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[Keyrock]

Funny how I never thought about a Alien game in style of Amnesia. It totally makes sense and sounds p. cool too.

It's true, but weapons detract from that.  Part of what makes Amnesia so great at keeping constant tension is the fact that you're completely helpless in a fight.  All you can do is run away and hide, you have no means of fighting back.  As soon as you put some kind of weapon in the player's hands (and, to the best of my knowledge, there will be weapons) part of that tension is eased.  You can still have the tension of the unseen horror (a xenomorph in this case) hunting you that can appear anywhere and any time (making the motion tracker your best friend, as it should be), like in Amnesia, but putting a gun in your hand takes away some of the fear.  On the other hand, if they make the enemy AI smart enough (a big if), and the xenomorphs quick enough, and limit your ammo enough, it could make for some great frantic battles where the xenomorph is hopping around from floor to ceiling at lightning speed and you're trying to shoot it when you only have 5 bullets left.  They absolutely have to get the amount of ammo you can find in the game right for this to work.  If ammo is plentiful then that will pretty much destroy all the fear and tension in the game completely.

Edited January 8, 2014 by Keyrock

[BruceVC]

 

Funny how I never thought about a Alien game in style of Amnesia. It totally makes sense and sounds p. cool too.

It's true, but weapons detract from that.  Part of what makes Amnesia so great at keeping constant tension is the fact that you're completely helpless in a fight.  All you can do is run away and hide, you have no means of fighting back.  As soon as you put some kind of weapon in the player's hands (and, to the best of my knowledge, there will be weapons) part of that tension is eased.  You can still have the tension of the unseen horror (a xenomorph in this case) hunting you that can appear anywhere and any time (making the motion tracker your best friend, as it should be), like in Amnesia, but putting a gun in your hand takes away some of the fear.  On the other hand, if they make the enemy AI smart enough (a big if), and the xenomorphs quick enough, and limit your ammo enough, it could make for some great frantic battles where the xenomorph is hopping around from floor to ceiling at lightning speed and you're trying to shoot it when you only have 5 bullets left.  They absolutely have to get the amount of ammo you can find in the game right for this to work.  If ammo is plentiful then that will pretty much destroy all the fear and tension in the game completely.

 

 

I hear you about the increase in tension in a game like Amnesia with no weapons but its also unrealistic. I'm busy with the latest one now and even though the house is full of guns and the protagonist is a skilled hunter he doesn't think to take a weapon?  

[Keyrock]

I was referring to the first Amnesia.  A Machine For Pigs is less about hiding and cowering, trying desperately not to get discovered while your mind ****s with you, and more about "holy ****, what kind of ****ed up **** has been going on here?".

Edited January 8, 2014 by Keyrock

[Blarghagh]

It's true about weapons. The second Penumbra game was far more terrifying than the first because I wasn't preoccupied with trying to hammer the enemies to death. Just having a weapon puts a player into a mindset that says "I have this weapon, I should fight the enemies", take away the weapon and the thought barely crosses the player's mind.

[BruceVC]

It's true about weapons. The second Penumbra game was far more terrifying than the first because I wasn't preoccupied with trying to hammer the enemies to death. Just having a weapon puts a player into a mindset that says "I have this weapon, I should fight the enemies", take away the weapon and the thought barely crosses the player's mind.

 

I hear you but I would still prefer a weapon ( those pig men need to die), it can still be very scary and tense with a weapon. For example what about striking a balance between a FPS and a game like Amnesia where you have a weapon but only 12 bullets?

[Rosbjerg]

I found System Shock and Fear plenty scary with weapons.

[Keyrock]

 

It's true about weapons. The second Penumbra game was far more terrifying than the first because I wasn't preoccupied with trying to hammer the enemies to death. Just having a weapon puts a player into a mindset that says "I have this weapon, I should fight the enemies", take away the weapon and the thought barely crosses the player's mind.

 

I hear you but I would still prefer a weapon ( those pig men need to die), it can still be very scary and tense with a weapon. For example what about striking a balance between a FPS and a game like Amnesia where you have a weapon but only 12 bullets?

 

Hence what I wrote about ammunition being critical to this type of thing working well:

 

On the other hand, if they make the enemy AI smart enough (a big if), and the xenomorphs quick enough, and limit your ammo enough, it could make for some great frantic battles where the xenomorph is hopping around from floor to ceiling at lightning speed and you're trying to shoot it when you only have 5 bullets left.  They absolutely have to get the amount of ammo you can find in the game right for this to work.  If ammo is plentiful then that will pretty much destroy all the fear and tension in the game completely.

 

That's part of what made old school Resident Evil games work, the constant worry of "crap, I'm almost out of ammo".

Edited January 8, 2014 by Keyrock

[BruceVC]

 

 

It's true about weapons. The second Penumbra game was far more terrifying than the first because I wasn't preoccupied with trying to hammer the enemies to death. Just having a weapon puts a player into a mindset that says "I have this weapon, I should fight the enemies", take away the weapon and the thought barely crosses the player's mind.

 

I hear you but I would still prefer a weapon ( those pig men need to die), it can still be very scary and tense with a weapon. For example what about striking a balance between a FPS and a game like Amnesia where you have a weapon but only 12 bullets?

 

Hence what I wrote about ammunition being critical to this type of thing working well:

 

On the other hand, if they make the enemy AI smart enough (a big if), and the xenomorphs quick enough, and limit your ammo enough, it could make for some great frantic battles where the xenomorph is hopping around from floor to ceiling at lightning speed and you're trying to shoot it when you only have 5 bullets left.  They absolutely have to get the amount of ammo you can find in the game right for this to work.  If ammo is plentiful then that will pretty much destroy all the fear and tension in the game completely.

 

That's part of what made old school Resident Evil games work, the constant worry of "crap, I'm almost out of ammo".

 

 

I've never played any Resident Evil games, you obviously recommend them?

[Lexx]

That reminds me... I love the beginning of Call of Cthulhu - Dark Corners of the Earth. You get into the city and everything is dark and creepy, and it ends with you running away from the whole town in a really tensing chapter. Even when you get guns later, the game was super rad, imo. Despite the flaws, I personally find it to be the best Bethesda game.

[BruceVC]

That reminds me... I love the beginning of Call of Cthulhu - Dark Corners of the Earth. You get into the city and everything is dark and creepy, and it ends with you running away from the whole town in a really tensing chapter. Even when you get guns later, the game was super rad, imo. Despite the flaws, I personally find it to be the best Bethesda game.

 

Another game that sounds fun, thanks for the tip

[Keyrock]

I've never played any Resident Evil games, you obviously recommend them?

 

I recommend Resi Revelations.  The early Resi games did well in the atmosphere and tension department, but it's kind of hard going back to the horrific controls and camera angles of those games.  Newer games in the series (from 4 onward) introduced far better controls and camera, but they also lost the early games' slow pacing and constant tension and became more standard shooters with zombies and monsters.  Revelations is a throwback to the style of game of the series' roots, but with modern controls.  I personally think Revelations is the best game in the series because it combines the claustrophobic tight passageways, slow paced, tense, **** I'm running out of ammo gameplay of the early Resi games with controls that don't make you want to strangle the game designers.  Whatever you do, stay away from Operation Raccoon City, unless you desperately need a co-op shooter with zombies and don't feel like playing (the vastly superior) Left 4 Dead games again.

Edited January 8, 2014 by Keyrock

[BruceVC]

 

I've never played any Resident Evil games, you obviously recommend them?

 

I recommend Resi Revelations.  The early Resi games did well in the atmosphere and tension department, but it's kind of hard going back to the horrific controls and camera angles of those games.  Newer games in the series (from 4 onward) introduced far better controls and camera, but they also lost the early games' slow pacing and constant tension and became more standard shooters with zombies and monsters.  Revelations is a throwback to the style of game of the series' roots, but with modern controls.  I personally think Revelations is the best game in the series because it combines the claustrophobic tight passageways, slow paced, tense, **** I'm running out of ammo gameplay of the early Resi games with controls that don't make you want to strangle the game designers.  Whatever you do, stay away from Operation Raccoon City, unless you desperately need a co-op shooter with zombies and don't feel like playing (the vastly superior) Left 4 Dead games again.

 

 

That's some interesting and pertinent  information, thanks

[Blarghagh]

That reminds me... I love the beginning of Call of Cthulhu - Dark Corners of the Earth. You get into the city and everything is dark and creepy, and it ends with you running away from the whole town in a really tensing chapter. Even when you get guns later, the game was super rad, imo. Despite the flaws, I personally find it to be the best Bethesda game.

 

I wanted to love this game. I really did. It ticks all the boxes of things that I love... but my GOD is this game impossible. It ended up being my most hated game ever. Something is only tense if you don't have to repeat it 50 times - then it becomes a rage-inducing chore. Seriously, ten minute long first person platforming chase sequences where every action you do has about a two second margin for error and if you mess up once you start over? Who the hell approved of that?

[BruceVC]

 

That reminds me... I love the beginning of Call of Cthulhu - Dark Corners of the Earth. You get into the city and everything is dark and creepy, and it ends with you running away from the whole town in a really tensing chapter. Even when you get guns later, the game was super rad, imo. Despite the flaws, I personally find it to be the best Bethesda game.

 

I wanted to love this game. I really did. It ticks all the boxes of things that I love... but my GOD is this game impossible. It ended up being my most hated game ever. Something is only tense if you don't have to repeat it 50 times - then it becomes a rage-inducing chore. Seriously, ten minute long first person platforming chase sequences where every action you do has about a two second margin for error and if you mess up once you start over? Who the hell approved of that?

 

Thanks for your honesty, that would also annoy me immensely

[Gorgon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBTHss_1saI

Don't know if this has been posted. About time someone thought of making an alien game survial/horror. Looks like this is what replaces 'our' cancelled alien RPG.

[Keyrock]

i think when making a game in the Alien franchise, especially if it's an Alien game, as opposed to an Aliens game, the motion tracker needs to be almost the star of the game.  In an Alien game the motion tracker should be your most important, most indispensable tool, more important than any weapon (for me, ideally there would be no weapons).  You should be clutching the motion tracker with sweaty shaking palms, holding onto it like it's your one and only hope for survival.  If the developer essentially builds the game around the motion tracker, then they're on the right path.  That's not to say that they couldn't still **** it up, but at least they would be off to a good start.  If the motion tracker doesn't feature prominently in the game, if it's not an indispensable tool, if it's just an afterthought, then it almost doesn't matter what else is in the game, because it is already a failure as far as I'm concerned.

[HoonDing]

Looks really boring. Can I play as Predator?

[Lexx]

 

That reminds me... I love the beginning of Call of Cthulhu - Dark Corners of the Earth. You get into the city and everything is dark and creepy, and it ends with you running away from the whole town in a really tensing chapter. Even when you get guns later, the game was super rad, imo. Despite the flaws, I personally find it to be the best Bethesda game.

 

I wanted to love this game. I really did. It ticks all the boxes of things that I love... but my GOD is this game impossible. It ended up being my most hated game ever. Something is only tense if you don't have to repeat it 50 times - then it becomes a rage-inducing chore. Seriously, ten minute long first person platforming chase sequences where every action you do has about a two second margin for error and if you mess up once you start over? Who the hell approved of that?

 

 

Hehe, yeah. There is a hook: The game / player character runs faster / slower depending on your hardware. On certain computers, the chasing scene is like totally impossible. The faster the game runs, the easier it gets for you. I only managed it back in the days, because I reduced my screen resolution and all that.

Edited January 8, 2014 by Lexx

[HoonDing]

Best to watch a LP. If you don't get a A on every level, you don't get the real ending anyway.

[Majek]

Why didn't anyone tell me that Mobygames is back to normal ( old ) site layout. Apparently someone "rescued" it from Gamefly. Best of luck to them. And i can finally browse and remember once again.

Edited January 8, 2014 by Majek

[Blarghagh]

 

 

That reminds me... I love the beginning of Call of Cthulhu - Dark Corners of the Earth. You get into the city and everything is dark and creepy, and it ends with you running away from the whole town in a really tensing chapter. Even when you get guns later, the game was super rad, imo. Despite the flaws, I personally find it to be the best Bethesda game.

 

I wanted to love this game. I really did. It ticks all the boxes of things that I love... but my GOD is this game impossible. It ended up being my most hated game ever. Something is only tense if you don't have to repeat it 50 times - then it becomes a rage-inducing chore. Seriously, ten minute long first person platforming chase sequences where every action you do has about a two second margin for error and if you mess up once you start over? Who the hell approved of that?

 

 

Hehe, yeah. There is a hook: The game / player character runs faster / slower depending on your hardware. On certain computers, the chasing scene is like totally impossible. The faster the game runs, the easier it gets for you. I only managed it back in the days, because I reduced my screen resolution and all that.

 

 

The whole world makes sense now. :S

[Ganrich]

Alien: Isolation reminds me of Routine which I am really excited about.

 

 

Edit: This trailer is using the Oculus Rift btw.

Edited January 9, 2014 by Ganrich

[GhostofAnakin]

 

I've never played any Resident Evil games, you obviously recommend them?

 

I recommend Resi Revelations.  The early Resi games did well in the atmosphere and tension department, but it's kind of hard going back to the horrific controls and camera angles of those games.  Newer games in the series (from 4 onward) introduced far better controls and camera, but they also lost the early games' slow pacing and constant tension and became more standard shooters with zombies and monsters.  Revelations is a throwback to the style of game of the series' roots, but with modern controls.  I personally think Revelations is the best game in the series because it combines the claustrophobic tight passageways, slow paced, tense, **** I'm running out of ammo gameplay of the early Resi games with controls that don't make you want to strangle the game designers.  Whatever you do, stay away from Operation Raccoon City, unless you desperately need a co-op shooter with zombies and don't feel like playing (the vastly superior) Left 4 Dead games again.

 

 

Second this.  Revelations is kind of the perfect blend of the "old school" and "new school", so it likely appeals to both.

 

Plus, Jill Valentine.

[HoonDing]

Last good RE was Code Veronica. There really need to be more RE games with Claire.

 

Expect upcoming announcement of Chris Redfield Chronicles: My little sister can't be this cute.

[Keyrock]

It's the porno-ish cooking rhythym game you've been waiting for!

 

 

http://www.destructoid.com/dekamari-senran-kagura-is-a-rhythm-cooking-battle-game-268672.phtml

 

 

Senran Kagura is getting three brand new games, you perverts.

 

Dekamori Senran Kagura is the most absurd of the bunch (which is saying something). It's a rhythm cooking game for the PlayStation Vita and PSP, categorized as a "hyper big-breasted cooking-rhythm game" according to Famitsu. Expect this one to be released in Japan on March 20.

Finally, something comes along that almost gives me a reason to get a Vita.  Almost.

 

Ah, Japan.  Thank you for being Japan.

Edited January 9, 2014 by Keyrock