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Demo Impressions


Ether999

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Just finished playing the demo.

 

It was something between good and great. Nothing that made me go "Wow!" but also nothing that bugged me.

 

A few pointers:

 

-Jumps are "scripted", if you know what I mean. The X button makes you roll, but also makes you jump, but only when you are near something you can jump off or to. That means that jump is like a QTE for me, and also you can't really fall to your death, like from a mistimed jump (at least from what I gathered from the demo).

 

-Seems rather linear. Haven't read any detailed previews so I don't know how's the exploration, but it seems like it's close to Uncharted's. Nothing wrong with that, but Uncharted's pacing is excellent IMO, so we just have to wait and see how Enslaved compares to that (not that it needs to be compared to something, but you get my point).

 

-I really like the combat. I can tell from now that you will able to string moves while in the middle of a group of enemies, something like Batman's AA mixed with GoW moves (attack, heavy attack, roll and guard). Also the camera shakes a little when you move and hit enemies, but not too much, so I don't think it will frustrate (a lot of) people. Personally, I liked it.

 

-Finally, I really, really, (really) like the setting and probably the story. I say probably because it's at the end of the demo that the story is really starting, and I liked that cutscene (with the characters' interactions and all) and the potential that it has.

 

So, my biggest worries (nothing that will be game-breaking, but also some things that will keep it from being an excellent game) are:

Combat becomes stale/repetitive, not many (if at all) unlockables/collectables, game is too short and story becomes cliched.

 

I'm 90% sure I will buy it at launch. The 10% is from what previews/early reviews will say. Unless they say something that will "destroy" the game for me, I will get it.

 

EDIT: I just saw at the achievement list that there are 4 trophies for 2 kinds of collectables, so yay, one less thing to worry about :)

Edited by Brainstef
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I was really impressed with this Demo if your gonna copy why not copy from the best hey? I think of the jumps are alittle easy but the scale at times feels great and looking at the after video there only going to get better.

 

Combat also feels good I don't like nothing more than smashing roboots to bits with a massive stick and it looks like that will improve through the game and hopefully become more complex (looking at some of enemies I think this will happen)

 

The graphics are also impressive again it seems to have borrowed from Uncharted I love the look of some of the landscapes.

 

Overall the demo did what all great demos do and left me craving more :)

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Just played the demo myself

 

I enjoyed it quite a bit, as some said nice graphics and animation. But it feels a bit like other games I've played, such as Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands. I'm sure I'll be very tempted to buy it though once it comes out

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I liked it. They're obviously going for a Uncharted 2-like cinematic feel, and I think they're doing it well. It remains to be seen, however, if the rest of the game plays out similarly- there are so many games which pull out all the stops in the first level, then have a string of generic stages till the final boss.

 

Platforming was very easy, pretty much a QTE. You can't miss, the only "skill" involved is looking for your next foothold. Combat was pretty cool, and from the trailer in the end, it looks like it'll change enough through the game to keep it fresh.

 

Overall, I was expecting another hack'n'slash, but this was much better than that. The demo definitely pushed the game up my to-buy list.

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Just tried the demo and here's what I think.

 

Cons: Pretty bad textures, automatic jumping (then again, this makes for a more streamlined and fast experience, so it might not be a fault at all), the combat system MIGHT get stale, but it feels great so far. And lastly, the camera was a little wonky. The automatic camera worked great, but when I wanted to look around it felt way too sensetive, and the settings didn't seem to change a thing.

 

Now that I've got all those small annoyances out of the way, let's get to why I think this will be one of the best surprises of the year.

 

Pros: The scenery is awesome, when climbing up to avoid the tower I was just blown away. The vibrant colors and general art direction looks amazing, close to perfection. It makes me forget all about the textures. The characters (it's only two so far though) are really great and I already feel a good chemistry between them. The voice acting is much better than expected, especially Monkey's character. (which is voiced by Gollum!) Smooth animations, they look really fluid (though sometimes when jumping theyre drawn to the destination like a magnet). I listened to the official OST, and it's great, fitting really nicely into the game. The cinematic experience looks amazing, although it looks like they were heavily inspired by Uncharted 2. I don't know much about the story yet, but so far it feels promising. I personally really want to know why Monkey was on that plane in the first place. The combat feels great so far, but as I said before, it might get stale.

Edited by Bambuelo
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I had mixed feelings after playing the demo. It felt like Uncharted 2 (action, ledge jumping) meets Mirror's Edge (linear style, predetermined environment), which wasn't bad. But towards the end, the video and audio didn't sync together correctly. There's a Youtube video out there testing the frame rate and from what people are saying on the Ninja Theory forum, it's not a good sign.

 

I was going to pre-order this, but I think I'll wait for some reviews come in of the retail release before I put my money down. Hopefully only the demo has issues.

Edited by fancyfox
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I was disappointed by the demo. Am not a sharp eye when it comes to graphics issues, but the frame tearing issues in the first cinematic were too obvious.

 

Everything that the game tries to do, from linear platforming to combat to sense of scale, has been done better in other games [as can already be made out from comments]. As of now, it looks like a 7.5 game. Would be really surprised if it manages anything more than an 8.0 Not that it is a bad score, but there are already better games coming up.

 

P.S. Am more of a melee/hack-n-slash/cinematic kinda player than FPS and am replaying Batman: AA for the 4th time... just to let ya know where am coming from.

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I hated the camera angles. The focusing on a single enemy really takes away an experience.

 

Everything was top-notch except the sloppy cameras. Why couldn't they have just kept the camera settings from Heavenly Sword? I will still give the game a rental though. I am especially interested in the Hollywood recruitings NT has done.

 

[EDIT] The graphics and animations were just wow.

Edited by EEHHHHHH
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