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Coded Arms (PSP) Status: Stopped playing - Something better came along I started playing this game on Wednesday 21 October, 2009 // I stopped playing this game on: Tuesday 27 October, 2009
Current opinion of this game
Polished, yet it doesn't feel complete. Still engaging for a while.
October 26, 2009 10:12:51 PM
The visual style of this game really is special. It's evidently inspired by the Matrix and all things cyberpunk but still. The fake sheen that CG has works perfectly here. If it looks a bit off, well...that's because it's virtual! I'm actually reminded of a movie called "Avalon". I noticed something a little odd the other day when I died and was forced to restart an area. The starting room was different! In fact, the rest of the level was also different. Not THAT different. But still. Not the same. It turns out that the levels are generated randomly (or pseudo-randomly, I'd imagine, since certain parameters seem to remain constant). This is a really neat idea, but it doesn't quite shine. The main problem is that after a while all the areas start to look (and feel) and play the same. It's getting old pretty fast... I still like the concept though and there is undoubtedly a lot of polish. For example, I just noticed that the elevators have lights on the bottom indicating which directions will have exists from the elevator. It's such a small thing but SO helpful now that I've noticed. There are also some arrows that float in the air that do the same thing, but those were a bit more confusing. I don't know how many times I've played an FPS elevator ride where I spend time looking up and around trying to figure out the exit direction. I think I'll probably play a bit more tomorrow and leave it at that since I get the feeling that I've seen all this game has to offer. Sure, I could still upgrade my weapons and whatnot, but in the grand scheme of things I'm not that enamoured. FPS treadmilling just seems wrong.
October 23, 2009 10:15:47 PM
I'm not sure I realized this game was a first-person shooter when I bought it. I guess I thought it was a 3rd person shooter? Oh well. That's not a bad thing at all and I've actually been enjoying it quite a bit. I've finished the tutorial as well as the "easy" section in its entirety. The former was short while the latter is a bit of both. In terms of spatial levels, the "easy" section consists of three groups of 6(?) levels. You have to do each group of six in order and they get progressively harder (and larger). It's been a real change of pace to play this game because each level feels like a small, tight, and self-contained challenge. There are only a few enemies in each and, so you get an idea, the some of the levels only have 3-4 rooms! It actually works quite well (after you get used to the interface) since the focus is more on a deathmatch type experience (with weaker opponents) than a "typical" FPS where you move on, and on, taking out more and more opponents along the way. I guess it also works because the environments are artificial according to the game's narrative. The story goes that you're a computer hacker who's penetrating an abandoned military network/system. It's been abandoned since the AI went rogue, or something like that. The idea is that you can hack into it and download special programs(?). I'm not to clear on the whole thing, but it's essentially like playing in "the matrix" and there are some cool visual effects to reinforce the story. Whenever you open a door to a new room, it "rezzes" in front of your eyes. Enemies "de-rezz" when you kill them and so on. It's pretty cool!

Coded Arms (PSP)