[spoilers] Thoughts after completing the game

[moonracer1313]

I just finished the game and thought I'd post some thoughts about it here for anyone interested. Maybe others will want to do the same. I will be talking about end game stuff so don't read further if you don't want spoilers.

Overall I thought the game was great and while there are more than a few rough edges I'm more than happy to accept that considering the amount of content and enjoyment I got out of the game and its price. I just thought I'd share some constructive criticism.

When we get to the nano research lab area where everything is white all the doors are the same. This was slightly annoying because all of the doors in the rest of the game were easily identifiable from a distance as locked or not. But at the end I found myself having to run up to almost every door to see if it would open.It would have been nice if they had the same kind of light to show whether it was unlocked.

By the time we get the water power the game is almost over and there isn't much time to really get used to it. I didn't use it in combat until after completing the game and messing around in the challenge room. This also made the boss fight kind of irritating because even by the time I figured out what I was supposed to be doing I didn't know how to do it. I think it works all right, it's just a shame such an interesting feature doesn't get the playtime it deserves. It would be cool if there was an option to do a second play through where you start off with the water control power. Obviously wouldn't make sense story wise, but it would be a lot of fun :D

The Last thing I want to mention that really struck me when playing Hydrophobia was right at the beginning We have the voice of Scoot guiding us along in the world and being an experienced gamer my immediate thought is "this man is going to betray me 2/3rds into the game". This is No Fault of Dark Energy. This has merely become a cliche tactic in the writing of video game scripts for the last ten or so years. So I was quite thankful that this in fact did NOT occur in the game. Thank You!

[Meth3rlence]

What I want to know is what happened to the last half of the game?
It's like...
Tutorial
Setting the story
Introducing challenges
Bit more story
A slew of challenges using standard movement
Power Introduction (very late introduction I thought compared to most games)
A challenge or 2 with new power (about how most games are up to the half way point)
END BOSS

What happened to the rest of the story? And the half a game you'd usually get with the new power?

Don't get me wrong, the half of the game we actually get, is very good... I just couldn't help but feel "cheated" at the end, like it doesn't have a second half just to spite you :/

[darkironphoenix]

To me, the games weakness was the water power. It seemed tacked on at the end, and didn't really have much of a purpose.

It had more pro's than con's though. I expected for scoot to either be the bad guy, or be shot about half way through. Neither of those things happened, which was a nice change from most games.

The other thing that sold it was the water. A few more doors that could be opened remotely to dump water on people would have been nice, and a bit more use of the security cameras and breakable glass.

[Erotikus]

I enjoyed the game, the whole idea behind the game (not just the water physics but the whole limited resoursces stuff) was intresting i even researched stuff about the Malthusian catastrophe and T R Malthus, and when a game makes you do that after you finish playing it it does something good.... but I have 2 major complaints with the game.

1 Scoots lines were ♥♥♥♥ing awful and cliched as hell. "Why didnt you warn me" sais Katie, Scoot replies "I only have 2 balls and they are not crystal" really? this? Its so juvenile that I was ripped from the immersion so quickly that it hurt, his voice actor was atrocious aswell, really generic and anoying. I liked Katies lines they were full of terror but this guy should have been writen with more character and concern for katie ala Otacon for Solid Snake for example.

2 The cutscenes, please devs take notes from games like half life 2, this is a game you should let the player have as much control as possible. I liked Katies apartment, it was full of her character but as soon as I walked on the the balcony a cutscene started showing a helicopter flying above, why couldnt you just made so that the helicopter gets trigered and flies abocve us gets when the player enters the balcony? This is just one example but there are many others and they are breaking the flow of gameplay, escpecialy in the parts where you just walk from cutscene to cutscene, things shown in the cutscenes should be woven into the gameplay as much as possible eliminating the need for unneeded cutsceenes. An example how it is done right in the game. After saving the cop chief in C1 as you leave his room a scene starts to play out on the monitors that are right in front of you as you exit the door, and behold there wasnt a cutscene forcing me to watch it, instead Katie started walking slowly and I, regardles, watched what was happening, then I though well I guess they figured this out (and now the part of not how to do it starts) and behold 1 minute later a cutscene starts where I am forced to watch the moniters and I facepalmed.

Rant over.

As I've said I like the game but these 2 things just bugged the hell out of me

[moonracer1313]

I thought the length was suitable for the price tag, but yeah the ending felt more like a cliffhanger (which is quite common in games and movies right now). Not enough closure to feel satisfied. You get the cure but you are still in a very unsafe situation. The terrorist boss is dead but the terrorist plot is still unfolding. That said if the second half of the story came out for $10 and it was just more of the same I would not complain.

Scarcity of ammo was nicely balanced. I agree. It was also nice that you didn't ever need it. It was just kind of a bonus :) I really liked the challenge of having to charge your sonic rounds so I hardly used the other stuff.

[WardDragon]

I'll try to break my mini-review down into sections :)

Storyline: I thought the premise for the story was very interesting and the story did a good job of building up as the game progressed. However the ending seemed a bit abrupt. I expected that after I got the cure I would have to escape the damaged part of the ship and find Scoot, but it just kind of ended without feeling like the story was over. That was disappointing because up until then the story was good and I want to know what happens next :)

Gameplay: I thought there was a bit too much combat in the game, and having checkpoints instead of save anywhere is a personal annoyance of mine so I tend to bring that up as a complaint for any game I play with checkpoints (not just this one). It also seemed like most of the game was spent running around searching for the cipher keys and then the doors to use them upon, so I would have liked a bit more variety.

The hacking mini-game was cool and I liked it. I really enjoyed the puzzle where we had to lift the crate with the buoyant barrels, and I would have liked to see more physics-based puzzles like that (not necessarily involving buoyancy, but more puzzles in general). It was also really cool how the flowing water and environmental hazards reacted to the player's actions, which was pretty much the main point of the game so I'm glad that it was done very well.

Graphics: Visually the graphics were quite good, especially how the water flowed. Unfortunately I suffered a bit of lag but hopefully that will be fixed in the upcoming patch. Ignoring the lag, I quite enjoyed how the game looked and the amount of detail that was put into it.

Atmosphere: I thought the game was very atmospheric. The visual details and sound effects really enhanced immersion in the game. I also thought it was really cool how we could hear Kate's breathing patterns and the voices in her head so to speak. I thought that was rather effective at getting across that she was afraid, and it made the situation seem more intense.

[DarkEnergy]

I thought the length was suitable for the price tag, but yeah the ending felt more like a cliffhanger (which is quite common in games and movies right now). Not enough closure to feel satisfied. You get the cure but you are still in a very unsafe situation. The terrorist boss is dead but the terrorist plot is still unfolding. That said if the second half of the story came out for $10 and it was just more of the same I would not complain.

Scarcity of ammo was nicely balanced. I agree. It was also nice that you didn't ever need it. It was just kind of a bonus :) I really liked the challenge of having to charge your sonic rounds so I hardly used the other stuff.

It's interesting because a lot of people have said when testing the game for us that they just love using sonic rounds and the environmental kills. Great to hear the default weapon is enjoyed... I love gel rounds cause I like to see enemies go flying, and rapid fire work really well in underwater combat :)

[DarkEnergy]

I'll try to break my mini-review down into sections :)

Storyline: I thought the premise for the story was very interesting and the story did a good job of building up as the game progressed. However the ending seemed a bit abrupt. I expected that after I got the cure I would have to escape the damaged part of the ship and find Scoot, but it just kind of ended without feeling like the story was over. That was disappointing because up until then the story was good and I want to know what happens next :)

Gameplay: I thought there was a bit too much combat in the game, and having checkpoints instead of save anywhere is a personal annoyance of mine so I tend to bring that up as a complaint for any game I play with checkpoints (not just this one). It also seemed like most of the game was spent running around searching for the cipher keys and then the doors to use them upon, so I would have liked a bit more variety.

The hacking mini-game was cool and I liked it. I really enjoyed the puzzle where we had to lift the crate with the buoyant barrels, and I would have liked to see more physics-based puzzles like that (not necessarily involving buoyancy, but more puzzles in general). It was also really cool how the flowing water and environmental hazards reacted to the player's actions, which was pretty much the main point of the game so I'm glad that it was done very well.

Graphics: Visually the graphics were quite good, especially how the water flowed. Unfortunately I suffered a bit of lag but hopefully that will be fixed in the upcoming patch. Ignoring the lag, I quite enjoyed how the game looked and the amount of detail that was put into it.

Atmosphere: I thought the game was very atmospheric. The visual details and sound effects really enhanced immersion in the game. I also thought it was really cool how we could hear Kate's breathing patterns and the voices in her head so to speak. I thought that was rather effective at getting across that she was afraid, and it made the situation seem more intense.

I agree with all of this... we're going to be pushing for better variety of objectives next time and some really, really cool physics puzzles etc plus more MAVI stuff as well as improving the combat. I also agree about the ending but believe me there is so much more to come in the story :)

[Uryel]

[QUOTE=DarkEnergy;22373401believe me there is so much more to come in the story :)[/QUOTE]

Got an ETA on that ? :)

[DarkEnergy]

Got an ETA on that ? :)

Hehe. Nope, sorry :P

[NC37]

If you all have an Xbox, play the original Pure version of the game. You'll likely get a sense that Act three was just starting to pick up the story more instead of picking it up then rushing to a conclusion fight with Mila. You don't get to fight Mila in Pure and there are differences in the supporting cast which seem to promote the story lasting for another act or 2. It does flow a lot better IMO.

Absolutely about the water powers, you don't get to use them long. There are some parts earlier which would be fun with them. But one thing I didn't like was the awkward control of it. Having to use X while moving Kate is difficult. I probably will bind the water power to another mouse button because its just a tough key to keep depressed while moving the others.

[WardDragon]

I agree with all of this... we're going to be pushing for better variety of objectives next time and some really, really cool physics puzzles etc plus more MAVI stuff as well as improving the combat. I also agree about the ending but believe me there is so much more to come in the story :)

Excellent :D It was an enjoyable game with a lot of potential so I'm really looking forward to the next installment with all of these improvements (and of course a continuation of the story :D)

[NC37]

Course I'm still hung up on the change in Scoot.

His character in Pure was very likeable and a bit more realistic. Then in Prophecy he turns into Mr Serious. He was a very unlikely protagonist that obviously had a romantic interest in Kate but wasn't seen as love material to her. This builds during Pure to when he is finally found out and you can tell her goal is shifting to trying to save him. Possibly feelings too. Up till that point he had been her only ally, and the single reason why she survived.

The chief, he pretty much stays the arrogant jerk but I disagree with having him killed so early in Prophecy. There was more potential to be had and his character really doesn't develop enough to where you really care when Mila kills him. Yeah you watch it happen but my thought was...so, nut job kills the chief...ok, moving on.

[StingingVelvet]

Since it's spoilers I will just post my endgame feedback here as well. I beat it tonight, took me 4.4 hours according to Steam. I think that is fine given the price and production values, pretty much just the ssingleplayer part of a modern shooter for 1/6th the price.

Feedback:

End Boss: Kind of an abrupt difficulty spike out of nowhere. I got through the entire game on normal before that without dying but the end boss took me 4 tries. It was mainly because of how hectic it was, with the machine and the troops all at once. Maybe it was just because I was using a gamepad and am used to mouse controls for shooters.

Story/Ending: I am fine with leaving the greater story stuff for a sequel but making the end a littttttle bit more closed would have been nice. As someone suggested maybe a quick portion after the boss where you escape the area and get to a relatively safe part of the ship, and Scoot tells you the terrorists are retreating after the death of their boss.

Controls: I thought the controls for the water powers were a little cumbersome. Again this could just be my inexperience with a gamepad, but throwing barrels at the end boss and generally doing stuff with the water tower was cumbersome for me. Not "OMG TERRIBLE" or anything, but they could be refined for a sequel.

Checkpoints: I'm fine with checkpoints in linear games rather than saving anywhere, but there could be some more checkpoints in the game. There were one or two sections where I felt like there was too much time between them.

PUZZLES!: As others have said, more puzzles please! You have such an amazing water engine and I could really see even more water-focused puzzles in the next one, like diverting current or creating platforms. Maybe a power that lets you harden water briefly? That could be cool. Put that engine to work and get more unique water gameplay in there and less gun combat, which is done a lot.

All in all I REALLY liked the game. BRAVO! As someone without a ton of time on his hands anymore I like having a solid 4-5 hour piece of content to play in a few days and complete. I also like the low price and quick support through patches. You guys had a great PC debut if you ask me.