Posted by The Old One
- Jul 11, 2019, 11:14:54 PMTotally agreed. The rhythm is purposeful.
Posted by Oasis Nadrama
- Jan 27, 2019, 09:36:57 PMThe article was nice, but not so informative. I was way more interested in the 2015 AVP Galaxy interview explaining how the developers imagined Seegson's kafkaian corporate culture, amongst other things. Way more in-depth.
To answer to D88M, and particularly observations about the time "wasted" in closet: is time spent waiting the appearance of the creature in the movies wasted? Is tim spent between lines spoken by the characters wasted?
Narrative rhythm is not solely about speed - it is, maybe even more importantly, about quiet times. Just like silence is a musical instrument, the absence of action is in the end part of what gives form and force to the action. And "boring", heavy elements are often the things that lend all gravitas to the masterpiece. We Alien fans should understand it more than anyone: after all, we love a 1979 movie which is ALL about slowness, dullness, cumbersomeness. This dire future is one of bureaucracy, paperwork, all the inexorable sluggishness of the absurd corporate machine. And the original creature, as well as the Nostromo, is in some way nothing more than a reflection of this morbid world. Kane's Son does not kill so quickly: it towers over Brett, it approaches Dallas purposefully, it walks slowly towards Lambert.
You don't waste time in a closet, you don't waste time waiting for a Sevastopol door to unlock, you don't waste time waiting to save your game.
The slowness is part of the point.
To answer to D88M, and particularly observations about the time "wasted" in closet: is time spent waiting the appearance of the creature in the movies wasted? Is tim spent between lines spoken by the characters wasted?
Narrative rhythm is not solely about speed - it is, maybe even more importantly, about quiet times. Just like silence is a musical instrument, the absence of action is in the end part of what gives form and force to the action. And "boring", heavy elements are often the things that lend all gravitas to the masterpiece. We Alien fans should understand it more than anyone: after all, we love a 1979 movie which is ALL about slowness, dullness, cumbersomeness. This dire future is one of bureaucracy, paperwork, all the inexorable sluggishness of the absurd corporate machine. And the original creature, as well as the Nostromo, is in some way nothing more than a reflection of this morbid world. Kane's Son does not kill so quickly: it towers over Brett, it approaches Dallas purposefully, it walks slowly towards Lambert.
You don't waste time in a closet, you don't waste time waiting for a Sevastopol door to unlock, you don't waste time waiting to save your game.
The slowness is part of the point.
Posted by D88M
- Aug 31, 2018, 01:23:45 AMWell, i love to consume art, my brain asks for it like my stomach craves for food, there is just so much good stuff that i cannot help myself. Thanks, will do!
Posted by Samhain13
- Aug 29, 2018, 09:40:49 PMQuote from: D88M on Aug 29, 2018, 08:51:54 PM
I will get to it now that i finished Isolation, i have so many videogames to play, movies and tv shows to watch, books and comic books to read without mention that i want to travel around the world that i feel like my life is not gonna last enough as to do soI better get on it.
Suprised on how similar we are, except by the tv shows and traveling part (in my case I got weightlifting goals
), we are into the same mindset. I still got to read a lot of the alien-predator novels I bought, I want to replay all the games, this time recording it for my youtube channel, got to try the redux mods and do a full playthrough on them. Now that Isolation is working again on my pc I will look for some mods on that one as well.Hope you enjoy AVP2's challenge.
Posted by D88M
- Aug 29, 2018, 08:51:54 PMQuote from: Still Collating... on Aug 29, 2018, 06:08:49 PM
You'll find the Unpredictable Alien mod easily enough, but the no footsteps one is called Stalker Alien and don't install the whole thing (which takes away all the sounds from the alien and doesn't feel right to me), just install the ALIEN.BNK files and you'll get the effect I described.
Yeah, after that ending dont think i am gonna ever play it again, knowing is all for nothing, i just finished to listen to the nice credit song and unninstalled it without looking back and facepalming myself.
Quote from: Samhain13 on Aug 29, 2018, 07:29:01 PMQuote from: D88M on Aug 28, 2018, 10:07:01 PM
AVP2 in hard is really difficult (i dont like Primal Hunt much)
Primal Hunt wasn't as good as the main game yeah, I heard it's development was quite rushed, that may explain why it's harder, it feels they didn't test the game on hardcore before releasing, the difficulty is broken.Quote from: D88M on Aug 28, 2018, 10:07:01 PM
the Praetorian in the very first Predator mission is very difficult to kill, it comes at you so fast, i was actually playing it again after many years and left it hanging, i am at the last mission with the Alien and was gonna do the other two campaigns too.
Haha that praetorian is the hardest part of the 3 campaigns on hardcore, if you beat that thing you will beat the rest of the game fine. Unlike in the multiplayer they gave the praetorian the pounce ability on the campaign for some reason, so he can get close to you very fast and unlike the drones/runners he doesn't die from one combistick attack, and since you don't have plasma weapons in the first mission you are doomed. I threw the disk, used most of the speargun ammo, then kept using the combistick while jumping back to avoid its claws lol. The 2 predaliens in the 5th mission are quite challeging as well, the queen is very easy, she is slow so you can kill her with the combistick without taking any damage.Quote from: D88M on Aug 28, 2018, 10:07:01 PM
Still i think is the best thing to come out of the AVP concept, is not perfect and has not aged very well (not many games do) but it is still a pretty good game and i love how faithful it is to both franchises.
Indeed.
I will get to it now that i finished Isolation, i have so many videogames to play, movies and tv shows to watch, books and comic books to read without mention that i want to travel around the world that i feel like my life is not gonna last enough as to do so
I better get on it.And now, for my final rant...
That was one of the worst endings i have ever experienced in a videogame, what a tease, i feel like i played half a game. A 5 second cutscene with a cliffhanger and no resolution for anything that came before it. I would say is a 6 /10 because of all that ending alone.
Not only that, but the way they drag the ending is almost like a parody, in the last hours of gameplay it feels like it was gonna end like 10 times but no, someting totally artificial happens to keep the game on.
You have to escape, go here to do so.
Path is blocked, find another route.
Ups, you need to give power to this area before opening that door.
Okay, now go extend the bridge.
Ups, you need to give power to this area before doing so.
Okay go put the suit on to escape.
Ups, you got captured and cocooned away from the exit door.
Okay you are free, now go back to putting the suit on.
Now do some stuff to extend the bridge.
Okay now you are in a ship, i wonder why nobody answers, i sure hope not to be surprised with the no surprising fact that an Alien is on board.
An Alien is on board, hilarious slow motion "nothing happens until you press X button" Call of Duty style quick time event happens.
10 second cutscene with cliffhanger which left me feeling a mix of anger and confusion, facepalm ensues.
Cool credit song.
And that was just one example, really, the way the game is forced to go on and give me several "fake endings" was embarrasing, no to mention stuff like not being able to hurt the Alien because a scripted moment is happening in the ending minutes so i hurt it but i dont and it kills me so i have to reload and wait until the Alien animation ends, really good design.
Also really funny that they give me EMP Version 3 when i am like 10 minutes away of ending the game and no synthetic is gonna appear anymore, wtf.
I also got out of flamethrower ammo, so i shoot with the shotgun at the Alien and it does not even slow it down, really? That is not difficult or realistic, that is just bullshit game design.
I would not realize of so many flaws if the game did not made a conscious decision ot taking me outside of itself and forced me to look it at as a game instead of me being in a space station (and i get immersed really easily, so that says a lot)
Anyway, hoping there is a sequel, and that is polished, thanks for reading people.
/Rant
Posted by Samhain13
- Aug 29, 2018, 07:29:01 PMQuote from: D88M on Aug 28, 2018, 10:07:01 PM
AVP2 in hard is really difficult (i dont like Primal Hunt much)
Primal Hunt wasn't as good as the main game yeah, I heard it's development was quite rushed, that may explain why it's harder, it feels they didn't test the game on hardcore before releasing, the difficulty is broken.
Quote from: D88M on Aug 28, 2018, 10:07:01 PM
the Praetorian in the very first Predator mission is very difficult to kill, it comes at you so fast, i was actually playing it again after many years and left it hanging, i am at the last mission with the Alien and was gonna do the other two campaigns too.
Haha that praetorian is the hardest part of the 3 campaigns on hardcore, if you beat that thing you will beat the rest of the game fine. Unlike in the multiplayer they gave the praetorian the pounce ability on the campaign for some reason, so he can get close to you very fast and unlike the drones/runners he doesn't die from one combistick attack, and since you don't have plasma weapons in the first mission you are doomed. I threw the disk, used most of the speargun ammo, then kept using the combistick while jumping back to avoid its claws lol. The 2 predaliens in the 5th mission are quite challeging as well, the queen is very easy, she is slow so you can kill her with the combistick without taking any damage.
Quote from: D88M on Aug 28, 2018, 10:07:01 PM
Still i think is the best thing to come out of the AVP concept, is not perfect and has not aged very well (not many games do) but it is still a pretty good game and i love how faithful it is to both franchises.
Indeed.
Posted by Still Collating...
- Aug 29, 2018, 06:08:49 PMYou'll find the Unpredictable Alien mod easily enough, but the no footsteps one is called Stalker Alien and don't install the whole thing (which takes away all the sounds from the alien and doesn't feel right to me), just install the ALIEN.BNK files and you'll get the effect I described.
Posted by D88M
- Aug 28, 2018, 10:07:01 PMQuote from: The Old One on Aug 24, 2018, 09:38:17 PM
All the unpredictable Alien modification does is cut the AI's tether to the player, so that instead of the Alien being told the general area the player is in- it's told nothing and has to genuinely search the entire loaded area.
This way if you play the game stealthy you can go for hours without seeing it, because of the game's length; I ultimately wouldn't play it again without this modification. It corrects the pace.
If I had a couple of complaints about A.I;
One would be the awful cutscenes.
Two would be lame death animations.
Otherwise it's an excellent game, and a great basis for a better sequel or spiritual successor that's more polished.
Now that is a good idea, and more fun and realistic, the Alien is above me ALL THE TIME, even when it makes no sense, like i mean how the hell did he find the area i was in if i escaped without making a single noise? I should play it again with that mod.
Another problem that i have is that the human enemies prefer to scream at me to kill me instead of shutting the hell up when the Alien is in the room, devs should have thought of that, last night there was a security guy hidden because the Alien was around and i was hidden behind him, i tried to go to the exit but the guy saw me and started screaming, the Alien very properly came and killed him while i escaped, LOL
Yeah cutscenes with stiff faces and death animations are meh. They could also have touched up on the graphics because when i am far away of anything it looks "sawed off" but when i am near they look awesome.
Something else that i find really, really odd, is that the game gets EASIER as you progress, once i got the flamethrower the suspense was over, and from that point on it got less and less suspenful with all the weapons.
Quote from: Still Collating... on Aug 24, 2018, 09:52:31 PM
D88M, just because a group of fans like the game and what it does, doesn't mean you have to. And as someone who bought and played the game, it's normal for you to voice your opinion about it, especially when it differs from the majority and you've had such an intense experience with the game.
Too bad Alien Isolation didn't do it for you, maybe the next Alien game will be up your alley. Your points are valid I think, I guess it just depends on the person, how much they like getting punished by the Alienand how cautiously they play. The game does punish you severely for what in other games wouldn't even be considered mistakes and for underestimating Stompy. The learning curve is very steep.
If you're ever interested in trying Isolation again, I really do recommend the Unpredictable Alien mod because it makes Stompy feel more natural. Basically, it lets the Alien explore more. Farther away from you and for a longer period of time. It actually makes the game easier IMO but the point is it really does make it feel more natural. The encounters with the Alien are less numerous and less frequent. But it's more scary because you don't know where he is anymore since he's not around you so much. Gone are the 20 min. waiting sessions in a locker because the alien keeps entering the room. With the mod: he enters the room, hangs around a bit, leaves quickly if he hasn't found you and wont return 300 times. The reason I like the mod is because it's realistic in the sense that Stompy doesn't hang around you 24/7, It's scary when you haven't seen the alien in a while and because you die for getting cocky. The alien stops feeling like it's cheating.
Still, those are just my impressions, I just believe the mod might help you feel less frustrated with the game.
EDIT: As The Old One already explained the mod, I wouldn't recommend playing the game again without it.
Yeah but the thing is that after so many years of hearing so many good things about the game i thought it was gonna be better, and while most games are not perfect, it had more flaws than thwat i thought, maybe it was my fault but i face any artistic expression with an open mind and without having made an idea of what it is before in my mind, be it a movie, video game, book, comic book, etc.
Dont get me wrong, i like the game, is a good game with a lot of great stuff in it, but why did they have to make the Alien so unrealistically difficult.
The real problem that i have is that i was totally immersed in the game, until that stuff started to happen, like Outlast: The first time you die, you are scared, maybe the next two or three times too. By the 10th time you die, you are frustrated, and by the 20th, you are just bored, feel like playing a game instead of living an experience, and just want to get through that part, it takes you out of the game and makes it feel like a game, instead of feeling like you are living it. It also made me lost track of the story. But to be fair, all these issues were in the Medical Bay, i think is int Mission 5, then it gets way easier, weird.
Anyway, i am like 15 or less minutes away of finishing it, maybe in the future i will play it again with those mods, sounds more fun, if i have to give it a note it would be 7/10.
Quote from: SM on Aug 24, 2018, 10:23:41 PMQuotei play videogames to have fun and to enjoy the story, not to waste time.
Go play a Lego game then. I do; I love them.
Isolation was exceedingly difficult in parts - which made it immensely satisfying and a huge relief when you beat a part and reach a save point. Plus it had a fantastic story.
They are very fun to play with a friend, i finished both Star War games, the Indiana Jones and the Batman one in the Ps2 with my younger brother, we had a great time.
Yeah, but there is a point where it just took me out of the game, i like feeling tense in a horror game and then the relief when you get through a hard part, but they made the Alien so hard that is unrealistic, an omnipotent being that knows everything and will get you every single time, a little more fairness would have been better.
I would never forget when i was playing Outlast and my dad opened the door of the room all of the sudden, i literally jumped on my seat, i had a terrible posture of how tense i was through all the game, sweat and all, just bringing that up because i dont think i will ever forget it lol, i did have some jump scares in this games, like when i turned around and a synthetic was on my face, i screamed and woke up my brother, sneaky bastard.
The story seemed good, it could perfectly be a movie sequel, in fact i dont see how it could not be canon, i liked Ripley character, she takes no shit just like her mom, and her voice acting was very good, the setting is so well made, problem was that i was taken out of the story at some point because of the frustration.
Quote from: Samhain13 on Aug 25, 2018, 12:38:17 AM
Isolation wouldn't even make into the top 5 (maybe even 10) hardest games I played. Maybe some are not used to playing games who take more work, and that's what the easy difficulty is for. I only had trouble on nightmare because you can't make much itens, so there isn't much to defend yourself with. There are more unfair games, those that give you game over due to bad RNG and stupid friendly AI, games which depends much more on luck than skill, games with bad checkpoint placement and there are the ones that have difficulties with no checkpoints. Imagine having to play Isolation with one life, one death and you need to start the whole game again. Isolation at least let you save on all difficulties.
To use another game of the franchise as comparison, I died much more on AVP2 Primal Hunt Hardcore mode than in Isolation's Nightmare, no checkpoints, you take even more damage than in the original game, enemies can endure so many bullets making your ammo end fast, I only finished the last corporate mission which only gives you basic weapons against hordes of aliens by exploiting places where the aliens can't reach you. That mission was on a whole another level of difficulty. And the first 2 missions are only possible because for some reason they made the flamethrower a 1 one hit kill for drones and runners.
There are several videos on youtube of people beating Isolation on Nightmare but only 1 of someone beating that last corporate mission on hardcore. And just like me he cheated by exploiting the game limitations.
Well, i am currently also playing Cuphead, a game that sometimes is hard, sometimes is unfair. I mean, if you throw at me 50 God damned things in the screen, of course one of them is gonna hit me, there is no way around it. Is better when is just a hard enemy which you have to learn his/her pattern, but sometimes in every round the starting attack changes and that changes the whole boss fight, making it easier or harder, and i hate when they throw you lots of stuff to avoid. I am at 38% and i have died 501 times, i had like 75 from Isle 1, and it doubled after the clown fight. So far in Isle 2 i killed the cake and clown bosses. Good game otherwise, teh artistic design is FANTASTIC.
I also have been playing Dark Souls Prepare to Die Edition, and unlike some games, if you die there, is positively, 100% your and your fault only. Is really interesting the design of that game.
I also finished Ori and the Blind Forest (another game with outstanding visual design, and the music is heavenly), cant remember the difficulty, but with the God damned keyboard and mouse, and it gets really unfair and frustrating, it took me months to finish it, not playing it every day of course but i just abandoned it for months because of the frustration, that game and Cuphead are NOT designed to play with keyboard and mouse, with joystick it literally becomes a whole different game.
I like hard games, but i am not much of a fan because i play games for the story/experience, though i try to play them in hard because that is the original experience as developers intended in most cases. I played and finished Bioshock Infinite in hard the first time, and so i did with Doom 2016 to put an example.
AVP2 in hard is really difficult (i dont like Primal Hunt much) the Praetorian in the very first Predator mission is very difficult to kill, it comes at you so fast, i was actually playing it again after many years and left it hanging, i am at the last mission with the Alien and was gonna do the other two campaigns too. Still i think is the best thing to come out of the AVP concept, is not perfect and has not aged very well (not many games do) but it is still a pretty good game and i love how faithful it is to both franchises.
In regards to the kind of people who finish something like Dark Souls with their feet while blindfolded, or they are insane, or they have no life of their own, i dont know how they do it, but good for them.
Quote from: Still Collating... on Aug 25, 2018, 03:27:26 PM
I dare not try the AVP2 games on Hardcore, I'm so not ready for that, but I am curious. Probably I'll try it one day when I'm feeling especially masochistic.
Right now I'm trying a mod for Isolation that makes Stompy less Stompy. It takes out the sound of his footsteps while he's walking and running (there's nothing yet to just make them less noisy) and the roar when he charges at you but keeps all the other sounds like when he exits the vents, the hisses when he spots you and body movement sounds. The amount of dread I feel now when I play is phenomenal. The bastard has sneaked up on me so many times! And when you face two together like this, it becomes horrific.
I will in the future play it in hard/nightmare with the no foosteps and unpredictabilty mod, just to get myself a nervous breakdown and smash my hands against the computer.
I am really very sorry of going off topic and for the walls of texts, i did not meant it. Is just i am very passionate about things and stuff
It took me all day to write this (while i did other stuff of course) Posted by Still Collating...
- Aug 25, 2018, 03:27:26 PMI dare not try the AVP2 games on Hardcore, I'm so not ready for that, but I am curious. Probably I'll try it one day when I'm feeling especially masochistic.
Right now I'm trying a mod for Isolation that makes Stompy less Stompy. It takes out the sound of his footsteps while he's walking and running (there's nothing yet to just make them less noisy) and the roar when he charges at you but keeps all the other sounds like when he exits the vents, the hisses when he spots you and body movement sounds. The amount of dread I feel now when I play is phenomenal. The bastard has sneaked up on me so many times! And when you face two together like this, it becomes horrific.
Right now I'm trying a mod for Isolation that makes Stompy less Stompy. It takes out the sound of his footsteps while he's walking and running (there's nothing yet to just make them less noisy) and the roar when he charges at you but keeps all the other sounds like when he exits the vents, the hisses when he spots you and body movement sounds. The amount of dread I feel now when I play is phenomenal. The bastard has sneaked up on me so many times! And when you face two together like this, it becomes horrific.
Posted by Samhain13
- Aug 25, 2018, 12:38:17 AMIsolation wouldn't even make into the top 5 (maybe even 10) hardest games I played. Maybe some are not used to playing games who take more work, and that's what the easy difficulty is for. I only had trouble on nightmare because you can't make much itens, so there isn't much to defend yourself with. There are more unfair games, those that give you game over due to bad RNG and stupid friendly AI, games which depends much more on luck than skill, games with bad checkpoint placement and there are the ones that have difficulties with no checkpoints. Imagine having to play Isolation with one life, one death and you need to start the whole game again. Isolation at least let you save on all difficulties.
To use another game of the franchise as comparison, I died much more on AVP2 Primal Hunt Hardcore mode than in Isolation's Nightmare, no checkpoints, you take even more damage than in the original game, enemies can endure so many bullets making your ammo end fast, I only finished the last corporate mission which only gives you basic weapons against hordes of aliens by exploiting places where the aliens can't reach you. That mission was on a whole another level of difficulty. And the first 2 missions are only possible because for some reason they made the flamethrower a 1 one hit kill for drones and runners.
There are several videos on youtube of people beating Isolation on Nightmare but only 1 of someone beating that last corporate mission on hardcore. And just like me he cheated by exploiting the game limitations.
To use another game of the franchise as comparison, I died much more on AVP2 Primal Hunt Hardcore mode than in Isolation's Nightmare, no checkpoints, you take even more damage than in the original game, enemies can endure so many bullets making your ammo end fast, I only finished the last corporate mission which only gives you basic weapons against hordes of aliens by exploiting places where the aliens can't reach you. That mission was on a whole another level of difficulty. And the first 2 missions are only possible because for some reason they made the flamethrower a 1 one hit kill for drones and runners.
There are several videos on youtube of people beating Isolation on Nightmare but only 1 of someone beating that last corporate mission on hardcore. And just like me he cheated by exploiting the game limitations.
Posted by SM
- Aug 24, 2018, 10:23:41 PMQuotei play videogames to have fun and to enjoy the story, not to waste time.
Go play a Lego game then. I do; I love them.
Isolation was exceedingly difficult in parts - which made it immensely satisfying and a huge relief when you beat a part and reach a save point. Plus it had a fantastic story.
Posted by Still Collating...
- Aug 24, 2018, 09:52:31 PMD88M, just because a group of fans like the game and what it does, doesn't mean you have to. And as someone who bought and played the game, it's normal for you to voice your opinion about it, especially when it differs from the majority and you've had such an intense experience with the game.
Too bad Alien Isolation didn't do it for you, maybe the next Alien game will be up your alley. Your points are valid I think, I guess it just depends on the person, how much they like getting punished by the Alien and how cautiously they play. The game does punish you severely for what in other games wouldn't even be considered mistakes and for underestimating Stompy. The learning curve is very steep.
If you're ever interested in trying Isolation again, I really do recommend the Unpredictable Alien mod because it makes Stompy feel more natural. Basically, it lets the Alien explore more. Farther away from you and for a longer period of time. It actually makes the game easier IMO but the point is it really does make it feel more natural. The encounters with the Alien are less numerous and less frequent. But it's more scary because you don't know where he is anymore since he's not around you so much. Gone are the 20 min. waiting sessions in a locker because the alien keeps entering the room. With the mod: he enters the room, hangs around a bit, leaves quickly if he hasn't found you and wont return 300 times. The reason I like the mod is because it's realistic in the sense that Stompy doesn't hang around you 24/7, It's scary when you haven't seen the alien in a while and because you die for getting cocky. The alien stops feeling like it's cheating.
Still, those are just my impressions, I just believe the mod might help you feel less frustrated with the game.
EDIT: As The Old One already explained the mod, I wouldn't recommend playing the game again without it.
Too bad Alien Isolation didn't do it for you, maybe the next Alien game will be up your alley. Your points are valid I think, I guess it just depends on the person, how much they like getting punished by the Alien
and how cautiously they play. The game does punish you severely for what in other games wouldn't even be considered mistakes and for underestimating Stompy. The learning curve is very steep. If you're ever interested in trying Isolation again, I really do recommend the Unpredictable Alien mod because it makes Stompy feel more natural. Basically, it lets the Alien explore more. Farther away from you and for a longer period of time. It actually makes the game easier IMO but the point is it really does make it feel more natural. The encounters with the Alien are less numerous and less frequent. But it's more scary because you don't know where he is anymore since he's not around you so much. Gone are the 20 min. waiting sessions in a locker because the alien keeps entering the room. With the mod: he enters the room, hangs around a bit, leaves quickly if he hasn't found you and wont return 300 times. The reason I like the mod is because it's realistic in the sense that Stompy doesn't hang around you 24/7, It's scary when you haven't seen the alien in a while and because you die for getting cocky. The alien stops feeling like it's cheating.
Still, those are just my impressions, I just believe the mod might help you feel less frustrated with the game.
EDIT: As The Old One already explained the mod, I wouldn't recommend playing the game again without it.
Posted by The Old One
- Aug 24, 2018, 09:38:17 PMAll the unpredictable Alien modification does is cut the AI's tether to the player, so that instead of the Alien being told the general area the player is in- it's told nothing and has to genuinely search the entire loaded area.
This way if you play the game stealthy you can go for hours without seeing it, because of the game's length; I ultimately wouldn't play it again without this modification. It corrects the pace.
If I had a couple of complaints about A.I;
One would be the awful cutscenes.
Two would be lame death animations.
Otherwise it's an excellent game, and a great basis for a better sequel or spiritual successor that's more polished.
This way if you play the game stealthy you can go for hours without seeing it, because of the game's length; I ultimately wouldn't play it again without this modification. It corrects the pace.
If I had a couple of complaints about A.I;
One would be the awful cutscenes.
Two would be lame death animations.
Otherwise it's an excellent game, and a great basis for a better sequel or spiritual successor that's more polished.
Posted by D88M
- Aug 24, 2018, 08:48:23 PMQuote from: Corporal Hicks on Aug 24, 2018, 07:38:13 AM
The difficulty is part of the charm of it. It's not supposed to be easy going up against an Alien. Granted, it's not for everyone, but I loved how hard it was. It wasn't impossible by any stretch, but the difficulty was just one part of a massive package that makes this game so great in my eyes.
I dont wanna derail this thread and i am waiting to end the game so i can get the full picture. But waiting/wasting 15 minutes in a locker because the Alien cant stop entering the room every 10 seconds without being able to do anything about it is not exactly my idea of fun. I played Outlast when it was released and while not perfect i think it was better realized than here.
In that part when you get into the medical room, that one that is like a round room with another room in the middle, like a mental asylum, i just could not advance at all, the Alien killed me all the time, i could not run, i could not go crouching, i could not do anything at all, literally, anything that i did got me killed. The first times it kills you is scary, then it becomes irritating, and then it becomes boring, and that is the worst thing that can happen to a game. The Alien became an annoying obstacle instead of a creature that i feared. I was surprised at how quickly i got bored by it.
I was also killed by a bug which was just ridiculous, i was hiding in a closet, the Alien enters the room, leaves the room out of the only exit possible, and when i come out it kills me, even though it was not even near the room...
Another moment was when i come out of a vent and a synthetic follows me, so i hide again. The robot then stares at me from his workstation, even though i am hiding and he cannot see me, it keeps looking at where i am, so i wait. 1 minute. 5 minutes. 10 minutes. It does not move, so i cannot advance. I go make myself some tea and when i come back he is gone, so i come out again and he starts following me, but i think i got out that time.
I was playing it hard, so i understand what they were trying to do, but even when i turned the difficulti to medium, it was the same thing, if i put it on easy, is the same too, i just could not get immersed.
What i had to do, and i dont like admitting this, and i like even less to do it, is download a trainer that removed the Alien until i could advance, then i put it back on, i have neved done this before, but i never was so frustrated and bored with a game, it was not fun, it was just a literal waste of time.
I just dont have the patience for this kind of thing anymore, it just does not feel fair to be an hour stuck in the same scenario because of constant death, now i am at the part where the synthetics with suits appear for the first time and nothing i attack them with kills them, so i put the trainer back on until i move pass that.
I also got the flamethrower at some point, which just killed all the tension the game had, but the first thing to do that was the game itself, and i was expecting to play this since it was released and i thought it was gonna be great, but is just frustrating.
Another issue is that the game is TOO long, i am currently on mission 10 out of i am not mistaken, 18. Really? I already i am tired of the game, how many more hours do i have to play it? It feels like a chore at this point. No point in making a game that long without something that justifies it, and this is just the same old: "go turn on the power engine at the other side of the map, oh no it has no power you have to search for batteries at the other side of the map, oh no the batteries are broken in three pieces, you have to search every one of them all over the map, ok now go power up the engine, oh no you got captured and it was all for nothing" kind of thing that is like a plague in modern games.
The game is not bad, is just crazy hard without a reason. And i just gave some examples, the ones who stood out to me more.
Quote from: Still Collating... on Aug 24, 2018, 10:44:30 AM
Agreed. I adore the difficulty of the game so much! You have multiple ways of dealing with the Alien, but you can't just do whatever you want. The Alien is hunting you and you have to adept to it. It's faster and stronger than you and the most unpredictable enemy in game I've ever faced. The Alien feels almost alive to me and that's why this is the most fun game of cat and mouse I've ever had.Quote from: D88M on Aug 23, 2018, 08:36:15 PM
The visuals and sounds are outstanding, is the gameplay i have a problem with, and the Alien. There is a difference between making something difficult and hard and making it unfair and almost impossible.
I promise to get more in depth once i finished it, but i am dissapointed honestly, maybe is because i did not played it when it was released, maybe it was because i played Outlast when it was released and that game is quite the unique experience, but Isolation gets really frustrating.
The Outlast games are awesome! But very different when it comes to the behavior of the enemies. The enemies in Outlast rarely kill you in one hit, have obvious patrol patterns and are a lot more scripted than the Alien. It's a different style of gameplay IMO.
Though I have to admit the vanilla Alien feels a bit off sometimes because its leash/tether to the player is too tight. It feels a lot more natural when playing with the unpredictable Alien mod, it does improve the experience for me.
Yes, but when he kills you 20 times in a row in the course of an hour, so you spent hours playing and you are just athe same point you were when you loaded the saved game, and you want to finish it so you can also play other sutff among doing regular life stuff, it feels almost like a mockery, and is a total waste of time, i play videogames to have fun and to enjoy the story, not to waste time.
Outlast 1 is awesome besides the last hour of gameplay, 2 is just awful in every sense but aduio/visuals, the story was terrible and gameplay was broken, the enemies found you every single time, it kills the suspense. The style of game is basically the same, but Isolation is way more "realistic" and near impossible. It lacks all the tension Outlast has.
Honestly, at this point of the walktrough the Alien feels like an excuse to make the game last longer than anything else, and that is an awful thing to say abotu a game.
I wrote too much, and i tried to keep it brief because i would have to have a recent gameplay fresh to explain exactly how the gameplay is flawed at the point of going from tense to irritating to boring, but at the second or third Alien encounter i had my heart broken about this game, i did not expected that.
Quote from: The Old One on Aug 24, 2018, 12:56:16 PM
Unpredictable Alien mod for life.
I can only imagine what horror awaits me if i even dare to install such a monstruosity. Besides i am one of those people who gets angry when it loses not because of himself, but because of the game desing, i am talking about punching the table and that kind of thing.
Jesus, what a wall of text, i am really sorry i was waiting to finish the game to upload my thoughts in the "fan reviews" thread, and i know i come out as a whining noob, and i dont want you make you all believe that i think the game is bad, because is not, is exquisiteively made in every aspect and with true love care and passion for the first film, but jeez did i got fed up by it by now.
Posted by The Old One
- Aug 24, 2018, 12:56:16 PMUnpredictable Alien mod for life.
