While the TV stuff was an interesting experiment, no one should ever do that again in anything but a walking simulator. Killing a game momentum every chapter to show 20 minutes of video is just terrible. It didn't help that most of the video segments were tangential to the story and bad.
I enjoyed the game, but only slightly more than 1886. At the end of every chapter I had to decide "ok... do I want to watch a 20 minute video now, or go do other stuff?" and when I had to choose the latter, that meant next time I started the game, a few days later, with a 20 minute video. Great.
This was the best part of the game for me. I could pause it get up make food sit down and watch it. Great stopping point for me. I can't commit endless hours to gaming so this was great. I would love to see it more.
The top contender for GOTY 2016 is a single player, story driven third person shooter. Yes Uncharted 4 has a decent MP, but that isn't the main reason why people buy it. Although it may be a bit telling the Remedy said they may look into incorporating MP into future games.
I heard it was maybe 8 hours long which is fine, but I'm not going to drop $60 for that. I do plan to buy it on a steam sale. It looks interesting. All the money they spent on live action could have been put back into the game to give it some longevity.
I'm quite a Max Payne fan so I was interested at first. Read that it had a massive amount of cutscenes which isn't my thing at all and didn't even bother. It didn't look that special to begin with.
A lot of things went wrong with this game. Like having a show with real actors was a refreshing idea, but you should be playing the game and not watching it. They could've resolved this by making more shorter episodes or adding some additional decisions moments or dialogue options during the episodes to maintain at least a basic level of interactivity.
As for the gameplay, the combat mechanics were decent (I like games that make you feel like a badass), but outside of them there wasn't enough interaction with the environment using time powers (remember an old shooter called Timeshift?). Also the final boss sucked big time.
It wasn't an awful game. I liked the characters and enjoyed the story and all the collectible text and audio messages found in the game. Also the graphics on the Xbox One were great, especially in the scenes with frozen time. I just think that if we ever get a sequel (which is probably unlikely) it has to be more "for the players", not "here's what we think it's cool, deal with it".
He's not exactly a huge box office draw as it is, so I think they'd have been better off going with their own character designs. That said, the early design of him was pretty uninspired as well ... but then it's a Remedy game.
I mean are Xbox One games doing all that hot in comparison to the PS4 exclusives in general? Plus it being an optimized mess and windows store only hurt it on PC. As for its critical reception, personally I think they were too nice.
I can not stand this game, as I'm on act 4-3. I'm a little shocked at how a studio went from a game as good as the original Max Payne to the subterranean lows of this game. First and foremost, egad that TV show. Beyond obviously being a budget show that would be beneath the CW or a Scifi channel show, it doesn't help that the acting is really not that good, and the characters are paper freakin thin. I'm really disappointed in just how much of a waste of Lance Reddick and Carcetti that aspect of the game is.
Just basic writing and direction of these episodes is laughable. There is an enemy in the game
that moves, in the "stutters" or whatever, and in one scene during the show they show up, and are shooting back at our main character: fuckmook, and he's in cover, you know usual hallway shit. And they are doing the dash run move, but not to like get behind him and flank him or any of that, it's more so just going left and right to peak out of this one hallway?
Thus utterly missing the point of how these guys would fight.
Especially since ideally you want to present them in game as something only Jack can deal with, but the show is showing you that they are way too stupid to handle one normal dude? It completely destroys your suspension of disbelief. The absurdity of the plot is one thing, but some of the internal logic still needs to work. Another sequence
was the hospital scene where homeboy murders a dude, in a hospital, around people, and then we quick cut to him chasing his wife (who is a nurse or whatever) to convince her he's not all bad n stuff, and the whole time I'm going...they let him leave the hospital, and none of the cops showed up? Just so they could have this stupid "how we met" scene? Where all the characters have going for them to have me invested are
-They are married
-The chick is prego
Alright whatever, luckily the TV show is so disjointed and removed from the central conflict of the game, it's easy to ignore. Yeah accept the story hasn't really gotten any better in game. I kind of like Beth, she plays Africa in her car. Iceman isn't exactly charismatic or fleshed out the way Max Payne was or even Alan Wake. And so far the game has played pronoun games in its main cutscenes, and relied on in game readables for me to have shit explained to me, because bringing the game to a screeching halt in a game that already does that with its cutscenes and tv show is absolutely necessary.
Which funny enough, those of us that liked Remedy's Max Payne games, and complained that Max Payne 3 had pacing issues because of Rockstar's intrusive cutscenes, get to see Remedy make a similar mistake as they never let the gameplay get into any type of sustained momentum. It's constantly breaking up with needless interruptions or cinematic sequences that aren't even remotely interesting visually. In fact It's worse than Max Payne 3, the shooting in Max Payne 3 is still incredibly badass.
Platforming across random shit so you go "ooh" or "ahh" but you're never in any real danger, sans a few insta-kill set ups, where you have to follow a very strict script to get across.
The shooting gets a lot of flack, but I kind of don't mind the shooting engine. I kind of like that you need to feather your bullets, on Hard everyone is a sponge, but it's not super hard given the powers you have, and headshots still work accordingly. Feathering your bullets means you get a bit more reliant on mixing with your powers, and I've hunt enough Chronon shit to beef those up. Thing is it's not all that complicated or interesting.
Because in typical Remedy fashion, they make repetitive ass gameplay segments where they found a core combat routine, and then decided to just do that for the rest of the game without ever really flexing a more elaborate or interesting action sequence. Beyond here is big spongy man or these guys are fast. The shield with its auto recover is a solid crutch for the player, the stop a few guys to unload bullets to get a sponge free kill, the instant melee, or the time blast move make these basic shootouts more limp, than cathartic.
I also think it's weird the game waited two whole acts before it allowed me to do the Roman Reigns Superman punch, as it wasn't that cool of a power to warrant coming in so late. The level design isn't particularly interesting, in Act 3? or 4? I remember going from one end of a party to another stretch of the area to take out some dudes, to hit a button, and now I had to work my way back fighting effectively the same type of enemies (plus one or two spongy man) to further the story along. And again it's just boring, and not particularly inventive.
And the sequences where you are just stuck exploring an area
A: fuck cinematic walking, let me have full control and run around and stuff
B: they take your dash move away, so you can't even do some of this stuff quickly.
Like this one part in 4-2, where I literally just went around, did some ghetto platforming to hit buttons, and the game arbitrarily decided "Jack would never use an ability that would make this go quicker, that's nonsense"
I wasn't the biggest Alan Wake person, but it at least that game had Sam Lake's sense of style, if not Max Payne's enjoyable gameplay. This is just rubbish top to bottom.
Just basic writing and direction of these episodes is laughable. There is an enemy in the game
that moves, in the "stutters" or whatever, and in one scene during the show they show up, and are shooting back at our main character: fuckmook, and he's in cover, you know usual hallway shit. And they are doing the dash run move, but not to like get behind him and flank him or any of that, it's more so just going left and right to peak out of this one hallway?
Thus utterly missing the point of how these guys would fight.
There are so many immersion breaking moments in the game. Those soldiers could have used their time powers to dash right up next to him and pop him in the head at point blank range without him realising it. It's one thing to ask the player to suspend their disbelief but when the game breaks its own logic and rules constantly it just becomes farcical.
Some single player dlc (playing from Beth's perspective), a co-op horde mode or multiplayer. Those things would have gone a long way in extending the games appeal. As it is it's a short one off experience without much need to return to! And I loved QB!
While that's a terrible, generic as fuck cover, I think in the days of the internet and easily available information for everyone, I don't think this is the thing that breaks the whole thing. Doesn't help, though.
Yeah, this seems to be the case for a ton of the people who derided the combat as bland or derivative.
The combat flows nothing like most other shooters of any at all. I mean unless you're doing it wrong (and believe me, I hate playing the "you're doing it wrong" card).
It had its shortcomings, but it's still my GOTY to this point, edging out Uncharted. (Though Deus Ex is likely to nuke both from orbit.)
Yeah, this seems to be the case for a ton of the people who derided the combat as bland or derivative.
The combat flows nothing like most other shooters of any at all. I mean unless you're doing it wrong (and believe me, I hate playing the "you're doing it wrong" card).
It had its shortcomings, but it's still my GOTY to this point, edging out Uncharted. (Though Deus Ex is likely to nuke both from orbit.)
I played the game as aggressively as possible with powers and I still think the gunplay was bland. Not being able to hip fire is a really bad design decision in a game where you can dash at enemies.
It's so dumb you get absolutely no way to upgrade powers without hunting for these Chronon things. Like toss in an experience bar or something, I was on autopilot for so much of this trash that exploring was not something I was willing to do.
I played the game as aggressively as possible with powers and I still think the gunplay was bland. Not being able to hip fire is a really bad design decision in a game where you can dash at enemies.
It's so dumb you get absolutely no way to upgrade powers without hunting for these Chronon things. Like toss in an experience bar or something, I was on autopilot for so much of this trash that exploring was not something I was willing to do.
I freaking loved QB that I even preordered the CE from amazon to support the dev (hope they can do a sequel!!) and so that I can add it to my steam/archive and play it on the highest possible graphics settings. I mean I maxed out the gamer score on the x1 for it (my first time doing it for any game.)
EDIT: But I mean SO didn't do that well either I thought (and I enjoyed that game as well), so maybe for new IPs to do well, the console must have a larger user base... Like maybe over 20mil if not 25mil now days as the market is super saturated with games for mobile, pc and consoles..
Yeah, I know, but I tried so little of them anyways because of how dumb Chronon is.
It's not the dumbest upgrade system this year though, Mirror's Edge Catalyst is a thing.
Edit: regarding MGSV, that game made good use of not being able to hipfire because
1) its shooting and combat is way the fuck better feeling than QB's.
2) They're multiple options to compensate for whatever distance you're at from an enemy in MGSV, there are very few, if at all, for QB
I loved it as well. It just didn't catch onto huge crowd unfortunately. The smaller Xbox One base didn't help much I suppose and the PC port being so poor at launch (and maybe still as I never followed whether that got fixed) hurt that potential base.
Yeah, I know, but I tried so little of them anyways because of how dumb Chronon is.
It's not the dumbest upgrade system this year though, Mirror's Edge Catalyst is a thing.
Edit: regarding MGSV, that game made good use of not being able to hipfire because
1) its shooting and combat is way the fuck better feeling than QB's.
2) They're multiple options to compensate for whatever distance you're at from an enemy in MGSV, there are very few, if at all, for QB
1) What does how the shooting feels have to do with the topic on hipfire? Remedy are some of if not the best in business at shooting, and the shooting and guns in QB feel punchier and more satisfying than MGS V to me, but either way that's a subjective thing and again, I don't think "good feeling shooting" can compensate for lack of hipfire.
2) I guess distance is pretty much the main factor affecting hipfire, but did you actually feel the lack of hipfire in the close quarters scenarios in MGS V?
I'm not trying to dismiss your points by the way.
Regardless of what the big thing is for a generation, gameplay itself isn't generational. Solid execution makes anything shine anytime. Rimworld has been in the top sellers list on Steam between No Man's Sky and Deus Ex for weeks. Inside has the third highest rating on Metacritic of Xbox One games. And so on.
1) What does how the shooting feels have to do with the topic on hipfire? Remedy are some of if not the best in business at shooting, and the shooting and guns in QB feel punchier and more satisfying than MGS V to me, but either way that's a subjective thing and again, I don't think "good feeling shooting" can compensate for lack of hipfire.
2) I guess distance is pretty much the main factor affecting hipfire, but did you actually feel the lack of hipfire in the close quarters scenarios in MGS V?
I'm not trying to dismiss your points by the way.
Max Payne 2 came out 13 years ago so I'm really confused about what remedy has done since then that would make them one of the best at shooting in games. They didn't even make the Max Payne game with the best gunplay.
Regardless of what the big thing is for a generation, gameplay itself isn't generational. Solid execution makes anything shine anytime. Rimworld has been in the top sellers list on Steam between No Man's Sky and Deus Ex for weeks. Inside has the third highest rating on Metacritic of Xbox One games. And so on.
It's so dumb you get absolutely no way to upgrade powers without hunting for these Chronon things. Like toss in an experience bar or something, I was on autopilot for so much of this trash that exploring was not something I was willing to do.
My beef with them is how irritating they are to find. It's a giant flashy white light, in a game that has a lot of fucking blinding white lights. and finding them is hit the y button while combing through each area like you have OCD or something.
Especially since the game makes it impossible to go back to previous spots in the same act with some sort of wall in your way or something.
Yeah, this seems to be the case for a ton of the people who derided the combat as bland or derivative.
The combat flows nothing like most other shooters of any at all. I mean unless you're doing it wrong (and believe me, I hate playing the "you're doing it wrong" card).
It had its shortcomings, but it's still my GOTY to this point, edging out Uncharted. (Though Deus Ex is likely to nuke both from orbit.)
It's really not that complicated of a game, yeah you move a bit more and play a bit less wack-a-mole, but it's not that much more engaging of a combat engine for it. The shield ends up being just a quick heal button more than anything, dashing is just you working from cover to cover, and time stop is more or less there for you to stop a single enemy (or few if you go for upgrades) and then unload with basically no impunity.
Which in it of itself wouldn't be an issue, but you need to mix it up with the combat encounters more than this game does. Vanquish is a similarly short game, but has way more going on its combat encounters. One might argue Gears of War is a more shallow experience mechanically, but it's better paced, has more enemy variety, and a more specialized weapons roster.
Fundamentally it's the same set of enemies in the same type of shoot outs. It's dull.
It's really not that complicated of a game, yeah you move a bit more and play a bit less wack-a-mole, but it's not that much more engaging of a combat engine for it. The shield ends up being just a quick heal button more than anything, dashing is just you working from cover to cover, and time stop is more or less there for you to stop a single enemy (or few if you go for upgrades) and then unload with basically no impunity.
Which in it of itself wouldn't be an issue, but you need to mix it up with the combat encounters more than this game does. Vanquish is a similarly short game, but has way more going on its combat encounters. One might argue Gears of War is a more shallow experience mechanically, but it's better paced, has more enemy variety, and a more specialized weapons roster.
Fundamentally it's the same set of enemies in the same type of shoot outs. It's dull.
That's the thing. The game absolutely doesn't want to you be in cover. If you're in cover for more than a few seconds at a time, you're not playing optimally.
Dashing lets you flank on the move. Time stop can block off your unprotected sides or block openings to funnel enemies or layer bullets for extra damage. The shield works in conjunction with melee and shotguns to encourage close quarters combat.
Every power encourages aggressive combat, to keep moving, and not to stay still and hide behind cover. It's like Vanquish in that way
1) What does how the shooting feels have to do with the topic on hipfire? Remedy are some of if not the best in business at shooting, and the shooting and guns in QB feel punchier and more satisfying than MGS V to me, but either way that's a subjective thing and again, I don't think "good feeling shooting" can compensate for lack of hipfire.
2) I guess distance is pretty much the main factor affecting hipfire, but did you actually feel the lack of hipfire in the close quarters scenarios in MGS V?
I'm not trying to dismiss your points by the way.
To be fair I don't think hip fire in mgs is really relevant here. The games are totally different - one is a fast paced action game which is about run and gun shootouts, mobility and time powers. The other is a relatively slow and methodical stealth game with action options/elements.
Plus, as alluded to there is plenty more to the gameplay of MGSV that means that hip fire isn't really needed to anywhere near the same extent.
MGSV mechanics weren't its issue. The mission design, story pacing and narrative were.
Remedy are some of if not the best in business at shooting, and the shooting and guns in QB feel punchier and more satisfying than MGS V to me, but either way that's a subjective thing and again, I don't think "good feeling shooting" can compensate for lack of hipfire.
That's the thing. The game absolutely doesn't want to you be in cover. If you're in cover for more than a few seconds at a time, you're not playing optimally.
Dashing lets you flank on the move. Time stop can block off your unprotected sides or block openings to funnel enemies or layer bullets for extra damage. The shield works in conjunction with melee and shotguns to encourage close quarters combat.
Every power encourages aggressive combat, to keep moving, and not to stay still and hide behind cover. It's like Vanquish in that way
Which is fine, but very few if any combat encounters really let you loose and use these mechanics in interesting ways. The enemy variety just isn't there, and the levels themselves don't offer the open ended design you get in games like a Crysis, Dishonored or what have you.
The error some of you are making is that everyone who dislikes quantum breaks combat must be playing it like gears of war. Here is the thing I dash a lot, I kill most of these quick dudes using the dash n punch, big cats I focus on stopping them and unloading or I do the focus run to shoot the dude in the back. I use the mechanics fine, the combat itself is still dull, because remedy counter designs themselves are bland.
and that's without the pacing issues and how the game spends a shit load of time being everything but a game for large stretches.
That's the thing. The game absolutely doesn't want to you be in cover. If you're in cover for more than a few seconds at a time, you're not playing optimally.
Dashing lets you flank on the move. Time stop can block off your unprotected sides or block openings to funnel enemies or layer bullets for extra damage. The shield works in conjunction with melee and shotguns to encourage close quarters combat.
Every power encourages aggressive combat, to keep moving, and not to stay still and hide behind cover. It's like Vanquish in that way
I don't think the game would be at all interesting to play if you go in with a cover-shooter mindset.
I really wish they added a horde mode or some kind of post game content to make good use out of the excellent gameplay loop aspects the game underutilizes.
I really wish they added a horde mode or some kind of post game content to make good use out of the excellent gameplay loop aspects the game underutilizes.
A glaring omission for sure. Every third person shooter developer needs to look at Resident Evil's Mercenaries mode and say "let's copy this". A short, narrative experience like Quantum Break needs post-game content, especially if it's going to be priced at $60. I feel Remedy wasted their fun, polished combat mechanics by not offering players the opportunity to mess around with them once the game was finished.
I feel the same way about Uncharted 4, but at least that game has multiplayer (even if I'm not interested in it at all).
A glaring omission for sure. Every third person shooter developer needs to look at Resident Evil's Mercenaries mode and say "let's copy this". A short, narrative experience like Quantum Break needs post-game content, especially if it's going to be priced at $60. I feel Remedy wasted their fun, polished combat mechanics by not offering players the opportunity to mess around with them once the game was finished.
I feel the same way about Uncharted 4, but at least that game has multiplayer (even if I'm not interested in it at all).
I don't think the game would be at all interesting to play if you go in with a cover-shooter mindset.
I really wish they added a horde mode or some kind of post game content to make good use out of the excellent gameplay loop aspects the game underutilizes.
The core gameplay is extremely fun. A challenge mode would have been very welcomed. I enjoy popping into certain sections of the campaign just to fuck around with the combat. There really just wasn't enough of it.
You just missed the push. Was discussed quite heavily here prior and around launch. Interest fizzled quick with all of the tech issues of the Win10 release(and overall enthusiasm feeling a bit down on the game)
If interested, the Steam version was recently announced and is releasing sometime soon, best to wait for that if wishing to play on PC.
I enjoyed the game for what it was. I didn't like the last act, in terms of combat, and the final boss was embarrassing, but besides that it was a great ride.
One thing I'm curious about, obviously the Windows 10 version had some issues, maybe there were Xbox One owners who did some research on the game before buying it and saw there were issues with the game, assumed it was for Xbox One when it was for the Windows version and that affected their sales Since it's still Microsot, I could see a lot of sites not differentiating which version ran poorly. I'm not saying that's the reason it didn't do too well, but I think that causes some confusion, which is something you don't want for your game.
I'd say TV show and reviews were the biggest things that hurt it. QB reviewed fine, but I'd assume if you're primarily a single player game, you have to hit higher than fine to find massive success. And the messaging of it having a TV show could have concerned people, causing confusion on the messaging of what this game is.
