That first game reminded me of how far we've come in game design from the '2d side-scroller' (and let's be honest;
Pitfall back in its 8-bit limitations was STILL better.
)
The second game had hints of promise; tiny glints of potential...buried under a hoard of clipping issues, mob generation mistakes, and an absolute absence of story or purpose. Remembering that this game seems to still be in Alpha development, there's a tiny bit of h-
nope; almost made it.
But let's be honest, none of those 'behind the scenes ' glitches (why the bleep is there all that extraneous map outside? Why the health pick-ups in an area that CANNOT be reached?) nor any of the modelling NIGHTMARES (dying mobs become sheets, and The Spider Faucet
) will ever be properly fixed. And as for the story? Remember that drivel Graham was quoting from the failed KS blurbs? Yeah, at BEST we'll have Yet Another Steve McGenericson cutting a swath through an endless horde of meaningless hostile things in order to avenge someone or something.
As I said, I had a tiny moment of hope in it: it seems that not only are mobs and weapon pickups static through respawn, but
you seem to leave corpses behind from your previous deaths - that NBC+orange armor dude Alex found on the ground in a couple of occasions.
But that's not nearly enough to save it - hell, I've got a great sense of direction, but even *I* got almost instantly lost in that effing basement that was the first level!
And then...meh.
This one had a fascinating story concept...but it completely failed to deliver on that. The game mechanics were - unlike the two previous games - completely functional, and the art direction, while rather drab and uninspiring, was serviceable.
But...this was an idea that easily could've fleshed out into a feature-length movie; sufficient exposition, more actual characterization, a real denouement and resolution instead of 'leaving us standing on the roof'...
...but it was what - ten, fifteen minutes?
I actually want to see the original idea by Bojan Brbora, which was probably JUST HIM ALONE; it likely was BETTER THAN THIS 'too many cooks make the broth really bland' (seriously, that 'conference room shot' of all the people grinning blandly at the camera really set off how much they watered everything down)...
*goes off to check details about how large the final dev team was*
...eight years?
EIGHT FUCKING YEARS?!?
No wonder the models looked dated!
Holy SHIT,
WHY IS THIS BEING SOLD?!?Come ON; I've disliked Jim Sterling (his 'public persona' has softened a lot over the years, thankfully) but
I strongly agree with his review. I'm a
little more forgiving than he is because of the value 4PM has...as a learning experience for the dev.
This is something that should be offered for free download and FEEDBACK, not
SALE!!!
If it was free, and admitted to be the experiment it is, great - but as Jim's first commenter points out (and sadly Mr. Stirling himself failed to bring it up) the fact it's being SOLD creates an expectation that this project COMPLETELY FAILS TO FULFIL.
Ugh!
Okay, so instead of 'the good, the bad and the ugly' we've got "the silly, the horrific and the blah-yet-enraging"