Some some quick thoughts on these two games I rented before I go to sleep.
Splinter Cell
-Very nice level design and detail, but linear gameplay throughout the levels detracts from the 'reward' of figuring an obstacle out (ie: don't feel special for solving problem X, its the only way to do it
-Plot is actually surprisingly interesting if you're into world politics
-Maybe its just me, but I _ALWAYS_ run out of ammo half way through a mission (and no I'm not trigger happy), thus the last half is just irritating
-Trial & error factor grates on nerves severely (ie: mission failed if: touch the street, sound an alarm, or kill a civilian [even though they're trying to kill you!])
-Excellent use of DD5.1, hearing footsteps adds immensely to gameplay
-I think this is just me, but the 'stealth'/hiding in shadows premise of the game is kind of thrown out of whack when you have 3 glowing circles on your head [yes they give off a lightsource]
-Accents are cheesy, to go with the gritty realism I would have preferred Russian w/sub titles
-Character detail is a little low. Sam could use some per-pixel effects if we have to look at the back of his head for the whole game. Over-the-shoulder aiming reveals some pretty fugly textures/poly count (which again breaks from the rest of the presentation).
Thus far: ~8/10
GTA: Vice City
-Right off the bat I noticed how underpopulated the city is compared to GTA3
-Stronger plot == good for my thin attention span
-Voice acting is decent, but the main character is totally cast wrong. He doesnt sound ANYTHING like a coke lord, more like a highschool teacher.
-Increase in character detail detracts from overall graphics, in that it was an 'art style' in GTA3, but the attempt to add facial features/hands/etc just comes off _UGLY_.
-With the exception of the plot, the gameplay remains identical to GTA3 (thus far). Which for some of us, isn't exactly a good thing.
-IMO, the voice sample quality is a little low. I don't know exactly what its at, but its not CD quality. No excuse for this really, atleast in cutscenes.
-DTS sounds ok. EA's SSX Tricky DTS sounded much crisper/clearer with better positioning than Renderware's implementation.
-Music is pretty good, Neunundneunzig luft Ballone rules
-Addition of a third-person (ie: speaking) protagonist is much much better than GTA3's second-person. Even though he doesn't fit the part, it helps eleviate the impending boredom (for some of us).
-Combat system is still screwed. I'd prefer a first person/not moving (a la MGS2) aiming system as an option. The autotarget still likes to ignore hostiles and pick on roller bladers/old ladies.
-Camera doesn't really keep up with the game (especially when sprinting). Manual camera with the right stick would REALLY be nice, granted this would make it Halo-ish, but if it works for Mech Assault....
Thus far: ~7.5/10
Ok so that was a little more than a 'few' observations... be interested to see what the rest of you think (without turning it into a GTA-beatdown). Still, definitely not GOTY material for either IMO. Those that have the "Like GTA Gamplay=1" registery setting will feel otherwise (which is fine), but I don't. I was hoping for a little more out of Splinter Cell... but I knew what I was getting with VC (and was pleasantly surprised-ish).
Splinter Cell
-Very nice level design and detail, but linear gameplay throughout the levels detracts from the 'reward' of figuring an obstacle out (ie: don't feel special for solving problem X, its the only way to do it
-Plot is actually surprisingly interesting if you're into world politics
-Maybe its just me, but I _ALWAYS_ run out of ammo half way through a mission (and no I'm not trigger happy), thus the last half is just irritating
-Trial & error factor grates on nerves severely (ie: mission failed if: touch the street, sound an alarm, or kill a civilian [even though they're trying to kill you!])
-Excellent use of DD5.1, hearing footsteps adds immensely to gameplay
-I think this is just me, but the 'stealth'/hiding in shadows premise of the game is kind of thrown out of whack when you have 3 glowing circles on your head [yes they give off a lightsource]
-Accents are cheesy, to go with the gritty realism I would have preferred Russian w/sub titles
-Character detail is a little low. Sam could use some per-pixel effects if we have to look at the back of his head for the whole game. Over-the-shoulder aiming reveals some pretty fugly textures/poly count (which again breaks from the rest of the presentation).
Thus far: ~8/10
GTA: Vice City
-Right off the bat I noticed how underpopulated the city is compared to GTA3
-Stronger plot == good for my thin attention span
-Voice acting is decent, but the main character is totally cast wrong. He doesnt sound ANYTHING like a coke lord, more like a highschool teacher.
-Increase in character detail detracts from overall graphics, in that it was an 'art style' in GTA3, but the attempt to add facial features/hands/etc just comes off _UGLY_.
-With the exception of the plot, the gameplay remains identical to GTA3 (thus far). Which for some of us, isn't exactly a good thing.
-IMO, the voice sample quality is a little low. I don't know exactly what its at, but its not CD quality. No excuse for this really, atleast in cutscenes.
-DTS sounds ok. EA's SSX Tricky DTS sounded much crisper/clearer with better positioning than Renderware's implementation.
-Music is pretty good, Neunundneunzig luft Ballone rules
-Addition of a third-person (ie: speaking) protagonist is much much better than GTA3's second-person. Even though he doesn't fit the part, it helps eleviate the impending boredom (for some of us).
-Combat system is still screwed. I'd prefer a first person/not moving (a la MGS2) aiming system as an option. The autotarget still likes to ignore hostiles and pick on roller bladers/old ladies.
-Camera doesn't really keep up with the game (especially when sprinting). Manual camera with the right stick would REALLY be nice, granted this would make it Halo-ish, but if it works for Mech Assault....
Thus far: ~7.5/10
Ok so that was a little more than a 'few' observations... be interested to see what the rest of you think (without turning it into a GTA-beatdown). Still, definitely not GOTY material for either IMO. Those that have the "Like GTA Gamplay=1" registery setting will feel otherwise (which is fine), but I don't. I was hoping for a little more out of Splinter Cell... but I knew what I was getting with VC (and was pleasantly surprised-ish).
