I thought I would make my first blog post.
I've played a few games recently which I think I can write intelligently about: Halo 3: ODST, Mini Ninjas, Batman: Arkham Asylum and most recently Brutal Legend.
Now, while I did beat the game, I did not complete it, and so I don't think my impressions qualify as a full review. My impressions below will be largely spoiler free, I will assume that at the very least you've completed the demo, or know the basis of the story.
First Impressions: The Demo
The demo amazed me, it was immediately engaging and entertaining. The characterization of Eddie Riggs was great, and the world he was in was great. There were a couple of laugh out loud moments, and some really interesting combat. However, at the end of the demo you use "Earthshaker" ability to drop the gate on the giant monster. I took me a good minute or two to sort that out, and while that in and of itself isn't terrible, having Ophelia yelling at me every 5 seconds was incredilby painful.
My frustration was rewarded with a great little cut-scene and I remained unscarred.
Beyond the Demo
After I played through the initial portion of the game again, after renting it, I was pumped. I went straight into the first missions and came across the beginnings of the RTS portion of the gameplay. I had read reviews that hadn't been overly impressed, but I found it incredibly fulfilling.
I played though a few missions then set out on the island in search of bound dragons, legends, view points and secondary missions. The initial progression curve made this fun, I was getting new axes, new moves, new parts for the Deuce, I kept doing secondary missions because I wanted the items in the shop.
The Legend tomes were incredibly well done, it was a treat to come across one. The bound dragons were good, they were hidden, but numerous enough that I could get a few health upgrades. However, the view points didn't do it for me, I think I skipped all of those cut scenes, a little voice over explaining the artefact or item you were seeing would have been fun, but they didn't do it for me.
At different points I would decide to rejoin the story and it felt seamless and fun. I was introduced to the Stage battles and they were a blast. Then at the midpoint in the game there were some great plot elements that really enthralled me in their world and I wanted more, I was honestly pumped. However...
Last Half
... the game just fizzled for me. A new portion of the island opened to me, but it didn't feel inviting like the first half. I understand that it shouldn't have felt warm and cozy inviting, but I literally felt that I wasn't supposed to explore it yet. So much so that by the end of the game I'd barely explored it. I pretty much went from story mission to story mission. What made this even more doable though was there was no longer any reason to do secondary missions. I had all the stuff I wanted, there were no more combos, and the weapon options presented to me didn't seem better than the axe I was using.
So I just progressed the story. That was cool with me though, I was enjoying it, but that didn't come to a head the way I expected either. After the story ended (I didn't even realize I was on the last mission) I felt unfulfilled, there were things I wanted to know, and still didn't understand, I'm not sure if the legends would have filled some of it in, but I felt like I missed a lot, but at the same time, I didn't want any more.
Log in to comment