I finished part 1 of the game and Max has now lost his hair and gained a beard. It usually takes me a while to get into the game, but I think I've got things (mostly?) figured out. Cover is important and I never seem to get much use out of bullet time. Mostly because my aim isn't all that good and it results on my getting shot up more than I want.
While the game's story is incredibly implausible, it's still quite fun. I'll admit that I (still) get an extra kick from mostly understanding the Portuguese. I'll also admit that I was quite surprised to unexpectedly run into some...well, I guess you could call it a "adult movie scene" with careful camera placement and blocking. Max is wandering around a favela and decides to cool his heels for a while...as you wander in you can almost see things you might not have wanted to see in the first place.
I guess this might have been the point during which Brazilian players really got offended? (assuming it didn't happen earlier, of course).
I've been playing this a fair amount and making good progress. I'ts a surprisingly good game even though - at least on paper, there are so many things that could go wrong. Actually, there are a lot of things that aren't "perfect", but I'm more than willing to turn a blind eye simply because the game's setting is so intriguing and interesting. In a nutshell, the game's main mechanic is a nightmare (on paper). It works well enough, and where it doesn't, that's ok - because there's plenty of "leniency".
So, here's what I've enjoyed...
1. I'm having a hard time describing the game's art style. It's sort of anime, sort of steampunk. I'm reminded of studio Ghibli movies (and also Otomo) because of the distinct style and detail there is in the surroundings.
2. The setting is quite neat. It's not incredibly detailed, but it has a lot of character, and that counts for a lot. The game takes place in a world that's both familiar and alien. Rather than use a real language, they've invented a new one (I presume just for this game?) including an alphabet for the signs in the game and so on.
3. The game is mostly about manipulating gravity in order to fly around the environment. The environment (generally a city) is a lot more detailed and "convoluted" than you might imagine. It makes it quite interesting to fly around. You also have to fight baddies, and many of the attacks have a soft-lock-on which really helps with the (frequent) disorientation.
4. Getting disoriented is actually fun. Most environments are actually interesting to look at from all angles, which is neat. And the game has a very workable "beacon" system (an arrow telling you where to go and how far you are).
And the story? Also interesting! But I'll write about that later...
Started playing this the other night. I figure it shouldn't take too long, and I'm interested to see how Max's mental state is woven into the game. I'm particularly curious about this having recently finished Spec Ops: The Line - since it's definitely an important part of THAT game.
I've already completed to "episodes" (I don't recall what they're called, chapters maybe?). Anyways, it's been enough to get a general sense of the gameplay and setting. I'm surprised by how complicated it's been for me to wrap my head around the controls. They seem quite complicated for me, but I suspect it's more about my getting used to them than anything else. I tend to forget to switch into bullet time, for example. I also forget to dive while in bullet time, and so on. In all, I'm not terribly effective, which has resulted in way too many re-starts. An embarrassing amount to be honest. I'm not playing on easy, but on the next one up (the one that has aim assist rather than free aim).
So far, it's been an interesting experience. Mostly because the game is set in Sao Paolo. The Latin American setting resonates with me, obviously, even if the setting so far (I'm a bodyguard to some ultra-rich locals) isn't all that familiar personally. The nice thing is that I can understand the Portuguese, which is a neat plus. I don't understand enough to spot issues (or complain about accents) which is what I guess most Brazilian players would do. I might have to look around online just to see how Brazilians felt about the game...
Ok, my characters are in the low forties range - but the game clock is 20 hrs away from the earlier saved game! Did this game's prior owner simply spend a lot of time grinding? I don't know... I'm a bit worried because I really don't want to spend ALL that time with the game even though it's been fun so far. I should know where things stand in a few days. I hope.
The dual timelines have become a lot longer as well, it no longer makes sense for me to navigate them manually and its become a (minor) chore to reach certain nodes I want to travel back to. Overall, however, I'm still surprised by how coherent the whole experience has been from a narrative perspective. This could be so much more confusing and convoluted!
