Knack [PS4]

[dumbo11]

thats a weird mechanic. what does it serve?

I guess:
- you'd want your friends to buy the game to increase your loot options.
- if a friend does buy the game, they get to 'abuse' all the loot that you've collected to help them catch up with you/encourage them to play more.

If there's a large number of loot items with 'set bonuses' (or similar), then it may be an interesting mechanic.

But it's certainly weird.

 

[Sigfried1977]

I think Knack looks incredibly lifeless (the back drops are so static I'm getting flashbacks from the old Resident Evil games on the Playstation 1), dull and decidedly last-gen. Sorry, but the term "all ages" does not mean you have to be insultingly simplistic. Kids aren't that stupid. When I was a wee lad I played stuff like The Legend of Zelda.
Seriously, compare this thing to the latest trailer of the new Ratchet & Clank and tell me it doesn't look like garbage.

 

[Nesh]

I feel the same

 

[patsu]

Can Knack grow big enough to trash the entire city or world like Katamari ?

 

[milk]

I don't get Cernys description of this game as a return to Character based platformers in the style of Crash, Spyro, ratchet and so on. I'm all in for that type of game, but that's definetely not what this looks like for me. Those were distinctivly american games in style and design (both art and game-wise) with a strong Warner/Disneyee vibe, heavy platforming and free-roaming exploration gameplay (exept for Crash on this one) and unpretentious storytelling.
This is a very japanesee game, with a Astroboyish vibe, gameplay much more reminiscent of God of War, just without all the epicness and grandiose stuff happening (which is sort of what makes up for GoW's repetitive core mechanics), very little platforming and a lot of beat-em-up combat, which is probably also very simplistic given the accessibility focus. And what the trailers make me feel like the story is about as silly and amateurish as the ones from Spyro's and Jak & daxter's of the 2000s but with an attempt at a epic tone and importance. The whole things feels like it didn't really find its style really.

 

[Bigduo209]

I think Knack looks incredibly lifeless (the back drops are so static I'm getting flashbacks from the old Resident Evil games on the Playstation 1), dull and decidedly last-gen. Sorry, but the term "all ages" does not mean you have to be insultingly simplistic. Kids aren't that stupid. When I was a wee lad I played stuff like The Legend of Zelda.
Seriously, compare this thing to the latest trailer of the new Ratchet & Clank and tell me it doesn't look like garbage.

I feel the same

Well the game isn't done, so it might be polished further by the time launch rolls around.

Even then, we don't know everything the game has to offer. They've just started revealing some aspects we weren't even aware of, like how difficulty levels seriously affects enemies and platforming, or certain items give new combos and abilities.

Just wait for reviews if you're that concerned.

 

[milk]

Agreed. I will be checking the reviews to see what it is all about. But I don't have much hopes this will turn out to be my type of game. It might end up being a really good game though, but if most of the gameplay is linear 3rd person fixed-camera combat centric type thing, it's just not gonna be the type of game I like to play.

 

[RenegadeRocks]

pS+ will make sure we all get to play it now or later ! Although I like the latest IGN vid, everything before was boring. Not my launch title but not bad for a fun time either. They should have modernised the camera system.

 

[Jedi2016]

saw some full res shots on gamersyde, IQ looks a lot better.

Speaking of which, what is the native resolution of this game? The only screens/videos I've seen have been at 720p.

 

[rockaman]

All the screens here are 1080p: http://gematsu.com/gallery/knack/august-20-2013/

I check this website usually, they are good with not watermarking screenshots and they seem to post the native screens they get from the publishers and developers. This set here is 1080p.

Doesn't mean the game is 1080p, I haven't come across any tech specs for the game yet I don't think. Screens look very good anyhow, great texture quality, very clean graphics, no abuse of yellow/orange filters and such.

 

[RenegadeRocks]

All the screens here are 1080p: http://gematsu.com/gallery/knack/august-20-2013/

I check this website usually, they are good with not watermarking screenshots and they seem to post the native screens they get from the publishers and developers. This set here is 1080p.

Doesn't mean the game is 1080p, I haven't come across any tech specs for the game yet I don't think. Screens look very good anyhow, great texture quality, very clean graphics, no abuse of yellow/orange filters and such.

The screens there look very very clean. Is the game managing that level of AA? I would still want more details in the visuals, I want a movie like experience on this one.

Guess what we were having a chat about PS4 yesterday and when we thought what ONE game would make a good first day buy, the discussion narrowed down to Knack ! Knack is one game that I will enjoy as well as my nephew and niece will enjoy it too. If we get KZSF, its only me who enjoys playing it while children can watch as they aren't et good enough with first person view. As for Driveclub, a racing game does not really bring in a 'world of adventure' with it , so it doesn't fit at all for us.

In fact, it is Knack which fits the bill for all, a fun adventure with easy controls , while we also enjoy shiny visuals on our new ps4 !

but , yes, if only for me, I would go for nothing else but KZ Shadow Fall !

 

[Arwin]

All the screens here are 1080p: http://gematsu.com/gallery/knack/august-20-2013/

I check this website usually, they are good with not watermarking screenshots and they seem to post the native screens they get from the publishers and developers. This set here is 1080p.

Doesn't mean the game is 1080p, I haven't come across any tech specs for the game yet I don't think. Screens look very good anyhow, great texture quality, very clean graphics, no abuse of yellow/orange filters and such.

Looking at these screenshots, I just have to wonder whether such minimalistic use of modern GPU features is an artistic choice, or ... something else. The screenshots at any rater are a little underwhelming at the moment, but the gameplay I've seen looks better.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I wonder if the nature of Kanck as made out of lots of particles limits the viability of high-level lighting schemes? You have lots of moving, shadowing parts, with no way to bake solutions. Calculating GI on the fly isn't going to work, and hacks will probably break. So there may be a technical reason to go with pretty flat, old-school lighting for the main character and extend that to the rest of the game for artistic continuity. That said, it does look pretty bland and simple. The lighting is especially weak in places.

 

[patsu]

I am waiting to see how big Knack can grow.

 

[RenegadeRocks]

Gameplay Vid from Gamersyde:

http://www.gamersyde.com/stream_knack_gc_more_gameplay-30664_en.html

 

[patsu]

For folks who are interested in the game:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=666565

Hey all,

I got a chance to try out Knack today at PAX. There were 4 booths set up for the game. The line itself was pretty long (bout an hour), but this was because people were playing on hard and kept dying. The demo itself wasn't timed, but the PS rep would stop you after you reached a certain point of the demo. Did a search to see if anyone created a thread, but couldn't find one.

Anyway, I was a bit surprised by the game itself (as I went in with no expectations). I actually had a lot of fun with it.

- The graphics aren't the best, but they look alright. You can tell this is a launch game, and that it was a demo. Seemed to be an alpha build (according to the rep).

- There are definitely secret locations and collectibles in the game, which allow you to power up Knack.

- There's also special moves as well, which you can use after filling up your yellow meter (which you get by smashing yellow crystals).

- Hard mode is definitely hard. I noticed that enemies change their patterns and can easily kill you. People were also dying on normal too (though not as much of course). I died 3 times.

- There seemed to be a good amount of action vs. platforming.

 

[Cornsnake]

I hadn't taken a look at some of the gameplay footage before. But the gameplay looks excellent in those. It sits somewhere halfway between Crash Bandicoot and God of War. Both games I like for being easy to pick up and play, yet still have enough depth to them. And a character like Knack seems to offer some interesting gameplay possible with his elemental versions, and fighting the same enemies in different ways depending on his size.

 

[RenegadeRocks]

Really good watch !

 

[Billy Idol]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6C0F8HXVbY">YouTube Link</a>

Really good watch !

Nice! Gameplay looks very cool (style and graphics not so).

 

[RenegadeRocks]

Knack playthrough, but in japanese. The gamelpay starts around 5:00. Seems like easiest difficulty again. Wish they would show th ehard difficulty more, as the IGN playthrough on hard actually looked a lot of fun.