PlatformOVERALL
PlayStation 36.40
Overall 6.40
What a frustrating game. Here is a title that dares to be different, that tries something new and then stumbles all over itself with HORRIBLE controls and some bad gameplay decisions. The good is that AitD isnt some RE4 clone or like any horror game you have played. It has a sort of open world (central park) to explore but it stil has many linear sections. It follows a TV show like format, you may even skip to the next section as if the game were a DVR.

What I sort of liked about AitD is that it tries to make things practical, kind of. There is no artifical menu; to look at your inventory you get a view of your trenchcoats pockets. The items you aquire are normal world items that you can combine to make weapons like bug spray with a lighter makes a mini flame thrower. You can make molotov cocktails, stick bullets to a liquor bottle and turn it into a mini bomb. Fire plays a large role in this game, it behaves realistic enough. If you cut a whole in an alchol bottle you can leave a trail which you can light with a lighter to create a flame trail. Any wooden object you pick up you can hold over fire so that it becomes a flaming weapon.

Manipulation of fire comes into play with puzzles, some are absolutly genius, its not the grab item X and put it in X location puzzles. You need to really think about the situation and figure out how to use the items you have to solve the puzzle. There aren't many but the ones they do have are impressive.

They had a good idea going but it all falls apart cause everything I described above is a pain in the ass to do. The controls are horrendous, the menu system is terrible, combat feels like a fight against yourself. Every enemy must be killed with fire in some way, that makes normal bullets kind of useless, which isn't that bad cause shooting in this game is a mess as well. Basically you end up making the same bombs out of bottles or using flame bullets, or the occasional flaming wooden object which you need to swing manually with the R stick. Combat is a pain.

So if you can get over the controls, inventory, combat, you can enjoy an interesting title. There is great variety in situations, I will admit there are some cool setpieces. The final level is brilliant, it's like a Tomb Raider game, I loved it. There are some driving segements, these are almost broken sadly. AitD even has some really well done boss fights.

It is so close to being one of the more interesting quality games of this gen, instead it's an interesting mess of a game.
Posted by Dvader Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:52:43
 
Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:56:14
"So if you can get over the controls, inventory, combat, you can enjoy an interesting title."

LOL

You need to learn to choose the system for your reviews.  I assume you're not reviewing an NES game.
 
Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:04:50
Fixed. Or not... it wont let me fix it.
 
Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:24:57
OK, now you can update
 
Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:18:41
I'm probbaly going to play this one after Uncharted 2 (since after that game I'm likely to be dissapointed with anything). "Interesting mess" - nice turn of phrase.
 
Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:08:43
I just started this game and I'm impressed with the ambition of the game and the visuals.  So far so good.  Controls are a little clunky in third person, but no deal breakers yet.

It reminds me of a PS2 game called Disaster Report (at least this first "episode".  That game had a lot of navigation puzzles.
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