It took a little while to grow on me, but I ended up rather enjoying this game. It kinda doesn't know if it wants to be a kinda silly Sci-fi FPS or a horror-ish game, but that doesn't stop it from being a fun romp. I'll mention here that the game took me like 8 or 9 hours and I got every achievement on my first runthrough, sans the one for beating it on hard (or the multiplayer ones, which I assume are impossible to get now).
It starts out slow because it takes like an hour or two to get your super powers. That whole time, more or less, you're also stuck with a really annoying NPC who won't shut up his face. But after that bit, you get more fun guns and your super powers and the game gets a lot more enjoyable.
There are a couple other little annoying things about the presentation which aren't game breaking, but are very noticeable. On the 360 when you load in a new map (like when you start a new game), textures take a very noticeably long time to load in. This game came out 3 years after Bioshock (which it clearly took at least a little inspiration from), but it doesn't have audio logs you can pick up and listen to while you walk: You need to stand still on top of them to listen to them, not that they're ever necessary or that interesting as any in Bioshock though. NPC's also don't look at you while they tell you scripted events. You're uncommonly locked in place during cutscenes, so you can Gordan Freeman your way around a room while the NPC just stares at the air where you're supposed to be and talks to no one. Nothing game breaking or damaging, just little weird or ugly things that harm the overall presentation.
You need to look around maps for money (or at least what is effectively money) and med-packs and upgrade blueprints and the like, and while they're never hidden really cruelly or outlandishly, they can be quite out of sight sometimes. This is only a problem because the NPC's love shouting at you to hurry up when you can actually take as long as you damn well please in all but two parts of the game, and even then the checkpoints are fairly generous. There are even a couple easter eggs which there are achievements for finding spiced throughout the game which of course I HAD to find. One is very clearly a Metroid reference (Mother, my Brain Hurts!), and the other one I had to look up, but it's apparently a LOST reference (some kinda big wheel thingy). There's even a Borat reference in a note, which there's no achievement for finding (Great Success!).
The gunplay of course is very fun. It's very much like FEAR in that you can absolutely blow enemies apart with your guns. On normal mode, especially once you max out the damage on a gun (which ain't hard), human enemies literally fall to pieces in front of you. Or you can use your power-glove thingy to turn them to dust or morph them into monsters which attack their friends (or you, if they run out of friends). The pistol is absolute wank, but every other gun is great fun to use.
Verdict: Recommended. If you're looking for a fun, sci-fi shooter to pick up and romp through, this is a great choice! It ain't hard to find, and it's $5 or less, so it won't break the bank. It's not the best game ever made, but it didn't have to be to be fun.
It starts out slow because it takes like an hour or two to get your super powers. That whole time, more or less, you're also stuck with a really annoying NPC who won't shut up his face. But after that bit, you get more fun guns and your super powers and the game gets a lot more enjoyable.
There are a couple other little annoying things about the presentation which aren't game breaking, but are very noticeable. On the 360 when you load in a new map (like when you start a new game), textures take a very noticeably long time to load in. This game came out 3 years after Bioshock (which it clearly took at least a little inspiration from), but it doesn't have audio logs you can pick up and listen to while you walk: You need to stand still on top of them to listen to them, not that they're ever necessary or that interesting as any in Bioshock though. NPC's also don't look at you while they tell you scripted events. You're uncommonly locked in place during cutscenes, so you can Gordan Freeman your way around a room while the NPC just stares at the air where you're supposed to be and talks to no one. Nothing game breaking or damaging, just little weird or ugly things that harm the overall presentation.
You need to look around maps for money (or at least what is effectively money) and med-packs and upgrade blueprints and the like, and while they're never hidden really cruelly or outlandishly, they can be quite out of sight sometimes. This is only a problem because the NPC's love shouting at you to hurry up when you can actually take as long as you damn well please in all but two parts of the game, and even then the checkpoints are fairly generous. There are even a couple easter eggs which there are achievements for finding spiced throughout the game which of course I HAD to find. One is very clearly a Metroid reference (Mother, my Brain Hurts!), and the other one I had to look up, but it's apparently a LOST reference (some kinda big wheel thingy). There's even a Borat reference in a note, which there's no achievement for finding (Great Success!).
The gunplay of course is very fun. It's very much like FEAR in that you can absolutely blow enemies apart with your guns. On normal mode, especially once you max out the damage on a gun (which ain't hard), human enemies literally fall to pieces in front of you. Or you can use your power-glove thingy to turn them to dust or morph them into monsters which attack their friends (or you, if they run out of friends). The pistol is absolute wank, but every other gun is great fun to use.
Verdict: Recommended. If you're looking for a fun, sci-fi shooter to pick up and romp through, this is a great choice! It ain't hard to find, and it's $5 or less, so it won't break the bank. It's not the best game ever made, but it didn't have to be to be fun.