Games Played: Dota 2, Hard Reset, Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate
Games Finished: NONE
I find it fitting that the first game that I decide to really get involved in as a full play through is Hard Reset. I think it represents what Emer and I are trying to do with the games that we own and need to get through.
Anyways, I fired up the game today and I think my predictions of the game were correct. This game has huge explosions, to the point it’s almost ridiculous. There are barrels of explosives at every street corner, almost like Starbucks in Vancouver B.C. The story isn’t great so far but to be honest, i didn’t expect the story to be fantastic…I expected to just blow S&%# up. It starts off with me as a colonel and I patrol the streets of a city when something goes wrong in Sector 6…(why does it always feel like it’s “district 6” in everything?)
I jump into the game where I’m confronted by these robots that look like they are straight out of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon from when i was young. I shoot a quick shot at it thinking that it might be a harmless street-bot that has no interactions. As soon as I see the saw that’s attached to the front of it, that’s when i know it’s not a friendly bot.
As I work through the level these bots seem to appear every time i turn a corner or blow up a canister that is labeled “explosives”. I quickly realize that I can use these explosive barrels to help me dwindle the numbers of these robots when they attack. That’s another thing, they always come in groups….of what seem to be 20 or more at a time (I’m over exaggerating) .
I work through the first level realizing that this is it…this is the game. Run through levels and kill robots where the game tries to stick in different objectives where you click a button on a generator or elevator… Not impressed… I might be quick to judge here… but I’m going to remember this initial judgement and include it in my final review of the game.
2 levels in, here is my initial ratings for Hard Reset:
Graphic quality (eg. 720p vs 1080p) – 8.5
Graphics are great so far… I don’t want to say they are the best I’ve ever seen but they aren’t the worst. For a first person shooter, I’m going to give it a good rating.
Story – 4
I’ve outlined this previously so, right now, 2 levels in I’m going to have to give it a failing grade.
Pacing of story – 3
I feel I have also covered the pace of the story. Each level adds a new objective that you are trying to achieve while try to throw different robot obstacles in front of me. Pace is meh so far…
Gameplay – 7
Gameplay is not to bad actually. the controls for shooting and aiming are great. the explosions that occur in game feel great when you blow them up. Killing robots is always satisfying but a bit repetitive…
Not a great selection of guns (yet?). I hope this improves later in the game.
Difficulty of game – 7
I’m playing the game on normal difficulty and I have died 2nd on the second level. I like that enemies don’t melt.
Voice Acting quality – 5
It’s very rigid. I feel that when i get an update for an objective, i don’t care… If i had to compare it to something similar that was done right, it would be Metal Gear Solid. When i received a new update through my wrist, it forced me to care what was going on. In Hard Reset, i get a popup that explains what to do. On that, where are these updates coming from? the game never explains it…
Total = 5.75
Early feeling for the game is just enough to keep me interested. I think that my rating system worked out pretty well because if i received a test back and I had a mark of 6 / 10 – I would want to try and do better the next time. Let’s remember, this is an early review and things could change. I will reference all of these ratings during my conclusion to give you guys the full picture.
While I play Hard Reset, i hope to finally complete my started campaign of Assassin’s creed: Syndicate.
Maybe if you guys are lucky, i will write a full post of ALL of my experiences with the Assassin’s Creed franchise.
If you want to see me play the first 2 levels of Hard Reset, you can check out the VOD on my twitch channel.
The Actual Worst 