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My reaction (review?) after beating it
October 2, 2016 4:56AM
edited October 2016
Picked this game up for 50 percent off. I really enjoyed the beta but the reviews made me a bit skeptic. After beating it, however, boy I want to punch some critics...
I think this game is pretty much what the fans of the original were hoping for: open world, better combat, deeper mechanics. I have never had so much fun just running around chasing collectibles since Assassin's Creed 2. Why is the skill tree a problem to some? Sure it is a bit unnecessary but hardly problematic.
The biggest success of the game to me is that the level design of the story missions rarely breaks the momentum like the first game often does in favor of making jumping puzzles actually puzzling. Grappling hook, while a little underutilized, is a graceful addition to the game. Both thematically and mechanically fitting, it helped the game to bring its already tight traversal more exhilarating than that in any game ever in my opinion.
Many criticized the story which I find to be alright. Kruger is a disappointing villain, but the game's supporting cast is quite strong in my opinion. Dagon ever so slightly reminds me of Hannibal Lector. Again, I just hope they have more story to tell.
All in all, I'm sure the sequel will become a cult classic a few years down the line just like the original did. Those who hop on the EA hate bandwagon don't know what they are missing out for yet another time. My personal gripes are some wonky collisions on slopes and small surfaces as well as being unable to customize runner tags in-game. Both nothing major.
I think this game is pretty much what the fans of the original were hoping for: open world, better combat, deeper mechanics. I have never had so much fun just running around chasing collectibles since Assassin's Creed 2. Why is the skill tree a problem to some? Sure it is a bit unnecessary but hardly problematic.
The biggest success of the game to me is that the level design of the story missions rarely breaks the momentum like the first game often does in favor of making jumping puzzles actually puzzling. Grappling hook, while a little underutilized, is a graceful addition to the game. Both thematically and mechanically fitting, it helped the game to bring its already tight traversal more exhilarating than that in any game ever in my opinion.
Many criticized the story which I find to be alright. Kruger is a disappointing villain, but the game's supporting cast is quite strong in my opinion. Dagon ever so slightly reminds me of Hannibal Lector. Again, I just hope they have more story to tell.
All in all, I'm sure the sequel will become a cult classic a few years down the line just like the original did. Those who hop on the EA hate bandwagon don't know what they are missing out for yet another time. My personal gripes are some wonky collisions on slopes and small surfaces as well as being unable to customize runner tags in-game. Both nothing major.
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Comments
This game to me is brilliant. The AI needs to be improved in combat, and they could spice up the variety of the enemies in encounters. Other than that, this game is exactly what I wanted. Rather than have to replay the story over and over again like I did the first game, I spent hours upon hours doing all the side missions and exploring all of Glass, looking for collectibles, etc.
Yeah, i whole heartedly agree with you!!! The things that need to be improved are only minor, like you said combat AI, and enemy encounters, they should add another level of alert in free roam, for example sentinels were only available in story missions, and they were challenging yet fun to fight, i feel being chased by a couple of sentinels across the city would add an exhilarating challenge, being able to out smart them and pull off cool tricks to avoid contact with them would add a lot more. Also third person takedowns should be added into free roam, that addition would be cool.
On the other hand, side missions are good, a large variety is available, and agreeing with your point, what else are you going to do in a side mission thats a part of a game that is built off running and parkour. One thing they could of done to add more lore about the lives of characters, is add more larger side missions like the missions given from beatrix bloch, where you plant these bugs around the view for her, and the side mission given from rebecca where you tap into ksec comms at the top of a tower in the development zone... missions like these given out by characters such as Aline, Plastic, Icarus, Dogen, more from Beatrix and Rebecca, where you learn more about their backgrounds through a branch of missions connected. These are just ideas that could've or could be added eventually.
And it is truly a beautiful, pristine, elegant and fun game. The style and design adding so much to it. Its a fantastic game to play, its fun, and enjoyable, Dice did a really good job, so hopefully we'll see something new soon, like a DLC or sequel...
And sadly that's my only gripe with the game. It's improved in every single way compared to the original. If we do get DLC or a sequel, I hope they get rid of the old writers, because the story was just horrid.
I agree with your points. There are just too many characters in a very short story. And Nomad is so non-existant that you forgot to mention him lol. Its like he disappeared completely after you finish the story. Though he did mention that he wants leave the city and live in the greylands earlier in the game.
The story in Mirror's Edge was always terrible anyway. Also I think the story in MEC is quite confusing without reading the comic first.
The first game's story is great for me because it shows that Faith is a strong character. She narrates about her life more often in the game unlike in Catalyst, her tragic life was told through flashback dreams. Which is less dramatic to watch.
Wouldn't it have made sense for him to join in on the group chat when she was risking her life at the Shard? Wouldn't it have been cool if Faith had gotten knocked down by Kruger or something and thought of Nomad that made her persevere? There are just way too many narrative opportunities that the writers missed for this game, all because (I'm assuming) the game was rushed. So much for "Coming... when it's ready" from 2013
DICE games are notorious for being buggy at launch in recent history. Readiness to them seems to be a technical term. This game launched in such a polished state, in which I encountered zero bug and very few goofy collisions, with a sandbox that feels both open and fun to traverse in is a victory to me. I don't think they were intended to make it into a game that will be memorized for its narrative merits in the first place. I'm not saying having a disappointing story does not deserve its fair share of condemnation, but the gameplay is well-done enough to keep me running even after I finished all the story missions.
I agree that the game itself is super polished and barely buggy (aside from the fact that some poor souls are STILL dealing with microstuttering and cutscene freezing), and the gameplay itself is massively improved from the original, but even like you said, it doesn't excuse entirely for the bad story. I can ignore it, of course, but I wish I didn't have to.