Twilight Princess
Member
How would you say the story stacks up to tlou and uncharted4?
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Horizon Zero Dawn Spoiler-free Impressions (for real this time)
- Thread starter More_Badass
- Start date
It's very differently told. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll try to explain vaguely. Naughty Dog games concentrate very hard on telling the story of a couple of characters per game,
In Horizon Aloy is a great character and there's one especially great side npc to go along as well, but some of the best storytelling in the game is told through ruin archeology, logs, etc. The parts that explain how, why the world is like it is are great, and the game's themes really come through at the end, the more you know about the past and how it affects the present.
SlasherJPC
Banned
Here is a battle I did. With a rather large beast in the second half of the game. I died... lol
Karak
Gold Member
looks sweet.
Unrelated but the stuff about State of Decay 2 leaking has me excited man!
More_Badass
Member
Sounds like we're actually getting a damn good AAA sci-fi story, and one that's not another space opera
SlasherJPC
Banned
I've not heard of this info yet!
Also a gif of one of my favorite parts in that video.
Another intense fight in gif format.
IMHO that's exactly the case here.
SlasherJPC
Banned
LastMinuteHero
Member
Man really love the sound effects
Karak
Gold Member
I've not heard of this info yet!
Also a gif of one of my favorite parts in that video.
Another intense fight in gif format.
All I can see is steed riding done right for the first time lol
I mean it just looks like it works.
Twilight Princess
Member
Very cool, thanks. Even though I prefer ND's style of story telling, I like discovering the world to learn about its history and lore. Seems like the best approach for an open world game.
More_Badass
Member
A lot of games have sci-fi settings - Dead Space, Vanquish, Crysis, etc - but few, especially AAA, actually really take advantage of it narrative-wise. Mass Effect is grand sprawling space opera, Deus Ex is cyberpunk, so I'm excited to hear that Guerrilla took full advantage of its high concept far-future world.
The impression and reviews make me so sad I'm not going to be able to buy this at launch. I really want to but my money is saved for P5 collectors edition and I just won't have much time for it. I'm definitely going to rent it for at least one night though just to check it out.
Gudji
Member
I've not heard of this info yet!
Also a gif of one of my favorite parts in that video.
Another intense fight in gif format.
Ok that birdy just became my favorite machine. Omg.
SlasherJPC
Banned
Still haven't been able to take it down yet lol.
MiamiWesker
Member
Awesome vids. I'll try to post my epic T-jaw battle later. Man today at work sucks, I just want to play this game.
So now everyone is in the review thread... don't forget about us.
So now everyone is in the review thread... don't forget about us.
Holy fucking shit at everything. The sound design, the particle effects, the intensity. This game is nuts.
SlasherJPC
Banned
Right? Yeah it's all about the review thread as of now! HA.
I should probably add that Aloy is a really cool character. She's brave, curious, and intelligent while still avoiding being 'too perfect'. She has a strong emotional side but also a really sarcastic deadpan style of humor that gets more pronounced as the game advances. I expect GG (not Guerrilla Games) type people will be crying out in agony as the game comes out.
Gudji
Member
Pixel Samurai
Member
anyone hear anything re: early copies in NYC?
onemanasylum
Banned
https://www.amazon.com/best-sellers-video-games/zgbs/videogames
#1 on amazon 8 days before release...gonna be a big hit.
#1 on amazon 8 days before release...gonna be a big hit.
Omnistalgic
Member
One of the reviewers I asked if its good enough to be made into a book. His response, he would read a Horizon book day one!
-)
I think were ok on the story front.
DriftingSpirit
Member
Just general impressions. Particularly, the story and gameplay.
Most reviews I see online pretty much say the exact same things I think. The game is super good. Hunting robots is so much fun. Stalking some of the smaller bots and hunting them feels just like it should and the battles with the big guys are amazing. I was kinda surprised to see the game getting 9.5s though. The game takes mechanics from tons of different games and does them incredibly well but it doesn't do anything new or revolutionizes these mechanics. Story is interesting enough. You will get answers to all your questions but again it's not something that will blow you away. I just love exploring the world and fighting the hostile creatures in it. Also the voice-acting is top notch and the writing is pretty great.
More_Badass
Member
You answered your own question. It does them incredibly well. Execution is more important the being new or revolutionary. Some of the best movies, considered genre masterpieces, are well-trodden done-a-million-times premises, but executed masterfully. In games, pretty much no mechanic is original; everything is built on the foundation of games and ideas come before. How well those mechanics are implemented and presented and used is more important than those mechanics being original
Yeah sure again I think the game is amazing I just think games with a 9 score are for those that do something new or like you said masterfully. I think the mechanics in the game are just a tiny bit shy from being a masterpiece. Just to be clear I gave it an 8.5 because I think the game is great.
DriftingSpirit
Member
Thanks.
MegaSackman
Member
In my own mentality of thinking how scores work, if I were to score a game 8.5, I wouldn't be surprised if someone score it a 10 or a 7, or at least not that surprised. Surprised would be a 5 (oops). But again, coming from an 8.5 I guess an 8 and 9 should be logical, I mean I suppose you gave it that score because you weren't confident with either one of those and needed a middle ground but you could think of someone that goes either way up or down.
Psychological Intellect
Banned
Debating leaving work early to play more
I can't believe they let the Brom scene become public. I canceled my super old limited edition pre-order upon seeing that scene.
Then I was able to get the game early. Man I made a mistake. The voice acting here is just great. The Brom scene is an anomaly. Almost makes me believe they intended for it to be ridiculous.
Then I was able to get the game early. Man I made a mistake. The voice acting here is just great. The Brom scene is an anomaly. Almost makes me believe they intended for it to be ridiculous.
TimeEffect
Member
I always loved the combat encounters in KZ too, and from the sounds of it, it's a huge part of HZD's successful gameplay, right?
Im still trying to grasp the comparisons people made to Far Cry and actual RPGs. Is the game in between that, in that it's not full out RPG, but retains hints of RPG elements, or strips away the bloat?
I understand there is dialogue choices, but is it pointless like Witcher 3? It seems the heart of the game is different weapon types matching with enemy types. How deep is that? Is there where Zelda comparisons come?
Also, I really want this game to be impressive with lore. SIdequests do a good job of fleshing out the world, so does that mean you can take quests from numerous tribes while managing to learn the details of their cultures and histories while doing so?
And while the world looks varied, does it feel like its actually a big scale world? For example, galloping through Witcher's world or Skyrim feels so good. It feels like an adventure because it mixes some typical locales with stretches of nature. I guess Im asking just how BIG forests, mountains, etc. The idea of a full day system and weather makes me happy, but I always look for those long stretches of dark forest to turn the HUD off and just walk through.
Yet despite all that, Ive always been turned off by open world games as Ive always grown bored with them or hesitant. I loved the Witcher, but couldn't finish the game, mostly for the combat. Horizon sounds more and more promising, but Im incredibly hopeful the world has sprinkled in tons of "lore" or mystery to discover and think about. Some of that comes in discovering unexplained things, like finding ruins that have no direct explanation (think of how ICO games build a world).
It's hard to explain what I mean, but the Far Cry comparisons have always worried me a bit because those games dont feel as immersive as something like Shadow of the Colossus, Skyrim, Witcher, etc.
I guess for an RPG, I want the world to tell me about the game's history, as opposed to just being a locale to travel
Im still trying to grasp the comparisons people made to Far Cry and actual RPGs. Is the game in between that, in that it's not full out RPG, but retains hints of RPG elements, or strips away the bloat?
I understand there is dialogue choices, but is it pointless like Witcher 3? It seems the heart of the game is different weapon types matching with enemy types. How deep is that? Is there where Zelda comparisons come?
Also, I really want this game to be impressive with lore. SIdequests do a good job of fleshing out the world, so does that mean you can take quests from numerous tribes while managing to learn the details of their cultures and histories while doing so?
And while the world looks varied, does it feel like its actually a big scale world? For example, galloping through Witcher's world or Skyrim feels so good. It feels like an adventure because it mixes some typical locales with stretches of nature. I guess Im asking just how BIG forests, mountains, etc. The idea of a full day system and weather makes me happy, but I always look for those long stretches of dark forest to turn the HUD off and just walk through.
Yet despite all that, Ive always been turned off by open world games as Ive always grown bored with them or hesitant. I loved the Witcher, but couldn't finish the game, mostly for the combat. Horizon sounds more and more promising, but Im incredibly hopeful the world has sprinkled in tons of "lore" or mystery to discover and think about. Some of that comes in discovering unexplained things, like finding ruins that have no direct explanation (think of how ICO games build a world).
It's hard to explain what I mean, but the Far Cry comparisons have always worried me a bit because those games dont feel as immersive as something like Shadow of the Colossus, Skyrim, Witcher, etc.
I guess for an RPG, I want the world to tell me about the game's history, as opposed to just being a locale to travel
Psychological Intellect
Banned
One thing I really like is that you can't approach every robo the same way. They all have specific weak spots and on top of that, different weak spots have specific elemental weaknesses.
You cant spam the same weapon on the enemies. You will get rekt.
The game forces you to make use of your entire arsenal.
Combat is so much fun.
You cant spam the same weapon on the enemies. You will get rekt.
The game forces you to make use of your entire arsenal.
Combat is so much fun.
Psychological Intellect
Banned
Yeah, that is the only bad interaction ive experienced. Every thing else is well acted/performed.
Also the detail, variety and diversity of the npcs is staggering.
Summer Haze
Banned
So glad the gameplay looks as good as it does.
Speaking of which, what's the "best" sidequest you've done so far?
Well surprised might be a big word. I just thought scores would have been the same as mine considering every review agreed with what I though. People thought the same thing yet they came to a different conclusion. To be clear I'm not saying they are wrong or anything. Nothing like that.
Anyway to get back on point of there is anything you want to know about the game feel free to ask.
I like them all for different reasons but this was memorable to me because a simple task became something more involved.
I got to Meridian and an npc had his sword stolen. It was a valuable family heirloom for his son. I had to find who stole it.
I investigated, followed tracks, and asked NPCs. Eventually I found out it was stolen by an organization that steals valuable items from rich nobles and gives the sale money to the poor of Meridian. He promised to give the sword back if I rescued a friend who had been carrying lots of food for the poor and was ambushed in the wilderness bringing the supplies.
I go to the wilderness and find where he was ambushed and tracked him down to a large fortress where he had been kidnapped and held hostage by a rival faction. The fortress was full of guards with strong weapons.
This part felt like Assassins Creed meets MGSV. Some surprisingly good stealth and platforming. Then I took out his kidnappers who were well armed, so it was like a mini human boss fight. I saved him, we got the sword back, and the noble was very thankful.
I investigated, followed tracks, and asked NPCs. Eventually I found out it was stolen by an organization that steals valuable items from rich nobles and gives the sale money to the poor of Meridian. He promised to give the sword back if I rescued a friend who had been carrying lots of food for the poor and was ambushed in the wilderness bringing the supplies.
I go to the wilderness and find where he was ambushed and tracked him down to a large fortress where he had been kidnapped and held hostage by a rival faction. The fortress was full of guards with strong weapons.
This part felt like Assassins Creed meets MGSV. Some surprisingly good stealth and platforming. Then I took out his kidnappers who were well armed, so it was like a mini human boss fight. I saved him, we got the sword back, and the noble was very thankful.
There are others that were more creative or surprising, though, but I liked how long this one was. I have more examples.
More_Badass
Member
See any moments like this, or do the machines not interact like that?
See any moments like this, or do the machines not interact like that?
Yes. I had video (now removed) of a moment where a glinthawk was eating a lancehorn and flew away with it in its talons.
Hell, there was a giant enemy I defeated and the glinthawks tried lifting that thing (together?) to steal my resource reward
Sometimes they prey on each other. Definitely.
CopperPuppy
Member
Is there any gameplay footage of Meridian out there?
MiamiWesker
Member
One that lead to a boss battle so huge it could be a final boss for most games. Here it's just a random thing you do.
demogorgon
Banned
my point was that games tend to get overhyped in general. especially exclusives becuase immature fanboys.
with that said horizon looks amazing and i can't wait to play it. i pre ordered weeks ago.
Why are people so defensive on this forums?
demogorgon
Banned
I just looked at the gaf ones. wasn't that hard. took all of 15 mins
TheKingOfPain
Member
onemanasylum
Banned
That's not the case with Horizon, so how is this relevant? Some games deliver, some don't , it's not a conspiracy.
Sweet mother of bollocks it looks so good.