Monday Night Combat January 29, 2011
Posted by xenocidebot in Video Games.add a comment
And other things, I guess. I tried three games out recently, that’s the only one I have anything really positive to say about. So I’ll get the ramble out of the way first.
A.R.E.S. Extinction Agenda- Cool concept, but extremely boring execution. The trailers make it look like it should ooze style, and I don’t really have a problem with the very mecha-derived protagonist, but the character’s main stance feels like it was made by somebody who played Megaman Zero and thought “man, I have to have my guy doing that torso-facing-the-wrong-way thing.” It looks more in this instance like his neck is broken. Weapons just feel really loose and very weak- maybe I’m too set in my ways from faster paced stuff like MMX/Metal Slug/Metroid, but a gun should have some heft to it, even if it’s the starting pea-shooter, both in projectile velocity, sound, and damage. Environments are bland, combine that with colorful sprites which clash horribly with the 3D environments (think Mischief Makers when the camera got weird) and everything just seems really out of place and looks garish as hell.
Killing Floor- Man, I just cannot care about anything that requires leveling up before you can play it on harder difficulties anymore. It reminds me of an old complaint I read once about Goldeneye, how levels and cheats and such were locked until you beat stuff, and how if you bought it, you deserve the content upfront. I disagree for singleplayer crap obviously because the entire point there is to face a series of mounting challenges, but in multiplayer? Fuck. I don’t want to suffer through a bunch of shitty rounds before I can play with my friends who have all the lv.6 perks. I just want to play the damn game.
Which brings me to MNC. Everything I want in a game right now. The story? There is no story. Stuff to unlock as the game progresses? Doesn’t provide a distinct advantage, just options, and you unlock one almost immediately. Gamemodes? Just the stuff you need. Gameplay? Fast. Great.
I have not played something in which every gun felt useful and powerful to some extent since…I’m not even sure. Ever class feels like it has some oomph to it. Maybe part of that comes from the bots everywhere being easy targets, but it’s hard to feel like you’re ever poorly equipped to kill something. Even the secondary weapons on the two fragile classes (Sniper/uzi and Assassin/throwing stars) feel pretty good to use. The Support feels a little less impressive than everyone else but never distinctly “weak”, and with a ROF endorsement his shotgun gets pretty damn substantial.
The skill upgrade system had me worried because I thought it would lead to matches getting stacked, but their effects aren’t that monstrous and everyone earns enough to get themselves kitted up at least a little bit. Use-wise I wish they had an icon for what they do instead of a number in the GUI, because I have them laid out already in a left-right-center order (which you’d also have it set as if you used numbers on your keyboard to use them) and I can’t always remember what each does for every class, but that’s a minor quibble.
All in all, good stuff, worth $15 at least.
