loaf of bread
Member
They said that the preorder missions would be available later to everyone correct?
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Alien: Isolation |OT| 1 Alien. 1 Ripley. No Jonesy.
- Thread starter VisceralBowl
- Start date
Neff
Member
It's weird, never had an issue for them since I started using them a few years ago. Checked and the order shows as:
In Progress | Pending Despatch
When I view the order is shows this:
if I click anywhere on the name [or the hold word] it just links to the game listing. So know idea about the Hold text is all about, never seen it before and none of my others purchases have it. Can you check to see if you also have that in your order?
Cheers
Mine shows as 'shipped', but I've received orders from them in the past that didn't update at their end until after shipping.
TheMoon
Member
Yes. But no details were given. It's pretty obvious that they don't go out of their way to license the likenesses of Sigourney Weaver, etc just for a preorder bonus, don't you think?
The Dear Leader
Banned
Come on AMD
Hope is dwindling, I got an email yesterday saying that the Star Citizen ship is delayed also, it was supposed to come out on the 1st, and they said it would be coming "soon" with no ETA.
British Monsoon
Member
I don't own the PS4 camera, but there are options for head tracking and noise detection via the camera in the menus.
Yep, currently playing it with the PS4 camera enabled and the head tracking works perfectly. Really amazed how good it works. Haven't really tested the noise detection yet so can't comment on that.
Nemesis_
Member
I think it speaks bounds for the creative team that despite me not having any fear of Alien (as in, the franchise and it's characters) that the game has managed to craft an atmosphere and tone that has struck the fear of these characters into me.
I've spent a good four to six hours playing it thus far and while I've made not much progress at all since I've been very slow and methodical in my exploration, I absolutely love it.
This is a game that is defiantly old school in the way it presents itself to the player. There's been little to no tutorial interruptions. I've been "trained" on how to hide from the Alien before even encountering it through encounters with weaker human enemies.
And that's not to say there's heaps of enemies to encounter either. I'd say I've not even seen ten enemies (excluding the Alien encounters) through my entire playthrough. The game gets the feeling of isolation perfect - to the point where I'd honestly love to see this team attempt to create a Metroid game of sorts.
Surprisingly though, I've not really seen the Alien as much as I would, but the things that stand in for it are pretty frightening in their own right. My first encounter with the Alien was just before Mission 1 ended and Mission 2 began. Considering a cutscene that I had later on in Mission 2, I think that was meant to be the "canon" introduction to the Alien. And it was one of the most memorable moments I've ever experienced in a game and something I'll find hard to really forget.
In a surprise twist I really find the Androids frightening too. Some environmental details reveal that they're designed by a different company to look less like humans because they're apparently more comfortable to deal with since we know who is Android and who is not. But this new "look" for them is more frightening than ever and the first scene you see where they are a bit more active in their roles makes them just as frightening, if not more than the Alien.
Yeah, it's got a bit of a trial and error vibe going on to it but that's why it's a game that allows you to manually save. It's a bit of an antiquated design choice but having grown up on games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill it's one that I can't find fault with because, as I said before, this is a new generation approach to that kind of game, but with exaggeratted stealth mechanics.
I cannot speak enough praise for this game so far. It's totally outdone everything that I've had for it, expectations wise, in just the first six hours. I struggle to find that other games like Evil Within will be able to top it in terms of pure scares and atmosphere, but we'll see.
The sound design is absolutely excellent too. Playing with a set of A50s is absolutely amazing too. I love the way I can be walking down a hallway filled with the ambient sound of the ships hum, the tapping or rattling of the technology and then a footstep or two that will freeze me in my tracks to pull out my motion detector and re-assess my approach. It's just perfectly done. I am really blown away.
If you guys have any questions I'm happy to answer them since I'll be up for about another half hour.
I've spent a good four to six hours playing it thus far and while I've made not much progress at all since I've been very slow and methodical in my exploration, I absolutely love it.
This is a game that is defiantly old school in the way it presents itself to the player. There's been little to no tutorial interruptions. I've been "trained" on how to hide from the Alien before even encountering it through encounters with weaker human enemies.
And that's not to say there's heaps of enemies to encounter either. I'd say I've not even seen ten enemies (excluding the Alien encounters) through my entire playthrough. The game gets the feeling of isolation perfect - to the point where I'd honestly love to see this team attempt to create a Metroid game of sorts.
Surprisingly though, I've not really seen the Alien as much as I would, but the things that stand in for it are pretty frightening in their own right. My first encounter with the Alien was just before Mission 1 ended and Mission 2 began. Considering a cutscene that I had later on in Mission 2, I think that was meant to be the "canon" introduction to the Alien. And it was one of the most memorable moments I've ever experienced in a game and something I'll find hard to really forget.
In a surprise twist I really find the Androids frightening too. Some environmental details reveal that they're designed by a different company to look less like humans because they're apparently more comfortable to deal with since we know who is Android and who is not. But this new "look" for them is more frightening than ever and the first scene you see where they are a bit more active in their roles makes them just as frightening, if not more than the Alien.
Yeah, it's got a bit of a trial and error vibe going on to it but that's why it's a game that allows you to manually save. It's a bit of an antiquated design choice but having grown up on games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill it's one that I can't find fault with because, as I said before, this is a new generation approach to that kind of game, but with exaggeratted stealth mechanics.
I cannot speak enough praise for this game so far. It's totally outdone everything that I've had for it, expectations wise, in just the first six hours. I struggle to find that other games like Evil Within will be able to top it in terms of pure scares and atmosphere, but we'll see.
The sound design is absolutely excellent too. Playing with a set of A50s is absolutely amazing too. I love the way I can be walking down a hallway filled with the ambient sound of the ships hum, the tapping or rattling of the technology and then a footstep or two that will freeze me in my tracks to pull out my motion detector and re-assess my approach. It's just perfectly done. I am really blown away.
If you guys have any questions I'm happy to answer them since I'll be up for about another half hour.
Shock_Wave
Member
I'm glad you are enjoying the game
One question: How's the human AI? I've seen some complaints about that.
Nemesis_
Member
I'm glad you are enjoying the game
One question: How's the human AI? I've seen some complaints about that.
I think it's definitely the worst of the bunch, and their field of view is weirdly narrow the closer you get to them.
An example is that I would rewire something to make a speaker make some noise, distracting a human into the room. They'll run into the room, go and investigate, then pace around the room for a bit before returning to their area.
Sometimes I'll approach them from an approximately 45 degree angle where they really should see me but they don't. So I can bludgeon them to death without much problem.
But there are definitely moments where I honestly think I should've been caught or seen but I wasn't. And this is on Hard mode.
On the other hand, they have Far Cry-esque vision in larger open areas to the point where it feels impossible to sneak through an area without being spotted or killing them off one by one.
AHA-Lambda
Member
Urgh, if I have to wait I guess I'll just keep plodding away at Wasteland 2 (which is becoming a slog tbh -_-)
Alcoholikaust
Member
what's the nonsense I hear about sporadic frame rates for the ps4 version. any truth to this?
Nemesis_
Member
I find the Alien to be similar but not as prominent. Right now, (and I stress that especially - I am nowhere near the end) the Alien has not made a lot of appearances and has been pretty easy to evade or push back given how many options I have (and I don't mean to be modest (lol) but I have a knack for survival-esque games).
Nemesis appeared almost all the time and was fast and knew where you were as soon as he spawned into the map. You had no options to hide and could only attempt to outrun him or outgun him. The Alien probably can't be outrunned (I've never tried) but it could possibly be outgunned with the right equipment or hidden from.
I think providing the player with more options in Isolation makes the Alien less of a nuisance. Though the frequency of the Alien encounters being notably less than the frequency of the Nemesis ones makes me think that Isolation is slightly less of a nuisance than Nemesis was.
I hope that helps, but that is my opinion on the matter and I'm not sure how many others would agree with me.
I do think if you generally do not enjoy stalker horror games (Clock Tower, RE3, Demento/Haunting Ground, Rule of Rose) then you probably won't enjoy Isolation. Though I feel like Isolation is the best modern reinterpretation of thus subgenre of Horror for a very long time.
grounded_dreams
Member
OK thanks, if you have a moment can you check the View Order section to see if you also have that hold note like my screenshot.
Thanks
Shock_Wave
Member
Yeah that confirms my impressions, thanks.
There are some small dips during gameplay that don't really bother me all that much, but the cutscenes occassionaly turn into a slideshow. It's pretty terrible and makes it very hard to watch them
. Hope they patch it, because it doesn't seem right. I wonder if all versions have this problem :/
Nemesis_
Member
There are some small dips during gameplay that don't really bother me all that much, but the cutscenes occassionaly turn into a slideshow. It's pretty terrible and makes it very hard to watch them
On Xbox One, the cutscenes are definitely not as fluid as the gameplay itself but it's definitely not as bad as a "slideshow". I haven't noticed any slow down in the actual gameplay except for when an achievement might be popping.
The game actually automatically captured a clip of the latter happening when I was fucking around and decided to shoot an Android I wasn't meant to. Note what happens when I land the final shot.
http://xboxclips.com/video.php?uid=...s556&vid=0eeda5a7-2217-4ab3-af67-110013d7b36b
This is true. I think that and the obvious music telling he was near was what bothered me. Regardless, I already have this preordered. Appearance-wise, the alien is a lot scarier anyway.
Nemesis_
Member
There is obvious music (though not as intense and overstated as Nemesis) as well as audio cues such as hissing or even thumpings from vents when the Alien is around. But their actual entrance is rarely focused upon. There might even be times where you'll swing around a corner, see him walking around and then have to quickly retreat to re-assess your approach.
I like the way the game doesn't focus on the Alien appearing. In Last Survivor I had a similar experience where I just turned a corner and he was there (with his back to me) so I shat bricks and just pulled out my Flamethrower and torched the guy.
ProvenDeadly
Member
There is obvious music (though not as intense and overstated as Nemesis) as well as audio cues such as hissing or even thumpings from vents when the Alien is around. But their actual entrance is rarely focused upon. There might even be times where you'll swing around a corner, see him walking around and then have to quickly retreat to re-assess your approach.
I like the way the game doesn't focus on the Alien appearing. In Last Survivor I had a similar experience where I just turned a corner and he was there (with his back to me) so I shat bricks and just pulled out my Flamethrower and torched the guy.
Is the save system/ checkpoints as bad as some say? Are the save system locations relatively easy to find?
Alcoholikaust
Member
alright. thank you. time to watch the movie again...There are some small dips during gameplay that don't really bother me all that much, but the cutscenes occassionaly turn into a slideshow. It's pretty terrible and makes it very hard to watch them
Nemesis_
Member
They beep when you're near them. That's enough for me in a game that is pretty quiet or otherwise has pretty soft ambient noise.
In case the beeping isn't enough, they also appear on your map (Select/Back to open) as large floppy disk icons.
I honestly think they're pretty easy to find. It's rare that a save point will give you a visual cue on the map as well as an audio one.
There's not really checkpoints barring the beginning of a new level. But it's really an old school horror game - you're meant to save everytime you see a save point. You're meant to feel dread and anxiety until you reach one to make sure everything that you've done isn't lost. That's the point of heightening the fear - you're raising the stakes of what will happen if you get caught/die.
SniperHunter
Banned
PC is the best going by the benchmarks. You can easily downsample if you have a good GPU and play a jaggy free game at 60 FPS
Byron Bluth
Banned
Artificial is how i would define it. If i need to quit the game. I want to quit the game knowing my progress is saved. Not some idiotic way to make it "fearful".
Its antiquated and not my definition of adding fear in a game.
Neff
Member
So can I pick up the gun I desperately need dropped by the chick I just bludgeoned to death or is the game so retarded that it'll let me pick up her bullets only? Why does the game conveniently stop me mid-sprint so she can alert her buddies, even though I clearly have enough time to club her beforehand?
I think I'm starting to see where the developer's arch commitment to lack of empowerment and traditional gameplay expectations collide.
At least it looks and sounds great.
I think I'm starting to see where the developer's arch commitment to lack of empowerment and traditional gameplay expectations collide.
At least it looks and sounds great.
I squeak by with a 670 so I doubt I can downsample, but it will still look good. I think I'll go with PC because of how cheap it is compared to the consoles.
Does anyone know if the game allows downsampling options like Mordor does?
Nemesis_
Member
I guess it's just a matter of opinion. It's definitely an "old" design choice but it's so rare nowadays that I'm not faulting them for choosing to go that way, it's a horror game. Checkpoints would ruin the experience especially if you're just able to constantly respawn again and again and again in the same area within the span of ten minutes after being taken down by the Alien.
I don't think it makes up a major component of the "fear" in the game either, everything else about the game adds to that more so than the save system. That would be the only "artificial" form of horror wheras everything else is developed organically.
You can't pick up the gun, I'll give you that for being stupid. But not sure what you mean about stopping mid-sprint? That's never happened to me.
Neff
Member
I ran over to her and just as I got near, my sprint magically stopped for no reason, which I presumed was to stop me cockblocking the ensuing stealth shenanigans.
Interestingly, I just a second ago managed to get to her before she ran away, swung for her, and discovered that the bitch is actually invulnerable before she calls for help.
So I'm killing these eagle eyed bastards whether I want to or not I guess, which sucks, because a) I can't pick up their guns, b) they can still kill me at the same time I melee them, and c) there's really no good way to tell where they are other than waiting for them to walk into view before they see me. I've been enjoying the game so far but this section seems to be rather hastily put together.
I also lol'ed @ a loading screen which stated 'Other survivors will leave you alone if you leave them alone' or words to that effect.
Nemesis_
Member
OH! That moment! I realised what you're talking about now. I never actually thought I would be able to get close without alerting her for some reason, but I know what you mean.
There was another moment later on where somebody walks through a door and then it locks behind them. I ran up to it while it was still open but was annoyed to find I couldn't actually walk in - there was an invisible wall.
There's definitely annoying things like that in place. Your situation is even more annoying because I agree that it would've been nice to reward the player for a stealth approach by not making her friends come out. Instead it looks like you have to kind of just let it happen because it's inevitable training for how to hide from the Alien when you encoutner it later on.
A pitfall of not enforcing compulsory tutorials, I guess.
This should still work
VBHGBM-JS2VN9-0J5OFM
20% off. People are throwing a 25% around but i dont think it works. Also if you are a member of GMG you get that welcome pack which gives 23% off so make sure if you didnt use it to use it.
Never really seen any screens of this before I looked at the OT but wow! Looks incredible
The guardian review has some spoilers but it sounds fantastic
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/03/alien-isolation-review-giger-game-ridley-scott
The guardian review has some spoilers but it sounds fantastic
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/03/alien-isolation-review-giger-game-ridley-scott
Thanks!
The way I understand the welcome pack to work, existing GMG members don't get it until they preorder certain games (of which Alien Isolation is one). After you've bought that preordered game, then you get the 23% off code. I suppose I could make a new dummy account to get the code, then use it on my existing account, though...
abstract alien
Member
Manual save really sounds awesome here, as it should be in a survival horror title. Still on the fence about it right now, but I'll get it at some point. Are there "puzzles" and things to figure out, or is it mostly stealth and stay alive while moving forward?
OverBlood 3
Banned
Sounds like you want the PC version then. The game doesn't seem to require that much of a crazy set up. My humble PC hits the recommend requirements.
Byron Bluth
Banned
No it isn't. Games like RE did that because of technical limitations and they tried to make it a gameplay element as well. Just watching Jim Sterlings video of him playing and redoing that section over and over doing menial stuff while the alien ISNT EVEN AROUND is not my idea of fear or fun. It's tedium. Reload, listen to audio log, listen to the voice actor on the radio, doing the hack, searching the computer, then finally the alien appears. There is no reason why there couldn't have been an automatic checkpoint once you get the door code. No alien or enemy was around in that section. It is just stupid. I understand why IGN and Gamespot rated it so low.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5mAfcPhO-Y8
Neff
Member
It's along the lines of 'find a code for this door' here, 'find a hidden way in' there, and there's quite a few instances of coming to obstacles you'll need to come back to later with appropriate equipment to pass. Nothing terribly taxing, but it keeps things varied and interesting.
My only complaint is that death is amazingly common and easy to succumb to, and not in a good Demons Souls kind of way. It's very difficult to ascertain where you're going wrong at times, and equally difficult to distinguish when you're doing it right and why. I tend to subscribe to the Shinji Mikami philosophy behind horror games, in that a sense of empowerment is important to the illusion of fear, and that it should only be an illusion in that you can control it comfortably once you know how, while ramping up unbearable tension at key moments. Alien Isolation takes lack of empowerment to literal extremes, its persistent helplessness becoming predictable and even frustrating.
From my 4 or so hours so far, I can tell it's a good game, and it's been worth the asking price for those 4 hours alone. I've just turned it off after starting it this morning and I'm tempted to start it up again. But it seems that the game's ardent desire to follow the compounded wishes of Survival Horror fans stops it from being its best.
That's where it says it's been shipped. Like so:
Your CPU won't hold you back, not in this game.
This isn't with Mantle right? DirectX?
Corleth the Fey
Member
Maybe Jim should have 'chose' to save after that event. Like you probably would have done. With manual save points - it's your own decision whether to save or not.
abstract alien
Member
That didn't deter me at all. I love manual saves in survival horror, hate them in games like uncharted. This looks fine to me, and more than manageable without issue.
Damn, that sounds pretty good over all. I just might break down and get this sooner than I had planned.
There is no Mantle support yet, but CA are considering it.
clutch.as.it.gets.
Member
Are you playing on PS4? If yes, is there screen tearing?