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Shinji Mikami's THE EVIL WITHIN |OT| Where's everyone going? Tango?

Never re.ally like Vanquish but I thinks this stands next to re4 as his best game made. This game is brilliant.

The crazy thing about vanquish is I hated the demo and still didn't completely like it when I started playing once i bought it on the cheap, but once i "got" it, i realized i had the freedom to do pretty much anything I could fathom,and that made every encounter an impromptu action flick, i you ever get a chance soldier through , its zen like when it clicks. Rule number one is its NOT a cover shooter.
 
Black Bars + the zoomed aim was a terrible, terrible idea if it was a design decision, feels claustrophobic as hell only by watching it that can't even imagine playing it, tension can be had without that "P.T." is a proof of that, this form of design decision for this game is just well not for me.

Now Mikami IMO has done 2 misfires, Vanquish and this, game on the surface seems quite incredible with all in its place yet somehow something ruins it everything, in Vanquish was the robot enemies, not organic and boring to fight, now we have the organic and fun to fight enemies but with black bars and a terrible zoomed aiming.
I think one or two flaws shouldn't ruin the game as a whole.

I hated the asteroid shooting in Dead Space. Almost wanted to quit after I couldn't do it for like 8 times trying. Or the 2D SHMUP parts and the big boner gun (stupid name!) shooting in Shadows of the Damned. I absolutely hated those!

But the games were still fun as a whole.

The black bars are annoying but the game is still enjoyable. I think it's a artistic choice. Mikami probably wanted a cinematic feel. And Vanquish's robot enemies are better than, say, futuristic CoD? Vanquish just showed me how talented Mikami's is in that he can make a futurtic shooter that's pretty darn awesome. Only 6hrs though. :(
 

Scrawnton

Member
The crazy thing about vanquish is I hated the demo and still didn't completely like it when I started playing once i bought it on the cheap, but once i "got" it, i realized i had the freedom to do pretty much anything I could fathom,and that made every encounter an impromptu action flick, i you ever get a chance soldier through , its zen like when it clicks. Rule number one is its NOT a cover shooter.

Got it through ps+ years ago. Its still sitting on my PS3 hard drive.
 
I think one or two flaws shouldn't ruin the game as a whole.

I hated the asteroid shooting in Dead Space. Almost wanted to quit after I couldn't do it for like 8 times trying. Or the 2D SHMUP parts and the big boner gun (stupid name!) shooting in Shadows of the Damned. I absolutely hated those!

But the games were still fun as a whole.

The black bars are annoying but the game is still enjoyable. I think it's a artistic choice. Mikami probably wanted a cinematic feel. And Vanquish's robot enemies are better than, say, futuristic CoD? Vanquish just showed me how talented Mikami's is in that he can make a futurtic shooter that's pretty darn awesome. Only 6hrs though. :(

the shmup parts of Shadow of the Damned are the ONLY thing keeping me from getting that game, i hear there is one near that end that is difficult as heck..don't nobody got time for that -__-

Got its org re through ps+ years ago. It still sitting on my PS3 hard drive.

don't sleep on it forever, I kicked myself for waiting so long and for doubting mikami, its a thing of beauty. Just short as heck :(
 
The black bars are annoying but the game is still enjoyable. I think it's a artistic choice. Mikami probably wanted a cinematic feel. And Vanquish's robot enemies are better than, say, futuristic CoD? Vanquish just showed me how talented Mikami's is in that he can make a futurtic shooter that's pretty darn awesome. Only 6hrs though. :(

Yet people want to condemn the game for said black bars. I wish I had the skill to make my own games, and then have people try to tell me a. why my game isn't the way it should be, and b. That I should change it because they said so. FYI this doesn't apply to just this game btw but everything these days. This isn't fucking Burger King, you don't get it your way. I can't force a director of a movie to change his shots, I can't force a author to change this ending chapter, and I sure as hell shouldn't be able to wine and get the ending to a game changed, etc. If your upset you bought something that wasn't what you wanted. Get rid of it. I just bought the PS TV, thought it was crap, sold it, and I've been done with it. I haven't been on forums or gaf posting how much it sucks. Why waste my time? My point is, they wanted the black bars, they wanted 30fps, if you don't like that, that's cool. Just be smart about it and move on if you hate it.
 
So I've read the reviews - and a lot of people complain that it's too hard. Now, interestingly I prefer hard games especially those in the horror genre.

Right now I'm playing Alien, its great but it's also something that you can't play at long periods of time considering the tense, deliberate nature of the game.

Is Evil Within a good game to play alongside of Alien Isolation. Is it better than the 76 metacritic suggests? BTW, I loved RE4.
 
The zoomed shooting was annoying at first, but I can understand why that was implemented.

It does create more tension, almost a psychological perspective. If it was true third person, it would've been too much like RE4, and I think Mikami wanted to avoid that as much as possible.
 

-MD-

Member
This isn't fucking Burger King, you don't get it your way.

Kill him?

lol


Dat chapter 9 though! So good.

The zoomed shooting was annoying at first, but I can understand why that was implemented.

It does create more tension, almost a psychological perspective. If it was true third person, it would've been too much like RE4, and I think Mikami wanted to avoid that as much as possible.

I've never found it annoying but I agree it makes certain situations super tense.
 

tesqui

Member
decided to try
akumu difficulty

I think I've died 20 times and i'm only at the beginning of chapter 3.

This shit is no joke.

Also I see a
ruvik impostor
in the distance wondering around.
Didn't expect them to add later enemies.
 

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
The zoomed shooting was annoying at first, but I can understand why that was implemented.

It does create more tension, almost a psychological perspective. If it was true third person, it would've been too much like RE4, and I think Mikami wanted to avoid that as much as possible.

I think the argument could go both ways. I bet there was a group who thought RE4 was too hard at its initial release. My first playthrough on GC I had 75 deaths.

You won't see everything there is to offer without dying to everything. I think it does that well.
 

Markitron

Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
I think the argument could go both ways. I bet there was a group who thought RE4 was too hard at its initial release. My first playthrough on GC I had 75 deaths.

You won't see everything there is to offer without dying to everything. I think it does that well.

I don't think it's hard, but I do think it's overwhelming at first. It doesn't do a very good job of explaining the complexity of the combat and stealth and leaves you to figure out a lot by yourself.
 

-MD-

Member
Man, with the popup bubbles turned off I noticed I've missed quite a lot of stuff. Tons of newspapers, missing posters, even one of Sebastian's journals from an earlier chapters.

Not even mad, new stuff to read in my 2nd playthrough.

only by watching it that can't even imagine playing it

Now Mikami IMO has done 2 misfires, Vanquish and this

You're calling the game a misfire and you haven't even played it?
 

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
I don't think it's hard, but I do think it's overwhelming at first. It doesn't do a very good job of explaining the complexity of the combat and stealth and leaves you to figure out a lot by yourself.

If you're coming from being a traditional RE4 fan it's like a cake walk. It's more about micro managing ammo more than the rest. Even in RE you know how turn a 180 degree before that tutorial pops up.
 

Andrew.

Banned
Someone hacked Raptors account. Vanquish and Evil Within being "misfires" for Mikami.

Get the fuck outta here.

For all of the immense borderline creeper hard ons you had for the gore in Last of Us, this game will have you passed out from blowing your load so many times before you even hit chapter 4. Knowing you though, probably sooner.

You'll be waxin that carrot after your first headshot. I know this because I considered it.
 
Just completed Chapter 3 on nightmare and it really showed how god tier that level is. It took me almost an hour of slowly treading through it, with barely any resources, carefully managing enemies and making it to the end. Searching for an enemy that has a weapon I'll be able to pick up like an Axe or Torch because that makes it an even ammo trade for the kill. The heartbreak of having one pistol shot left that I planned to use on a dude for a leg+burn combo then have the shot go wide leading me to want to immediately dump points into pistol accuracy, but also knowing I need it for match stock because of how useful they are on this difficulty.

The way the level works is just perfect, it shows you the main thoroughfare and enemies everywhere and lets you work your way through it at your own pace. You observe the traps naturally and can disarm them or use them against the enemies to conserve ammo. The very end with
Chainsaw guy
lets you put it all to the test, now you have free reign over the environment you just explored and you can really use it against him. There are a lot of areas where you can do a jump up to a higher level and get distance quickly while forcing him to take the long way to get some shots in. There are also traps that you would not have been able to disable that are very effective vs him, one in particular that you would not have found if you did not explore thoroughly beforehand which is a good reward.

I also cannot praise the FOV fix enough. I highly recommend anyone playing the PC version to get it, the game is just so much more pleasant to play without the black bars and tight FOV. The atmosphere is still tense as all hell, but now you don't feel like someone has shabbily applied a blindfold to your face.
 
The last time a game disturbed me this much, it was ZombiU. Another example of the "sum being greater than the parts." After finding Destiny so lifeless and masturbatory, TEW is such a pleasure to play. Such a delight, to play a game with zero grinding!

Yes, there are plenty of technical flaws. The
"village"
in Ch 2 looked like a right mess. But the grassy plains right before it . . . gorgeous and ethereal. I just feel so much more "immersed" in this world than any game I've played on my PS4/Xbone (other than maybe Don't Starve which is totally different). Even The Last of Us feels like it lets it's pretensions and it's desire to do Hollywood storytelling outweigh it's gameplay concerns. TEW is so old school in that everything is in service of having fun. I even dig the chapter breaks, the funny little graphic when you acquire more green gel, and especially the unforgiving health system.

My hat is off to Mikami.
 

Markitron

Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
If you're coming from being a traditional RE4 fan it's like a cake walk. It's more about micro managing ammo more than the rest. Even in RE you know how turn a 180 degree before that tutorial pops up.

I'm a huge RE4 fan, but I don't think it's as similar to TEW as everyone else seems to think. It's a lot slower and more deliberate imo, the inclusion of a stealth mechanic completely set's it apart. I actually think it's closer to TLOU (especially TLOU's survival mode)

Whichever way you lean there's nothing wrong with being stuck inbetween two of the greatest games of all time :)
 
I'm in Chapter 4. Seems pretty fun so far. Level design isn't exactly like old RE games, but it still has multiple paths that lead to items and other hidden stuff, and sometime I even get lost a bit. Way better than modern RE games in this regard. Being a single player only game helps I suppose.
 
Is Evil Within a good game to play alongside of Alien Isolation. Is it better than the 76 metacritic suggests? BTW, I loved RE4.

It's way better than the metacritic average, and also right in line with the metacritic average, fluctuating between a 7 and 10 from moment to moment. There are points where everything comes together and it's like RE4's little brother in terms of quality of level and encounter design, then there are times when it's like.........."Naaahhhh." It's a hard game for me to pin down, but definitely worthy of a playthrough in any case because when it's good, it's really really good. And fortunately, pacing after the 1st chapter is generally excellent, so even the parts that ain't so hot don't overstay their welcome. (aside from some issues that are too embedded into the game's systems)
 

mattp

Member
2 more random observations

man its so fucking annoying when an enemy interrupts your match dropping animation and you get locked into a waggle the left stick qte instead

and, the ai in this game is REALLY stupid lol
maybe its on purpose cuz theyre "zombies", but they are fucking dumb
 
Just wondering, how many of you spent the time and resource to killing the boss of chapter 6 instead of just running ^^ ?

And on the topic of chapter 6, man that was a long ass chapter, and what a change in scenery @_@

2 more random observations

man its so fucking annoying when an enemy interrupts your match dropping animation and you get locked into a waggle the left stick qte instead

and, the ai in this game is REALLY stupid lol
maybe its on purpose cuz theyre "zombies", but they are fucking dumb

If they were any smart I'll be dying a lot more T_T
 

-MD-

Member
and, the ai in this game is REALLY stupid lol
maybe its on purpose cuz theyre "zombies", but they are fucking dumb

I go back and forth with the ai, sometimes it's dumb and sometimes it surprises me.

Earlier on chapter 9 in the
library I went up on the balcony, 2 enemies up there and I ran to one side, they both could've easily walked straight toward me but the furthest one from me decided to take the slightly longer path and try and flank me, of course he didn't make it in time
but I was pretty happy with that.

Also I finally got a
door kicked in on me
in chapter 9, that shit was so cool.
 

malfcn

Member
I haven't been able to play for 2 nights now..Hope I haven't lost my focus on what is going on. Going to try to play tonight, but have an early day that's long tomorrow. Blah.
 

mattp

Member
yeah its weird. sometimes the ai does surprise me
but then other times if i'm like "eh i screwed up im just gonna let them kill me and go back to the checkpoint" i'll be standing there and the fucking guys are walking into walls instead of killing me lol
 

Andrew.

Banned
Psycho Break would've been such a great title to use here in the US. It's got edge and the title cuts through ice. So cold and intriguing sounding. Dunno why they had to change it. I guess "think of the children" or some other bullshit PC issue.

For the record I've always thought Biohazard was a cooler name than Resident Evil. Good band too.
 
Psycho Break would've been such a great title to use here in the US. It's got edge and the title cuts through ice. So cold and intriguing sounding. Dunno why they had to change it. I guess "think of the children" or some other bullshit PC issue.

Focus groups happened.
 

mattp

Member
resident evil is a way cooler name. for the first game, anyway. its a great play on words

and i like the evil within, if for nothing else but a nod to resident evil
 

Yuterald

Member
So I've read the reviews - and a lot of people complain that it's too hard. Now, interestingly I prefer hard games especially those in the horror genre.

Right now I'm playing Alien, its great but it's also something that you can't play at long periods of time considering the tense, deliberate nature of the game.

Is Evil Within a good game to play alongside of Alien Isolation. Is it better than the 76 metacritic suggests? BTW, I loved RE4.

I'm playing both at the same time (along with Shadow of Bore-dor) and I think they compliment each other fairly well. This game is definitely more action game driven and arcade-like, in some respects, than Alien. This is definitely RE4's successor, in many ways. Aside from the art direction being (mostly) incredible, the core gameplay and mechanics are a step above what came before it. The enemy reactions and the feedback of weapons and such is top tier stuff.
 

-MD-

Member
Psycho Break would've been such a great title to use here in the US. It's got edge and the title cuts through ice. So cold and intriguing sounding. Dunno why they had to change it. I guess "think of the children" or some other bullshit PC issue.

For the record I've always thought Biohazard was a cooler name than Resident Evil. Good band too.

I prefer the western titles for both series, of course their Japanese titles are more descriptive and probably fit the games better overall.

Resident Evil doesn't make a ton of sense outside of RE1 but the mansion was the most iconic setting of that series anyways and I grew up with it so no takesies backsies ;)
 

Facism

Member
So I've read the reviews - and a lot of people complain that it's too hard. Now, interestingly I prefer hard games especially those in the horror genre.

Right now I'm playing Alien, its great but it's also something that you can't play at long periods of time considering the tense, deliberate nature of the game.

Is Evil Within a good game to play alongside of Alien Isolation. Is it better than the 76 metacritic suggests? BTW, I loved RE4.

yes. it's only hard if you lack gamesense and patience.
 

mattp

Member
lol holy fuck in chapter 5 when
the spider chick pops out of the ground in that room with the red lights
got me so good
 

StewboaT_

Member
I definitely felt some of that in Ch 3. Like, I can tell it's a really awesome environment, and a well designed map with lots of verticality and interconnections, but it's hard to absorb it when you see so little of it at a time.

As for being weak against enemies, I experienced that at first, but my arsenal grew and I started to rely (perhaps unfortunately) more heavily on the shoot leg -> burn combo. I also upgraded stock for ammo and matches, and suddenly I'm not feeling deprived anymore. In the end, clearing out the little village area wasn't that tough. I was worried I'd have to do a lot more waiting around to observe enemy patrol routes and then stealth everyone. Which I hate.

The aspect ratio makes playing the game more uncomfortable than it should be, and I don't mean in some bullshit "consistent with the theme of the game" kind of way, but in a "this entertainment product is putting completely unnecessary barriers to my enjoyment in my way" kind of way. I want to feel unease because of the content of the game, not because I'm constantly struggling to frame the scene optimally while I peer through a tiny window.

Still, only at the boss of Ch 3, so plenty of time to change my impression.
I agree with this wholeheartedly. I can't help but feel that this would be one of my favourite games if the damn fov stopped giving me a bloody headache!
 

kunonabi

Member
Well I returned my rental copy this morning. Game just wasn't doing it for me. Ch3 and 4 were fun since they were kind of flexible in how you approached things and rewarded exploration but everything else has just been shoot shoot bang bang with a lot of forced encounters. I don't know if the characters and story pick up later but neither clicked with me and I really had to force myself to keep going at times. Game wasn't particularly scary either. I liked that the haunted were far more aggressive than the ganados,etc but the game felt really janky at parts. I may rent it again to see if the later chapters live to the all the hype though.
 

Ateron

Member
Yet people want to condemn the game for said black bars. I wish I had the skill to make my own games, and then have people try to tell me a. why my game isn't the way it should be, and b. That I should change it because they said so. FYI this doesn't apply to just this game btw but everything these days. This isn't fucking Burger King, you don't get it your way. I can't force a director of a movie to change his shots, I can't force a author to change this ending chapter, and I sure as hell shouldn't be able to wine and get the ending to a game changed, etc. If your upset you bought something that wasn't what you wanted. Get rid of it. I just bought the PS TV, thought it was crap, sold it, and I've been done with it. I haven't been on forums or gaf posting how much it sucks. Why waste my time? My point is, they wanted the black bars, they wanted 30fps, if you don't like that, that's cool. Just be smart about it and move on if you hate it.

I'm loving the fucking game, but I don't believe the bars are there for artistic reasons. You can disable them on PC, and let's not forget RE4 had them on the GC but not on the ps2, which made me enjoy it more on that platform (the controller helped as well), despite the fact that it didn't look as good in terms of colours, lighting and performance. Thus, giving more credence to the thought that they are there to mask performance problems.

This being said, it's right up there with RE4 for me. IF they managed to make it without the bars and maintain a locked 30, this game would surpass it imo. As it stands, RE4 is still king, but TEW is not losing by much.
 

mattp

Member
how would you guys feel if they took this exact engine, controls, etc
but instead of designing an re4 style rollercoaster where you're mostly moving forward, which is basically what evil within is
they dropped you into an re1 mansion style game

because, god i want that so badly. i mean, it's what i was hoping this would be back when they announced it, but it pretty quickly became apparent this was going to be more along the lines of an re4 style design, but with some of the survival bits of classic re

don't get me wrong. re4 is one of the fucking best designed games of all time. and i am really loving evil within
but i can't help think...what if
 

Exr

Member
Watched a friend play this yesterday and it really sapped any hype I had left for the game. The visual filter is great, looks nice on PS4. But the slowness of the first two chapters were just too much for me...I guess it was my fault for expecting a game that starts off fast like RE4. When does the game get more action-oriented?
 

mattp

Member
Watched a friend play this yesterday and it really sapped any hype I had left for the game. The visual filter is great, looks nice on PS4. But the slowness of the first two chapters were just too much for me...I guess it was my fault for expecting a game that starts off fast like RE4. When does the game get more action-oriented?

the first two chapters are essential a prologue/intro to the game
not really representative of the rest. seriously, give it a shot
 
they dropped you into an re1 mansion style game

I think the game would need a much better camera method in a cramped environment like that, but I would be completely down with it. It's what I was hoping the game was originally, not that I have any problems with this style of design either.

I basically dream about having a new exploration based Survival Horror game every night.
 

Arkanius

Member
Watched a friend play this yesterday and it really sapped any hype I had left for the game. The visual filter is great, looks nice on PS4. But the slowness of the first two chapters were just too much for me...I guess it was my fault for expecting a game that starts off fast like RE4. When does the game get more action-oriented?

The first two chapters are not representative of the game
At all
 
I'm loving the fucking game, but I don't believe the bars are there for artistic reasons. You can disable them on PC, and let's not forget RE4 had them on the GC but not on the ps2, which made me enjoy it more on that platform (the controller helped as well), despite the fact that it didn't look as good in terms of colours, lighting and performance. Thus, giving more credence to the thought that they are there to mask performance problems.

This being said, it's right up there with RE4 for me. IF they managed to make it without the bars and maintain a locked 30, this game would surpass it imo. As it stands, RE4 is still king, but TEW is not losing by much.

Yeah via console commands. It's not something they ever wanted to be done via the game itself. I've just never played a game with black bars, stepped back, and said "This game isn't that good, if the black bars were removed it would be infinitely better." It's a simple preference. Would I rather play without? Sure. Have I taken them time to remove the from my pc version. Nope. Either way. Game is still the same game and content, black bars or not.
 

FaintDeftone

Junior Member
Just finished Chapter 3. Still do not know how I really feel about the game.

On the positive side, I love the atmosphere and the art direction. The game does a great job at making the player feel tense and uneasy. Every situation that I've come across that feels impossible to get through usually has a trick or method that the player has to discover. The checkpoint system is very forgiving, which is great for a game like this that has quite a bit of trial and error involved.

The negatives? I hate the black bars and the FOV. I laughed when I first saw folks complaining about the black bars, but once the game requires more awareness from the player, it becomes apparent that the black bars do make it frustrating to move around the environments and try to keep focused. I always feel like I'm peering out of a window that is too narrow for me to see anything.

Also, I am finding myself not having fun at times. Maybe because every enemy encounter usually results in my death. I just get bored of trying to sneak around constantly. I don't mind the lack of combat every so often, but I wish the game let you tackle more situations in a non-stealthy approach. Maybe there are different approaches that I'm just not seeing, but I feel like I want to explore the environment less because the FOV and how easily you can die makes it more frustrating to do so.

I'm chugging along, but I may hit a point where I just give up and move on to something else. We'll see. Currently about to start CH4.
 

rtcn63

Member
Oh god, I should stop watching these TEW vids.
Some of the best and worst boss fights I've ever seen. Instant kill phases without checkpoints should be a crime. I'm sorry, I know people love their hardcore shit, but that just goes into unfair territory.
 

kunonabi

Member
Watched a friend play this yesterday and it really sapped any hype I had left for the game. The visual filter is great, looks nice on PS4. But the slowness of the first two chapters were just too much for me...I guess it was my fault for expecting a game that starts off fast like RE4. When does the game get more action-oriented?

The game is pretty much all action after that though at least ch7. I don't know if lets up on the action after that. If it does I'd be more inclined to it another shot myself.
 
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