Heavy Rain

[Walsingham]

Not so many in the world of computer games IMO...

 

Or that depends on your definition of improve, I suppose.

 

Neverwinter Nights 2.

 

Case proven.

[RPGmasterBoo]

Not so many in the world of computer games IMO...

 

Or that depends on your definition of improve, I suppose.

 

Neverwinter Nights 2.

 

Case proven.

 

Doesn't take much to be better than NWN.

[Walsingham]

Not so many in the world of computer games IMO...

 

Or that depends on your definition of improve, I suppose.

 

Neverwinter Nights 2.

 

Case proven.

 

Doesn't take much to be better than NWN.

 

So the secret to an awesome sequel is to have an unbelievably terrible start? Because NWN2 is awesome.

[RPGmasterBoo]

Not so many in the world of computer games IMO...

 

Or that depends on your definition of improve, I suppose.

 

Neverwinter Nights 2.

 

Case proven.

 

Doesn't take much to be better than NWN.

 

So the secret to an awesome sequel is to have an unbelievably terrible start? Because NWN2 is awesome.

 

I don't exactly agree about NWN2 being awesome. It was better than NWN certainly, but I found it somewhat generic and derivative. MotB on the other hand, was awesome.

 

My opinion may not be exactly valid since I've always disliked the NWN series for their engine, interface, camera control, graphical style - in short just about everything felt wrong for me. They're Baldur Gate's ugly bastard children.

 

*except for the way the Aurora was used in the Witcher

Edited February 8, 2010 by RPGmasterBoo

[Calax]

Off to see a demo of the first hour, will return with impressions.

[Calax]

Ok, the rep had the ENTIRE GAME. He went through several sections that didn't have spoilers for us. One was the slezy place from the demo on the PSN, one was a quick bar stick up, one was the apartment scene that the breasty trailer in here is from, and the last was the nightclub that's gotten attention because a woman stripping for a story is supposed to make the characters uncomfortable.

 

The stickup we played twice and it had a similar outcome. However, when one of the audience played it he ended up screwing up the controls (because he didn't know the prompts that well) and talked the gent down. When the rep played it he managed to sneak up on the mugger and knock him out with a vodka bottle. Interesting thing tho was that the mugger was about THIS close to just shooting the character that was there. Also the player can just stand around in back and let the shop owner get shot.

 

The sleazy place from the demo was interesting because at one point a "customer" (The woman you're questioning at this point is a hooker) gets physical with the prostitute. You can leave her, rush to save her, or do what our rep did and just wait a bit before going to save her. If you rush to save her she'll be just about how you left her before the customer came. However, because we waited she ended up with a couple of bruises.

 

The apartment was odd because you played a sequence where the character got attacked. Guys in ninja suits are trying to kill her and she's using everything she can to beat them off and get out. The sony rep failed one particular section to show us how it changes (not much overall) and then proceeded to screw up a few more times by accident. Lady got stabbed once, tossed into a wall, and smashed through some glass before it ended (there was a twist ending).

 

Night club was about what you heard in various previews. Only thing to really add is that the soundtrack was... odd. Basically the owner of the club is a walking bundle of cliches (a lot of the supporting characters were it seems) and he actually put on music that had the moans and yells of a couple... coupling. It was particularly funny when we smacked the club owner with a blunt object JUST as the soundtrack seemed to have one of the women reach orgasm.

 

Oh, and just like Fahrenheit the story does keep track of exactly how much rain has fallen during the course of the game.

[Gorth]

Not so many in the world of computer games IMO...

 

Or that depends on your definition of improve, I suppose.

 

Neverwinter Nights 2.

 

Case proven.

Master of Orion 2, Baldurs Gate 2, X-Com 2, Jagged Alliance 2, Heroes of Might and Magic 2, Ultima II, Elite 2, Quake 2, Sim City 2, Star Control 2, Populous 2, Dune 2, System Shock 2, Lord of Midnight 2, Star Wars: Tie Fighter, Kick Off 2, Deus Ex 2, Silent Hill 2, Delta Force 2, Grand Theft Auto 2, Guitar Hero 2, Mortal Kombat 2, Europe Universalis II, Hearts of Iron II, Dungeon Master II, Speedball II, Xenon 2, Age of Empires II, Lotus Eesprit Turbo Challenge II, Eye of the Beholder II, Another World II, etc.

 

The second game in a franchise isn't always a letdown

[Nepenthe]

Not so many in the world of computer games IMO...

 

Or that depends on your definition of improve, I suppose.

 

Neverwinter Nights 2.

 

Case proven.

Master of Orion 2, Baldurs Gate 2, X-Com 2, Jagged Alliance 2, Heroes of Might and Magic 2, Ultima II, Elite 2, Quake 2, Sim City 2, Star Control 2, Populous 2, Dune 2, System Shock 2, Lord of Midnight 2, Star Wars: Tie Fighter, Kick Off 2, Deus Ex 2, Silent Hill 2, Delta Force 2, Grand Theft Auto 2, Guitar Hero 2, Mortal Kombat 2, Europe Universalis II, Hearts of Iron II, Dungeon Master II, Speedball II, Xenon 2, Age of Empires II, Lotus Eesprit Turbo Challenge II, Eye of the Beholder II, Another World II, etc.

 

The second game in a franchise isn't always a letdown

 

You're the first (and hopefully last) person I've encoutered who claims Deus Ex 2 wasn't a letdown.

 

I thought Red Alert 2 was also better than the original.

[Gorth]

You're the first (and hopefully last) person I've encoutered who claims Deus Ex 2 wasn't a letdown.

 

I thought Red Alert 2 was also better than the original.

Crap... I'll attribute that one to statistical errors. Heven't played either one, nor the system shocks, dooms or GTA's (except the very first one). Most of the others are familiar to otherwise.

 

Not having a PS3, it looks like I am not going to play Heavy Rain either. It does look interesting though

[Pidesco]

Quake 2 isn't better than the first one, either.

[Bokishi]

I'll be grabbing this one!

[Rostere]

Another World 2 and Deus Ex 2 are decidedly not good sequels, or at least not better than their predecessors.

 

I'd say RA2 is also a not-so-good sequel, but I guess a lot of people won't agree with me!

[RPGmasterBoo]

Not so many in the world of computer games IMO...

 

Or that depends on your definition of improve, I suppose.

 

Neverwinter Nights 2.

 

Case proven.

Master of Orion 2, Baldurs Gate 2, X-Com 2, Jagged Alliance 2, Heroes of Might and Magic 2, Ultima II, Elite 2, Quake 2, Sim City 2, Star Control 2, Populous 2, Dune 2, System Shock 2, Lord of Midnight 2, Star Wars: Tie Fighter, Kick Off 2, Deus Ex 2, Silent Hill 2, Delta Force 2, Grand Theft Auto 2, Guitar Hero 2, Mortal Kombat 2, Europe Universalis II, Hearts of Iron II, Dungeon Master II, Speedball II, Xenon 2, Age of Empires II, Lotus Eesprit Turbo Challenge II, Eye of the Beholder II, Another World II, etc.

 

The second game in a franchise isn't always a letdown

 

You crammed in more than a decade year of gaming there buddy. For every one of those there were 10 crappy sequels, that people forget

[Mamoulian War]

Quake 2 isn't better than the first one, either.

 

Hmm i liked it much much more than the 1st one

[Purkake]

Giant Bomb quicklook of the demo.

 

The voice acting seems somewhat wooden and controls look pretty bad, but I'm probably biased.

 

Oh and the latest Idle Thumbs mentioned that you control the speed and direction of the animations by how fast(or slow) you move the stick which can lead to some hilarious situations if you don't do it exactly as the game wants you to.

Edited February 15, 2010 by Purkake

[Calax]

Giant Bomb quicklook of the demo.

 

The voice acting seems somewhat wooden and controls look pretty bad, but I'm probably biased.

 

Oh and the latest Idle Thumbs mentioned that you control the speed and direction of the animations by how fast(or slow) you move the stick which can lead to some hilarious situations if you don't do it exactly as the game wants you to.

yeah, in the stick up situation I mentioned the guy who was playing didn't move the stick slowly as he tried to pick something up so he ended up dropping it and getting caught by the criminal.

[vault_overseer]

PRESS X TO JASON

[Purkake]

I don't know what's worse, the "trailer" or the gameplay in the trailer.

 

But even if Heavy Rain bombs, I think there a few things that RPG developers could learn from it. The main one being a dynamic story where important people can actually die and move the story down a completely different path. With games getting shorter anyway, this looks like an interesting way to go.

Edited February 15, 2010 by Purkake

[Kaftan Barlast]

This game is an abomination and a threat to the world of computer games. If it sells well, it will mean a rebirth of QTE's like the world has never seen. Luckily, the reviewers are pretty unanimous in their opinion that it stinks.

[Purkake]

This game is an abomination and a threat to the world of computer games. If it sells well, it will mean a rebirth of QTE's like the world has never seen. Luckily, the reviewers are pretty unanimous in their opinion that it stinks.

Rebirth? QTEs haven't gone anywhere.

 

And for what it's worth, Heavy Rain has a metacritic score of 90 with 41 reviews.

[Morgoth]

Funny that it took 4 years to create a game that can be finished in 7 hours, and will probably be forgotten within the same amount of time.

[Purkake]

At least they didn't make another third person cover-based shooter.

[Kaftan Barlast]

Atleast you get to actually PLAY those games instead of watching a giant 7-hour cutscene with annoying QTE's every 20sec.

 

 

 

..and seriously, where is this plethora of bad 3rd person cover-based shooter you keep talking about?

[Nightshape]

Atleast you get to actually PLAY those games instead of watching a giant 7-hour cutscene with annoying QTE's every 20sec.

 

 

 

..and seriously, where is this plethora of bad 3rd person cover-based shooter you keep talking about?

 

plethora - no.

 

But gears is a pile of bobbins compared with Uncharted or ME 2, or well anything that uses the cover mechanic.

 

The reason is simple, an entire clip to kill enemies is BAD!

[Purkake]

Gametrailers review(contains some spoilers, strong language and a bit too much hype for my taste)

 

The game still looks like an interesting diversion from the norm and might spark some other cool games.

Edited February 16, 2010 by Purkake