And count me in on the Darkness 2 love. Another great but overlooked game.
I just rewatched the original Overstrike reveal, and hot damn, you can see the gameplay molecules still being formed, and so much more vibrant. No blood though, and maybe a little too close to a Team Fortress feeling to it.
The Enforcer has a human shell in the trailer, and Izzy fires gloop instead of shards, but you can squint and see how this game would've come together.
Yep! I just have these ideas in my head that I think would work so well if they just let lose.
I mean, if Naya can disincorporate and become invisible, I would imagine she'd be able to teleport around the map as well, or teleport straight to enemies as an instant stealth kill. Or Daltons shield gaining elemental attributes from the skill tree, freezing and slowing down enemies or burning them over time...would be awesome. Proximity mines for Jacob, or building crystal walls to block enemy path ways as Izzy...there's just so much to be explored here, if they open up the skill tree and go with a stylized art direction.
I feel being stylized gives more room to do crazy things, not only because it's detached from reality, but because you can get away with fewer details while still maintaining artistic integrity, where as a "realistic" look garners the attention of people LOOKING for real life, and finding errors (and as a result, you have to spend more to make those things look better).
While I was underwhelmed and disappointed by the entire package, mainly due to the more serious, realistic approach visually, I think it wouldn't take much to make the franchise great.
I even posted on the Insomniac forums, mentioning they should look to Darkness 2 as a great example of a franchise that changed tone and art direction for the better. If they revamp the art style, add some more Fuse weapons (since I found the other weapons to be redundant and uninteresting) and maybe give the players a mix of Fuse abilities that they can choose from, like AOE or projectile attacks that the bosses had, I'd be interested in a sequel. Without at least a few of those changes, I'm indifferent.
It's annoying when you like a game like this. Since the art style change blood was in the water. I'm a really big lost planet fan and it's kind of the same. You have a game that has these flaws or weaknesses that even a fan can't ignore, but they are sound, at at times they rise to outstanding.
I feel somewhat compelled to sort of go, hey lost planet/Fuse is actually bad ass man, but there is some baggage when you are that guy. I may not have an insomniac avatar but I've had great history with their games and enjoyed them through ps2 to now, enough so to buy Fuse based on that despite the bad press/generic art style.
Even the guy at gamestop was like I've heard mixed things man. I probably bought the only copy that will get sold there. And I like it! Lol. Frankly I never doubt my instincts and things that entertain me, but this does give me pause sometimes.:/
While I was underwhelmed and disappointed by the entire package, mainly due to the more serious, realistic approach visually, I think it wouldn't take much to make the franchise great.
I even posted on the Insomniac forums, mentioning they should look to Darkness 2 as a great example of a franchise that changed tone and art direction for the better. If they revamp the art style, add some more Fuse weapons (since I found the other weapons to be redundant and uninteresting) and maybe give the players a mix of Fuse abilities that they can choose from, like AOE or projectile attacks that the bosses had, I'd be interested in a sequel. Without at least a few of those changes, I'm indifferent.
I think keeping 4 core weapons is integral to the experience. Instead of adding new weapons, I think they should instead focus on adding modifiers via the skill tree. Player choice needs to be important, and "maxing out" the skill tree is a poor move, IMO.
As an example, it would be great if you could get a modifier for Naya's warp rifle that allowed you to shoot at a fixed point and create a "black hole" trap to suck in enemies, with the resulting burst "painting" other targets, allowing for an easy chain. Make me choose between invisibility, or offense, etc. With those kinds of choices, I'll feel more attached to the characters, as the choices were mine, not pre-determined, if that makes sense.
I think keeping 4 core weapons is integral to the experience. Instead of adding new weapons, I think they should instead focus on adding modifiers via the skill tree. Player choice needs to be important, and "maxing out" the skill tree is a poor move, IMO.
Have you played Borderlands, or better yet, Borderlands 2? That seems a lot more like what you're suggesting. There are a lot more status effects and the skill trees that lead to various builds and roles in battle. Its also an incredible game.
Borderlands has more, more of everything, more across the board. But I still find myself appreciating Fuse because it's systems are streamlined to the point where its purely a set of quick, interesting choices and combinations, without feeling forced to attack a situation one way or another. So its nice that Borderlands has shock and fire effects, but it gets to the point where you're doing it wrong to go up against shielded enemies without shock, or unarmored enemies without fire, so what seemed at first like systems that pave the way for interesting choices actually becomes a pressure to tackle each enemy in one way.
So far one of the best accolades I can give to Fuse is that even now on my second campaign playthrough I'm still feeling creative in every battle. Looking for new ways to play each character or new leap combinations depending upon what the game throws at me.
Have you played Borderlands, or better yet, Borderlands 2? That seems a lot more like what you're suggesting. There are a lot more status effects and the skill trees that lead to various builds and roles in battle. Its also an incredible game.
Borderlands has more, more of everything, more across the board. But I still find myself appreciating Fuse because it's systems are streamlined to the point where its purely a set of quick, interesting choices and combinations, without feeling forced to attack a situation one way or another. So its nice that Borderlands has shock and fire effects, but it gets to the point where you're doing it wrong to go up against shielded enemies without shock, or unarmored enemies without fire, so what seemed at first like systems that pave the way for interesting choices actually becomes a pressure to tackle each enemy in one way.
So far one of the best accolades I can give to Fuse is that even now on my second campaign playthrough I'm still feeling creative in every battle. Looking for new ways to play each character or new leap combinations depending upon what the game throws at me.
Played both a LOT, and finished both. Great games, to be honest.
However, I'm not suggesting that certain elements be effective against certain enemies or situations, just different ways to make your weapons lethal. I think that giving more options for experimentation and creativity would really change the experience, for the better.
I can appreciate stream lining, and I think it's important...but a skill tree really isn't anything more than a fixed leveling system if you can completely fill it out
I do think it would be cool if there were abilities to modify weapons' effects. Animations and results could stay the same, but it would be nice to see Jacob's alt-fire shock enemies like the initial trailer. Ultimately, different types of attacks could be developed independently offering their own advantages and disadvantages. Izzy could add a freezing element to her Shattergun that allowed you to paint enemies to slow them down. Giving someone the attributes of R3's Mutator, causing enemies to vomit, would be wonderful too.
That's kind of why I'd want AOE and projectile attacks. In a third slot you could equip a different Fuse ability that could further accentuate your main power, or be a completely different element. That way you could mix and match, and everyone's build could be a little different.
In doing so the strict four man team could be relaxed to include any combo of the four characters. You could find a game with 4 Naya's with completely different skill sets. While all would have a warp rifle and shoot traditional black holes, one could shoot them to any point in space, one could create a wave of crystals, one could project piercing beams of energy, and one could radiate healing rays.
It would definitely give the skill trees far more depth.
Now that I understand how multipliers work in Echelon, I'm feeling more competitive and death carries more weight, lol. Can't believe I never realized that before. Did I miss it in a tutorial or something?
Also, there are some super dedicated people playing this game, leaderboards are absurd. I was top 5 with Jacob for Arcshot melts, and this guy has just been playing non-stop to stay at the top, at least 500-600 melts per day...pretty nuts.
Basically, for each round that you finish without being downed, your multiplier increases by one. This is extremely helpful when you're trying to be competitive with someone for the lead in Fuse credits, particularly if you're trying to max out all of your team perks. So far, I've only managed an 8x multiplier in Solo play. Maintaining a multiplier in team play is much harder, I find, since you have obligations, so to speak, to the team.
Also: Really hate it when people run over my body after I slay the Enforcer and die at the last moment...and go collect all the money from the time bonus.
Just wrapped up the game on Lethal mode -_- it is not kind to you, but its not too difficult either, everything just takes longer because you have low health and they all have a lot of health.
Other than the snipers taking the piss on this difficulty, the enemies that grab and the ones that pin you are deadly!. In the other difficulties everyone is ok, just tap a button a lot, and you and the AI get out of it. In Lethal mode you have a few seconds to survive and there is no tapping out of it (Tapping just makes you survive longer), you and the AI will die unless you are rescued or active Fuse. This is particularity annoying on the last level as there are lots and they can grab/pin down your whole team at once.
Man I wrote a huge review and my connection dropped. Lost it all. No matter how many times I tell myself to have a notepad up while I'm doing this it still happens.
Anyways, the long and the short of it was that Fuse was alright. I traded it in for Remember Me because I felt like there wasn't much more I could do. Lethal difficulty was only available from beating Hard mode and I didn't want to go through the game another time just to get to the highest difficulty.
SP was an empty affair. The AI was seriously more dumber than then what is deemed normal for a videogame. A lot of times they just wouldn't move and having to rely on them for revives (after one hit down bosses) was terrible. I never felt the need nor the want to warp between all of the characters. I tried it once but it just felt lame.
Echelon mode was the best part of the game for me. Although you still have some boring boss battles (I never want to fight another Enforcer as long as I live) the bland level designs are dropped in favor of a smaller sandbox. This doesn't make the enemies smarter or anything but it does get you to the action faster. The engine can usually take this chaos pretty smoothly which was impressive.
Story bits weren't all that interesting and two of the characters didn't even really have any back story. I don't remember any of the music and while Fuse offered up a clear IQ and some nice lighting it still felt cold and empty. The mountain level was the best looking in my opinion but some places, like the 5th mission, were very visually messy.
Insomniac got a lot right and there was some fun to be had. The shooting and cover mechanics were snappy and reliable. The level up abilities and team perks are a nice idea. The Fuse guns were fun and I loved chaining dudes as Izzy and then later on in echelon with Naya. Never failed to put a grin on my face and the audio department did a good job on the those gun sounds. The game just needed some identity and it needed to get crazy. Why not have a shotgun that can do some crazy shit that everyone can use or some type of Fused up creature that is more fun to battle than a mech.
There is a good foundation for a sequel but it would need a lot of work. Insomniac should feel proud for getting the basics right but they should try to create a more interesting game around those mechanics. I felt all over the place with this game and in the end it was fun but ultimately forgettable. Sort like the experience I had with Dead Space 3.
Started this last night, and it actually seems pretty good. Thought I'd share my impressions so far.
First off, the game's visual style should have it's own name, generic, bland, etc don't really cover it. Fuse leans so hard into it's Bad Video Game aesthetic, that I really can't understand how the people at Insomniac didn't realise just how boring it all was.
The combat mechanics are very good, even though I doubt the bullet sponge nature of the enemies really appeals to many people. Once you've leveled up, and are working with a good co-op team it's fine, but playing solo can be a slog at times. Leveling appears to be the entire hook of the game, with combat designed around using combos to earn more XP really driving continued play. however, once everything is fully upgraded, there doesn't seem to be much to keep the player engaged (and you level surprisingly fast when playing effectively).
Character movement in the game is the highlight for me. Cover commands and sprint/roll/mantle are mapped to two seperate buttons, like in Spec Ops. What makes Fuse work is the fact that you slide to cover from over twice the distance of any other cover based TPS I've ever played. You can really rely on it to move around quickly, and get right up on enemies for takedowns. Mantling, and cornering are super fluid and always seem to work as intended once you get the controls down (something that even games like Gears still have a little trouble with sometimes).
The different player abilities are a lot of fun, and the weapons feel good to fire, even when you're emptying entire clips into large enemies with little effect. It could have been a lot better with more Binary Domain style destruction on the enemy models, and it wouldn't hurt if the shotguns packed a little more punch either. I'd also prefer it if you could control the camera during the takedown animations. It would make it a lot easier to chain the melee between enemies. As it is, the locked camera can leave you swinging at air once you come out of the animation.
If a sequel comes along, I'd really like more options in the weapons area, specifically to modification or something.
It'd be a better system to hit up on the d-pad to bring up your weapon wheel, and use the right stick to select from a variety of weapons or items, instead of just holding 3 weapons.
Has anyone found all of the Intel yet? I'm still missing quite a few. I also need to find some folks to run through on Lethal mode soon, finishing up Hard mode this weekend.
Has anyone found all of the Intel yet? I'm still missing quite a few. I also need to find some folks to run through on Lethal mode soon, finishing up Hard mode this weekend.
Haha =P There's only 3 that aren't the concept art/pictures you see on TV's and postcards in the game. Dan Johnson's location is very hidden in the thread, it has 5 individual spoilered hints.
But it is best to look for them yourself =] Maybe you will find something I've missed!
It looks like Redbox isn't carrying Fuse and Gamefly is taking their sweet time. I was hoping to get it while there was still somewhat of a community playing but that's looking less and less likely.
So to you playing, how easy is it to match up for campaign and/or multiplayer?
Just beat it. This games is fun. I appreciate the skins being available after beating the game. I'll probably replay it because the core gameplay was consistent and entertaining.
Just beat it. This games is fun. I appreciate the skins being available after beating the game. I'll probably replay it because the core gameplay was consistent and entertaining.
Using characters I spent little time on the first go around and finding new combos through using leap is what adds to the replay value for me. If you get to the point of easily switching between all characters you can get into this zone that no other game really provides.
Echelon mode is fun but hectic for soloing, except the "Deliver fuse" objectives. Once they drop a crapload of snipers and invisible assholes on to the scene it's more annoying than challenging. At least so far.
Using characters I spent little time on the first go around and finding new combos through using leap is what adds to the replay value for me. If you get to the point of easily switching between all characters you can get into this zone that no other game really provides.
Echelon mode is fun but hectic for soloing, except the "Deliver fuse" objectives. Once they drop a crapload of snipers and invisible assholes on to the scene it's more annoying than challenging. At least so far.
I stuck with naya most of the campaign but towards the end I began to switch more and enjoyed it. Curious to see the fuse abilities for the other characters. Also if anybody wants to add me on xbl my gt is in my info. Co op would be fun with team players. Even with ai I liked the team vibe of the game.
Using characters I spent little time on the first go around and finding new combos through using leap is what adds to the replay value for me. If you get to the point of easily switching between all characters you can get into this zone that no other game really provides.
Echelon mode is fun but hectic for soloing, except the "Deliver fuse" objectives. Once they drop a crapload of snipers and invisible assholes on to the scene it's more annoying than challenging. At least so far.
If you have fusion those are super easy. Just kill enemies, grab the canister, then haul ass. When you feel like you're in trouble, pop fusion and walk it in with ease. If you beat the timer, everyone gets fusion anyway
Played through hard mode with my two buddies. Took us a little under seven hours to finish it up.
All in all - pretty disappointed.
Pros:
+some nice enemy set pieces
+kind of fun Fuse abilities
+couple of the boss fights were interesting
Cons:
- you can count the number of different regular enemies you face on one hand
- has one of the two most annoying enemies in any video game: the insta-kill (or in this instance, insta-down) little critter that blows up next to you
- has the second of the two most annoying enemies in any video game: the invisible enemy that runs at you. At least it isn't an insta-kill (it's a "tap A to struggle" thing, though apparently it's more lethal in the hardest difficulty)
- boss fights consist of a mech you've seen before, or two mechs you've seen before at the same time. Conveniently, the layout of whatever room you fight these big mechs are always circular, so you literally run a little, turn around, shoot, turn around, run...
- story (what story?)
- last mission spoilers:
the star skybox was truly one of the worst-looking space backdrops that I have ever seen. Truly horrible
- why have the Uncharted-like climbing sections if there is literally no reason why they are there? At least in Uncharted they lead to some small puzzle solving
Thinking I got SOME enjoyment out of it because I hadn't had a nice co-op shooter in awhile.
We beat this in four sessions. Our thoughts went like this:
Session 1: this is pretty fun!
Session 2: OK, this wasn't as fun as we thought it was
Session 3: are we almost done yet?
Session 4: ugh. let's hurry and get through this so we can get trade-in credit for the Last of Us
According to that site with the numbers, both versions have clocked in 70K sales worldwide as of June 15th. I haven't seen a seemingly high-profile title from EA sell those low numbers in quite some time.
I just tried the demo on my friends PS3. I couldn't bring myself to DL it since I'm mainly on PC and I'm almost out of space on my PS3. It's worth buying but not at full price.
I sure do hope you guys are working on at least another Ratchet.
So even though I could have picked this up at retail for $40, I got it off PSN for $60 to share with my buddy who's PS3 is on my account... We tried the 1hr PS+ trial and figured it was worth giving a whirl...
Any online community left playing this? I played Echelon today with randoms, but rarely had a full group of 4 players. Almost a non-issue since the other character AI is pretty impressive.
But still... I purchased this game with the intent to NEVER play it solo... seeing as nobody commented on this thread in almost a month, not really a good sign I suppose...
So even though I could have picked this up at retail for $40, I got it off PSN for $60 to share with my buddy who's PS3 is on my account... We tried the 1hr PS+ trial and figured it was worth giving a whirl...
Any online community left playing this? I played Echelon today with randoms, but rarely had a full group of 4 players. Almost a non-issue since the other character AI is pretty impressive.
But still... I purchased this game with the intent to NEVER play it solo... seeing as nobody commented on this thread in almost a month, not really a good sign I suppose...
So even though I could have picked this up at retail for $40, I got it off PSN for $60 to share with my buddy who's PS3 is on my account... We tried the 1hr PS+ trial and figured it was worth giving a whirl...
Any online community left playing this? I played Echelon today with randoms, but rarely had a full group of 4 players. Almost a non-issue since the other character AI is pretty impressive.
But still... I purchased this game with the intent to NEVER play it solo... seeing as nobody commented on this thread in almost a month, not really a good sign I suppose...
But still... I purchased this game with the intent to NEVER play it solo... seeing as nobody commented on this thread in almost a month, not really a good sign I suppose...
Even in the launch period I only ever managed to find one other player in matchmaking campaign, and two in Echelon.
Echelon was good fun though, for a short while, but I found the dynamic objectives lacking. For all the subtle differences in objectives it came down to three ultimately: kill everybody, guard this spot, and deliver the fuse to location X. That's all. Once you could deal with those three objectives it lost its lustre pretty quickly.
Ha, I just got this from gamefly and wanted to check the thread to see how the playerbase was (PS3) so I could do some co-op...guess the last few posts answered my question.
This week Stevenson is a guest on WC again and I was reminded that a game called Fuse exists. And I was wondering, do we have any hard sales data yet? I mean, I want to say it's shocking how quickly this game seemingly vanished from public perception after its release but we all knew it would happen.
Seriously, I don't know what's more spectacular ... the proportions of this failure or the certainty with which gamers unanimously predicted this would happen. Lessons need to be learned from this. Stop the focus-group madness. Look where it got you, EA/Insomniac.
This week Stevenson is a guest on WC again and I was reminded that a game called Fuse exists. And I was wondering, do we have any hard sales data yet? I mean, I want to say it's shocking how quickly this game seemingly vanished from public perception after its release but we all knew it would happen.
Seriously, I don't know what's more spectacular ... the proportions of this failure or the certainty with which gamers unanimously predicted this would happen. Lessons need to be learned from this. Stop the focus-group madness. Look where it got you, EA/Insomniac.
We know it sold way less than 5000 units in its first week in the UK. and even less the next week. The game has also been slow to go down in price, we can guess they knew it would bomb and didn't print too many copies, its only just halved in price in the UK.
No hard figures from anywhere (GAF would have jumped on the grave had any news been out) but I'd guess world wide it sold under 100,000.
I believe only games that get around 70 Metacritic are given as the main free games on PS+, currently standing at 63 that is a bit too low. Even if they give it away on PS+ they will only get some money for that, they don't have any real DLC for that game that they can cash-in on as a result.
The problem was the delay in development, ending up costing too much money to make, being fairly generic in the end, it just wasn't going to sell. The 'multiplayer' is rather limited and the only other longevity is play through the single player over and over again as co-op.Even if EA put a ton of marketing behind it the game would just be traded in on mass. I think before a few months before release it was probably assumed that they would focus on getting a product out and recouping as much money as they could back, no way they have made profit on it. If they thought it was going to be successful before release they would have announced and released DLC by now.
It is an enjoyable game though, that i had a fair bit of fun with. The current price in uk (£20) seems like a reasonable price for it.
