Yelp drank merges with cries of beasts and cries of men in a monolithic howl. This workout. The second wave of beasts rolled out stronger, it becomes hard: they shoot straight, ran from cover to cover, bounce grenades from fallen nearby. On average distance change long-range “Lancers” for shotguns – and are not afraid to go in the melee. When in eternal sleep on the bloody floor of the second wave of falling asleep in the room includes a bully: it absorbs lead not only packs and collars. Shoots mine comes to me for shelter. I’m missing one. After the death sequence begins again.
At a high level of difficulty this game is impossible not to curse for lazy game design (and the formula “= high complexity more thick-skinned enemies” – this is a lazy game design). But also hard to break: it is a song of war. Motive needle penetration into the brain, in the amygdala – and puts in his current rank.
Required entry
I have to say: I respect the series Gears of War. This modest respect, devoid of the blinding veil of nostalgia fans. For a long time limited to a nodding acquaintance, to see the whole trilogy, I got around only on the eve of the release of the fourth. Therefore, here’s a look from here in 2016: this is a great show that is an incredible and now, who was also a definite peak, and a sharp drop in quality. The sharp – then from the top to the bottom.
The first game was a good console shooter. The second – a great console shooter. Third – boring misunderstanding perecherknuvshy 80% advances predecessors. Judgement … Let’s pretend that it was not (it works with “The Bourne Legacy” film should work with GoW: J).
The first parts were good? They solve a lot of design problems. Home (about it shortly): to reconcile third-person shooter with console limitations. This problem was solved so successfully that the second generation of consoles straight shooters can not get rid of the mechanics shelters. To the golden glow of the first part did not have enough scale and epic, but with the second right.
However, it is not so interesting. Much more interesting to those tasks that do not lie on the surface, hidden and are perceived as a given player. Large and small gears that move the common mechanism. Mechanics that combining and alternating make the game interesting.
One of the main requirements of game design: during the entire time the game should work within the set at the beginning of the mechanic, in any case not turning into a routine. To do this, the player needs to constantly give out fresh conditions, changing the picture. Bright illustration – Half Life 2. Do you remember how it was built? Quiet start. Escape from persecution.
The usual first-person shooter. Check Channel. Getting gravipushki and use physics. Horrror in Reyvenholme. Check the buggy and building barricades. Quoting the movie “Tremors” (or game, “Paul is lava!”). Command detachment dictyoptera creatures. The war in the city with friendly and enemy NPC. Getting reinforced gravipushki. The end.
The game does not let you slip into routine. Once the regular conditions begin to pall, designer throws up something fresh. So: the same principles guided GoW, albeit on a smaller scale. It starts to bother – that’s a new gun. Boring it is – here’s a new kind of enemy.
There were the usual hiding places – began moving. And now they are not and that they appear, you need to press the switch. And here’s a new kind of enemy. Now in combination. And then – does not go beyond the lighted area. And then – to ride on the jeep. Or riding on Brumake. And so on. Look at the GoW 1-2 at this point, everything will become clear.
But this was not enough: the fine work carried out in other things. For example, a weapon. You can not just come up with a gun and put it into play. That is possible, but it still will not be quality work. Weapons need to balance: should be strong points, there should be penalties. It is necessary to think of situations in which weapons will prove to be the best. Even the design of the card and arrange them enemies must be taking into account the arsenal.
