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Posted by DaZ [80.42.207.108] on 2006/05/10 18:52:10

So who splashed the cash and picked up episode 1 then? Well me for one... I wish I had waited.
1) its 3 hours long, they said 4-6... no way in hell, 3 hours 1st time, 1 and a half hours 2nd playthough I reckon.
2) The "much hyped" personal challenge system (auto ajusting skill) is a tad broken, it was a constant quicksave, load, load, load, load load load as teh enemies didn't seem to to adjust whenever I died (died = a shitload of times)
3) The story is flat and sucked, jesus if this is gonna be an episodic content game then surely the story must be solid!
4) Is like half-life 2 minus all the cool things you liked about half-life 2.
Sure, there were some fun bits, the weapons in general are all very nice (and very cookie cutter) and the gore is fun. When the Personal Challenge System works it works well, but sooner or later is hiccups and suddenyly your facing 6 minigun totting armoured dudes with 4 health and no ammo, and no way to change that :(
Level design is generally a little boring, best looking areas you've already seen in teh screenshots, ie. the outside docks with the lighthouse and the exterior of the sintek building. Everything is dull corridors and rooms. The source engine doesn't look like its been used too well, everything looks undetailed and flat, compared to hl2 this aint a looker.
And finally, the price. $20 for 3 hours of average cookie cutter fps action, hmm well if things dont get a hell of a lot better in episode 2 then Im staying well away.

Hmm
#1 posted by Tron [203.26.206.130] on 2006/05/11 03:58:33
So basically you are paying to download a substandard and short hl2 mod?
That's A Shame.
#2 posted by Text_Fish [194.72.70.124] on 2006/05/11 05:31:42
The original was terribly underappreciated, so it would've been nice for Episodes to make up for that.
I was going to get my hands on it myself, but I might wait until a few more have been released and they put out a pack for sale, now.
Well
#3 posted by Vondur [195.128.95.36] on 2006/05/11 06:28:34
i liked it, typed some shit on me site about it.
Whiny Potato Head
#4 posted by Pauk [81.144.173.30] on 2006/05/11 07:43:51
I've yet to play, so I can't comment on the gameplay, but I don't think $20 is a bad deal for 2 / 3 ish hours play. You'd easily piss that up the wall going to the cinema and its less entertaining.
Also, you do get the original Sin with it, which I thought was a good laugh.
Yeah Well
#5 posted by Zwiffle [129.89.50.180] on 2006/05/11 11:27:58
You can play through Marcher Fortress for an hour for FREE, with probably better gameplay and you don't even need to have fucking Steam on your computer (GOD BLESS YOU KINN!)
Yeah...
#6 posted by metlslime [204.15.3.5] on 2006/05/11 11:53:51
$20 = a 4-minute lap dance.
Zwiffle Sir
#7 posted by Pauk [86.142.69.45] on 2006/05/11 12:13:41
I like Steam, it just works.
metl, thats probably the best use of $20.
Hee
#8 posted by HeadThump [65.140.59.129] on 2006/05/11 14:32:30
four minute lapdance = 20$
she takes to the back room as the bouncer is starting his break
= priceless
Wow
#9 posted by Shallow [213.143.16.244] on 2006/05/12 05:43:51
Anybody would think this was the worst game ever from what has been said so far. It's not at all, I really enjoyed it. It's flawed and far from the ultimate FPS experience but has good solid combat, fairly decent AI and all the other palaver you would expect.
Game length varies between individuals, a lot, especially in FPS games. My first play of HL2 took me a full day (something like 16-18 hours) yet I've seen people say it sucked because it was 8 hours long, which pretty much means they played it like a bunnyhopping CS retard the whole way through and completely pissed away any potential to actually enjoy all the stuff in the game (Note: I'm not saying that this was you playing Emergence Daz, just citing an extreme example!) My first play of Emergence took just over 4 hours and I thought I had rushed it a bit (it was a week night with work the next morning after all), replaying it and exploring properly will probably take longer. Arena mode is supposed to be coming in a patch soon as well which will hopefully add a lot of replay value to something that cost me less than getting a movie on DVD.
The dynamic difficulty thing is currently broken, there's no denying it. If you play on the default slider settings you'll breeze through the first half of the game, and then start getting frequent bouts of anal rape after the mid-game boss. That it worked so perfectly up to midway and so badly after is disappointing: For the first half I rarely died but was often scraping my way to the next health cache which felt challenging and exciting, for the second half I was constantly quickloading (but I was still having fun so I didn't mind too much). It was kind of refreshing to have a game actually be hard for me but still beatable though, too often it just doesn't work out with fixed difficulty levels, if a game has difficulty settings at all. Hopefully I can find slider settings that give me the right experience all the way through.
It was disappointing that Blade doesn't chat much now, no quips and chatter with JC like in the original. Silly Easter eggs and daft posters were still everywhere though - lots of posters have numbers on them which can be dialled into the game's phones to get sound clips. Lots of interactive stuff in levels as well (sinks, computers, refillable health stations etc.).
Now I need to remember to give the Shadowgrounds demo a try.
Hmm
#10 posted by DaZ [80.42.196.204] on 2006/05/12 08:54:39
ok so I played it again and lowered the difficulty sliders a bit and it IS better now, I dunno who picked those default settings but they need to be strung up :)
The combat is fun, I think I was maybe overly harsh in the opening post because I was just so sick of all the quickloading and it ruined most of the later half of the game for me.
Yeah the wall posters make me laugh, especially the "pipes are the new crate" posters in the tanker :)
Onto shadowgrounds (which Shallow mentioned). This and SiN ep1 are basicly the same price iirc, but Shadowgrounds is much more fun! Its like a topdown AvP game with you playing as the marine, its oldschool for sure but its great and Im definitely gonna buy it next month. If you need any more convincing, just listen to the disco music in the last level of the demo :D you'll know it when you hear it =)
Woot
#11 posted by Spirit [80.171.51.129] on 2006/05/12 16:20:43
There is a dopefish!
Sounds
#12 posted by nitin [138.217.0.11] on 2006/05/12 18:14:39
a lot like the original, fun in parts but equally frustrating and buggy in others.
I Knew It
#13 posted by spd [84.204.106.85] on 2006/05/13 15:14:02
auto-skill never works.
"like half-life 2 minus all the cool things you liked about half-life 2."
heh
So Apparently...
#14 posted by Shallow [213.208.105.131] on 2006/05/14 03:16:42
People have sent Ritual a bunch of save games and stats which has enabled them to identify how some players are getting their difficulty set too high in the latter part of the game (it's by no means a universal thing, although a significant number). There should hopefully be a patch this week.
This is good, since my 'relaxed pace' replay saw me starting to get my dose of chaingun rape about a level sooner than before - even though I'd adjusted the sliders for a more mellow experience!
Significant Numbers
#15 posted by megaman [84.63.56.39] on 2006/05/14 06:17:37
obviously don't show up in beta tests.
oh, a sarcasm detector!
Ok Just Played This Now.
#16 posted by czg [213.115.252.84] on 2006/05/14 10:46:36
Overall I thought it was very good. A bit like HL2 in the beginning, yes, but I loved HL2 so no complaints.
It feels like a game from 1997 with huge graphical upgrades, that is with all the weird humor, terrible dialogue and the LOL TITS! factor.
Level design also felt rather old style. Probably that magical Levelord® touch.
I did love that the game in fact had secrets. Actual, quantifiable secrets. you even get a little fanfare that plays when you find them. Man that was great, when was the last time a game let you know you found a secret? Probably 1997 or something.
However, I had been playing along just fine, no major challenge, just as I wanted it to be, but then I got into the Sexy Tower or whatever it was called and suddenly the difficulty shot through the roof. At one point I counted 9 of those fucking chaingun guys firing at me in a small area. Nigga please! Can't cope with that! So I put fucking godmode on and finished it that way. Which was pleasant.
They should seriously tone down the chaingun guys, they deal ~20 damage per second or something and they take at least 4 seconds to kill. Fuck those guys.
Also the boss fight was too hard.
Will probably get next episode, although I think they are too expensive.
Err
#17 posted by DaZ [80.42.205.41] on 2006/05/14 14:37:33
"when was the last time a game let you know you found a secret? Probably 1997 or something. "
No it was in Painkiller last year =)
I totally agree about the minigun guys though, totally crazy. In an oldschool way it is a great game but I was expecting something modern (wrongly?).
I'll see what episode 2 shows, but I will not be pre-perchasing it, gonna wait until I get some proper reviews.
Yay For Easter Eggs
#18 posted by DaZ [80.42.205.41] on 2006/05/14 14:57:05
dont click if you dont want to ruin it..
http://www.techgage.com/viewimg.ph...
Yay it lives!
#19 posted by czg [213.115.252.84] on 2006/05/15 06:31:26
Painkiller last year
Even though my concept of time is wrong at best, I refuse to believe Painkiller was last year.
Also Painkiller's secrets were gayer than a sausage party. Rocketjump eight times up to the top of this 500 meter tall church tower? Damn, man!
Painkiller doesn't count, you mongrel!
My Turn
#20 posted by Lunaran [24.241.228.159] on 2006/05/15 19:17:20
My first annoyance came when the game made me break a window without telling me there was a "hit stuff with your gun" button. I had to ask in IRC, and was answered by people who only found it in the keybinds menu.
Then after I'd been through and came back out the chick fucking opened the door and walked in anyway.
Beyond that it's the best TC for Half Life 2 so far. :P I like the level design very much in that you're constantly revisiting areas and going back around stuff higher up and all that, but does anyone else feel like it's just Half Life 2 with a little more lip and more saturated colors? I swear I've seen some of these fenced-off alleys before ...
Incidentally, the constantly unpredictable dying because every enemy does hitscan damage grates on my nerves in EVERY game I play because it works out exactly like Daz described: a fiesta of quickloads until you're lucky enough to get through the otherwise really nicely designed room you're in. Aard started a thread about hitscan vs projectile attacks on monsters years ago on QMap, which is now more than gone - anyone happen to be a packrat and save that kind of stuff to .txt?
Hitscan Vs Projectile
#21 posted by Tron [203.26.206.130] on 2006/05/16 12:42:31
projectiles forever!!!
#22 posted by [84.204.126.13] on 2006/05/19 17:53:43
Hitscan with good aim monsters just plain suck. case closed
Just Started Playing It...
#23 posted by necros [70.31.50.57] on 2006/05/20 00:26:19
pretty good so far, but i haven't gotten very far in yet, so i haven't encountered any
problems with the skill level thing yet.
also, there's been a patch that's supposed to address that issue as well.
it's frustrating at times, because the game never lets up and all the fights are challenging. i don't mean that i wish the game was easier (i would have picked a lower level on the skill slider then) but that it's monotonous in that there's no up and down regarding difficulty. ie: normal games, you'll come across areas that are just easier, no matter what difficulty you're on. it's a refreshing change to be able to blow away a few mobs without having to worry much every once in a while.
also, the intro cinematic cracked me up... first thing i see when the screen fades in: holy crap tits! XD
Append
#24 posted by necros [70.31.50.57] on 2006/05/20 13:03:46
just finished it :) took me about 4.5 hours, so that wasn't as bad as daz was saying. i searched a lot for secrets though, and i like to take my time.
secrets... i wholeheartedly agree with czg. it's really rewarding to be recognized for finding a secret without having to perform 50 consecutive trick jumps to get to it. also, some of those secrets are plain funny... (bobbing head figures? XD )
i never encountered the chaingun guy bug, the most i ever saw at once was about 4, and i had both hand grenades are grenades for the gun so they weren't too hard.
boss fights weren't too bad either. the mutant one is kind of annoying until you figure out how it attacks, then it's not too bad.
what irritated me was killing the boss the first time, and having 3 chaingun guys come bursting out at me right afterwards when i had 3 hp left... nice. :P
i think i'll be picking up the second episode, but i do hope they lower the price to maybe around 15 at least. 20 per episode is just too much when you relize there will be 9 episodes total...
Hello
#25 posted by johndeerpilot [84.175.124.32] on 2006/05/28 00:19:46
hello everybody :)
Sin Episode 1 wasnt bad at all.
It took me about 4 hours to get through, which was the most disappointing.
At the point, where it became interesting it ends for this episode.
The Engine didnt show anything special or new, the KI neither.
The Gore was quite fun, the weapons had a tickle, the blowfish was a good gag.
Worth playing, when there is the 'Sin Episodes Collection' for those who hate waiting for sequels.
I'm definitely not buying the other episodes though: around 180$ for a single game?
Don't think so.
This is becoming a trend like with 'Pariah' or 'Project Snowblind' which had good potential but were so short that you'd think the publishers try out the marketprice for those games.
#26 posted by [84.204.115.189] on 2006/06/10 12:08:53
78 or so chaingunners in th final stats! (more than any other monster)
WHAT!?
#27 posted by The Masked Dude [198.54.202.226] on 2006/06/14 04:28:48
I think this is one of the most exciting ideas ever! The game experience didn't piss me off at all. It was 100% fun to the end!
It's time to evolve ideas people...
Would you rather pay $20 for a single game and the play it through.
Ok, cool.
What then?
Episodes will continue, the story WILL have twists, new stuff WILL be added, and if the unapreciative keep complaining about the price it WILL get cheaper, though I don't give a turd.
&20 is nothing for a short game if you ACTUALLY have a job.
This game is gonna kick-ass in the future.
Damn, I feel so out of place because I'm not WHINING WHINING WHINING.
JESUS! IT'S JUST A FUCKING GAME!
NOT A TERRORIST ATTACK!
And a great game might I add.
Can't wait for 2.
Ritual Tiki? Is That You?
#28 posted by czg [213.115.252.84] on 2006/06/14 05:22:04
Is Someone From A Publisher Posting Here?
#29 posted by Blitz [63.97.37.210] on 2006/06/14 07:03:57
It's time to evolve ideas people...
This sent fucking chills down my spine because it sounds like something you'd here in a boardroom full of business execs who know fuck-all about games.
It's fine that this is the route that Ritual has gone. They took a chance with episodic content and took a chance by aligning themselves with Valve, and what they came up with was decent but certainly nothing spectacular or particularly innovative.
The bottom line is that "episodic content" is catching on because it means the publisher gets to take even less of a risk and they can pay a developer even less to make a "full" game. Of course, this doesn't apply to Valve themselves but it's going to be fucking poison for 3rd party developers who start getting told to make episodic content or nothing at all.
For the record I do have a job (in the game industry no less) and I think most everyone else here who isn't in a university has a job. I saw the screenshots and read the reviews and I can tell you that the 20$ from my job will go to paying for groceries or bills, and I'll save my 50$ for a fully polished game like ET:QW or Crysis or whatever comes out to positive reviews and has more than 4 hours of gameplay.
And Most Importantly To Those Who Champion Episodes...
#30 posted by Blitz [63.97.37.210] on 2006/06/14 07:06:16
If Ritual decides that the sales on Episode 2 weren't to their liking, of course they will stop making any more episodes, and you will have paid 40$ for 2 "episodes" worth of half-baked shit.
#31 posted by pjw [67.129.250.254] on 2006/06/14 10:27:21
Damn, I feel so out of place because I'm not WHINING WHINING WHINING.
You're not out of place. Really.
At least not for that reason.
Episodes
#32 posted by [84.204.113.57] on 2006/06/14 17:49:24
As I understand it, both ritual and valve are making games on their own expences now, thus releasing episodic content makes more sense for them
We`ll see if it catches up. I can think of some reasons against this model too.
Also I bet you would be able to buy all the episodes once they are made for a lower price (probably 60). So you can wait and start saving those coins
Heh
#33 posted by Kinn [86.139.71.59] on 2006/06/16 11:11:12
Uh oh. Looks like Sin has been scrozzled by Half-Life, and it won't be for the first time ^_~
The Masked Dude: get the piss out of here you shill - you need a better disguise 'cause the mask ain't working.
That's Telling The Fool
#34 posted by HeadThump [65.140.59.19] on 2006/06/16 14:53:56
with those ridiculous half baked synaptic things going on in his squirrely head, Kinn. Whether I have ten cents to my name or a million bucks to blow is irrelevant. I still expect value for my money in either case.
Hay Guys What Is Going On In This Thread?
#35 posted by czg [83.253.25.47] on 2006/06/16 17:00:37
#36 posted by spd [84.204.124.19] on 2006/06/16 17:29:04
hey is sin eps mappable?
Steam
#37 posted by scar3crow [216.145.71.35] on 2006/06/16 22:08:47
so i saw SiN Episode1 in Gamestop for $20 packaged... i considered getting it, but then it occured to me, for some wonky reason it might still want to install steam.... im not interested in steam, or anything it offers, i merely want to poke at the adjusting ai and find easter eggs with simple gunfighting.
so does anyone know if it would install it ? if not, i might spring the 20.
Hmm...
#38 posted by Bal [83.199.66.37] on 2006/06/17 01:58:47
You'll probably need to install steam just to activate it aynways.
But seriously, what's wrong with steam? I installed it a few weeks ago, bought a few things through it, and I can't really see why people seem to hate it so much, it's fine.
When In Doubt Use Crate
#39 posted by Shallow [84.12.173.213] on 2006/06/17 03:54:13
Yeah, I really don't get why there's so much hatred and paranoia about Steam. It's certainly among the fairest digital content distribution systems around: Sign in on any PC and download and play any of the games in my account? Yes please. I may have ranted about billing problems in the past but that's all behind us and we're friends again now.
spd: Latest on SDK (and Arena mode) here: http://www.ritualistic.com/content... (Summary: Mapping SDK 'soon', full mod SDK later in the summer)
Steam Is Fine
#40 posted by Blitz [71.30.178.155] on 2006/06/17 10:29:53
The only time you absolutely need to be online is to initially activate your product which is still not ideal, but certainly worth the benefits of installing steam.
I've used the offline mode after I moved and didn't have internet yet to play HL2SP, edit maps, etc. and it works fine.
Let Me Phrase A Question
#41 posted by megaman [84.63.5.63] on 2006/06/17 18:34:28
What is actualyl good about steam?
Blitz
#42 posted by . [70.224.243.0] on 2006/06/17 23:12:02
Since when did you get in the industry? When did I miss this news? What's UP man?
Megaman
#43 posted by Bal [81.249.3.171] on 2006/06/18 00:43:27
I like buying my games online, donwloading them fast through a simple interface, cds and boxes and stuff just get in the way, but I understand many people like having those.

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