with the communicator. But the current method is so redundant it bugs me.
I vastly prefer Seb's character in TEW2. I can believe he actually cares about his family and wants to save them, and I can believe he's really down on himself about what happened. He has moments of genuine anguish and concern for Lily. He has moments where he struggles to trust Kidman and even feels angry toward her. He has moments where he sharply criticizes the Mobius members and their lack of ethics. This is just up to Ch. 11 so far, but I really like him a lot this time.
TEW2 Seb is just a series of bullet points on a how-to list. He's not a person. He's just (closer to) what a large number of audiences think a person should be in his situation from consuming a lot of really bad/lazy media.
How? Seriously can you point to a section of the game where Seb's background comes up in his actual character? I'm not being facetious- I just replayed most of the first game in the past week and I feel that I would have zero indication of his tragic past without reading the game's background material.
I'd have to replay it to cite highlights but I dig his and Oda's relationship particularly, especially the part where Seb doesn't realise Oda reviewed Seb out of friendship rather than duty.
I enjoyed it more than him calling O'Neal a coward several different ways at least.
I'd have to replay it to cite highlights but I dig his and Oda's relationship particularly, especially the part where Seb doesn't realise Oda reviewed Seb out of friendship rather than duty.
I enjoyed it more than him calling O'Neal a coward several different ways at least.
Seb in the first game had one character trait: He was unbelievably stupid. Even long after he's had it explained to him, near the end of the game he ~still~ thought he was in the real world.
I prefer the badly executed Keanu Reeves/Eastwood AAA angle to the nearly completely blank slate from TEW1. It's far more entertaining, mostly because it's bad. The only things I liked about Seb in the original was how his lines were delivered in that barebones, skeleton of a script, and how inane his lines were in the context of the situation. I think it's pretty funny they took his cluelessness to new heights in TEW2. "Is this real or in my mind?" Beyond that, TEW2's Seb just has his heart on his sleeve the entire time, so he's a bit more sympathetic and it works more in terms of engaging storytelling, even if there's a lot to put a player off.
The praise for TEW1 Seb reminds me of when fans attribute RE characters more personality than they actually seem to have. Maybe because their silence leaves room for interpretation.
Seb's transformation reminds me of Ethan's, going from Condemned 1 to Condemned 2.
Steam sales also don't look too hot. While it's still not enough to arrive at a solid number, I doubt it'll sell above expectations with these two early indicators.
Man I have fucked up so many stealth kills because of the camera/controls. I think it mostly happens transitioning in and out of cover from certain angles. Like the prompt for a stealth kill will appear for a moment but it doesn't register and I basically end up bumping into the enemy.
I completed the game last night and am very underwhelmed as a big fan of EW1.
EW1 is in my top 10 games of all time and my favorite horror game. This? It's an ok game, but it lacks so much in so many departments that the next time I see the lead man not direct something I like it should be a big red label it will be mediocre at best. Dark Souls 2, and now Evil Within 2.
I won't jump into plot too much. EW1 plot wasn't anything to write home about, and neither is the one here. This one had way more cringy writing and stupid ass cut scenes.
The Kidman sections at the end, and the Admin using more hand gestures than one person could in a lifetime were horrendous. The ending was good for what it was, but the teaser at the end left me butt hurt as someone who was expecting Ruvik teases at SOME point in this fucking game. To get nothing leaves the game on a loose wet fart of nothing.
The game is completely inconsistent. Open world segments, ones you repeat later, and the marrow. Talk about uninspired environments out the ass. The stand out environments are the theater, the crypt in ch. 9, and the final areas in the last 2 chapters. The rest? Throwaway. Did this new director not play EW1 at all? You have ANYTHING as your canvas and you pick generic corridors of a facility multiple times for the marrow? Christ ol mighty.
Atmosphere? Rarely there. I didn't feel a sense of dread once
Stefano left. Theodore? Major snore. Lame villain, and leaves the game with two halfs that are fairly shit. I would've rather had Stefano half, and then a Myra half or a Myra quarter and a Ruvik quarter.
Scary? Nope. I had one jump scare the whole game. EW1 though I couldn't play for more than 30-60 minutes at a time thanks to how well they cranked the atmosphere and scares up. Great bosses helped in this regard. EW2 does a boss, then makes it a regular enemy the next chapter to cheapen any effect it had.
World building was great in CH3, but then you realize that was the world building budget. One and done.
No matches, no disarming traps, terrible gunplay even if you max out all the combat tree. I can upload videos of point blank shots not registering on PS4. Seb is a cop he knows how to shoot, so why is he so trash with fire arms?
All of that said though the game is still good. I REALLY wanted a EW2 and I got it, but the soul is gone. It's just another video game and not one I want to go back to again. RE7 delivered good scares and atmosphere, and while not perfect either, did not let me down like this did.
Good parts for those who care:
*The final chapters are well done. While more linear they make you use your brain for encounters even though you are high level at this point. Strong cinematics, epic bosses, homage to EW1 fans, and wraps up quite nicely.
*Visual looker.
*Much improved sound design over the first.
*Simple but effective use of side quests. It could've used a few more.
*Seb is still as likable as he was in the first game.
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I want to gush, but the negatives are so in your face, and I'm poor at constructing my criticism coherently enough. I'm torn on what I would score this. EW1 for me is a 10/10. This is barely a 6.5/10.
Moving into a possible EW3 if we ever get it I would like to see:
*More upgrade variety for green gel options and weapons.
*More off the beat things to pursue and reward players with along with better side quests if they revisit open evironments.
*Make far better use of who the next core is for Stem. Union was boring 80% of the game to look at. When you have mansions, cities, crypts, mental hospitals, old town farms, and more in EW1 to experience, this is just unacceptable. Turn it up.
*Please bring back
Ruvik. He is a far more interesting villain and a worthy adversary to Seb.
5 hours in I finally hit the game's first true moment of brilliance, seems to be optional too?
Chapter 3
The house with a file, door closes PT style and you're trapped in weird shit. Too bad they showed the Laura bit in the reveal trailer
I also totally missed the shotgun the first time around, looked up the location and felt like a dumbass. I opened the shortcut in that bit and walked out without interacting with the whole point of that area
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.
they're hard drive space or memory cache. The game reveals each citizen equals a certain amount of storage.
Can't recall what exactly is the need or purpose of that for the inner workings of Stem.
I was watching somebody play with the bullet time ability. What an absolute sabotage of the game's frantic combat. At least it's exorbitantly expensive but it looks like a wet towel over enemy encounters.
I was watching somebody play with the bullet time ability. What an absolute sabotage of the game's frantic combat. At least it's exorbitantly expensive but it looks like a wet towel over enemy encounters.
The game gives you a lot of "easy mode" abilities: Bottle break, that 20% chance dodge, corner sneak kills, auto-syringe etc. Luckily they're optional, so you can play it like the original TEW (for the most part) if you want.
i didnt think Sebastian was interesting or relatable in EW1, those are not the words i would use, he was like a brick,barely reacts to the insanity and grimness around him , very silly but fun in a way.
I prefer the badly executed Keanu Reeves/Eastwood AAA angle to the nearly completely blank slate from TEW1. It's far more entertaining, mostly because it's bad. The only things I liked about Seb in the original was how his lines were delivered in that barebones, skeleton of a script, and how inane his lines were in the context of the situation. I think it's pretty funny they took his cluelessness to new heights in TEW2. "Is this real or in my mind?" Beyond that, TEW2's Seb just has his heart on his sleeve the entire time, so he's a bit more sympathetic and it works more in terms of engaging storytelling, even if there's a lot to put a player off.
The praise for TEW1 Seb reminds me of when fans attribute RE characters more personality than they actually seem to have. Maybe because their silence leaves room for interpretation.
Seb's transformation reminds me of Ethan's, going from Condemned 1 to Condemned 2.
Just finished this. Don't really know what I think of it. Going to play it through atleast once again to get better picture. Combat still isn't great though. Just way too stiff/heavy especially when compared to how fast everything is.
Yep. Earlier I called it a not-scary/stealth game instead of survival/horror or action/horror. Which is okay if you know ahead of time that's what you're getting. This has more in common with MGSV than it does TEW or RE. Stealth wise anyway, since the gunplay in MGSV owns the shit out of what's on display here.
I'd say it's both, with a lot of tension derived from the sheer scarcity of resources, the fast aggressive erratic movements of the enemies, and the fact Seb actually has some physical limitations (not the roundhouse-kicking whirlwind of death that is RE4 Leon). I also find the world to be pretty unsettling with its more open levels making it uncertain when and where I might encounter an enemy.
The scarcity of resources is a staple to the genre, so it's not like being efficient with what you have should come as any surprise. Also, I'm sitting on over 600 gun powders in Nightmare, so the ammo isn't that limited. And yes, I've killed every single enemy that has spawned too. The truly scariest part about this game is the roulette wheel spin that is not only lining up the pistol reticle, but having that 60% critical actually do anything. Also, with the world being more open, I actually found that to be way less worrisome simply because it gave you a lot more space to run away in. There was pretty much never any reason to be worried that you were going to die other than a few scripted sequences that you're locked into. Otherwise, the corridor areas were more tense than the open maps simply because you really could only move forwards or backwards. Even then, the AI is so stupid that you really don't even have to run backwards that long. Besides any of that, unless you're playing with the sound off, most enemies telegraph where they are long before you can even see them.
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.
Remember when the PR people, as well as some users here said that Mikami's nonexistent involvement wouldn't matter much since the director for this game also had a big hand working on the original? Ugh...
This is a good game, maybe even a great one depending on what you're looking for, but it's clear that not only Mikami's lack of involvement has led to more stale enemy encounters and gameplay mechanics, but you can really see the bigger focus on western horror themes with the Union City and the Maintenance Tunnels. It's hard not to be at least a tad disappointed, even if this is still a good game. Doesn't help that I've found it to be even buggier than the original.
i didnt think Sebastian was interesting or relatable in EW1, those are not the words i would use, he was like a brick,barely reacts to the insanity and grimness around him , very silly but fun in a way.
He's asking you to back up your claim that there were cutscenes in TEW1 that properly established Seb's grieving, self-blame, etc. There's plenty of those in TEW2 and he shows a range of emotion and growth throughout. In the first game, there was really nothing to speak of outside of newspaper clippings and maybe one scene with Joseph.
TEW1 is a fantastic game, but Seb wasn't much of a character in it. In a way, this benefitted TEW2 since they were working with a pretty blank slate. Like others have said, he wears his heart on his sleeve the whole time, and while it's debatable how well it works, I appreciated they at least tried to make him a character this time.
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.
He's asking you to back up your claim that there were cutscenes in TEW1 that properly established Seb's grieving, self-blame, etc. There's plenty of those in TEW2 and he shows a range of emotion and growth throughout, but really nothing to speak of in the first game outside of newspaper clippings.
TEW1 is a fantastic game, but Seb wasn't much of a character at all back then. In a way, this benefitted TEW2 since they were working with a pretty blank slate. Like others have said, he wears his heart on his sleeve the whole time, and while it's debatable how well it works, I appreciated they at least tried to make him a character this time.
If wearing your heart on your sleeve like an overacting cartoon (or something closer to it) makes you a proper character that means most of us are just window dressing.
People can be and often are subtle, unassuming creatures, even the damaged ones. I'm not saying TEW1 Seb was exactly that, but TEW2 Seb sure as fuck ain't.
The scarcity of resources is a staple to the genre, so it's not like being efficient with what you have should come as any surprise. Also, I'm sitting on over 600 gun powders in Nightmare, so the ammo isn't that limited. And yes, I've killed every single enemy that has spawned too. The truly scariest part about this game is the roulette wheel spin that is not only lining up the pistol reticle, but having that 60% critical actually do anything. Also, with the world being more open, I actually found that to be way less worrisome simply because it gave you a lot more space to run away in. There was pretty much never any reason to be worried that you were going to die other than a few scripted sequences that you're locked into.
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.
If wearing your heart on your sleeve like an overacting cartoon (or something closer to it) makes you a proper character that means most of us are just window dressing.
People can be and often are subtle, unassuming creatures, even the damaged ones.
The cutscene in the bar? Even some of the professional outlets were making fun of Seb during that part. It's hard not to. Here's Game Informer's look at the first half hour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B-gry-d4nw&
Same. Seb was such a non-entity to me in the first game. Most of his character was basically flavour text. The only character I liked in that game was Kidman. TEW2 Seb's voice actor has this b-movie quality that kind elevates the story in some weird way.
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