Hello there everybody! We're Vox De Lusus; a new British trio of avid video-game fans, that aim to bring you a wealth of gaming information in the foreseeable future! Ranging from reviews, top tens, funny video's of all your favourite video-games and various animations. Being inspired by the popularity of gaming networks online, we've decided to bring you our own uninfluenced service of all things video-game related!
We consist of;
Tom: 'Insane Cyborg'
Andy: 'Randy Puffin'
and Tom: 'Napalm Knight'
Please don't be afraid to share your opinions and bare with us whilst we set up, and look forward to the agglomeration of video game related entertainment!
~Randy Puffin
Wednesday 26 September 2012
Friday 7 September 2012
Insane Cyborg Reviews: Deadlight
Title: Deadlight 3/5
Platform: Xbox live arcade
Developer: Tequila Works
Players: 1
I'll be honest, I already have some criticism about this game. Deadlight is a platformer with the same type of game play as Abe's Odyssey (brilliant game, you should definitely try it), only it's set in a post apocalyptic setting with zombies. You see, I like post apocalyptic games - that's what convinced me to play this and review it for our brand new review site. However, I feel zombies are overdone and it doesn't make the game worse, but while playing this I felt like the game was a huge pile of other games I've played. Don't get me wrong, this doesn't ruin the game, but this does make the game feel unoriginal, and this will be constant theme in the review, so I decided just to get it out here and now. This games unoriginal. But is it good? read on...
Developer: Tequila Works
Players: 1
I'll be honest, I already have some criticism about this game. Deadlight is a platformer with the same type of game play as Abe's Odyssey (brilliant game, you should definitely try it), only it's set in a post apocalyptic setting with zombies. You see, I like post apocalyptic games - that's what convinced me to play this and review it for our brand new review site. However, I feel zombies are overdone and it doesn't make the game worse, but while playing this I felt like the game was a huge pile of other games I've played. Don't get me wrong, this doesn't ruin the game, but this does make the game feel unoriginal, and this will be constant theme in the review, so I decided just to get it out here and now. This games unoriginal. But is it good? read on...
Plot:
Well...I did say this game was unoriginal. The plot follows Randall Wayne, a former park ranger who in 1985, is separated from his wife and daughter due to an outbreak of zombie flu. A year later, Wayne discovers where his family could be, and so with a group of survivors, proceeds to the safe point, only to face zombies and an evil group dedicated to remaking the world in their image...well, you see where this is going...? The problem with the story is that it's predictable - by the very beginning I already knew what was going to happen at the end because it had already been done before by so many other games. Another problem with the game is that it starts off so suddenly - the only information I had about the events before the game was Randall's journal, which is beautifully written, and even then, it didn't focus much on anyone else other than Wayne and his family, meaning that the other survivors you work with in game are complete strangers and therefore have no emotional impact on you during the game. However, Wayne is a different story, and through the journal and the games tale, I feel he was fleshed out into a likable, tough character. In the end, I'm not disappointed with the story. I didn't expect it to be brilliant and as memorable as other post apocalyptic video games. Still, I was hoping that maybe the characters would be more interesting and fleshed out, instead of characters which I had no empathy for, but I realise it would have been difficult with a plot as predictable and sudden as this. However, the time period is a nice idea.
Gameplay:
As stated before, Deadlight is a platformer with gameplay very similar to Abe's Odyssey. Wayne has to leap onto various platforms, crawl through vent and solve multiple puzzles to allow him to move forward. unlike most zombie games, you're forced to think fast about how you going to proceed forward to your goal and how you're going to avoid becoming a zombies dinner. It's all incredibly exciting and terrifying at points, with the adrenaline pumping as you desperately try to find a route as multiple members of the undead shamble towards you. It's also incredibly fluent, with Wayne traversing the environment with speed and precision...most of the time. You see, Wayne is a bit unresponsive at times, with the survivor mistaking a command to jump or move forward with...climb back down, and this becomes increasingly frustrating as Wayne goes against you orders and practically commits suicide over and over again. What's worse is that the developers have implemented an attack that see's Randall leaping at a zombie and then going through a quicktime event to break free. I'm sorry but why would they do this? I've looked at this over and over again, hoping that maybe the zombie grabs Randall, but no, Randall literally leaps, and crashes into the zombie of his own free will. It serves no purpose other then to get you killed and is just an awful game making decision.
Deadlight also offers players the chance to defend themselves with guns! Incorporating an interesting platform mechanic where Randall is able to aim his revolver at the leagues of the undead. It's a challenging mechanic where you have to hit the zombies in the head and adds more puzzle elements to the game, as you decide whether it's best to fight or flee, something I haven't experienced in a platformer. That said, the game's combat can become incredibly annoying at times, due to the fact it never really informs you. There's one sequence where all my weapons where taken away just before a sequence that involved retreating from a horde of enemies. However, a few minutes in and after several deaths I discovered that I had suddenly been given my revolver back and could now defend myself. Another point came where multiple members of the undead stood between me and the exit to a building and with no way to avoid them I began trying to kill them with the gun. it wasn't until a search on the Internet that I discovered I could avoid the undead by running and jumping, something the game failed to mention.
In the end Deadlight has some fantastic gameplay, but the fact it never informs you on various aspects and the fact Randall can become unresponsive quite a few times, you'll find yourself becoming more frustrated than scared with the game.
Deadlight also offers players the chance to defend themselves with guns! Incorporating an interesting platform mechanic where Randall is able to aim his revolver at the leagues of the undead. It's a challenging mechanic where you have to hit the zombies in the head and adds more puzzle elements to the game, as you decide whether it's best to fight or flee, something I haven't experienced in a platformer. That said, the game's combat can become incredibly annoying at times, due to the fact it never really informs you. There's one sequence where all my weapons where taken away just before a sequence that involved retreating from a horde of enemies. However, a few minutes in and after several deaths I discovered that I had suddenly been given my revolver back and could now defend myself. Another point came where multiple members of the undead stood between me and the exit to a building and with no way to avoid them I began trying to kill them with the gun. it wasn't until a search on the Internet that I discovered I could avoid the undead by running and jumping, something the game failed to mention.
In the end Deadlight has some fantastic gameplay, but the fact it never informs you on various aspects and the fact Randall can become unresponsive quite a few times, you'll find yourself becoming more frustrated than scared with the game.
Look, Sound and Feel:
Honestly, the game looks amazing, with the grim post-apocalyptic feel of the game being brought to life with dark, grim graphics, a gritty comic book style cinematic and a dark, hauntingly beautiful musical score. All these elements help to immerse you in Deadlight's setting and it's tale, and are truly some of the best aesthetic elements I've seen in a game to date. The dark nature also seems to represent the style of various 80's comic books and films as well some modern day inspirations for the game, but unlike the plot (which feels more like a retread of things already done before) the aesthetic feel is able to present it in a new creative way.
The game also brings in numerous identity cards related to various serial killer from the 80's and handheld games that can provide an amusing, fun distraction. This once again helps to engross you in the setting and does help bring the 80's style setting to life.
However, I do have one gripe and that's with the voice actors. Now some characters are okay, the actors are able to bring them to life with great performances, that truly capture the essence and feel of these people. But for some characters, particularly a young teenager, the acting is just...awful. They pronounce their lines in a slow, drawn out, over-the-top style that just ends up breaking the mood for me. In fact it feels like I'm playing Crysis 2 all other again, with some awful actors delivering awful performances that just don't feel intentional. Even Randall suffers slightly, with the actor sometimes delivering a great performance and other times delivering something bad and flat.
Still, it doesn't ruin the game. as long as you can focus more on the great setting, music and graphics, then you have a great piece of horror related work on your console.
The game also brings in numerous identity cards related to various serial killer from the 80's and handheld games that can provide an amusing, fun distraction. This once again helps to engross you in the setting and does help bring the 80's style setting to life.
However, I do have one gripe and that's with the voice actors. Now some characters are okay, the actors are able to bring them to life with great performances, that truly capture the essence and feel of these people. But for some characters, particularly a young teenager, the acting is just...awful. They pronounce their lines in a slow, drawn out, over-the-top style that just ends up breaking the mood for me. In fact it feels like I'm playing Crysis 2 all other again, with some awful actors delivering awful performances that just don't feel intentional. Even Randall suffers slightly, with the actor sometimes delivering a great performance and other times delivering something bad and flat.
Still, it doesn't ruin the game. as long as you can focus more on the great setting, music and graphics, then you have a great piece of horror related work on your console.
In Conclusion:
In the end I have mixed feelings about Deadlight. Part of me loves it's fantastic platforming and it's brilliant aesthetic feel, while the other half hates the unresponsive design, the overused narrative and the uninformative instructions (or lack of!). But I feel that this is a good game, if the developers had spent more time trying to think of a better story and worked on the informative side of the game, I would probably have given this a glowing review. But in the end I still enjoyed it and if you're looking for a new way to tackle zombies, or just want to experience a fantastic setting, then I would definitely recommend Deadlight.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)