a game of two parts. one casts you as a bored insomniac strolling through a drab 1970s paris, doing anything just to pass the time before the other side of the game kicks in: a slow, hard boiled walk towards your escape while you mow down goons flooding in from both sides with quick gun fu. it's "le samourai" without a guiding objective, then it's "the killer" without passion (jean pierre melville and john woo, and louis malle as well, are given special thanks in the credits (the COOL AS FUCK soundtrack by danny spider solitaire in general reminds me of a certain organ-led track from le samourai)).
the first half asks you to improv an aimless life, having the man cross arms on rooftops, or light a cig, or go out for a film you can't watch, or for an exhibition you yourself can't enjoy the art of. yet its significant in that you drive him; you become his will in a very existential sense. you only take tiny actions but they are actions nonetheless, so they become meaningful bits of your own characterization, creating context where there would otherwise be none. its "boring" but i absolutely eat this kind of un-directed roleplay in games up, so it along with the bleak atmosphere did an excellent job of immersing me in the character, even when there is relatively little "narrative" to speak of.
the second half is the adrenaline shot by comparison, but even saying like that makes it sound too "fun" (though it might say something about me that i think this game is more fun than the short amount of the friends of ringo ishikawa i played). it's numbing, in a word. not as hard as its been made out to be imo but definitely not easy either, there is the initial hurdle of feeling out the combat to get over but once you've become accustomed to the flow of enemies, keeping your left and right flanks in check and sensing when it's time to get another gun...you start to feel like a death automaton. the excitement isn't gonna come and you'll have to make peace with that.
if i had to find a fault, it might overstay its welcome a little towards that end, i think the point could've been came across just as well with a level or possibly even two cut, but i still greatly enjoyed this. i don't think ringo can beat the atmosphere of arrest, but i'm interested enough in its greater focus on bonds between boys with this kind of evocativeness going for it to give it a fairer shot now. playing a level or two of this on nights when you can't sleep is ideal.
the first half asks you to improv an aimless life, having the man cross arms on rooftops, or light a cig, or go out for a film you can't watch, or for an exhibition you yourself can't enjoy the art of. yet its significant in that you drive him; you become his will in a very existential sense. you only take tiny actions but they are actions nonetheless, so they become meaningful bits of your own characterization, creating context where there would otherwise be none. its "boring" but i absolutely eat this kind of un-directed roleplay in games up, so it along with the bleak atmosphere did an excellent job of immersing me in the character, even when there is relatively little "narrative" to speak of.
the second half is the adrenaline shot by comparison, but even saying like that makes it sound too "fun" (though it might say something about me that i think this game is more fun than the short amount of the friends of ringo ishikawa i played). it's numbing, in a word. not as hard as its been made out to be imo but definitely not easy either, there is the initial hurdle of feeling out the combat to get over but once you've become accustomed to the flow of enemies, keeping your left and right flanks in check and sensing when it's time to get another gun...you start to feel like a death automaton. the excitement isn't gonna come and you'll have to make peace with that.
if i had to find a fault, it might overstay its welcome a little towards that end, i think the point could've been came across just as well with a level or possibly even two cut, but i still greatly enjoyed this. i don't think ringo can beat the atmosphere of arrest, but i'm interested enough in its greater focus on bonds between boys with this kind of evocativeness going for it to give it a fairer shot now. playing a level or two of this on nights when you can't sleep is ideal.