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[brain_stew]

Well I can't speak for the console version but in the marine capaign the graphics on PC are glorious. Glorious I tell you! The lighting and shadowing is really top notch and adds so much to the atmosphere of the game. Thumbs up so far.

 

[Broadbandito]

Well I can't speak for the console version but in the marine capaign the graphics on PC are glorious. Glorious I tell you! The lighting and shadowing is really top notch and adds so much to the atmosphere of the game. Thumbs up so far.

I played through some of the marine campaign on 360 and I really don't see terrible graphics at all.

 

[LocoMrPollock]

Anyone else having trouble getting their 360 controller to work with the PC version? I've enabled it and the pad vibrates with the action but the buttons don't do anything!?

Pretty sure that's only an issue with the cracked version.

Anyway, just finished up the Predator campaign, was a lot better than the Marine. And thank god there was no damn radar with a leaky faucet sound effect. That drove me fucking crazy the whole time I was playing as the marine.

 

[Baloonatic]

Can't believe how harsh some of the reviews are, the game is really good. Multiplayer especially is incredibly fun.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Trying the demo on 360, compared to playing it on PC, yea there's quite a difference in visuals.

 

[MMaRsu]

1up gave 25% to this. Well a D really.
http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3177998

The fuck is wrong with them. I'll need to read the review but jesus christ, there are so much worse games out there. I mean, this game is pretty good. Don't see many faults in it other then the SP isn't long and the Melee system isn't perfect.

 

[Milpool]

Done 100% story missions now, I'd say it took between 8-9 hours. I enjoyed it quite a bit and I'm not a massive fan of the universe. Played 2 ranked matches so far, both were pretty much unplayable due to lag, the majority of people left.

How long till dedicated servers?

 

[Dennis]

1up gave 25% to this. Well a D really.
http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3177998

Quite ridiculous really.

You don't like the game? Fair enough. But a D? That kind of score is usually reserved for broken games and shovelware. AvP is neither.

 

[BattleMonkey]

The fuck is wrong with them. I'll need to read the review but jesus christ, there are so much worse games out there. I mean, this game is pretty good. Don't see many faults in it other then the SP isn't long and the Melee system isn't perfect.

Well it's Tom Chick for one. Guy has a stick up his ass. Same guy who moaned and pissed on Killzone 2 and wrote stupid shit about Uncharted 2.

I don't think the game is great, its got good merits and is not horrible, but it's rough. A solid C game, but it does seem odd how low some people are reviewing this. I doubt they put much play into it or have much care for the franchises really.

 

[luka]

That Tom Chick review is repulsive. Where is the "objective professionalism" that these people use to defend their opinions and justify their paycheques?

Pretty sure that's only an issue with the cracked version.

Anyway, just finished up the Predator campaign, was a lot better than the Marine. And thank god there was no damn radar with a leaky faucet sound effect. That drove me fucking crazy the whole time I was playing as the marine.

Really? I barely noticed it and I was playing with headphones cranked to 13. I actually found the sound calming because it meant I was safe. :lol

 

[Foxtastical]

I'm quite happy with the AvP reviews. There are the ones showing how much fans of the franchises love it, and then there are the ones that really don't give a shit about the franchise. No surprises, some people love it and some hate it. Better than the Uncharted 2, MW2 and GTA4 game-of-the-forever-a-thons.

Yeah, it sucks that Tom Chick couldn't find something to love here, but it happens. Are you guys telling me you have never played a higher profile game, hyped game or a more universally enjoyed game and didn't like it?

 

[BattleMonkey]

I'm quite happy with the AvP reviews. There are the ones showing how much fans of the franchises love it, and then there are the ones that really don't give a shit about the franchise. No surprises, some people love it and some hate it. Better than the Uncharted 2, MW2 and GTA4 game-of-the-forever-a-thons.

Yeah, it sucks that Tom Chick couldn't find something to love here, but it happens. Are you guys telling me you have never played a higher profile game, hyped game or a more universally enjoyed game and didn't like it?

No seriously, Chick likes nothing.

 

[luka]

I'm quite happy with the AvP reviews. There are the ones showing how much fans of the franchises love it, and then there are the ones that really don't give a shit about the franchise. No surprises, some people love it and some hate it. Better than the Uncharted 2, MW2 and GTA4 game-of-the-forever-a-thons.

Yeah, it sucks that Tom Chick couldn't find something to love here, but it happens. Are you guys telling me you have never played a higher profile game, hyped game or a more universally enjoyed game and didn't like it?

I hate Mass Effect 2. I paid $70 and it was an immeasurable disappointment for me. I hated the gameplay and how they stripped away everything that made it unique to appeal to the shooter crowd.

And yet I didn't think it was a bad game. I would have given it an A because there was very little actually wrong with it design-wise. I doesn't appeal to me at all, but it's a great game and I know a lot of people love what it offers.

Think about that.

 

[BattleMonkey]

I think to me the problem is the reviews acting like the game is complete garbage with insanely low scores. I've been rough on it myself and don't think it's A quality game but we see so many mediocre games come out getting B average grades from the media with lows in the C's, and this which overall seems competent with very little wrong is getting grades similar to shovelware?

 

[brain_stew]

Pretty sure that's only an issue with the cracked version.
.

It may well be an issue with the cracked copy but its affecting my genuine copy that is registered on my Steam account for all to see. I've got a few other controllers plugged in so maybe they're causing an issue, I'll try again with them unplugged.

 

[Jack Random]

1up gave 25% to this. Well a D really.
http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3177998

I think this was already posted a few pages back.

But today we got:

Giant Bomb (Gerstmann)2/5
http://www.giantbomb.com/aliens-vs-predator/61-26532/
MTV Multiplayer reviewed it, but doesn't do scores (A trend i like). In a nutshell though, they recommended a rental
http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2010...tor-review-a-face-is-a-terrible-thing-to-hug/
Kotaku (Crecente): also no score, nutshell = "SP isn't very good, but buy it for multi"
http://kotaku.com/5474927/aliens-vs-predator-review-too-human

AVP just earned a spot in my GF queue

 

[fizzelopeguss]

This is one of those games reviewers have a licence to hate on, they've gone through a period of throwing 10's and 9's left right and centre, a dev with some recent poor shovelware titles and the gloves are off. This typically happens with east european titles.

 

[sk3tch]

No seriously, Chick likes nothing.

Correction...he liked MAG! The man definitely has good taste due to that.

http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3177786

 

[yankeehater]

The Giantbomb guys were are really down on it on their podcast thi week. Jeff kept complaining about how hard the story was to follow, and that he kept getting confused while switching between the different campaigns. I dont remember them saying anything about the mp though.

 

[Swittcher]

The Giantbomb guys were are really down on it on their podcast thi week. Jeff kept complaining about how hard the story was to follow, and that he kept getting confused while switching between the different campaigns. I dont remember them saying anything about the mp though.

Yeah, the game is a real twisting narrative that's extremely detailed and hard to follow, there's just so much going on.

I like Jeff anyway.

 

[Sullen]

Played some good games with Jangaroo and Grendelrt the last couple days, look forward to practicing my alien more!

 

[yankeehater]

He said it was impossible to tell when events in one campaign are happening in another. His example was the shipping blowing up at the begining of the Pred campaign, he said he could figure out when that happened during the marine campaign.

Personally I didnt think the story was hard to follow, and I definitely wouldnt mark a game down for something so silly.

 

[Rat Salad]

And game reviewers wonder why they're not taken seriously,poor reviews for such a damn fun atmospheric game like AVP show how game reviews are all politics. I would bet my left arm that this game would be scoring much much higher if it were made/released by Nintendo,Sony,or Microsoft...which is complete bullshit.

A good game is a good game,no matter the developer/publisher. I've always felt 1st party often got a free pass for their faults,while other games were shat on by these same reviewing clowns. ores yet I don't feel compelled to play much more than one hour of that game nowdays. Sony's bb games are often rated too high(yeah let's give this game such amazing scores to the game yet we'll ignore its shitty online play again this year.) How the living hell can someone pass AVP off as a C or D game while other games often receive free passes? I'm not simply speaking of 1st party though,it goes beyond this. Over-rated 3rd party are just as bad. GTA4 got great scores yet it doesn't play all that well. Madden games are another beast also.

Anyways these reviewers cater to 1st/3rd party giants and approach everything else with suspect reviews. Its too bad that they don't get what makes a good game,or maybe they do but don't give a damn about their dignity or professionalism? Theyre just being idiotic and snotty with bias while hiding behind their "well its just an opinion card" Easy way out.

 

[Jack Random]

Yeah, the game is a real twisting narrative that's extremely detailed and hard to follow, there's just so much going on.

I like Jeff anyway.

I think it was Drew with those problems, and he kept switching campaigns after every mission, damn code monkeys. I remember Jeff complaining that the graphics/controls were meh and the AI was retarded.

 

[nyong]

I think the problem is high expectations. They revived (and hyped) a beloved franchise and didn't do it justice. And they're being punished severely for it.

 

[Jack Random]

And game reviewers wonder why theyre not taken seriously,poor AVP shows how game reviews are all politics. I would bet my left arm that if this exact game would be scoring much much higher if it were developed by Nintendo,Sony,or Microsoft...which is complete bullshit

Since MS has pretty much no 1st party studios anymore, that would mean they're completely fucked!

 

[Anton Sugar]

Any chance some of you guys can post some screens of the amazing PC graphics?

 

[yankeehater]

If you go back a few pages there are a ton of pics from the PC version.

 

[grendelrt]

Played some good games with Jangaroo and Grendelrt the last couple days, look forward to practicing my alien more!

You already did really well with alien, I mopped up as Marine a couple games later hehe. Everytime I play as alien with Marines my own teammates shoot me :lol

 

[brain_stew]

Well survivor mode is awesome. Come join me for some games PC-GAF.



Its a traversty that reviewers only played the 360 version and without a fully fleshed out online community. This is a PC game, make no mistake and is full to the brim with content.

 

[Anton Sugar]

If you go back a few pages there are a ton of pics from the PC version.

My bad! Thanks.

 

[MarshMellow96]

The funny thing is I'm pretty sure if you'd asked some of these guys what they wanted from a new AvP game about a year ago, they would have gone, 'a game that plays just like the old one but with better graphics'. An AvP HD if you will. It would seem that as far as that idea goes, they got that and yet they all seem rather underwhelmed by it.

Additionally, I don't get how a game mode in one game can be described as 'boring' or 'uninspired' in one game and not another (I'm pointing my finger at ODST, L4D etc..). AvP has a survival mode and it's apparently 'unoriginal', perhaps even losing marks for it.

Similarly, I see a lot of people complaining saying that there aren't enough weapons and upgrades. (Not that I'm trying to slate Valve, I merely offer this as a comparison) I love the Left 4 Dead series, but there were what... 6 weapons in that game?

Many will go on and say that it's the gameplay that keeps people coming back, or being able to play with friends; AvP in in my opinion does have the typical 'easy to play, hard to master' thing going for it and it also has the co-op element that people so often salivate over these days.

I think the phrase 'six of one, half a dozen of the other' about sums it up.

 

[Jangaroo]

Played some good games with Jangaroo and Grendelrt the last couple days, look forward to practicing my alien more!

We should get another game going on soon. I've bumped my skills with the alien from terrible to mediocre.

 

[Volcynika]

We should get a big group for PC GAF this weekend sometime.

 

[jufonuk]

Got the game today from amazon uk (xbox360)

I like it playing the Marine mode, to me it feels like a survival horror, than an out an out shooter so a good thing
am liking it but keep dying (long day at work and early start to blame :lol )

graphics in game so much better than the demo

 

[yankeehater]

I am glad to see more people getting the 360 version. I have been sending invites to all the 360 people. Hopefully at some point we will be able to get some big games going.

 

[Milpool]

My bad! Thanks.

Just took that, clicky for 1080. That's DX11 with the goodies on and 4xAA.

Does it drop screenshots in a folder somewhere? I used printsreeen for that one.

Don't forget to join the GAF Group everyone.

 

[Sill4]

I have no problem with the graphics on 360. Everything looks just as it should, and it's great in motion. The characters are very detailed, especially the aliens.

Only problem with aliens is you need to kill them before you can really admire their models.

 

[LocoMrPollock]

Finished up the Alien campaign, was pretty fun.

I'd rate the campaigns Predator > Alien > Marine.

Time to hop on some multi-player, or at least try to, anyway.

 

[Gen X]

Correction...he liked MAG! The man definitely has good taste due to that.

http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3177786

He can't keep using the 'Redeem Yourself' card for long though!

 

[Foxtastical]

I hate Mass Effect 2. I paid $70 and it was an immeasurable disappointment for me. I hated the gameplay and how they stripped away everything that made it unique to appeal to the shooter crowd.

And yet I didn't think it was a bad game. I would have given it an A because there was very little actually wrong with it design-wise. I doesn't appeal to me at all, but it's a great game and I know a lot of people love what it offers.

Think about that.

Sorry, I'm sick of consumer reporting for reviews, it's fucking pointless. What the hell is the point of a bunch of reviews that pretty much just run across what PR says, what youtube videos show and what interviews explain.

You hate Mass Effect 2? That's cool, explain it to us. You have an opinion about a subjective medium. You giving your opinion about the game is both interesting and useful. Your opinion will speak out to another person out there that will help them with their purchase or further their understanding of that game.

These aren't objective items, we're not reviewing the technical specifications of a nut and bolt. Everything about video games is subjective. Please, tell me something about a game that's both qualitative and objective.

Objective reviewing exists because most game writers are gamers first and writers second. They can't think critically, and reviewing games from that "objective" perspective is so much easier than explaining to people if something was fun and why it was fun.

 

[Xpliskin]

Just bought this today.

The demo isn't representative of the game at all.

Those guys talking about "game of a previous gen" are right.
But it's not a bad thing.

The graphics are excellent, at least the lighting is.
Some low-quality textures here and there but it's not a big deal.
The alien A.I rocks.

The "previous gen" vibe is mostly in the SP.
It feels like you're playing half-life 1.
Also the animations (holding gun loops, opening a metallic door, ...) are not AAA quality.
It's such a big license, it's frustrating to see B quality animations in it.
There's no mocap and every single anim feels "blocky" and jittery. Very rough.
From the camera movement to the hand anims to the predator idle loop.
This detail would have made the game much more better.
Exact same thing for the sound.

If you'd ask me, it seems they've worked on the marine first. The predator and alien play better and feel more lifelike.

The MP though, that's a different thing
Loads of fun to be had and a lot of players actually playing it.
I wouldn't have minded paying the same price for the MP only, a la l4d.

 

[luka]

Sorry, I'm sick of consumer reporting for reviews, it's fucking pointless. What the hell is the point of a bunch of reviews that pretty much just run across what PR says, what youtube videos show and what interviews explain.

You hate Mass Effect 2? That's cool, explain it to us. You have an opinion about a subjective medium. You giving your opinion about the game is both interesting and useful. Your opinion will speak out to another person out there that will help them with their purchase or further their understanding of that game.

These aren't objective items, we're not reviewing the technical specifications of a nut and bolt. Everything about video games is subjective. Please, tell me something about a game that's both qualitative and objective.

Objective reviewing exists because most game writers are gamers first and writers second. They can't think critically, and reviewing games from that "objective" perspective is so much easier than explaining to people if something was fun and why it was fun.

Subjective opinions are a big part of reviews and without them they would be pointless, but you have to retain some degree of objectivity with them. If there is no room for objectivity, what the hell do we have "professional" reviewers for? Why does Tom Chick's opinion get a headline and a huge letter D that appears in all of the review aggregators while none of the hugely positive user reviews in his comments section get no attention? If I KNOW a game is good but there are a bunch of things that personally rub me the wrong way I'm going to talk about it, but you have to consider a lot more than your your own personal feelings. You don't just prattle on about everything you hate and leave it at that...that's not a review, it's a rant. Reviews that say nothing more than "this sucks, this sucks, and this is garbage" and not even make an effort to examine the rest of it do the medium and the readers a disservice.

 

[Foxtastical]

Subjective opinions are a big part of reviews and without them they would be pointless, but you have to retain some degree of objectivity with them. If there is no room for objectivity, what the hell do we have "professional" reviewers for? Why does Tom Chick's opinion get a headline and a huge letter D that appears in all of the review aggregators while none of the hugely positive user reviews in his comments section get no attention? If I KNOW a game is good but there are a bunch of things that personally rub me the wrong way I'm going to talk about it, but you have to consider a lot more than your your own personal feelings. You don't just prattle on about everything you hate and leave it at that...that's not a review, it's a rant. Reviews that say nothing more than "this sucks, this sucks, and this is garbage" and not even make an effort to examine the rest of it do the medium and the readers a disservice.

Objective can take on different meanings. Objective in the sense of "fair and honest" (which is what I assume you mean) is something I can roll with. I agree with you on that, we need to be fair and honest to the games, developers and our own opinions. However, sometimes people dislike games (just like you dislike Mass Effect 2, opinions happen). I guarantee there aren't any reviews that represent your opinion on Mass Effect 2, the only reviews I've seen for Mass Effect 2 center around the crowd that loves Mass Effect or Sci-Fi. Same thing happened to Metal Gear 4.

And in your Mass Effect 2 situation, you "hating it" and then saying "it's not bad" is absolutely ridiculous. If you wrote a review saying you hated it, yet gave it an A, how is that being fair and honest to the reader? You're trying to review the game from someone else's perspective, a perspective you don't have. It's like when GI did the whole Paper Mario thing. You have a view, say it. Explain it. A game with all the polish and production values in the world still can be a terrible game to someone.

On the other hand, objective can also be in the realm of philosophy. Objectivity is also about facts that are universally true. If you want that objectivity in your video games reviews, than I can't help you. "This game runs at 1080P, it has characters, the FPS is locked at 60 and it has 42 levels."

 

[erpg]

That Tom Chick review is brutal. But that seem to be his shtick most of the time.

 

[luka]

And in your Mass Effect 2 situation, you "hating it" and then saying "it's not bad" is absolutely ridiculous. If you wrote a review saying you hated it, yet gave it an A, how is that being fair and honest to the reader? You're trying to review the game from someone else's perspective, a perspective you don't have. It's like when GI did the whole Paper Mario thing. You have a view, say it. Explain it. A game with all the polish and production values in the world still can be a terrible game to someone.

If I was reviewing it I obviously wouldn't come out and say I hated it but I would extrapolate on why I view those aspects as problematic. I would have at least played it to completion and got a feel for everything it offers - I personally didn't play more than 3 hours. If I did despise it to the point that I would rather just get it over with and play something else I would be entirely the wrong person to be reviewing the game in the first place. If I had to I would at least look at every aspect and judge it fairly. Fairness is the key thing. I was a little overdramatic with my example but there is no denying that there is a LOT of excessive vitriol directed by a handful of reviewers that don't even make the effort. I expect reviewers to be honest and opinionated, but I also want them to at least take the time to form one properly. It's what they're paid for after all. I mean, almost all of the negative reviews didn't even seem to know about the autotransition feature when they complained about the alien's 'awkward' movement.

EDIT: When I said I'd "probably give it an A" that's assuming I took the time to play it all the way through beforehand.

 

[I should be doing hw]

Well I can't speak for the console version but in the marine capaign the graphics on PC are glorious. Glorious I tell you! The lighting and shadowing is really top notch and adds so much to the atmosphere of the game. Thumbs up so far.

Are you holding out on me, brain_stew?!? :O :lol

@luka: Wow you hate ME2? I thought/think (still playing it) that it's fantastic. ME1 was ugly, clunky and boring to me. I'm glad it's 'stripped down' half the stuff in the original is practically unnecessary and did nothing noticeable to the game. I guess I hate ME1 for the cinematic 'quality' though, I thought it was going to be way better than it was, ME2 is what it should have been in that regard. That may be why I love it so much.

 

[-tetsuo-]

Well I can't speak for the console version but in the marine capaign the graphics on PC are glorious. Glorious I tell you! The lighting and shadowing is really top notch and adds so much to the atmosphere of the game. Thumbs up so far.

DX11?

 

[erpg]

Are you holding out on me, brain_stew?!? :O :lol

@luka: Wow you hate ME2? I thought/think (still playing it) that it's fantastic. ME1 was ugly, clunky and boring to me. I'm glad it's 'stripped down' half the stuff in the original is practically unnecessary and did nothing noticeable to the game. I guess I hate ME1 for the cinematic 'quality' though, I thought it was going to be way better than it was, ME2 is what it should have been in that regard. That may be why I love it so much.

Don't get us started on the faults of ME2, we could derail this thread for pages and pages.

 

[brain_stew]

DX11?

Nope, just standard DX9.

I've nearly finished the marine campaign and its been awesome, I can get really tense at times and nails the atmosphere of the universe. Playing in the dark with headphones is the way to go. Length wise it seems to be about the same as MW2 so 4-5 hours or so, and I've got two new campaigns with completely different gameplay to go through after that, I just can't begin to understand the hate.

Another point I have to make, the marine's health system is literally the best ever. Its the perfect mix between a regenerating and health pack setup imo, and it has the benefits of both. There's a great risk-reward system there and it adds a good bit of depth to survivor mode, as using a health stim leaves you temporarily vulnerable, making a dash to stock up on them is risky as hell and using one when you have between 1 and 2 bars is wasteful but often necessary. How you manage them is key to doing well in survivor mode.

Anyway just buy this game PC GAF, its awesome.

Are you holding out on me, brain_stew?!? :O :lol
.

My order was from a different etailer and it arrived today, your and the other GAFers I've helped out should have their copies tomorrow, Monday at the latest, they've already shipped. I want a game of survivor with you when you have it downloaded.

For the price you're paying, I can't imagine you being disappointed, there's so much gameplay between the 3 campaigns, survivor co-op and bunch of different competitive multiplayer modes. Its a hell of a deal.