[RobF]

Oh god.

[RobF]

Fuuucking hell. Can someone please get GSC to stop using the fucking X-Ray Engine they've built? It's ran like shit for an eternity and with Call Of Pripyat it actually runs even fucking worse.

Fucks sake on a stick.

[RobF]

Ok, finally managed to get it to settle on something remotely like a static framerate. Alright, so it's in 800x600 but hey ho. It's a STALKER game, I expect nothing else.

Put a couple of hours in so far and it's far more accessible than STALKER and less shit than Clear Skies. It's still go here, go there, do this, do that and in all likelihood (from what I've played so far) padded out beyond all reasoning. I gather that's what folks want from this sort of thing, not really what I want though.

In about 4/5 hours of play I've done 3 things on the main quest. 3. And to be honest, there's not much need for the amount of time it took me to do that considering most of it was either in travel time or finding another stalker to pay off to take me there instead with about 10 minutes set aside to grab a couple of anomalies.

Atmosphere wise - it's still grim. Still a bit shit yourself here and there. The emissions are proper panic-time inducing, the mutants are just annoying and shonky (still!) and the combat is still utterly guff. Partially due to the framerate being all over the shop and FUCK OFF WITH THE WEAPON JAMMING YOU'RE GETTING MODDED OUT FOR BEING SHIT. Etc...

Once again though, it's still a case of "I want this world but I want a different game to accompany it" really.

So, easiest to get into out of the three but still with most of the problems that have plagued the series for eons (including shit engine with X-Ray). I'd rank it above STALKER because y'know, it's easier to play but it's still an amazing idea waiting for an amazing game to accompany the amazing world its set in.

Recommended? Sort of. Kinda. But only because I'm totally in love with the world GSC created no matter how much they fuck the game up.

[hitm4n]

My PS3 has died. I is sad 60gb PS3's cost a fortune, no PS2 compatibility in a new model and i have 133 PS2 originals. Going thru a redundancy now too... So all i needs now is for someone to steal my car or burn the house down. Huzzah...

[Sokurah]

So all i needs now is for someone to steal my car or burn the house down. Huzzah...

...where do you live?

[RobF]

Bioshock 2 capsule review to encompass everything I've played on it so far and trying to say only nice things about it.

It loads.

[RobF]

Update 2.

Nothing interesting has happened yet.

[betpet]

Update 2.

Nothing interesting has happened yet.

What about now?

[RobF]

Update 3

Still nothing interesting to report. I have picked up lots of things and killed lots of the same thing.

[betpet]

Any Squidses in there?

[RobF]

I spotted a jellyfish. That was quite nice.

[betpet]

I spotted a jellyfish. That was quite nice.

You need a spoon to kill them

/Hydrofool

[Ian]

Soooo... Not as good as the first BioShock yet then?

[RobF]

Update 4

Something has happened. Over 2 hours into the game and something happened.

It was a bit like in Bioshock. But in Bioshock 2. It had tense music and everything. Short tense music. On a loop.

Something else happened after that too.

It was a bit like in Bioshock. But in Bioshock 2. The music wasn't as tense this time but there was a boss baddy or three.

[Ian]

perhaps the original game was just too good?

Am I right in presuming you're playing the 360 version Bob?

[RobF]

If you're willing to sit out the first couple of hours then it starts getting better, for the most part though it's just a solid FPS. Alec's review on RPS is pretty much bang on the nail: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/02/08/wot-i-think-bioshock-2/

It's never terrible and there's been (now after what, 3/4 hours possibly more?) one really good bit and two quite good bits that are well worth playing for but man, it's padded out to fuck. You could have trimmed most of the start off and lost nothing and made it a much better game for it.

[RobF]

Update 5. Somewhere in the region of quite a fucking few hours in it finally finds its feet.

Totally bored of harvesting/arena shooter combo now so I'm just bopping the sisters as I find them rather than keep repeating that same scene ad infinitum. I'm sure I'm losing some of the fun due to not being able to afford a metric fuckton of upgrades all the time but I'm making up for that in not having to sit through a shit arena shooter segment each time.

[RobF]

Update 6

Fontain Futuristics.

Holy fucking shit my pants.

[Mr_Staypuft]

Update 6

Fontain Futuristics.

Holy fucking shit my pants.

Hmm, I fear that you Bob, (& Alec of RPS) have made my DRM-boycotting*^# decision all the easier.

*till it's $5 on Steam in 6 months time.
^Err, plus the fact my current PC won't run it.

#wellatleastiadmitmyweaknesses

[RobF]

It's the anti-Bioshock

Bioshock had a fucking strong first 3/4 then fell apart at the end, this does the opposite.

I think it's safe to say I didn't get the happy ending there but fuck me, that was a corking final quarter.

[Spraydough]

I tell ya Bob, I can't wait till you get to try (the apparently VERY linear) Final Fantasy XIII....

[RobF]

*beats Spray with the banstick*

[9572AD]

Hell, I can sum up FFXIII without playing it:

There were some really pretty movies.
I fought a bunch of unrelated shit.
The story made no sense at all.

[PlayerOne]

Woohoo. Sign me up.

[caffeinekid]

I've just started playing WET (borrowed off my nephew) and in a lot of ways it's really good.

It's like Mirror's Edge mashed together with Stranglehold.

...just a shame that they crap on your face by adding quicktime events that ruin the whole flow of the game for me and annoy the living heck out of me.