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Lacking Cutscenes - Good or Bad?


F8L Fool

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I personally love cutscenes if they're done well, and in moderation. Sitting through hell of long cutscenes like in White Knight Chronicles, Bayonetta, and the obvious MGS4 really can get old. But when they're ultra cinematic like in Darksiders, and spattered around here and there they can totally enhance the story by leaps and bounds.

 

When I look back on BioShock 2 I realize that the game was essentially devoid of cutscenes. The ending cutscene is literally the only one I can recall ever seeing. In a game with such a great environment and cool main character they could've given us some nice visuals from a 3rd person perspective, showing Delta in more than just random reflections.

 

I am sure some people will say there were sort of cutscenes, but from a first person view that you had no control of your character.

 

So in short, what do you guys think about the lack of cutscenes in BioShock 2? Would the game have been a better experience with them? Do you like them in general? Let me know.

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For the amount of time and baton tossing between devs like it was a relay match, I wasn't too impressed with whatever amounts of cut-scenes we got with the game. Way too pixelated for a game of this calibre, and really, for this day n' age with all the tech. available to produce quality CG.

 

The first BioShock's CG looks much better IMO and it's still fresh in my memory as I literally finished playing that one 2 days prior to BioShock 2 being released. That's most likely why I picked up on that when I started playing 2.

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I love cutscenes and this game saddened me with the lack of them. I would have enjoyed seeing a few cutscenes of Delta fighting off a bunch of Splicers with the drill and plasmids NOT from first person.

 

To me cutscenes help me to get into the story more (thanks Final Fantasy :D lol ) so when a great single player doesnt have legit cutscene i like it a bit less.

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I love cutscenes and this game saddened me with the lack of them. I would have enjoyed seeing a few cutscenes of Delta fighting off a bunch of Splicers with the drill and plasmids NOT from first person.

 

To me cutscenes help me to get into the story more (thanks Final Fantasy :D lol ) so when a great single player doesnt have legit cutscene i like it a bit less.

 

I'm on your team for sure. I mean imagine the sort of epic cutscenes they could have added. I expected the Delta to be some ultra bad ass, and with the addition of some amazing cutscenes showing him just go off on large groups of people, or even a cutscene showing a special finisher for the first Big Sister encounter would have been talked about for quite some time.

 

I mean look at the Uncharted and Final Fantasy franchises, you hear nothing but praise about the superb quality of their cutscenes. If done correctly they can do nothing but help the story aspects, heighten the cinematic feel, and engross the player fully in the environment.

 

Not having them in this game really was a downer for me. The entire... [spoiler=escape] escape scene for one would've been better as a cutscene. From the moment you bursted the pipes, to the to second the credits started rolling should have been a cutscene instead of the stupid first person shit they did all game long. The explosion on the way to the sub would have looked so damn gnarly, and everything about the end would've just felt better in my opinion. They could've done the ascent soooooooooo well.

 

 

I mean if you're going to take the control out of the players hands, why not do a full blown high quality cutscene? Not only can you give a different perspective, but you can flex your story telling powers in different ways.

 

For the amount of time and baton tossing between devs like it was a relay match, I wasn't too impressed with whatever amounts of cut-scenes we got with the game. Way too pixelated for a game of this calibre, and really, for this day n' age with all the tech. available to produce quality CG....

 

Totally forgot to bring up the actual quality of the final cutscene. I thought it was horrendously rendered. Watching it on my new 42" Vizio LCD HDTV all I could do was think, "WTF were they thinking?", because it just looked bad. I didn't even think to bring that up so thanks for reminding me.

 

So not only did they skimp on the sheer QUANTITY of cutscenes, but the quality as well lol.

Edited by F8L Fool
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Nah, i wouldnt say its missing cut-scenes" persay. The thing that made the first game so compelling was the storytelling. The way the plot was structured in the first game really sucked you into Rapture without really giving too much away. Needless to say the plot twists towards the end left us all salivating for more of this mad genius.

 

Unfortunately i think the second game has suffered a little in this department. dont get me wrong, its still an epic game, it just feels a little weaker in the narrative than the first. Bioshock 1 didnt really have cut-scenes in the conventional sense, its was more structured around subliminal persuasion. Giving some means of motivating you as the protagonist into completing the objectives only to find you've stumbled into cafefully laid traps.

 

The use of short-wave radio transmissions, PA voice announcements and lighting in these two games give a great sense of helplessness, which for me is what really adds to the lure. One moment you're cutting your way through Splicers and all is going well, the next moments the lights cut out, a crackling voice over the tannoy relays a disturbing and cryptic message and BOOOM, panic floods into your mind.

 

For me, there are only a handful of games that have really got to grips with being strangely charming at the same time as being genuinely disturbing. Dead space springs instantly to mind. MGS4 style cut-scenes would have no place in Bioshock as far as im concerned. In a cut-scene you're taken out of control, and become as spectator. Being able to move and panic whilst trapped in a room, listening to someone plotting your downfall, in effect leaves you ferreting around like a trapped rat. Cut-scenes allow you to relax and enjoy the show. I'd prefer the Bioshock way, of leaving you in the game as everything falls apart around you.

Edited by Legion
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