You could fire at/kill multiple opponents at the same time from a distance, and keep adding fuel to the fire if at first it didn't succeed. It was like a long distance flamethrower, but with better aiming and better signaled coverage.
You could fire at/kill multiple opponents at the same time from a distance, and keep adding fuel to the fire if at first it didn't succeed. It was like a long distance flamethrower, but with better aiming and better signaled coverage.
I finished this last night and like most I figured I'd like to put some thoughts out there. I hate to put it down to just positive and negatives but I'd be writing all day otherwise lol.
Okay, to start with the positives.
Presentation-wise, there is nothing quite like it. It is easily the most impressive looking game I've ever come across. I'm a console and pc gamer and with the latter, have had the luxury of playing the likes of Crysis, Metro etc at their most highest graphical fidelity. But to me, this trumps them completely. One particularly cutscene, when Galahad
is grieving over Sebastians death and visits the brothel to find some real answers
, there's many shots in the entire scene that are mind blowing but one image in particular of Galahads hands reaching for a drink looked like a film. Not one part of it made me think it was a fantastic looking videogame. I could just see that and it appeared to be a still from a film. Often I was left flabbergasted at how beautiful The Order is.
Other aspects of the presentation are perfectly done too. The voice acting, the score and the severe lack of jank are honestly out of this world. Everything related to these areas is top notch. The devs have really outdid themselves with such high quality. This game is so incredibly well polished in every aspect, it only has me beaming with excitement at the prospect of a sequel. What could this world yield for the future? Endless possibilities!
The gunplay, at first, when viewed in videos etc never appeared to be anything special. But playing is a different story. The guns all feel special. Some are less poppy and others are forces of nature. The way the enemies react is convincing and realistic, and generally when combat ensues, it feels like a real "holy shit this is amazing!" moment. RAD have nothing to worry about on this front, they have achieved an impressive combat experience.
Okay now the negatives!
The constant hand holding is quite tiresome. One thing that a lot of people don't like, myself included is constantly being lead by the nose. The game never really lets the player off the rails, whether it's in quick time tips, inspecting objects of interest etc. The training wheels are always on and while it's a simple fix of trying to ignore it all, we do need to take off those training wheels. To feel like what is happening is our doing and not the divine hand of the developer. And since this seems to be the case, there is also a major feeling of look but don't touch too much and that's quite disappointing. This world entices us to explore it and savour every morsel of its incredible atmosphere and details but we don't really get a proper chance to except for the odd contextual occasions. For the next game, more meaningful interactions, less hand holding and actually putting trust in the player would increase the quality of the experience greatly.
The ai. The human ai is near enough non existent. Enemies will move around for the most part but there's a whack-a-mole type effect they can frequently have on me and they generally don't seem too intelligent. A sense of self preservation and tactics would go along way in making the actual battles more interesting. Too many times the enemies, especially the shotgun guys, just walk straight towards you and don't seem to have a any problem with the fact that I'm shooting them several times in the face.
Enemy variety is severely lacking. There must be a hand few of times where you're battling non human enemies and since the order is very much about tackling these different types of species, for the vast majority of the game we are fighting humans. Generic escapee, generic rebel and generic policemen. That's about it!
I'll finish my negatives on the story. Now, I don't particularly dislike the story at all. It hits all the right beats and generally does what it sets out and there are obviously dead ends that are going to be picked up in the future. That's fine, I don't mind that. But one thing that did peeve me was
how Izzy was so quick to go against Gray! They clearly have a nice relationship going on, there I'd some flirting and such and they have been through a lot together. But as soon as things seem a little off with Gray, she is first in line to shut all over him. I found it incredibly jarring that the woman he is close to is first to want his head on a spike, but the one he just met ends up saving his life. It's quite bizarre. I know she is definitely hurting but she doesn't even give him a fair chance. Lafayette was more of a help than she was and he's the newer of the bunch (I think). So yeah, that aspect of the story really bugged quite some bit.
Overall though I loved this. I have a lot more to say but I've written enough. The atmosphere, the graphics and the presentation, I will not lie, made me love this game more than it likely deserved. Gameplay wise it's nothing special but it can be! The potential is there and it's ripe for the taking. Let's just hope the devs keep these positives and expand and improve on the negatives for the sequel!
Did people really have trouble with that steath section? All of the enemies were on extremely tame patterns that didn't really intersect with other enemies, and they telegraphed their locations with bright ass lanterns.
Found it at RedBox. Returned it a day later. Completed it in a couple of evenings. Not as bad as people make out, and the theme/concept has such great potential. It's frustrating to think that with some design changes and some tweaks to the plot, it could be something quite great!
Yeh it is Rich "OH MAY GAWD" Evans from RLM, him and Jack play a ton of games for their Previously Recorded Youtube and Twitch streams. Worth checking out if you enjoy RLM.
The trick is to use the clouds to move fire around. Light one guy, then keep shooting burst of thermite at him while moving your aim around. The fire will carry through to other enemies. It's really cool once you figure it out.
I would imagine there has to be a patch coming for that.
On a side note is anyone else frustrated over how fantastic the gunplay sections of Chapters 13-16 are. I swear the whole time I kept thinking "Why didn't you guys do more of this earlier!"
I would imagine there has to be a patch coming for that.
On a side note is anyone else frustrated over how fantastic the gunplay sections of Chapters 13-16 are. I swear the whole time I kept thinking "Why didn't you guys do more of this earlier!"
I enjoyed just about every gunfight in the game, especially the parts where you move around and sweep room to room. The mechanics are solid, the framerate is smooth, the guns are cool, and the animations and hit-detection are on point.
The only one that was a bit much was that one fight with Lafayette where enemies just kept pouring in. You're kinda pinned down and it just becomes repetitive.
The trick is to use the clouds to move fire around. Light one guy, then keep shooting burst of thermite at him while moving your aim around. The fire will carry through to other enemies. It's really cool once you figure it out.
I enjoyed just about every gunfight in the game, especially the parts where you move around and sweep room to room. The mechanics are solid, the framerate is smooth, the guns are cool, and the animations and hit-detection are on point.
The only one that was a bit much was that one fight with Lafayette where enemies just kept pouring in. You're kinda pinned down and it just becomes repetitive.
I would imagine there has to be a patch coming for that.
On a side note is anyone else frustrated over how fantastic the gunplay sections of Chapters 13-16 are. I swear the whole time I kept thinking "Why didn't you guys do more of this earlier!"
I would imagine there has to be a patch coming for that.
On a side note is anyone else frustrated over how fantastic the gunplay sections of Chapters 13-16 are. I swear the whole time I kept thinking "Why didn't you guys do more of this earlier!"
They gave us more weapon options and had an ebb and flow to the combat that earlier segments were lacking. AI also put way more pressure on you and there was more destructable cover, forcing you to move instead of just hunkering down.
One of the design choices that irk me the most in terms of wasted potential: Blacksight
Blacksight should have been akin to FEAR's slow-mo. Being able to slow down all those particle effects and watch the bullets chip away at the environment and blast limbs off enemies would have been incredibly fun.
With a graphics engine like that this would have been a no brainer. Slow down character movement except for aiming, and watch those soft body physics cloths sway *drool*
One of the design choices that irk me the most in terms of wasted potential: Blacksight
Blacksight should have been akin to FEAR's slow-mo. Being able to slow down all those particle effects and watch the bullets chip away at the environment and blast limbs off enemies would have been incredibly fun.
With a graphics engine like that this would have been a no brainer. Slow down character movement except for aiming, and watch those soft body physics cloths sway *drool*
Yeah, Blacksight is something I want to see tweaked in a sequel as well. God I hope we get a sequel for this game. It's one of those things that's extra frustrating because I think with some tweaks it could be absolutely fantastic but as it stands now there's a lot of missed potential with moments of greatness. To me that's far more infuriating than just being outright bad.
Just finished this tonight. I enjoyed it for the most part, but all the criticisms are completely valid. When the gameplay is actually firing on all cylinders though it's really quite good. I hope the series continues as this game has some really solid foundation pieces. I just wish there weren't so many oddly placed mechanics, such as pointless items to view, the audio diaries that force you to sit in a menu, and the annoying quicktime events.
It's not that those pieces couldn't work in the game, it's that they aren't flushed out at all. If it had some more adventure elements that used those concepts it could be great. As is they just comee off as half baked elements within an expensive tech demo.
Aaannd I just realized I played through the entire game without even knowing about Blacksite. What the hell? Did they tutorialize this and I just forgot about it?
Aaannd I just realized I played through the entire game without even knowing about Blacksite. What the hell? Did they tutorialize this and I just forgot about it?
I think the biggest problems with Blacksight are that it's mapped to L1, instead of R3, and the HUD indicator for when it's ready isn't obvious enough, at all.
No customizable controls whatsoever, in this game, is bullshit. RAD made a few too many of what are, in my opinion, very amateur mistakes that reek of "first console game", unfortunately.
Aaannd I just realized I played through the entire game without even knowing about Blacksite. What the hell? Did they tutorialize this and I just forgot about it?
I almost finished my first play-through before I remembered that it was a thing.
I think there's a pretty big imfo-dump early on in the game in regards to play mechanics. They don't ease you into it as much as they should have, so you end up trying to remember a bunch of things in a short span of time.
Aaannd I just realized I played through the entire game without even knowing about Blacksite. What the hell? Did they tutorialize this and I just forgot about it?
Yep. You're forced to use it in one of the encounters of that very first battle, once you've gone to the second floor of the building. The billiards room if I remember correctly.
On a side note is anyone else frustrated over how fantastic the gunplay sections of Chapters 13-16 are. I swear the whole time I kept thinking "Why didn't you guys do more of this earlier!"
I was definitely frustrated by those final encounters because the difficulty ramp up was extreme - don't know how many times I retired one room in particular again and again and again because I'd get dropped from every angle. As a challenge it was fine, on paper, but nothing else in the game allowed you to organically practice the techniques you need to get past it because no other battles
forced you into extremely close quarters against so many enemies and waves of enemies
You can finish all 5 episodes of The Walking Dead Season 1 in about 10 hours, and none of the Trophies are missable.
Game of Thrones and Tales from the Borderlands are the same way, but obviously can't get the Plat on those until all the episodes are out. Wolf Among Us is the only recent Telltale game that requires any bit of work at all for the Platinum.
Where in the game does it say new members get a small taste of the black water to increase their life spans before they are rewarded their own pendant flask?
Just finished it, jesus this game has so much potential for an incredible sequel. But all the while I felt like I was playing Uncharted 1, the gameplay is far too simple. If they can expand and flesh out on the mechanics, Uncharted 2 style then they will have something truly special on their hands.
The game has the best voice acting I've ever heard in a game, I think it even bests TLOU in that regard.. Incredible. Graphics are incredible. Presentation, atmosphere, all top incredible and head and shoulders above everything else.
The gunplay itself is solid, weapons have weight and the hit reactions are great. However the Arc gun is a massive disappointment, the electric beam it fires looks so weak, compared to the Thermite gun its no fun to use. And regarding those 2 guns, we didnt get to use them NEARLY enough. Galahad also needs to be able to use more than 1 large gun at a time, I shouldn't have to choose between a shotgun or a machine gun, I wanna swtich back and forth.
Combat scenarios are dated at this point. They're about as good as Uncharted 1 and Gears of War 1. Basically enter room or courtyard with cover, room fills with enemies, kill them all and then move forward. This would be OK if the combat mechanics and AI were great, but they're not. You need more: dodge moves, human shields, table flipping for cover, bullet time, platforming, stealth, melee systems, whatever.
Overall though, I had a good time. The story is great, and really picked up towards the middle of the game. Im already looking forward to a sequel. Shit better get a sequel.
In terms of a sequel, I wonder how much of a hill RAD has ahead of themselves.
Will they make another 7-8 hour linear romp with mostly dangling plot threads? Or do they need to provide a LOT more meat? Does it need some form of co-op or competitive or branching decision points or horde-esque modes or something else to provide long term value? How much can be taken from the first game to the second whole cloth? How much needs to be scrapped entirely and reimagined?
I think, to change minds and entice new players, RAD will need to settle in and prep for a LOT of work. Their next foray into Orderness needs to pack a lot more punch for its weight. If assets and performances and polish of this quality comes at such a premium in time and cost, the story and the gameplay of a follow-up needs to leave people fully satisfied when they're done.
But I wish em luck with it, and I'll be on board for what comes next.
In terms of a sequel, I wonder how much of a hill RAD has ahead of themselves.
Will they make another 7-8 hour linear romp with mostly dangling plot threads? Or do they need to provide a LOT more meat? Does it need some form of co-op or competitive or branching decision points or horde-esque modes or something else to provide long term value? How much can be taken from the first game to the second whole cloth? How much needs to be scrapped entirely and reimagined?
I think, to change minds and entice new players, RAD will need to settle in and prep for a LOT of work. Their next foray into Orderness needs to pack a lot more punch for its weight. If assets and performances and polish of this quality comes at such a premium in time and cost, the story and the gameplay of a follow-up needs to leave people fully satisfied when they're done.
But I wish em luck with it, and I'll be on board for what comes next.
They really do need to beef up the core design but given the way the sequel set up isn't teasing a big time jump like many previously speculated, lots and lots of assets can be reused. I think in terms of gunplay the game is mechanically strong, they just need the encounter design to match it. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a lot of stuff partially done that got left on the cutting room floor that they can iterate on for a sequel as well.
In terms of narrative I think the next game will have to have more closure, even the people who like the game are frustrated with that. It struck me as a clear attempt to drum up demand for a sequel. They have to let the next game's quality drive people asking for more instead of baiting.
The jump in quality between Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta was huge, particularly from a design standpoint. I hope they can pull off that kind of improvement again.
They really do need to beef up the core design but given the way the sequel set up isn't teasing a big time jump like many previously speculated, lots and lots of assets can be reused.
So i just started playing and it makes a good first impression, i just want to say though that the sound mixing and design is incredible. The game also seems to have a very compelling atmosphere.
I'm also enjoying the story, i feel like its not talking down to me like quite a few games have lately. Of course, i've heard the story is week so i'm not holding my breathe for a compelling tale, but at least it might hopefully be a well told poor tale.
I hope this game isn't a case of people reviewing what the game isn't, instead of what it is
The game is gorgeous, and the base technical achievements of the game are amazing. The sound, visuals, and core storyline are solid.
...but mediocre gameplay and plot development don't justify the long development time. Nor the overall game length, or for that matter the $60 dollar price tag. The ending and final fight alone left a bitter taste in my mouth.
I easily finished the game from a single 3 dollar rental. In no way would I ever drop full price for this series. The studio has a long way to go to earn that.
GRAPHICS: Just top notch. I don't think I've ever seen something nearly as gorgeous on a console or on my PC. No jaggies, no aliasing, no stutter, it is indeed a technical milestone in every aspect. You could say a lot of bad things about The Order, but you can't say anything bad about the graphics.
MUSIC AND SFX: Very good score, but kinda forgettable in my opinion. It's not that it's bad or even bland, it just didn't resonate with me so much, but it's certainly a very polished and well-composed score. SFX is just top notch. All the weapons have this satisfying feedback, explosions are a blast (get it? Get it?) to watch, enemies scream and give commands and stuff, it's all very well made.
VOICE ACTING: some of the very best voice acting is present here. The only character I didn't like was the Lord Chancellor, because he would be so flamboyant on his inflexions, but the rest of the cast is just incredibly professional and gave excellent performances.
STORY: so much potential, no little of it untapped. It feels like the whole game is only a prologue to a sequel, and that you get to see nothing but exposition and presentation. Like the first third of a movie. Characters in general are fleshed out enough that you care for most of them, but not so much that you'd be sad if any of them kicked the bucket.
I would've been actually happy if Issi kicked the bucket. She clearly had a romantic thing with Gallahad before, yet it only takes one sighting with an Indian woman and a few words from a CEO to turn her 100% against Gallahad in a fit of blind rage.
GAMEPLAY: sorry to say, this is by far the weakest point in all the game. If you watched the trailers with the lycans and expected to have awesome lycan fights and stuff, sorry to dissapoint, but they're few, far between and short. 95% of the time you'll be fighting humans, and even though they're pretty smart and will take cover and communicate with each other and stuff, there's just nothing original or noteworthy here. Only during the final chapters, where gunfights are more chaotic, will you leave with a sense of "HELL YEAH!!". Guns are varied, have personalities on their own, special guns are really fun to use and are not necessarily overpowered, explosions from grenades are just a sight to behold... gun-wise, this game is just excellent. And even though I said gameplay was the weakest point, I still felt like I had a blast whenever I finished a fight. Because even though enemies are rather dumb, the music and the guns and the effects and the graphics and the screaming and everything else got together to build a song one could definitely dance to.
LENGTH: the elephant in the reviews. Yes, it feels short for a 60 bucks game. But when it was over, I didn't think "crap, that's it?". Rather, I thought "holy crap this was awesome. Please let there be a sequel tomorrow!!".
In the end, this game is all about potential for a sequel. Thinking about the story, I feel that the untapped potential could be amazing in a sequel. About gameplay, a few tweaks here and there and it could be something truly memorable (better AI for enemies, have them attack differently when they're thughs and when it's the police, make the lycan fights more than a QTE and shooting). I know I played a short and not-AAA-except-for-graphics-and-voices game, but I can't help but think that this game was just AMAZING, and I loved my time with it. A sequel that improves its shortcomings would be nothing less than a masterpiece.
Just finished the game. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and I don't regret the $80 I spent on it for a moment. I picked the game up last Saturday and I've played a little every night until today, so while it may have technically been a short game, I don't feel at all shortchanged.
Certainly a lot of the negatives people have cited ring true; control is snatched away from the player far too often, combat scenarios aren't always particularly clever, forced-stealth sections suck (even when they're fairly easy) and so on. On the other hand, it seems like I enjoyed the story and characters a lot more than most, and I'm certainly looking forward to seeing what happens next.
Probably a 7 or 8 out of 10 game for me, though I can understand scores reaching as low as about 5 out of 10. Lower than that just seems like people more interested in making a point than giving a score that's honestly reflective of the product.
Aaannd I just realized I played through the entire game without even knowing about Blacksite. What the hell? Did they tutorialize this and I just forgot about it?
i'd like to know too. And i'd like to know if there will be updates on this game. like.. skippable cutscenes and showing how many collectibles you found in each chapter...
Someone else said this on a different forum that I visit. I mean, he is in candlelight, so of course it's going to be dark. I can still make out the picture on my screen, though. It looks appropriately lit.
*Shrugs*
Does it look 'black crush' dark to you?
Edit: Come to think of it, I did lower the in-game brightness/gamma a notch or two. The default setting was too high for my liking, so that might be why it looks super dark for some people.
My prediction, based on the amount of "Thumbs-Up" that the game has in the PS4 UI section, is that it sold decently but not all that well. I think it has 20x less thumbs ups than TLOU:R for example and 10x less than CoD:AW.
So, started playing the Order this past week, and wow it's a beautiful game. The way cutscenes blend into gameplay is a nice touch. I am about an hour into the game, and I like the combat system so far.
But, I am so lost on the story.
There was a long scene involving the Order about 20 mins into the game, talking about what decisions to make, and who's in control. (I think?) I am not quite sure why I am doing what I am doing, but as long as I can kill some baddies, that's fine with me.
I also want to explore the environment, and look at every article laying around. I believe there is a trophy for this, but I do not believe I can track if I have found everything.
Sony better let RAD make a fucking sequel to this. So many story plot points were left for a sequel... Also does anyone here feel that a sequel could actually be a masterpiece? Now that RAD have all the assets needed to make a sequel + all the lessons learnt from the critical reception, I have a strong feeling that they will strive to make the game they envisioned.
Sony better let RAD make a fucking sequel to this. So many story plot points were left for a sequel... Also does anyone here feel that a sequel could actually be a masterpiece? Now that RAD have all the assets needed to make a sequel + all the lessons learnt from the critical reception, I have a strong feeling that they will strive to make the game they envisioned.
