{RA}SKYFURNACE
05-08-2005, 09:15 PM
I purchased this game. I think the game is not a "AAA" title, and I think this game at best is worth about 19.99
after completeing the game in under 7 hours, and seeing so many simple errors in the game its amazing that not only a) that this was a DE title & b) That people from this very community worked on it.
Im talking about uninspired levels, floating meshes, gaps, holes, etc..
im sure its not the groundpounders who worked their ass off on it, fault.
This review is exactly what the game is, at least IMHO
We can picture the scene. As the Pariah release date looms ever closer, an emergency meeting is held. “We need more time,” states one developer. “Time is money,” retorts the Suit, “and everything we have left is for the marketing campaign.” “But there’s still so much left to do,” the worried developer replies. “Save it for the sequel,” sneers the Suit, before adjusting his tie and calmly departing, briefcase in hand.
It’s right about then that we imagine the Grolsch guy making an appearance. “Schtop,” he exclaims, impeding the Suit’s progress, “This video game is not ready yet.” And indeed it isn’t, so we can only imagine he was busy that day. Just think: a potentially great video game ruined by Dutch beer. Damn the Netherlands!
.....
The more you play Pariah, the more cracks start to appear, and some bits seem to be missing altogether, leading to the inescapable conclusion that the game just wasn’t properly finished. For instance, some levels end abruptly and without much explanation. The biggest flaw of all though is the vehicular combat – it is simply appalling and if you’re anything like us, you’ll actually avoid it if at all possible
In one obviously unfinished level you control a mobile mortar launcher that is completely mismatched with the vehicles attacking you – they are too fast for the mortars to be accurate and you are too slow to escape their fire. The result is repeated death and inevitable aggravation. When we tried to snipe them on foot instead, the enemy vehicles just stayed where they were and seemed apparently invincible.
So dreadful was the level that we only managed to finish it by completely exploiting the weak AI, which has a tendency to just stop moving if you leave it alone for a while. By finding some high ground we could attack with impunity with our mortars – the enemies just sitting there and taking it. As soon as one was destroyed, another respawned until the game decided we had killed enough. To make it all the more laughable, when we figured out the respawn point and set our targets on it, the enemy wouldn’t spawn until we looked away and looked back again.
Such spawn triggers are evident throughout the game, sometimes even causing a brief framerate drop when they happen. At a later point there is some cross fighting between what we assume the guards and mercenaries (or maybe scavengers, they all look alike), though the dramatic effect is lost when you realise that they can’t actually kill each other. On a few occasions we even experienced dramatic drops in framerate due to the pitched battles going on.
......
When playing Pariah you may find yourself pausing to scratch your head either because the story doesn’t make much sense, or because you’re simply wondering why the game was so blatantly pushed out the door without even half of the polish it needed to live up to the hype that has been created – and we’ll be the first to admit our own share of responsibility. In the end all it boils down to is the fact that Pariah just isn’t all that much fun to play.
http://www.jolt.co.uk/index.php?articleid=3829
sorry for the huge post...
after completeing the game in under 7 hours, and seeing so many simple errors in the game its amazing that not only a) that this was a DE title & b) That people from this very community worked on it.
Im talking about uninspired levels, floating meshes, gaps, holes, etc..
im sure its not the groundpounders who worked their ass off on it, fault.
This review is exactly what the game is, at least IMHO
We can picture the scene. As the Pariah release date looms ever closer, an emergency meeting is held. “We need more time,” states one developer. “Time is money,” retorts the Suit, “and everything we have left is for the marketing campaign.” “But there’s still so much left to do,” the worried developer replies. “Save it for the sequel,” sneers the Suit, before adjusting his tie and calmly departing, briefcase in hand.
It’s right about then that we imagine the Grolsch guy making an appearance. “Schtop,” he exclaims, impeding the Suit’s progress, “This video game is not ready yet.” And indeed it isn’t, so we can only imagine he was busy that day. Just think: a potentially great video game ruined by Dutch beer. Damn the Netherlands!
.....
The more you play Pariah, the more cracks start to appear, and some bits seem to be missing altogether, leading to the inescapable conclusion that the game just wasn’t properly finished. For instance, some levels end abruptly and without much explanation. The biggest flaw of all though is the vehicular combat – it is simply appalling and if you’re anything like us, you’ll actually avoid it if at all possible
In one obviously unfinished level you control a mobile mortar launcher that is completely mismatched with the vehicles attacking you – they are too fast for the mortars to be accurate and you are too slow to escape their fire. The result is repeated death and inevitable aggravation. When we tried to snipe them on foot instead, the enemy vehicles just stayed where they were and seemed apparently invincible.
So dreadful was the level that we only managed to finish it by completely exploiting the weak AI, which has a tendency to just stop moving if you leave it alone for a while. By finding some high ground we could attack with impunity with our mortars – the enemies just sitting there and taking it. As soon as one was destroyed, another respawned until the game decided we had killed enough. To make it all the more laughable, when we figured out the respawn point and set our targets on it, the enemy wouldn’t spawn until we looked away and looked back again.
Such spawn triggers are evident throughout the game, sometimes even causing a brief framerate drop when they happen. At a later point there is some cross fighting between what we assume the guards and mercenaries (or maybe scavengers, they all look alike), though the dramatic effect is lost when you realise that they can’t actually kill each other. On a few occasions we even experienced dramatic drops in framerate due to the pitched battles going on.
......
When playing Pariah you may find yourself pausing to scratch your head either because the story doesn’t make much sense, or because you’re simply wondering why the game was so blatantly pushed out the door without even half of the polish it needed to live up to the hype that has been created – and we’ll be the first to admit our own share of responsibility. In the end all it boils down to is the fact that Pariah just isn’t all that much fun to play.
http://www.jolt.co.uk/index.php?articleid=3829
sorry for the huge post...