This is what Fallout 4 should have been. Weapon damage is not tied to an RPG gimmick. Items are damaged. Hunger mechanic makes sense without being annoying. Exploration is motivated with need to find resources. Encounters are dangerous and should be taken with caution. Player is expected to be an intelligent creature. There are performance issues. Framerate hiccups occur with defaults. Need to experiment and disable visual elements for it to be playable. Hope to see more like this.
Really awesome survival shooter that probably falls into the immersive sim category. The map and objectives are literally in-game objects for a nice touch. The game is a great blend of linear levels plus mini open worlds. Story is done completely in-game with scripted sequnces. Have nothing negative to say and would love to see more games use this formula.
Played the game on launch and came away feeling it was an unbalnced mess. As a long time Gothic / Risen player I was disappointed. A new attempt years later has greatly changed my opinion. It's mechanics have shifted slightly from previous Pirahna Bytes games, but the core is still there. My main criticism lies with encountering enimies early in the game. Avoiding enemies is a staple for PB, but here high / low level encounters are more evenly distributed across the map, where previously they were logically placed with character progression. As a result I was counfused about which missions to do. I finished many by running away from enimies. Combat is an evolved version of Risen, but more stiff. This is not a hack-n-slash. Rather it's slow and methodical where gurading, dodging, and stamina are vital to success. This is well executed for one-to-one engagements, however it's not great for multiple enemies. By default, the camera and character locks onto an enemy. So if you have one in front and one in back you simply lose sight of the one in the back. Dispite it's limitations it still remains satisfying. Missions are great, with many twists, turns, and branching conclusions. Your choices really do matter here. Make the right calls and you can join a faction quickly. Likewise making choices that help other characters can hurt your renown in a faction. Solving these missions are not linear, but more like an adventure game in that you need to think about each step logically. They are not headscratchers that halt the progression, just add a little depth. Attacking human characters are rare and carry real consequences. Unlike The Witcher 3, where just about every quest results in attacking a guard, thief, or somebody you don't see eye-to-eye with, here it's grounded and makes sense. This is a Role Playing Game after all, you aren't force into stealing or murder. To conclude, I think it's a great PB game and looking forward to the sequel.
Fantastic remaster, reminds me of the Perfect Dark remaster for XBLA. Night Dive didn't modify the artistic style of the original... not much at least. What they did do is bump up the fps, resolution, and controls; which changes the gameplay from slow paced / hard to aim trudge into a faced paced / silky smooth rampage. The painstaking platform jumping is a breeze now. This is Turok just as I remember it in the 90s, except I'm enjoying it this time. This is the remaster I never new I wanted.
