The occasional rantings of a disgruntled PC gamer

• 3Nov 09

  Saw impressions - part II

  I WAS planning on make this a 3 part impressions blog entry, but since I finished the game yesterday, part 2 will be the last one.

  So yeah, I finished saw in 3 days, and in less than 7 hours. Some would say it's a bad thing, but I'm glad it was a short game, since I was getting tired of it towards the end. The game is divided into 7 chapters and in each one detective Tapp needs to save someone he had wronged or had wronged him in the past. Basically the whole game revolves around solving puzzle after puzzle, trying not to get killed in between, and then solving one longer, more complicated puzzle to save this person. It is a weird formula, but it works.

  In case you were wondering, puzzles do tend to repeat themselves quite a lot, but it never feels dull or over used, since they keep getting harder and harder. For example, one of the more common puzzles is to successfully complete a wiring circuit by re-routing power to a light bulb through pieces of wire. When you have one power source and two bulbs, it is pretty easy, but when having 2 power sources and over 10 bulbs, things are a bit more complicated. Add a ticking down clock and a man screaming in agony in the background and you got yourself a sticky situation.

  In my playthrough I've discovered that combat is a lot easier than I initially thought. The various weapons Tapp can utilize are completely useless (with the exception of the gun) and using his fists is a lot quicker and deadlier. The main reason for that is that weapons are slow, while the fists are fast. Landing a punch on an enemy causes him to stumble a bit, granting an opening for another punch. SO tapping the punch button over and over is the best way to win a battle, even against the toughest of enemies.

  All in all, Saw is a nice game, with solid atmosphere that would not shame a classic survival horror game. I will be writing a review, so for any more information about the game, check back soon. The reason this impressions blog is a bit short is because nothing much had changed since I started to game. Maybe someone with an interest in the movie series will appreciate the plot a bit more, but I can only look at it from a gameplay point of view. Anyways, if you're going to play this game, do so knowing this is a weekend game that will not last you very long or will offer much of a challenge. For you who won't be playing this game, go check out the ending video I posted HERE.

  • Posted Nov 3, 2009 12:53 am GMT
  • Category: Games
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• 1Nov 09

  Saw impressions - part I.

  I started Saw 2 days ago on my PC (I would get it for the X360, just for the achievements, but I don't own one) and played through two chapters (about 2 hours,maybe more). I have to say that in spite of my expectations, I had fun, and will definitely see it to the end.

  I'm not a big fan of the Saw movies, and I've only seen the first 2. First one was very cool, IMO, mostly thanks to Cary Elwes, one of my favorite actors. But nevertheless, I think Saw: The Video game has potential.

  First of all, it is a really slow paced game (so far), and the ever present sense of dread doesn't make it easier to walk the corridors of the abandoned insane Asylum your character is trapped in. It does feel more like a survival game more than a horror game, since it isn't really scary, but the instinct for self-preservation is always there, in the back of your head. I've encountered several puzzles so far and about 4 enemies (the rest I managed to avoid or lure into a trap), but it is obvious that puzzles are the game's strong side (like most survival-horror games): they are more fun and challenging, and seem to capture the spirit of the movies perfectly. True, in the short time I played some puzzles already appeared several times, but in different variations, but it is still fun to solve them every single time.

  The combat is a whole different thing. The enemies I was forced to fight face to face were not very clever, but for some reason they were quicker than my character, and could beat him half to death before I could lay a single blow on them. It is possible to dodge and counter attack, but the mechanism is a bit clunky and un predictable. The best way to is to avoid combat altogether, or set traps along the way (using some tripwires and shotgun shells).

  The main reason I'm enjoying the game is because of Jigsaw, the killer from the movie series. His part in the movie is flawless and really sets the entire mood of each new area or puzzle. His voice acting is superb (not the rest of the characters are trash), and the cryptic clues he leaves behind are a delight to solve.

  The only really annoying thing I've noticed are the quick-time events triggered by opening certain doors. They are too obvious and really hard to mess up. And they repeat way too often... It seems like they are there just for the sake of keeping the player on his toes (I was already on my toes, thank you very much) and for the sake of having QTEs.

  Anyways, I still can't recommend anything, but if it keeps going in the same direction, and will manage to stay fresh, I don't see any reason why fans of the genre and the movie alike won't enjoy this game.

  • Posted Nov 1, 2009 1:31 am GMT
  • Category: Games
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• 7Oct 09

  I seem to be very disappointed lately (new review and the Wii).

  It seems that lately most of the games I've played left me feeling really disappointed. Both Bionic Commando and Red Faction: Guerrilla turned out to be boring as hell, and Wolfenstein was nothing more than a mediocre shooter that holds no real interest. I am looking forward for some actual good games for my spanking new PC, but apart from the occasional Adventure game, there is a bleak wasteland of disappointment. The only ray of sunshine on my PC is Batman: Arkham Asylum (an awesome, awesome game). But that's no what I'm here to rant about (well, maybe just a little).

  As I mentioned in previous blog entries (i think I did anyways) my girlfriend bought herself a Nintendo Wii, a console I have strong feelings of raging hatred for. She has little time to use it though, so every time I come over, I try it out a bit with a very miserable expression on my face. Nevertheless, I've decided to make good use of said console and get some of the more interesting games for it:

  I got No More Heroes, which I'm bored with already;

  I got House of the Dead: Overkill, which is quite fun actually (but only with a friend);

  I got Dead Space Extraction, which I haven't had the time to try out yet;

  I got Broken Sword 1: Director's Cut, played it all the way to the end, and enjoyed it so;

  and of course some games for my gf: Mario Galaxy, de Blob, Rayman Raving Rabbids and that Brawl-Mario-Thingy.

  But the game I want to talk about is Cursed Mountain, The Wee, sorry, the Wii's first attempt at survival horror, a genre that is very close to my heart (and my PS2). My full opinion on the game can be found HERE in my new review, but there are a few things I'd like to address here as well:

  
  Cursed Mountain is not a good game, and I don't know if I should blame the developers or Nintendo. Most of the game's problems stem from the fact that it is a Wii game. The biggest problem is the controls, or to be more specific, the motion controls; they are simply unresponsive at a frustrating level. There are some more issues, but none as major as the controls.

  
  Cursed Mountain is boring. Its slow pace and lack of any story development can really take the wind out of the most enthusiastic gamer. The story's premise is good, but I would have liked to see it go somewhere...

  Cursed Mountain is uninspiring. There it nothing rememberable about it, and as soon as it is over, any trace of the game's experience simply fades away.

  But most of all, Cursed Mountain is disappointing.

  • Posted Oct 7, 2009 8:52 am GMT
  • Category: Rant
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