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[dragonbane]

Its not myself, but my father. As was watching him play and he really was having issues with a lot of the more complex motions with heavy rain and the speed of some of the QTEs and such, since hes not familiar with the PS3 pad to the point to do quick events like that..

Sounds like smartphone controls are going to be perfect for him then. It's pretty much just touch to interact and during fights you just swipe into the appropriate direction.

Just look at the OP. There you find download links to the App that he needs to install (iOS and Android is supported).

 

[Parakeetman]

Sounds like smartphone controls are going to be perfect for him then. It's pretty much just touch to interact and during fights you just swipe into the appropriate direction.

Just look at the OP. There you find download links to the App that he needs to install (iOS and Android is supported).

Yeah Ill be sure to let him know about all of that once Im done doing a bit more research on the title and what not. Dont want to suggest anything else thats going to be a potential "waste of money" in terms of him not being able to complete it due to getting stuck. But so far its sounding pretty good!

 

[dragonbane]

Somebody will probably beat me to it anyway. The first review thread that gets posted is the one that stays.

True. Also prepare for a glorious Jim Sterling review:

 

[DukeBobby]

True. Also prepare for a glorious Jim Sterling review:

Hmm...8.0 is my guess. +1 for Willem Dafoe, as he's a huge fan.

Also, I'd like to go for a Metacritic prediction of 83.

 

[Skeff]

Hmm...8.0 is my guess. +1 for Willem Dafoe, as he's a huge fan.

Also, I'd like to go for a Metacritic prediction of 83.

Heavy rain was 87, I think this is far better.

 

[dragonbane]

Hmm...8.0 is my guess. +1 for Willem Dafoe, as he's a huge fan.

Also, I'd like to go for a Metacritic prediction of 83.

Metacritic sounds accurate. 83-86 is my guess. I put Sterling between 8-9. Heavy Rain got a 7. He liked the gameplay, but hated the story and voice acting. +1 for better animations and voice acting. -1 because he hates Cage more right now than in 2010. +1 for Dafoe. So at least an 8. An 8.5 or maybe 9 in case the story is better too.

 

[HORRORSHØW]

Heavy rain was 87, I think this is far better.

Wow. Heavy Rain was that high? I'm genuinely surprised. I also think this game will fare a lot better than Heavy Rain.

 

[Skeff]

Wow. Heavy Rain was that high? I'm genuinely surprised. I also think this game will fare a lot better than Heavy Rain.

Yea, it's crazy, heavy rain has this image of being a niche game that doesn't rate that well, but it's 87 metacritic and sold over 3 million copies on one system.

 

[HORRORSHØW]

Yea, it's crazy, heavy rain has this image of being a niche game that doesn't rate that well, but it's 87 metacritic and sold over 3 million copies on one system.

Impressive indeed.

 

[dragonbane]

Heavy rain was 87, I think this is far better.

It's probably better. However, most reviewers were pretty forgiving when it came to Heavy Rain. Now they probably feel the need to prove that they are able to analyse stories, so they will probably go for lower ratings than Heavy Rain. I expect some 9s and 10s, but also more polarising reviews this time.

 

[DukeBobby]

Heavy rain was 87, I think this is far better.

The Last of Us has raised the bar in terms of voice acting and character development, so Beyond will have to be pretty damn special to impress critics. Many of Heavy Rain's flaws would not be tolerated today.

 

[Skeff]

It's probably better. However, most reviewers were pretty forgiving when it came to Heavy Rain. Now they probably feel the need to prove that they are able to analyse stories, so they will probably go for lower ratings than Heavy Rain. I expect some 9s and 10s, but also more polarising reviews this time.

The Last of Us has raised the bar in terms of voice acting and character development, so Beyond will have to be pretty damn special to impress critics. Many of Heavy Rain's flaws would not be tolerated today.

Good points, just because it is a better game doesn't mean it will score better, as it will be judged against more recent games. The voice acting for me in Heavy rain was almost unbearable, but it is something that is vastly improved in Beyond, regarding character development and stories, well I've a long way to go yet, but the character development is good so far.

 

[Khronico]

Played the demo twice today. My impressions:

- Gorgeous graphics: Can stand toe to toe with TLoU, and in some respects looks better.
- Better playing 'game' than Heavy Rain.
- Playing as Aiden is actually pretty fun. That town section in the demo was a great sandbox to try out the different mechanics.
- Voice acting, animations, etc is outstanding.
- Story seems like it could be interesting. Very wary as the last two David Cage games (especially Indigo Prophecy) have stories that start well and fly off the rails into complete nonsense halfway through.

I'm not buying this day 1, but I'll pick it up down the line (if it isn't on PS+).

 

[DukeBobby]

One of the most surprising parts of the demo was the motorcycle chase. I was expecting it to be like Heavy Rain where I press R2, and the screen fades to black as Jodie rides away.

But then I was like 'holy shit, I'm actually controlling this!!'. Sure, you can just hold R2 and let the game turn the corners for you, but I was surprised that they gave you complete control during that part, including the ability to brake and turn the headlights on and off.

 

[Skeff]

One of the most surprising parts of the demo was the motorcycle chase. I was expecting it to be like Heavy Rain where I press R2, and the screen fades to black as Jodie rides away.

But then I was like 'holy shit, I'm actually controlling this!!'. Sure, you can just hold R2 and let the game turn the corners for you, but I was surprised that they gave you complete control during that part, including the ability to brake and turn the headlights on and off.

oh the motorbike was in the demo? yea I wanted to talk about that, was not great on phone touchscreen, but you can't really fail so it works out ok.

 

[DukeBobby]

oh the motorbike was in the demo? yea I wanted to talk about that, was not great on phone touchscreen, but you can't really fail so it works out ok.

Yeah, I can't see how that would work well on a touchscreen.

 

[dragonbane]

Good points, just because it is a better game doesn't mean it will score better, as it will be judged against more recent games. The voice acting for me in Heavy rain was almost unbearable, but it is something that is vastly improved in Beyond, regarding character development and stories, well I've a long way to go yet, but the character development is good so far.

Wait, you didn't like Heavy Rain? I thought you did. Well, make sure then to keep us updated as you play more. This could be interesting. Most other impressions so far came from people who already loved Heavy Rain, which is useful for me, but not so much for gauging the mainstream reaction.

One of the most surprising parts of the demo was the motorcycle chase. I was expecting it to be like Heavy Rain where I press R2, and the screen fades to black as Jodie rides away.

But then I was like 'holy shit, I'm actually controlling this!!'. Sure, you can just hold R2 and let the game turn the corners for you, but I was surprised that they gave you complete control during that part, including the ability to brake and turn the headlights on and off.

Indeed. I tried all the buttons and was amazed that L2 actually worked to break. Also turning the headlights off is cool, can't see shit though
Then I tried to stop and see what happens. I was sure nothing would happen, but rest assured the game surprised me in a big way considering a SWAT van came down the road and arrested me immediately. So you can "fail" this part too.

 

[Skeff]

Wait, you didn't like Heavy Rain? I thought you did. Well, make sure then to keep us updated as you play more. This could be interesting. Most other impressions so far came from people who already loved Heavy Rain, which is useful for me, but not so much for gauging the mainstream reaction.

Well, I like Heavy rain, I just didn't like the voice acting, I enjoyed the the experience, but I would buy it again if it had a re-dub, which shows how much it bothered me. For me I really thought Heavy rain was lacking at times in certain aspects, but was a great platform for moving forward in the genre and certainly did some things right. I'd give Heavy rain a 7, but I'd bump that up to a 8 because It was moving the genre forward, if that makes sense?

 

[Maxxan]

Great job by the OP! Finished my first playthrough yesterday, and it will be really interesting to see how reviewers and gamers rate the game.
Keep in mind, even if Beyond improved on the Heavy Rain formula in every single way, some reviewers would still dislike it. I happen to love Heavy Rain though =)

 

[Leeness]

Great job by the OP! Finished my first playthrough yesterday, and it will be really interesting to see how reviewers and gamers rate the game.
Keep in mind, even if Beyond improved on the Heavy Rain formula in every single way, some reviewers would still dislike it. I happen to love Heavy Rain though =)

Did you like Beyond?

 

[dragonbane]

oh the motorbike was in the demo? yea I wanted to talk about that, was not great on phone touchscreen, but you can't really fail so it works out ok.

Well, you can fail, but you have to willingly stop and wait for the police How does this even work? Is the game driving for you and you just need to take the corners or is there a button on the phone that you have to hold and then use the other finger to steer?

Might as well get your girlfriend ready for this. Probably going to be frustrating with the phone lol

 

[DukeBobby]

Might as well get your girlfriend ready for this. Probably going to be frustrating with the phone lol

I loved that part of the trailer. It seems like you have a fairly wide area to explore. I just hope you're not confined to a tiny area, and that the horse turns around when you hit an invisible wall.

 

[Skeff]

Well, you can fail, but you have to willingly stop and wait for the police How does this even work? Is the game driving for you and you just need to take the corners or is there a button on the phone that you have to hold and then use the other finger to steer?

Might as well get your girlfriend ready for this. Probably going to be frustrating with the phone lol

You move your finger up to accelerate, down to brake and left and right to steer, there were issue regarding accelerating/braking whilst turning, essentially after going around a corner the bike kid of rolled to a eventual halt, when she then noticed her finger must have moved down the screen whilst turning right, the horse might be the same as regular movement, hopefully, I mean technically the bike is like standard movement, but she did not seem to cope very well with it.

 

[leng jai]

Mixed feelings but overall pretty impressed with the demo. The audio and visual fidelity are insane. It's also nice to play a high end console game that has a smooth framerate. The Jodie sections are surprisingly engaging from a gameplay perspective and the polish just seems far higher than it was with Heavy rain.

The Aiden sections really fell flat for my unfortunately. The audio/visual experience takes a significant hit and everything just seems like a formality. The camera in the forest also needs some work.

Happy to buy this game at full price - it seems very interesting.

 

[Shinjiru]

Well, I like Heavy rain, I just didn't like the voice acting, I enjoyed the the experience, but I would buy it again if it had a re-dub, which shows how much it bothered me. For me I really thought Heavy rain was lacking at times in certain aspects, but was a great platform for moving forward in the genre and certainly did some things right. I'd give Heavy rain a 7, but I'd bump that up to a 8 because It was moving the genre forward, if that makes sense?

What did you think about the voice acting in Beyond? I watched the the first three scenes that were on YouTube yesterday and I thought the voice acting and writing in the third scene were pretty rough.

 

[Maxxan]

Did you like Beyond?

Not allowed to discuss the game yet. However, if I were to guess how it'll be received, I would say it'll correlate a lot with the reception of Heavy Rain.

 

[dragonbane]

I loved that part of the trailer. It seems like you have a fairly wide area to explore. I just hope you're not confined to a tiny area, and that the horse turns around when you hit an invisible wall.

Apparently it is a 2 km² large open world hub. I'm really interested how they are going to do this. At least from this GIF it doesn't look like they would prevent you from turning around, but who knows. The game is relatively straight forward like Heavy Rain, so they have to give you some kind of direction right?

 

[Skeff]

What did you think about the voice acting in Beyond? I watched the the first three scenes that were on YouTube yesterday and I thought the voice acting and writing in the third scene were pretty rough.

So far I've been very impressed, there's been maybe 1-2 characters that weren't great but they only had 1-2 lines anyway, on the whole I think the voice acting is really good.

 

[Rogue_Ledr]

The only thing that kind of annoys me is there is no death in the game.

That kind of takes the drama and thrill of danger out a bit.

They really should've left the possibility of Jodie dying to give the game more of a scarier and tense feeling.

Without it, its more of a "choose the story path" interactive movie IMO. I hope I am wrong.

 

[Shinjiru]

So far I've been very impressed, there's been maybe 1-2 characters that weren't great but they only had 1-2 lines anyway, on the whole I think the voice acting is really good.

Thanks for the reply. That's good news. I'm looking forward to playing it.

 

[Skeff]

The only thing that kind of annoys me is there is no death in the game.

That kind of takes the drama and thrill of danger out a bit.

They really should've left the possibility of Jodie dying to give the game more of a scarier and tense feeling.

Without it, its more of a "choose the story path" interactive movie IMO. I hope I am wrong.

At gamescom when shu fell asleep, Cage was talking about eliminating game over scenes and forcing players into a different situation when failing, rather than just having a game over screen and doing it again. I would assume at the end, all of your failings will be judged and perhaps the ending would change? I am sure that I have made choices that will change the story. In particular during scenes with the younger Jodie.

 

[kasane]

Beyond confirmed 99 meta critic.

Spoiler

What if it actually happens? Lol

 

[Skeff]

Beyond confirmed 99 meta critic.

Spoiler

What if it actually happens? Lol

Honestly, If I had to review my experience so far in one sentence it would be:

"I'd still be playing now, but I promised my girlfriend we would play through it together, damn her for sleeping..."

But seriously, there's going to be some "It's not even a game lolz" reviews. I'd guess 85-90.

 

[DukeBobby]

Beyond confirmed 99 meta critic.

Spoiler

What if it actually happens? Lol

We'd all forgive David Cage, and regard him as the most accomplished writer ever.

Yes, better than Shakespeare.

 

[kasane]

We'd all forgive David Cage, and regard him as the most accomplished writer ever.

Yes, better than Shakespeare.

Thou art cage.

Honestly, If I had to review my experience so far in one sentence it would be:

"I'd still be playing now, but I promised my girlfriend we would play through it together, damn her for sleeping..."

But seriously, there's going to be some "It's not even a game lolz" reviews. I'd guess 85-90.

If they don't like the genre i don't think they should review it.

 

[Cave Johnson]

I had a weird dream last night and I was playing Beyond: Two souls (Euro version for the strangest reasons) and there was a scene

Spoiler

where William Dafoe was finger Ellen Page in the bathroom and you get to control the fingering with the Android app.

Is there something wrong with me?

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

Alright, so I pretty much just horrifically massacred every cop in Bakertown in the demo.

Any way to complete that without killing anybody?

 

[pharmboy044]

Honestly, If I had to review my experience so far in one sentence it would be:

"I'd still be playing now, but I promised my girlfriend we would play through it together, damn her for sleeping..."

But seriously, there's going to be some "It's not even a game lolz" reviews. I'd guess 85-90.

If reviewers give a bad score to the game because it doesn't "control" like a real game then personally I think that was the wrong reviewer to review the game.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

I had a weird dream last night and I was playing Beyond: Two souls (Euro version for the strangest reasons) and there was a scene

Spoiler

where William Dafoe was finger Ellen Page in the bathroom and you get to control the fingering with the Android app.

Is there something wrong with me?

 

[DukeBobby]

I had a weird dream last night and I was playing Beyond: Two souls (Euro version for the strangest reasons) and there was a scene

Spoiler

where William Dafoe was finger Ellen Page in the bathroom and you get to control the fingering with the Android app.

Is there something wrong with me?

No, that sounds perfect.

 

[dragonbane]

You move your finger up to accelerate, down to brake and left and right to steer, there were issue regarding accelerating/braking whilst turning, essentially after going around a corner the bike kid of rolled to a eventual halt, when she then noticed her finger must have moved down the screen whilst turning right, the horse might be the same as regular movement, hopefully, I mean technically the bike is like standard movement, but she did not seem to cope very well with it.

Alright. Sounds good in theory and is probably clunky in practice

Not allowed to discuss the game yet. However, if I were to guess how it'll be received, I would say it'll correlate a lot with the reception of Heavy Rain.

Do you still stand by this statement after finishing it?

So cannot say anything about the game, but can say something about the embargo date: I'm very confident it's nothing to worry about.

 

[kasane]

I had a weird dream last night and I was playing Beyond: Two souls (Euro version for the strangest reasons) and there was a scene

Spoiler

where William Dafoe was finger Ellen Page in the bathroom and you get to control the fingering with the Android app.

Is there something wrong with me?

Holy... Wat....

You're defiling the pure Ellen page with your dirty thoughts

 

[ascully]

I had a weird dream last night and I was playing Beyond: Two souls (Euro version for the strangest reasons) and there was a scene

Spoiler

where William Dafoe was finger Ellen Page in the bathroom and you get to control the fingering with the Android app.

Is there something wrong with me?

YES

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

Holy... Wat....

You're defiling the pure Ellen page with your dirty thoughts

There are no pure Ellen Pages.

 

[kasane]

There are no pure Ellen Pages.

No no no no. That doesn't exist.

 

[DukeBobby]

He must be kneeling.

 

[Goldenhen]

I had a weird dream last night and I was playing Beyond: Two souls (Euro version for the strangest reasons) and there was a scene

Spoiler

where William Dafoe was finger Ellen Page in the bathroom and you get to control the fingering with the Android app.

Is there something wrong with me?

 

[normalmode]

Something to note, especially if you're planning video recordings: Launching New Game after beating Beyond relocks all previously unlocked chapters in Chapter Select.

 

[Sword Of Doom]

Heavy rain was 87, I think this is far better.

Yeah I played the demo last night and haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. What a year for PS3. The best experiences for me have all been exclusives this year

 

[dragonbane]

Alright, so I pretty much just horrifically massacred every cop in Bakertown in the demo.

Any way to complete that without killing anybody?

You can just fuck up at the bridge like you did on your first run and then destroy the tires of the van not killing anyone. If you don't want to kill anyone in Bakertown, you have to screw Jodie over. Either do nothing or flip the car over where she hides. SWAT will immediately come after her. Don't do anything and she gets knocked out giving you the van sequence again where you can decide to flip it over without killing anyone.

The only thing that kind of annoys me is there is no death in the game.

That kind of takes the drama and thrill of danger out a bit.

They really should've left the possibility of Jodie dying to give the game more of a scarier and tense feeling.

Without it, its more of a "choose the story path" interactive movie IMO. I hope I am wrong.

Since there are 23 endings, I'm pretty sure Jodie will be able to die in at least one of them.