Most Anticipated Video Games

[Foggle]

Wait, you just called RE5 "fun".

Well, in co-op it can be, until the enemies with guns show up. And I do genuinely like the middle portion of the game (the swamp and underground ruins levels).

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I found RE4 to be pretty easy on Normal mode. I mean, I died a few times, but honestly the hardest time that I had was with the early chapters of the game when I didn't really understand how to play it. Afterward I found it pretty easy to deal with most enemies. It also helped that the knock-back power of the shotgun was phenomenal, which made dealing with the chainsaw enemies a piece of cake. Other than that, there were only a few particular fights that I ever had a tough time with, like fighting 2 El Gigantes at once, but even that wasn't so bad when I learned that I could trap one in a lava pit.

[Foggle]

I mean, it's definitely not super hard. On my most recent playthroughs I can get through with maybe 1-3 deaths on Normal. But the first time I played it I had a lot of trouble, and Professional is just too difficult for me.

Oh yeah, I watched that Alien: Isolation gameplay. It looks like it might get a bit old after a few hours, but it's pretty damn impressive how well they captured the movie's atmosphere. I'll definitely pick that one up if the reception is positive enough!

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

That was just one segment of gameplay literally replayed over and over again. I think it's a bit too little to judge whether the game will get old or not throughout an entire few hours. Other gameplay videos have shown elements of puzzle solving as well as using stealth against human enemies as well. You can even lure the Xenomorph into an area with human enemies to take them out for you. You also have to fight androids as well, or sometimes program them to help you. I'd say there's more variety to it than just hiding from a Xenomorph throughout the whole thing.

[talonmalon333]

Wait, you just called RE5 "fun".

Well, in co-op it can be, until the enemies with guns show up. And I do genuinely like the middle portion of the game (the swamp and underground ruins levels).

I think the coop is mostly fun in a general sense, in that playing video games with other people is just fun to me. No matter what, I still find the levels to be incredibly forgettable.

Really, the reason I thought 5 was harder might be that I just never cared about it enough to master it. With RE4, I got it down to a tea because I loved it enough to play it enough, but with RE5, I only played the game, like, two times. I didn't really get into it enough to decide the best way to get through things.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

As far as I know, RE5 also really fucked up mechanics that were already perfected in RE4, which is something that TS17 commented on when he did his no damage playthrough of RE4 on Professional mode. For instance, he pointed out how the shotgun consistently knocked back the smaller enemies in the game, but in RE5 it was unpredictable and sometimes they could eat a shotgun bullet in the face at point blank without so much as flinching. Basically, lots of little things like that added up and made the game feel far less refined than the previous one, and as a consequence made certain sections play out harder than they needed to be. That, and your horrible AI partner basically made the game a chore to play on single-player.

[Foggle]

That was just one segment of gameplay literally replayed over and over again. I think it's a bit too little to judge whether the game will get old or not throughout an entire few hours. Other gameplay videos have shown elements of puzzle solving as well as using stealth against human enemies as well. You can even lure the Xenomorph into an area with human enemies to take them out for you. You also have to fight androids as well, or sometimes program them to help you. I'd say there's more variety to it than just hiding from a Xenomorph throughout the whole thing.

I had no idea there would be more than just avoiding the Xenomorph in Isolation. All the previews I've read of the game literally focused only on that aspect, so I didn't know there was anything else to the game. If they mentioned that in the video, I unfortunately had part of it muted because I was talking on Skype at the same time.

For instance, he pointed out how the shotgun consistently knocked back the smaller enemies in the game, but in RE5 it was unpredictable and sometimes they could eat a shotgun bullet in the face at point blank without so much as flinching.

Yep, for example, the chainsaw guys only flinch like 1/5 of the time from a shotgun blast to the face. And yeah, that co-op AI is just awful. I think 90% of my game overs in single-player were from Sheva dying, not me.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I had no idea there would be more than just avoiding the Xenomorph in Isolation. All the previews I've read of the game literally focused only on that aspect, so I didn't know there was anything else to the game. If they mentioned that in the video, I unfortunately had part of it muted because I was talking on Skype at the same time.

It's not mentioned in that video. You can however see gameplay footage of all of the stuff which I just mentioned from various different gameplay demos that cover different parts of the game. It's all easy enough to find on YouTube. Also, keep in mind that the AI for the Xenomorph changes (that was mentioned in the video, as well as several others), so it will get smarter over time, and the same tricks will not work on it. For instance, the first time that you throw a flare, you'll manage to distract it and confuse it for long enough to get away. The second or third time you do it, it either won't take the bate or won't be distracted for as long, and eventually if you keep trying the same tactic after that, the AI will look for where the flare was thrown from rather than going for the flare. Mind you, I haven't actually seen this in any demo because none are long enough to use the same tactic multiple times, however the developer did clearly say all of that when describing the Xenomorph's AI in this game, so personally I think that it sounds fascinating, and if done right, can really help make the same situation feel varied each time, rather than coming off as repetitive. Though, even then, just exactly what game isn't repetitive, in the first place?

[Foggle]

That sounds awesome. Might be the best AI in a game since the original F.E.A.R. if it works right.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

From all of the gameplay that I've seen so far (which is cumulatively about an hour's worth, NOT counting the same section replayed over and over again), it seems like a pretty intelligent and very hard to exploit enemy AI. I'm really impressed with it. Keep in mind that, unlike F.E.A.R. and Halo, their is essentially only one single enemy in these scenarios, so rather than design a bunch if different enemy types that could work together, it makes sense that they could make an enemy this intelligent if that's all they were focusing on designing (with the exception of some humans and androids, as well).

I'm not sure how good the game will be, but I think it's at least safe to say that it looks way better than Colonial Marines.

[talonmalon333]

As far as I know, RE5 also really fucked up mechanics that were already perfected in RE4, which is something that TS17 commented on when he did his no damage playthrough of RE4 on Professional mode. For instance, he pointed out how the shotgun consistently knocked back the smaller enemies in the game, but in RE5 it was unpredictable and sometimes they could eat a shotgun bullet in the face at point blank without so much as flinching. Basically, lots of little things like that added up and made the game feel far less refined than the previous one, and as a consequence made certain sections play out harder than they needed to be. That, and your horrible AI partner basically made the game a chore to play on single-player.

It's weird seeing flaws like those because, in spite of all the game's problems with uninspired ideas and mediocre level design, you'd expect it to at least be 100% polished and refined.

Yep, for example, the chainsaw guys only flinch like 1/5 of the time from a shotgun blast to the face. And yeah, that co-op AI is just awful. I think 90% of my game overs in single-player were from Sheva dying, not me.

That was actually one of the things I had in mind when I said 5 seemed harder than 4. Dr. Salvador didn't seem to get particularly affected by shotgun blasts in 5. I think I got some deaths against him.

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In case you guys are worried about enemy reactions in Evil Within...

[talonmalon333]

That's because Evil Within is a good game. On the other hand, RE5 is what we in the industry call "a bad game".

[talonmalon333]

Is that upcoming Alien game supposed to be in the Alien continuity?

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yes. FOX has officially declared it canon. You play as Ellen Ripley's daughter, Amanda, so the game's story takes place in-between Alien and Aliens.