I was expecting something a little rough around the edges or
outdated since I hadn't heard about it through word of mouth before, but after giving
the demo a quick spin I was relieved and impressed to find it had top notch
last-gen gameplay and visuals.
I'm not a fan of FPS games which mostly descend into chaos
when I'm playing, so the idea of a third person stealth adventure seemed sorta
perfect for me. I was really enjoying Deus Ex: Human Revolution until I met the
first big boss (remind me to get that Director's Cut) so was mightily pleased
to find something in the same vein - I much prefer sitting by a windowpane with
a pair of binoculars for minutes on end searching for heads to pop up so I can
blow 'em off! I've turned off the mood music as always which makes the
experience a little more helpfully sedate and massages my patience.
Beyond crouching inside doorways or behind burnt out cars with
your trusty sniper rifle you do have the option of close-quarters shooting with
a machine gun and silenced pistol if you break cover by accident, however the
third person perspective and poor accuracy of the smaller weapons makes it
rather tricky... I guess it's the game's way of persuading you to keep your
stealth hat on as intended.
I'm playing in cadet mode so there's no need for me to
adjust my aim for wind resistance or gravity, although if I ever complete the
single player campaign I'd be tempted to go back and try out the more hardcore
experience just for contrast.
Actually, considering I'm such a bad shot some wind
resistance may inadvertently make me a pro.
Stranger things have happened.
Anyway, the one thing that's bothering me the most about the
game so far is how it seems to punish you for achieving stuff. If you succeed
in completing one part of a task (other than snipering) a wave of new enemies (who're
apparently psychic) will be set off even though you've been meticulous in going
through the local map gleefully picking them off one by one in relative silence.
The surprise influx of footfalls generally leads to panic and close-quarters
chaos, which feels kinda forced and against the otherwise immersive vibe of the
game.
Maybe there's a way of coping with these incidents more
successfully than I am doing but, well, I'm just not there yet.
For anyone with poor eyesight the fact that the game is keen
for you to take things slow will be a plus. Even when there's disorientating
contrast between bright pools of sunlight and grubbily shaded piles of rubble
there's always time for you to sit staring at possibly nothing just in case there's
a brief sign of life. I've now moved onto a nighttime mission which is proving to
be almost impossible, but considering it's at a steel mill where steam is
pumped into the air to provide cover and/or confusion for you and your enemies
I'm guessing there'll be few with decent vision who'll find it easy.
Even so, as with all games I'm finding little tricks to
circumnavigate visual roadblocks, which isn't perfect but it'll have to do: starting
the same checkpoint over and over again is one of them; starting off a section by
running in and seeing where all the shots come from so I can make some sort of
plan for when I respawn is another.
I'm sort of making it up as I go.
Well, I've been playing for most of the day and am looking
forward to cracking on with it again tomorrow. I'm not all that curious to see
how the story pans out as it's hardly a personal journey you're on, but what's
keeping me hooked is waiting to see what locales the game has in store for me
next. I'll definitely be buying the third game once I'm done with V2... perhaps
by then I'll even have gone next-gen with a PS4.
We shall see.
I'd heartily recommended this for all those who like a bit of peace and quiet while they're mercilessly murdering video game sprites from a distance.
