The first time I touched this game was about 1.5 years ago at a friends house. I literally loaded it up, skipped the cut scenes and went straight to the game for 5 minutes. Needless to say, it was a pointless exercise.
So 2 evenings, 5 hours and 5 deaths later, I’m pretty sure I’m still somewhere near the beginning of this seemingly epic tale. How far I’ll go I don’t know, but that fact that I’m still considering playing after repeating 1 particular scene 3 times is quite a compliment when you consider my track record – I never finished any of the Castlevanias on DS even though I loved it (dying tends to put me off and I do that a lot).
My first impression as cutscene #1 unfolded was definately “cinematic”. The music, the colours, the camera work pulls you straight into the game just like a good film would, and I found myself wondering who the director was. But I have to say, the writing in this game is what I found truly impressive. From the minute details on signs to the terminal logs, every bit helps you discover the world a little and keeps you wanting more. Little snippets of humor are embedded into the whole game – loading screens, billboards, look around and you’ll find yourself quietly chuckling. The whole game has an awesome style – think retro war era mixed with laser guns and robots and you’ll get the idea.
At 5 hours, I probably could have progressed further through the main storyline, but the exploration is always what I love in a game. I spent at least half an hour in a supermarket looting and shooting, and much much more time hacking, stealing and lock picking. OH MY GOD – DO NOT THROW AWAY YOUR BOBBY PINS – YOU NEED THEM TO PICK LOCKS!!! – did the game tell me this? I really don’t know, but if they didn’t – [insert anger].
Oh, and did I mention I convinced an evil Doctor not to annihilate an entire town just by using my uber flirting skillz? Dont’ judge me, I did it for the citizens.
In terms of controls, I’ve never been good at FPS style games (can never fine tune my movement to aim), and my first reaction was to panic when I saw that little crosshair in the middle of the screen. Luckily it’s more of an RPG, the way the shooting works (semi-realtime), and the ability to regen in the middle of battle is the only reason I haven’t given up. I have to admit I’ve forgotten buttons and accidentally shot a couple of people who I wasn’t suppose to and it resulted in me 1.escaping from a town, 2-dying. I’m pretty sure that’s my fault and not the game’s…
One thing I thought was a shame was the 3rd person view option, the view is clunky as it’s off centre and it felt like an add-on for fpv challenged people like myself – only it’s failed to help. It’s a real shame considering the character looks different according to what you equip – I found myself using 3pv during non-combat travel just so I could get a taste of the new gear I’d put on – it would be nice if shooting was easy with this option.
I’m still trying to figure out some of the abbreviations in the HUD, but I’m slowly adapting – like the weight system for your pack. Turns out, there’s really no point looting empty bottles and dinted cans – WHY do they let me pick that shit up then?? Try hoarding anyway, it’s hilarious when you unload them all at once and you leave a giant puddle of your crap in the middle of a room – hrm, I wonder if it’ll still be there later? Maybe I can retreive those bobby pins…
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