fundamentally flawed in about every way but also compelling due to the gameplay systems tug of war, giving us weird market-aimed elements like the collectibles, side missions and hilariously uncharted-y shootouts existing alongside pseudo-scientific facial reads in a awkwardly phrased (in both this version and the 2017 one), punitive interrogation system, and a grab-the-objects-until-you-hear-the-audio-cue investigation system.
very juvenile and not very tactful, which adds some fascination to the hyper expensive, semi auteur hijacked by the demands behind its financing vibe it has. we have the worst impulses of both ends of this transaction being brought to life with money obviously raining on its 720p. would be a far less interesting game if less clearly expensive, a document of the dumb guy getting and then fumbling support from big corporations
the interrogations have probably one of the least productive feedback systems in a game, effectively telling you you gotta force-quit your game to retry whenever you make a "mistake", which can feel comically arbitrary. retrying missions takes a century because most cutscenes are unskippable.
the aesthetic is overworked but pleasant, with a world that's mechanically empty but fun to roam in, with easy to appreciate visual detail. most fun i had here was for sure crashing cars to rack up damage money for that one achievement. trying to run over pedestrians is fun too, like going against its design. but this is somewhat dulled by the fact you just kill a lot of people anyway.
very strangely paced, with a second main arc that's intentionally repetitive and anticlimatic but still not very impactful in any way shape or form, then willingly lulling into valleys of basically nothing for great chunks of some cases until you start playing as kelso, where it actually has narrative momentum for a bit. then it has a hilariously clunky ending where you understand the prestige tv-y type thing they went for but feel none of. i know they wanted to make this game be considerably longer, which probably would make it a terrible but more remarkably punitive experience, maybe then giving it more impact. i can't tell. i'd personally restructure the game a lot, make some parts crosscut, probably remove or severely rework the whole homicide bit etc. so like, it's kinda trash in most relevant ways but it's also fascinating and the fact i even thought of how i'd restructure it at all, which i like never do with media, is a testament to it having some power. very confused, misdirected power, but power regardless. i liked collecting cars
very juvenile and not very tactful, which adds some fascination to the hyper expensive, semi auteur hijacked by the demands behind its financing vibe it has. we have the worst impulses of both ends of this transaction being brought to life with money obviously raining on its 720p. would be a far less interesting game if less clearly expensive, a document of the dumb guy getting and then fumbling support from big corporations
the interrogations have probably one of the least productive feedback systems in a game, effectively telling you you gotta force-quit your game to retry whenever you make a "mistake", which can feel comically arbitrary. retrying missions takes a century because most cutscenes are unskippable.
the aesthetic is overworked but pleasant, with a world that's mechanically empty but fun to roam in, with easy to appreciate visual detail. most fun i had here was for sure crashing cars to rack up damage money for that one achievement. trying to run over pedestrians is fun too, like going against its design. but this is somewhat dulled by the fact you just kill a lot of people anyway.
very strangely paced, with a second main arc that's intentionally repetitive and anticlimatic but still not very impactful in any way shape or form, then willingly lulling into valleys of basically nothing for great chunks of some cases until you start playing as kelso, where it actually has narrative momentum for a bit. then it has a hilariously clunky ending where you understand the prestige tv-y type thing they went for but feel none of. i know they wanted to make this game be considerably longer, which probably would make it a terrible but more remarkably punitive experience, maybe then giving it more impact. i can't tell. i'd personally restructure the game a lot, make some parts crosscut, probably remove or severely rework the whole homicide bit etc. so like, it's kinda trash in most relevant ways but it's also fascinating and the fact i even thought of how i'd restructure it at all, which i like never do with media, is a testament to it having some power. very confused, misdirected power, but power regardless. i liked collecting cars