May 17th/2020:
After a long break I come back to find I was only a mission away from completion, so it's over in like ten minutes. The final stage is a little samey, the boss more annoying and repetetive than epic (though not difficult), and the classic "escape before everything blows up" climax is pretty buggy.
Overall closing thoughts on the experience: Resistance 2 isn't a great game, but it's a good game. At its peak it's damn fun, and has some truly well designed levels, stewarding tension and enabling engaging combat situations. At times it definitely succeeds in pulling off the epic, and the entire "Chicago, Illinois" stage is nothing short of fantastic - all of the game's strengths are packed in here and it's just really satisfying.
At its worst, it's buggy and repetetive. Although it brings a lot of good to the table, it tears down as much as it builds on the first game. Possibly the most glaring and annoying change being the non-committal switch to only 2 weapons at a time; non-committal in the sense that you are basically fed what weapon you should be using constantly, the irony being that if you had all the weapons you would have to be strategic in which ones were fit for purpose.
At the end of the day, it's going to be a different experience for different people depending on how you feel about the first game, but I think if you're into the genre it's worth a play regardless.
-------------------------------------------------
April 11th/2020:
- When the game chucks so many enemies at you that not killing them means things get buggy and the framerate drops to slo mo.
- Dark places + fast moving feral creatures = me no likey.
Still a mixed bag. Generally pretty enjoyable FPS fun, though I feel like the game simultaneously moddle coddles AND throws you into the thick of it at times - some sections being far too reliant on you both finding and utilising a specific weapon. The effectiveness of cover also seems hit and miss, and if there's any jugger mukker with an Auger in sight (a gun that shoots through walls) then you better stop shooting and start writing your will - It's a much better use of your time.
-----------------------------------
8th April/2020: 2nd session.
I think the game starts off a little weak, with an overreliance on scripted events; more "babying" than immersive. However, it's picked up considerably. Really enjoying gameplay more now that I've gotten over some of the changes. Some people complain about the invisible "one hit kill" enemies, but I think they're awesome - bloody scary at points and it keeps you on your toes. You won't die if you're on the ball.
A frustration that I don't think I'm going to get over is how the game holds you by the hand, conveniently giving you weapons it thinks you will need. It robs the game of what initially was a great tactical element in Fall of Man, and now you can even predict which enemies are up ahead somewhat by what weapon happens to be lying around. Not only that, but on occasion you can't even seem to opt for a different weapon when you want to. You might kill an auger welding chimera and no auger will be left lying around in sight. Easily the most disappointing element so far.
It makes so much more sense to retain the weapon wheel and let the player choose what's best for the situation. If they didn't want a player to rely too heavily on the more powerful gear then they could have just starved them for certain ammunition.
------------------------------------------
7th April/2020: 5 minutes into my first replay of Resistance 2 today - Initial impressions...
-Can a game look both dated and epic?
-Scripted A.I. gets stuck while moving. Not a good omen.
-Graphics are much brasher than I recall, in a sickly kind of way.
-Why is the weapon wheel gone.
-WHY IS THE WEAPON WHEEL GONE.
After a long break I come back to find I was only a mission away from completion, so it's over in like ten minutes. The final stage is a little samey, the boss more annoying and repetetive than epic (though not difficult), and the classic "escape before everything blows up" climax is pretty buggy.
Overall closing thoughts on the experience: Resistance 2 isn't a great game, but it's a good game. At its peak it's damn fun, and has some truly well designed levels, stewarding tension and enabling engaging combat situations. At times it definitely succeeds in pulling off the epic, and the entire "Chicago, Illinois" stage is nothing short of fantastic - all of the game's strengths are packed in here and it's just really satisfying.
At its worst, it's buggy and repetetive. Although it brings a lot of good to the table, it tears down as much as it builds on the first game. Possibly the most glaring and annoying change being the non-committal switch to only 2 weapons at a time; non-committal in the sense that you are basically fed what weapon you should be using constantly, the irony being that if you had all the weapons you would have to be strategic in which ones were fit for purpose.
At the end of the day, it's going to be a different experience for different people depending on how you feel about the first game, but I think if you're into the genre it's worth a play regardless.
-------------------------------------------------
April 11th/2020:
- When the game chucks so many enemies at you that not killing them means things get buggy and the framerate drops to slo mo.
- Dark places + fast moving feral creatures = me no likey.
Still a mixed bag. Generally pretty enjoyable FPS fun, though I feel like the game simultaneously moddle coddles AND throws you into the thick of it at times - some sections being far too reliant on you both finding and utilising a specific weapon. The effectiveness of cover also seems hit and miss, and if there's any jugger mukker with an Auger in sight (a gun that shoots through walls) then you better stop shooting and start writing your will - It's a much better use of your time.
-----------------------------------
8th April/2020: 2nd session.
I think the game starts off a little weak, with an overreliance on scripted events; more "babying" than immersive. However, it's picked up considerably. Really enjoying gameplay more now that I've gotten over some of the changes. Some people complain about the invisible "one hit kill" enemies, but I think they're awesome - bloody scary at points and it keeps you on your toes. You won't die if you're on the ball.
A frustration that I don't think I'm going to get over is how the game holds you by the hand, conveniently giving you weapons it thinks you will need. It robs the game of what initially was a great tactical element in Fall of Man, and now you can even predict which enemies are up ahead somewhat by what weapon happens to be lying around. Not only that, but on occasion you can't even seem to opt for a different weapon when you want to. You might kill an auger welding chimera and no auger will be left lying around in sight. Easily the most disappointing element so far.
It makes so much more sense to retain the weapon wheel and let the player choose what's best for the situation. If they didn't want a player to rely too heavily on the more powerful gear then they could have just starved them for certain ammunition.
------------------------------------------
7th April/2020: 5 minutes into my first replay of Resistance 2 today - Initial impressions...
-Can a game look both dated and epic?
-Scripted A.I. gets stuck while moving. Not a good omen.
-Graphics are much brasher than I recall, in a sickly kind of way.
-Why is the weapon wheel gone.
-WHY IS THE WEAPON WHEEL GONE.