I'm not sure if the demo for Dungeon Siege 3 is out for consoles yet, but Steam has the download for PC gamers. So anyways, Dungeon Siege 3 is very different from its predecessors: Different developer, different publisher, different story, but the same title. You could change the title of the game and no one would accuse the developers of being a copy of Dungeon Siege. It's not a bad thing though. The gameplay did change from being more team-managing strategical RPG to more hack-n-slash action RPG, so it may displease many avid Dungeon Siege fans. But for those looking for a fun co-op action RPG to play, Dungeon Siege 3 provides the goods to satisfy those needs.
Source: Youtube Channel IGNentertainment
The demo may not have showed enough of the game, but the progression of levels felt extremely linear compared to the first two Dungeon Siege games. Perhaps it eventually evolves into that level of open world gameplay, but the demo mostly shuffles the player along a narrow path to get from one event to another. The story is told with conversations and cinematics with the dialogue wheel seen in previous titles from Obsidian such as Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2 and Alpha Protocol. The graphics are okay, but I couldn't really say with having to turn the resolution down to run the game smoothly. The gameplay was interesting that you have full control when attacking (aim direction, click to attack in said direction) rather than just point-n-click (click and watch them attack an enemy). The controls; however, seems to be designed for console controllers rather than keyboard and mouse. The camera controls, attacking, and movement are atrocious using keyboard and mouse as it's archaic and difficult to coordinate. This makes combat rather difficult when it's hard to see where the player is going or if there is space to dodge an attack. The game itself is fun though. Combat is fast-paced, skill and equipment managing retains the RPG aspects, and the enemies are pretty challenging. I'm thinking of getting the game on PS3. I hear it has a local co-op mode so that a buddy can join in and help control one of the AI allies. The game feels a lot more like a Gauntlet game than a Diablo-ish game. No complaints here though, the game is fun.
Showing posts with label Demo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Demo. Show all posts
Monday, June 13, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
GameLight - Recent Demo Games (March 3, 2011)
So I tried out Dragon Age 2's Demo last week and was able to grab four other demos to try throughout the week (well, the past two days to be exact). I tried out Crysis 2 and Total War Shogun 2 on Steam PC with Killzone 3 and Sonic the Hedgehog 4 demo on PS3. It was fun trying out the demos. Demos are very difficult to make since they need to capture something great about the game and stuff it into a small package. Dragon Age 2 did an incredible job of that (I couldn't get enough out of just the demo, it was that fun).
Crysis 2 Multiplayer Demo (Steam PC)
I didn't play the first Crysis (but I intend to) and so I didn't pay too much attention on Crysis 2 until I saw a video showcasing some of the special abilities of the nanosuit and the acrobatics the players are able to do in multiplayer. Along with the multiplayer gameplay concept, the graphics caught my attention. You do need to make an account if you don't have one already before trying out the demo, but it only takes a minutes to make one. As far as I know, the multiplayer demo is unlimited in time with two maps and two modes. So far, I really like the game but can't really play it very well with my graphics and latency lag (that or I just suck really bad). I'm thinking of getting it on PS3, but would like to try it out on the system first.
Source: Youtube Channel machinima
What was cool:
-Graphics were amazing. Crisp, life-like, fluid graphics, immersive environment
-The class system isn't new to the genre, but it's still a fun implementation to the game
-Sliding, hi-jumping, and ground slamming were really fun and added to tactics
-The Nanosuit really changes the way the game is played compared to other FPS
Concerns:
-My graphics card couldn't handle it very well, couldn't tell how well the aim system is
-Will probably get the game on PS3, but want to try it first. No demo for PS3 yet
-Exactly how much content is in the game? No "extra maps and weapons are DLCs" excuse please
-Will this make Brink pointless to buy now?
Total War Shogun 2 Demo (Steam PC)
The demo to this game is ridiculously long. If you like actual war-time strategy games (not skirmish RTS games like Age of the Empires and Starcraft), then this game is for you. It's a mix between turn-based strategy where the player builds up his army, gather resources, make diplomatic treaties, spy on enemy territories, and other such measures to defeat your opponents and unite Japan. This part of the game reminds me of the games Koei used to make such as Nobunaga's Ambitions and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The other half of the game is the real-time strategy combat where you bring literally hundreds to sometimes thousands of troops to fight legions of samurai, archers, and calvary. I didn't finish the demo, and I played over 2 hours of it before I decided to stop. The game is meant to be played on a strong graphics card like Crysis 2 to fully experience the full extent of the game's visuals. I set the resolution to the lowest for both game just to have it somewhat run smoothly. It was fun, but I don't think I want to invest so much time into this one game.
Source: Youtube Channel machinima
What was cool:
-True tactics and schemes can be used as strategy to defeat the enemies, sometimes without having to fight
-The visuals is one of the main attractions of the game and displays large battles live-time
-There's a lot to do and a lot of depth in what can be done to achieve each victory
-Being able to command several hundreds of units was pretty amazing and fun to watch during battles
Concerns:
-How long would it even take to beat the game? Weeks? Months? Years?
-Losing a battle causes the player to suffer a lot of loss in men and resources, is there interim save?
-Would the player have to start the entire campaign over again should they fail and get dominated?
-I'd probably like the game more if my graphics card could handle it. Upgrading to its level is expensive.
Killzone 3 Campaign Demo (Playstation 3)
The multiplayer demo was only for those who applied for the beta, so I didn't get to try it out. I never played Killzone, but I tried the demo to Killzone 2 and didn't like it. The controls were unruly and felt like I had not definite control when aiming. This was one of the issues they addressed in Killzone 3 and created the game from the ground up with a new engine. After playing through the demo, the controls really did feel a lot tighter and better. I'm not sure if I really had fun with the demo though. After finishing it, it didn't draw me in and made me want to play more of the game like the demo to Dragon Age 2 and Crysis 2 did. What did make me consider buying Killzone 3 was the addition of 2-player cooperative campaign. Well, not so much anymore seeing how my sister is still in college and my friend is out of the city working now. I still might consider it, I need to do more research.
Source: Youtube Channel GameManxVIDEOS
What was cool:
-The controls improved tremendously from Killzone 2 and still had the effect that the weapons were heavy
-I like the addition of a 2-player local cooperative campaign, not enough local co-op games lately
-The weapons were pretty cool. The magnum pistol was useful, the rockets were flashy, etc.
Concerns:
-The controls still don't feel right and would cause a lot of difficulties for competitive multiplayer
-The cover system didn't really do much except hide part of the body out of harms way
-How does competitive online multiplayer feel? Will I be struggling to just aim in the right direction?
-I might not be able to fully appreciate the story of KZ3 unless I play 1 and 2 first.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 (Playstation 3)
Sonic 4 has been out on the virtual market for a while now and I haven't seen videos or played it yet, so I thought I'd give it a try when I saw the demo for it. Having played the first three original Sonic games and some of the other 2D ones such as Sonic Rush, I was hoping for something great to come out of Sonic 4. It goes back to its roots of a 2D speedy side scroller rather than all the 3D games it's been trying to release (to be honest, I want to go through all of them and just know the story and experience the gameplay. I like Sonic) but was ultimately disappointed with how they made Sonic 4. The demo lasted less than 5 minutes if even that which presented itself to resemble what the original three Sonic games were like, but it tries too hard to be that and felt like a forced production of nostalgia rather than a solid concept for a great game. The animation and controls made Sonic feel heavy and clumsy (though the ability to auto target and boost toward it is pretty cool). The visuals were a bit too pastel and felt like the entire game was made on Macromedia Flash. Sonic Rush was the last decent Sonic game I have played, and the only thing keeping me from playing the other Sonic games in the past is having to pay for them.
Source: Youtube Channel Haruchan2010
What was cool:
-Though I didn't like the art style too much, the sprites and environment were clean and distinguishable
-It was fun playing a Sonic game in 2D again with alternate paths and fast action
Concerns:
-The game controls, animation, and mechanics felt clunky and heavy when it should be smooth and fast
-The game tries to hard to be what it used to be but doesn't live up to its art, music, or gameplay of the originals.
-Is there no two-player mode in this iteration of the game?
That's it for now. Out of the 4 demos, I'm most likely to get Crysis 2 in the future.
Crysis 2 Multiplayer Demo (Steam PC)
I didn't play the first Crysis (but I intend to) and so I didn't pay too much attention on Crysis 2 until I saw a video showcasing some of the special abilities of the nanosuit and the acrobatics the players are able to do in multiplayer. Along with the multiplayer gameplay concept, the graphics caught my attention. You do need to make an account if you don't have one already before trying out the demo, but it only takes a minutes to make one. As far as I know, the multiplayer demo is unlimited in time with two maps and two modes. So far, I really like the game but can't really play it very well with my graphics and latency lag (that or I just suck really bad). I'm thinking of getting it on PS3, but would like to try it out on the system first.
Source: Youtube Channel machinima
What was cool:
-Graphics were amazing. Crisp, life-like, fluid graphics, immersive environment
-The class system isn't new to the genre, but it's still a fun implementation to the game
-Sliding, hi-jumping, and ground slamming were really fun and added to tactics
-The Nanosuit really changes the way the game is played compared to other FPS
Concerns:
-My graphics card couldn't handle it very well, couldn't tell how well the aim system is
-Will probably get the game on PS3, but want to try it first. No demo for PS3 yet
-Exactly how much content is in the game? No "extra maps and weapons are DLCs" excuse please
-Will this make Brink pointless to buy now?
Total War Shogun 2 Demo (Steam PC)
The demo to this game is ridiculously long. If you like actual war-time strategy games (not skirmish RTS games like Age of the Empires and Starcraft), then this game is for you. It's a mix between turn-based strategy where the player builds up his army, gather resources, make diplomatic treaties, spy on enemy territories, and other such measures to defeat your opponents and unite Japan. This part of the game reminds me of the games Koei used to make such as Nobunaga's Ambitions and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The other half of the game is the real-time strategy combat where you bring literally hundreds to sometimes thousands of troops to fight legions of samurai, archers, and calvary. I didn't finish the demo, and I played over 2 hours of it before I decided to stop. The game is meant to be played on a strong graphics card like Crysis 2 to fully experience the full extent of the game's visuals. I set the resolution to the lowest for both game just to have it somewhat run smoothly. It was fun, but I don't think I want to invest so much time into this one game.
Source: Youtube Channel machinima
What was cool:
-True tactics and schemes can be used as strategy to defeat the enemies, sometimes without having to fight
-The visuals is one of the main attractions of the game and displays large battles live-time
-There's a lot to do and a lot of depth in what can be done to achieve each victory
-Being able to command several hundreds of units was pretty amazing and fun to watch during battles
Concerns:
-How long would it even take to beat the game? Weeks? Months? Years?
-Losing a battle causes the player to suffer a lot of loss in men and resources, is there interim save?
-Would the player have to start the entire campaign over again should they fail and get dominated?
-I'd probably like the game more if my graphics card could handle it. Upgrading to its level is expensive.
Killzone 3 Campaign Demo (Playstation 3)
The multiplayer demo was only for those who applied for the beta, so I didn't get to try it out. I never played Killzone, but I tried the demo to Killzone 2 and didn't like it. The controls were unruly and felt like I had not definite control when aiming. This was one of the issues they addressed in Killzone 3 and created the game from the ground up with a new engine. After playing through the demo, the controls really did feel a lot tighter and better. I'm not sure if I really had fun with the demo though. After finishing it, it didn't draw me in and made me want to play more of the game like the demo to Dragon Age 2 and Crysis 2 did. What did make me consider buying Killzone 3 was the addition of 2-player cooperative campaign. Well, not so much anymore seeing how my sister is still in college and my friend is out of the city working now. I still might consider it, I need to do more research.
Source: Youtube Channel GameManxVIDEOS
What was cool:
-The controls improved tremendously from Killzone 2 and still had the effect that the weapons were heavy
-I like the addition of a 2-player local cooperative campaign, not enough local co-op games lately
-The weapons were pretty cool. The magnum pistol was useful, the rockets were flashy, etc.
Concerns:
-The controls still don't feel right and would cause a lot of difficulties for competitive multiplayer
-The cover system didn't really do much except hide part of the body out of harms way
-How does competitive online multiplayer feel? Will I be struggling to just aim in the right direction?
-I might not be able to fully appreciate the story of KZ3 unless I play 1 and 2 first.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 (Playstation 3)
Sonic 4 has been out on the virtual market for a while now and I haven't seen videos or played it yet, so I thought I'd give it a try when I saw the demo for it. Having played the first three original Sonic games and some of the other 2D ones such as Sonic Rush, I was hoping for something great to come out of Sonic 4. It goes back to its roots of a 2D speedy side scroller rather than all the 3D games it's been trying to release (to be honest, I want to go through all of them and just know the story and experience the gameplay. I like Sonic) but was ultimately disappointed with how they made Sonic 4. The demo lasted less than 5 minutes if even that which presented itself to resemble what the original three Sonic games were like, but it tries too hard to be that and felt like a forced production of nostalgia rather than a solid concept for a great game. The animation and controls made Sonic feel heavy and clumsy (though the ability to auto target and boost toward it is pretty cool). The visuals were a bit too pastel and felt like the entire game was made on Macromedia Flash. Sonic Rush was the last decent Sonic game I have played, and the only thing keeping me from playing the other Sonic games in the past is having to pay for them.
Source: Youtube Channel Haruchan2010
What was cool:
-Though I didn't like the art style too much, the sprites and environment were clean and distinguishable
-It was fun playing a Sonic game in 2D again with alternate paths and fast action
Concerns:
-The game controls, animation, and mechanics felt clunky and heavy when it should be smooth and fast
-The game tries to hard to be what it used to be but doesn't live up to its art, music, or gameplay of the originals.
-Is there no two-player mode in this iteration of the game?
That's it for now. Out of the 4 demos, I'm most likely to get Crysis 2 in the future.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
NewNews - Dragon Age 2 Demo (on PC and PS3)
So it's not the most current of news, but Dragon Age 2 has a demo out for everyone to try out (not 100% sure on Xbox 360). Being fortunate enough to play PC games and own a PS3, I got to try out the demo for both and compare the differences between them.
Source: Youtube Channel Games
I have to be honest and say that I didn't play Dragon Age: Origins and only tried out the PS3 version when I was at a game store. My experience with Dragon Age 1 made me feel like the game was really slow, the fighting was automatic and not directly controlled, and that it was going to be mainly about the story seeing how it's by BioWare who makes incredible stories for games (granted that it was only 5 minutes). So when I heard about the soon to be released Dragon Age 2, I kind of didn't care. Recently, I've been playing Demon's Souls and suddenly had an urge for good old Medieval themed RPG (and remedied that by playing Mount and Blade). Then I saw the demo was available for Steam and PSN and decided to try out the one on Steam for PC which led to trying out the console version out on PS3.
"How does the same exact game play so differently?" I kept asking myself this when I played the PS3 version of the demo after the PC version.
Steam PC Version
I turn to Steam a lot these days when it comes to PC gaming (when not free MMO related) and so I saw the demo available for it. When I got into the game, I was surprised to see that the camera was in the orientation of a top-down RTS action RPG that looked like Dungeon Siege with controls like World of Warcraft and Guild Wars. The skills for the character are lined up on the numbers like all other RPGs on PC and the gameplay is very fast-paced. It was hard to click on the enemies I specifically want to strike at because of how fast they were moving and how I had to keep moving the camera around. I was very surprised since I was expecting something similar to Demon's Souls where the camera was behind the character and the fighting was done through buttons rather than clicking. I got this impression from the five minutes I spent on the PS3 version of the first Dragon Age and wasn't expecting a top-down point and click Action RPG. The camera and fighting was really hard to control, but the game had a lot of action to it and gave a lot of control to the whole party for the player. I learned today from a video that it didn't have to be chaotic and can be very strategic:
Source: Youtube Channel 0Antar0
So if you're the type of player who is looking for a bit more challenge and like the point-and-click style action RPG with keyboard/mouse style controls, then the PC version is for you.
Playstation 3 Console version
This is EXACTLY what I was expecting and hoped for. The controls are a lot more responsive and makes much more sense from what I remember from the first Dragon Age. The camera is by default behind the character in a 3rd-person perspective and attacking and skills are executed through the buttons. The combat system feels much more different from the PC version and does an incredible job of adapting to a console controller. I was very curious as to how the game was going to adapt all the skills with the limited amount of buttons and the party mechanics with no mouse to point and click. Certain skills pauses the game to allow the player to strategically place where the spell or item to be executed at rather than having the player manually pause it like in the video demonstration for the PC version. The game plays very fluidly and works much like an Action hack-n-slash game which feels much easier to adapt to than the controls on the PC version. For those who want a 3rd-person action style RPG similar to Phantasy Star Online, Demon's Souls, or Vindictus, then the console version is the way to go.
I find the differences between the game mechanics to be interesting and think it's great for the developer to allow players to choose the style of play they're most comfortable with. The PC version is really exciting and it's interesting to have the choice to pause the game and strategically set where skills are executed. It's geared towards PC players who are accustomed to point-n-click RPGs, RTS games, and tactical games. The console version makes much more sense to the console gamer to make it into a sort of action hack-n-slash. It's going to be really hard to choose which one to buy, but I am leaning more towards buying a copy for the PS3 since I'll eventually be buying Diablo 3 for my point-n-click RPG desires. For those who have not tried Dragon Age before, go and try out the demo for the sequel.
Source: Youtube Channel Games
I have to be honest and say that I didn't play Dragon Age: Origins and only tried out the PS3 version when I was at a game store. My experience with Dragon Age 1 made me feel like the game was really slow, the fighting was automatic and not directly controlled, and that it was going to be mainly about the story seeing how it's by BioWare who makes incredible stories for games (granted that it was only 5 minutes). So when I heard about the soon to be released Dragon Age 2, I kind of didn't care. Recently, I've been playing Demon's Souls and suddenly had an urge for good old Medieval themed RPG (and remedied that by playing Mount and Blade). Then I saw the demo was available for Steam and PSN and decided to try out the one on Steam for PC which led to trying out the console version out on PS3.
"How does the same exact game play so differently?" I kept asking myself this when I played the PS3 version of the demo after the PC version.
Steam PC Version
I turn to Steam a lot these days when it comes to PC gaming (when not free MMO related) and so I saw the demo available for it. When I got into the game, I was surprised to see that the camera was in the orientation of a top-down RTS action RPG that looked like Dungeon Siege with controls like World of Warcraft and Guild Wars. The skills for the character are lined up on the numbers like all other RPGs on PC and the gameplay is very fast-paced. It was hard to click on the enemies I specifically want to strike at because of how fast they were moving and how I had to keep moving the camera around. I was very surprised since I was expecting something similar to Demon's Souls where the camera was behind the character and the fighting was done through buttons rather than clicking. I got this impression from the five minutes I spent on the PS3 version of the first Dragon Age and wasn't expecting a top-down point and click Action RPG. The camera and fighting was really hard to control, but the game had a lot of action to it and gave a lot of control to the whole party for the player. I learned today from a video that it didn't have to be chaotic and can be very strategic:
Source: Youtube Channel 0Antar0
So if you're the type of player who is looking for a bit more challenge and like the point-and-click style action RPG with keyboard/mouse style controls, then the PC version is for you.
Playstation 3 Console version
This is EXACTLY what I was expecting and hoped for. The controls are a lot more responsive and makes much more sense from what I remember from the first Dragon Age. The camera is by default behind the character in a 3rd-person perspective and attacking and skills are executed through the buttons. The combat system feels much more different from the PC version and does an incredible job of adapting to a console controller. I was very curious as to how the game was going to adapt all the skills with the limited amount of buttons and the party mechanics with no mouse to point and click. Certain skills pauses the game to allow the player to strategically place where the spell or item to be executed at rather than having the player manually pause it like in the video demonstration for the PC version. The game plays very fluidly and works much like an Action hack-n-slash game which feels much easier to adapt to than the controls on the PC version. For those who want a 3rd-person action style RPG similar to Phantasy Star Online, Demon's Souls, or Vindictus, then the console version is the way to go.
I find the differences between the game mechanics to be interesting and think it's great for the developer to allow players to choose the style of play they're most comfortable with. The PC version is really exciting and it's interesting to have the choice to pause the game and strategically set where skills are executed. It's geared towards PC players who are accustomed to point-n-click RPGs, RTS games, and tactical games. The console version makes much more sense to the console gamer to make it into a sort of action hack-n-slash. It's going to be really hard to choose which one to buy, but I am leaning more towards buying a copy for the PS3 since I'll eventually be buying Diablo 3 for my point-n-click RPG desires. For those who have not tried Dragon Age before, go and try out the demo for the sequel.
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