Let me state, i haven't experienced anything of the X360 make and model. The game looked likei had serious potential and looked really snazzy, but something held me back.
And its a good thing too, if i subjected myself to the awful mechanics of the game i would have demanded my money back no matter how illegal it is in Canada.

However, i really don't like judging by what others say, or let someones "professional opinion" sway my vote. To be blunt, i like alot of games people deem crap. Take for instance, i loved Tai' Fu: Wrath fo the Tiger on PS1. Got substandard reviews but i had a blast. I also found some sort of fun in Sonic '06, blah blah.
So i downloaded the Alone in the Dark demo for PS3.

Im happy to report, the game is fine now, with all those nastly little bugs and annoyances cleared. But i have one serious issue with it... overall: The Controls.
When i play a game, i look for a few things: Gameplay, is it fun? Controls, is it easy and robust? Graphics, are they passable/beautiful? Innovation, is there any?
Lets take a few games into further inspection here, "Halo" for FPS controls on a Console (and to spark some X360 fans attention) and the other is the other game that closely mimicks the FPS mechanics: The Darkness.

Call me crazy but i value smooth and responsive controls. The moment i feel impeded by the characters inability to translate what im telling them as an order rather than a humble suggestion, is the moment i start losing interest.
Halo, had perfect intuitive FPS controls. If it were Third person itd still control very well.
Alone in the Dark, has clumsy controls, where in FPS mode we have to wait for Edwards body to catch up before taking the next instruction set into focus
The Darkness, has somewhat clumsy controls. Suffering the same fate as Edward, except hes just quicker at overcoming that obsticle.

theres nothing wrong with showing feet and hands in an FPS experience, but do not sacrifice responsiveness for 'realism'. If i want to sidestrafe left at THAT moment, goddamnit let me, otherwise im just a sitting duck for any monster to come out to slash a new scar down my other eye!
Dear lord there have been OTHER games that feature this stuff and dont have this limitation. it doesn't detract from the realism for smooth movement. Look at Fear! look at Halo 2/3? Look at Condemned! Looky, FEET! Yet the movement flows smoothly!
Eden Games, take note of the titles im mentioning here, use them as reference, make sure you take notes as to why they were deemed "fun to play", i can assure you, it wasn't for the pulitzer storylines.

My other major complaint comes in the form of aiming. Something about the aiming mechanics just dont pan out to well, and i end up under/overshooting the shot, causing me to shoot just slightly left of the enemies face, etc. Theres challenge, and then theres the fact i know im not inept at shooting in a console game. The aiming feels very stiff and hits an interesting sweet spot where its too sensitive, yet never quick enough, no matter how much you fiddle around with the sensitivity selector.

But i should give credit where its due.
What i DID enjoy, was everything else. Despite my inability to always move how i wanted, doesn't matter if it was in third or first person, and my apparent inability to aim and shoot at the same time, everything else was A-Class Fun. What gets me is what i like to call 'playable cinematics'. These directly mimick everyday lifes 'Unique Challenges' crap. The problem with video games, is that they are built around an engine that gives you some abilities, and some static levels to use said abilities. Edwards levels (in the demo) Break and destroy around him. Every single room offers a new sort of challenge, whether is rappeling down an elevator shaft, or trying to stay inside a building that constantly collapsing around you.
Its REALLY cool stuff, and the music, oh my god the music, always kicks in just right, and relly gives the feeling of an interactive movie.
Excellent. So what i got to give Eden Games credit for, its an engine that gives you a moveset, mapped to sometimes intuitive control scheme (L2 to lockon still feels weird) that allows you to overcome any challenges thrown at you, no matter what they are, for Edwards ever changing reality around him.

The cinematic quality of the action is pretty epic, though i have a few choice words for Edwards dialogue. The other characters were passable to good, Edwards dialogue felt like the guy was on his last day at the job and didn't give a shit. Everytime he cusses it comes off as "well it was IN the script, i HAD to say it, i didn't want to though, im a giant pussy when it comes to swearing, mom might hear". You can easily tell the voice actors who know how and how not to swerar, and they should have either stripped it out, or hired someone who can pull it off.

Beleive or not, Swearing is an artform in Entertainment.



So thats it, thats my words. Alone in the Dark on the PS3, is pretty polished, but some lingering issues with stiff unresponsive controls still exist.
And for the love of god, i would think that by now weve moved past the notion of "Tilessets that cant receive shadows". Im still notcing in thsi very dynamic-shadow-indusced-dark-world that the characters shadows dont show up on certain tiles sets, both in gameplay and cinematics. Its VERY annoying, and when your used to seeing the shadow,definitely helps kill off the 4th wall.

though maybe thats the intent, the walls are alive.



This completely unprofessionally written blog entry was brought to you by
Kyle

Let me state, i haven't experienced anything of the X360 make and model. The game looked likei had serious potential and looked really snazzy, but something held me back.
And its a good thing too, if i subjected myself to the awful mechanics of the game i would have demanded my money back no matter how illegal it is in Canada.

However, i really don't like judging by what others say, or let someones "professional opinion" sway my vote. To be blunt, i like alot of games people deem crap. Take for instance, i loved Tai' Fu: Wrath fo the Tiger on PS1. Got substandard reviews but i had a blast. I also found some sort of fun in Sonic '06, blah blah.
So i downloaded the Alone in the Dark demo for PS3.

Im happy to report, the game is fine now, with all those nastly little bugs and annoyances cleared. But i have one serious issue with it... overall: The Controls.
When i play a game, i look for a few things: Gameplay, is it fun? Controls, is it easy and robust? Graphics, are they passable/beautiful? Innovation, is there any?
Lets take a few games into further inspection here, "Halo" for FPS controls on a Console (and to spark some X360 fans attention) and the other is the other game that closely mimicks the FPS mechanics: The Darkness.

Call me crazy but i value smooth and responsive controls. The moment i feel impeded by the characters inability to translate what im telling them as an order rather than a humble suggestion, is the moment i start losing interest.
Halo, had perfect intuitive FPS controls. If it were Third person itd still control very well.
Alone in the Dark, has clumsy controls, where in FPS mode we have to wait for Edwards body to catch up before taking the next instruction set into focus
The Darkness, has somewhat clumsy controls. Suffering the same fate as Edward, except hes just quicker at overcoming that obsticle.

theres nothing wrong with showing feet and hands in an FPS experience, but do not sacrifice responsiveness for 'realism'. If i want to sidestrafe left at THAT moment, goddamnit let me, otherwise im just a sitting duck for any monster to come out to slash a new scar down my other eye!
Dear lord there have been OTHER games that feature this stuff and dont have this limitation. it doesn't detract from the realism for smooth movement. Look at Fear! look at Halo 2/3? Look at Condemned! Looky, FEET! Yet the movement flows smoothly!
Eden Games, take note of the titles im mentioning here, use them as reference, make sure you take notes as to why they were deemed "fun to play", i can assure you, it wasn't for the pulitzer storylines.

My other major complaint comes in the form of aiming. Something about the aiming mechanics just dont pan out to well, and i end up under/overshooting the shot, causing me to shoot just slightly left of the enemies face, etc. Theres challenge, and then theres the fact i know im not inept at shooting in a console game. The aiming feels very stiff and hits an interesting sweet spot where its too sensitive, yet never quick enough, no matter how much you fiddle around with the sensitivity selector.

But i should give credit where its due.
What i DID enjoy, was everything else. Despite my inability to always move how i wanted, doesn't matter if it was in third or first person, and my apparent inability to aim and shoot at the same time, everything else was A-Class Fun. What gets me is what i like to call 'playable cinematics'. These directly mimick everyday lifes 'Unique Challenges' crap. The problem with video games, is that they are built around an engine that gives you some abilities, and some static levels to use said abilities. Edwards levels (in the demo) Break and destroy around him. Every single room offers a new sort of challenge, whether is rappeling down an elevator shaft, or trying to stay inside a building that constantly collapsing around you.
Its REALLY cool stuff, and the music, oh my god the music, always kicks in just right, and relly gives the feeling of an interactive movie.
Excellent. So what i got to give Eden Games credit for, its an engine that gives you a moveset, mapped to sometimes intuitive control scheme (L2 to lockon still feels weird) that allows you to overcome any challenges thrown at you, no matter what they are, for Edwards ever changing reality around him.

The cinematic quality of the action is pretty epic, though i have a few choice words for Edwards dialogue. The other characters were passable to good, Edwards dialogue felt like the guy was on his last day at the job and didn't give a shit. Everytime he cusses it comes off as "well it was IN the script, i HAD to say it, i didn't want to though, im a giant pussy when it comes to swearing, mom might hear". You can easily tell the voice actors who know how and how not to swerar, and they should have either stripped it out, or hired someone who can pull it off.

Beleive or not, Swearing is an artform in Entertainment.



So thats it, thats my words. Alone in the Dark on the PS3, is pretty polished, but some lingering issues with stiff unresponsive controls still exist.
And for the love of god, i would think that by now weve moved past the notion of "Tilessets that cant receive shadows". Im still notcing in thsi very dynamic-shadow-indusced-dark-world that the characters shadows dont show up on certain tiles sets, both in gameplay and cinematics. Its VERY annoying, and when your used to seeing the shadow,definitely helps kill off the 4th wall.

though maybe thats the intent, the walls are alive.



This completely unprofessionally written blog entry was brought to you by
Kyle