First review from a site that bought the game themselves.
http://www.videogamer.com/reviews/the_evil_within_review.html
Says it is a great mix of RE4 and SH. Incredible action, fun to play but doesnt match the highs of RE4. Also says it sags a bit in the middle.
Your foes – whose tactics are essentially the same as the ganados in Resi 4 – work perfectly in these dreamscape worlds: they just keep coming.
Mikami, more than perhaps anyone, understands that the secret to gunplay and enemy encounters is crafting weapons that are actually tools, with specific functions, not just bang-bang power fantasies. The Evil Within’s environments are cramped, dangerous, and oppressive. But they’re also that to your enemies. Best laid plans will often go wrong, but the maxim remains: use your weapons and items wisely.
Failure to do so will result in death, and you’ll probably die a few times anyway as a matter of course. Enemies are tough and intelligent, moving in packs and swarming the player, using melee and ranged weapons to box Sebastian in. Their resilience – a well-placed shotgun shell to the face sometimes isn’t enough – is at the heart of their danger. In a nod to Resi remake’s Crimson Heads, one of the few times players will feel safe is after burning downed foes. Even then, matches are at a premium.
There’s a satisfaction to combat that feels distinctly Mikami – every encounter is a test, a potential last stand, and it takes true skill to come out alive. Choices have to be made – do you use the various tricks and traps against your enemy, or break them down into ammo for your multi-purpose bow? It’s up to you, which makes combat so much fun.
It’s these elements that drag you through a game that is, on the face of it, exhausting to play. Even when it isn’t at its best, you’ll want to press on. It sags considerably in the middle, unable to match Resi 4’s superb pacing and letting some rather uninspired environments get in the way.
Sounds good. For a first attempt its amazing they could even get close to RE4 at all. Mikami had a dream team working on that game.
Videogamer.com has some of the worst written content on the internet. Their opinion is irrelevant until they turn it into a funny video.
Here is what we got so far. Some sites did not receive review copies, like GS.
Polygon (6.5): http://www.polygon.com/2014/10/14/68…w-xbox-one-PS4
CNET (mostly positive): http://www.cnet.com/products/the-evil-within/
Joystiq (2.5/5): http://www.joystiq.com/2014/10/14/th…view-keep-out/
Escapist (3/5): http://www.escapistmagazine.com/arti…-Within-Review
IGN (8.7): http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/10/…-within-review
Game Informer (9): http://www.gameinformer.com/games/th…-insanity.aspx
GameTrailers (9): http://www.gametrailers.com/reviews/…-within-review
The bad reviews basically say it is too hard with too much trial and error. The game does not explain concepts well and gets frustrating.
The good reviews say it is amazing and a great successor to RE4. The IGN player died 218 times! And he loved it. Welcome back hard, limited resources survival horror.
It blows my mind when reviews are so all over the place...like maybe some of these people just shouldn't be playing a game like this because they don't like the style? Reminds me of when Eternal Darkness came out...one guy at EGM gave it a 9.0 & the other guy gave it a 4.5 I mean really?
I can't wait to play this tonight...seems like all the places that really matter are liking it. And I love that its a spiritual successor to RE4. Bethesda is also doing some really good marketing for it so they are behind it 100% wich is great. My hope is that this gets Mikami back in the horror genre in a big way.
Reviews are all over the place.
gamingeek said:Reviews are all over the place.
For most new games they're all over the place. IDK what some of these reviewers are thinking. I just beat Alien....awesome game. 8.5 from me. Steam's user average is over 90....and IGN gives it a 5.9? But whoever reviewed The Evil Within at IGN loves it, while other places hate it...but I'm willing to bet the actual gamers will love it on the whole just like Alien.
edgecrusher said:For most new games they're all over the place. IDK what some of these reviewers are thinking. I just beat Alien....awesome game. 8.5 from me. Steam's user average is over 90....and IGN gives it a 5.9? But whoever reviewed The Evil Within at IGN loves it, while other places hate it...but I'm willing to bet the actual gamers will love it on the whole just like Alien.
They're thinking they might, for once, try and form an opinion of their own. Which won't necessarily match yours, or other reviewers'.
Foolz said:They're thinking they might, for once, try and form an opinion of their own. Which won't necessarily match yours, or other reviewers'.
But "professional" reviews aren't supposed to be an opinion.
edgecrusher said:But "professional" reviews aren't supposed to be an opinion.
Then what the fuck are they meant to be? lol.
(Correct answer: advertising.)
Foolz said:edgecrusher said:But "professional" reviews aren't supposed to be an opinion.
Then what the fuck are they meant to be? lol.
(Correct answer: advertising.)
A+
This game! I don't even know where to begin, I guess the horror feel. Imagine if RE4 got a true horror make over. Instead of a bright sunny village that looks semi normal, everything is rotten, dark, grainy, bloody. Everything feels disgusting. I won't say it is scary as I have had little fear so far, there has been a good jump scare or two, but the fear for your characters life is at a different level than RE4.
Where RE4 is about empowering Leon to be an unstoppable killing machine, TEW is about barely getting by. There is ammo, just enough to stay alive but not enough to shoot everything you see. All firearms feel weak at the moment, most enemies will take a few blasts before going down. The stealth elements add a whole different twist to the gameplay and to me it doesn't feel that close to RE4. Honestly it is more TLOU than RE4. Enemies creep around, you get to use bottles to distract enemies to give you time to sneak up on them for a stealth kill. There are all sorts of traps you can disarm or use them on the enemies. Instead of a non stop action sequence where you are shooting 20-30 enemies in a large area like RE4, you are sneaking around dispatching 5-10 enemies in a smart ammop conserving manner.
I have gotten to chapter 4 so far and I will say the design of the levels is pure RE4. There have been those moments where a room is specially designed to give you just enough options to make the upcoming battle with a rush of enemies an absolute blast to play.
I enjoyed the slow paced beginning and the action packed last few chapters I have played. There are loads of hidden items to find in these environments, I have enjoyed simply looking around. The upgrade system is very deep and actually impacts your play. There have been a few graphical hiccups, some clipping. I had a few moments of enemy AI getting stuck on something, nothing that serious but noticable. The graphics are ok, character models are very last gen. The sound design is amazing, get this on a surround system.
So for me the combat in this game is clearly not as engaging as RE4, they are not going for the same kind of action. The stealth/shooter hybrid is very interesting, I am not sure it is my favorite choice of action, but the level design has been impecable so far which is very important. I loved what I played.
Dvader said:I had a few moments of enemy AI getting stuck on something, nothing that serious but noticable.
Haha...I had a dude try to run after me, he got stuck on the corner of a fence. So I snuck around the other side and stabbed him in the face.
Made it somewhere into Chapter 5 on my first sitdown. Liking it quite a bit so far. I wish Sebby would stop dropping his bottle everytime he did ANYTHING though. I'm a little worried that I'm already through 1/3 of the chapters already.
Listen to Iced Earth and play Doom
Coopersville said:Made it somewhere into Chapter 5 on my first sitdown. Liking it quite a bit so far. I wish Sebby would stop dropping his bottle everytime he did ANYTHING though. I'm a little worried that I'm already through 1/3 of the chapters already.
Chapters get way bigger it is said.
Finished Chapter 5 and 6, WOW! The game totally hits its groove and enters RE4 variety mode. Every room there is some crazy shit going down. The action is super intense but in a different way from RE4 as even one enemy can pose a real danger. Since ammo is limited, figuring out how to take down multiple enemies with as few ammo as possible is key. Also there is a ton of environmental ways to kill enemies. Chapter 6 in particular is pure RE4 at times, there is one area that involves sniper fire that feels like a chapter that got left out of RE4.
I have fought two major bosses I loved one, the other was just ok. Spoilers for chapter 5 and 6.
Lisa boss battle was fantastic and exactly what I want from this game. I love that at first you don't exactly know what to do but soon you realize she is possessing bodies so it becomes a race to burn bodies and burn her. It just worked on all levels from being intense to being thoughtful. The dog though that was a mess. I guess there is something to the dog in the bushes, I just ran around and avoided the attacks while blasting it with a shotgun. It was a simple pattern, not much too it. Great looking monster and I actually liked the second part where you sneak better. I do like how it was optional to kill the dog or not, this game gives you plenty of options.
So where am I in terms of overall enjoyment level, its a borderline 9 and moving up. Here is my main issue, there are too many walk forward while scripted stuff moments scattered throughout which will make replays a bit boring. Then there is the combat system in general which can go either way in terms of preference. Let me give you two scenarios and how it is handled in both RE4 and TEW. Say there is a room and a bunch of enemies flood in, in RE4 you quickly position yourself, shoot that guy in the head, melee, another guy shoot in the leg, jump over table, make space, shoot weapon off the enemy, so it is exciting. In TEW a group of enemies appeared in a room, I saw an oil puddle, lit it on fire and lured all the enemies into the fire while I stood there and watched. Now yeah its great thinking of ways outside of shooting to kill enemies but is it as fun as managing a room with bullets in RE4, not for me.
TEW has many shortcuts to killing enemies because the guns are so weak, at least before you beef them up. Matches are a godsend, shoot a dude in the leg and light them up, dead. Enemies drop an axe or torch which can be picked up and is an instant kill. All traps in the environment are an instant kill. Because of this for a lot of the smaller battles it just becomes about luring enemies into these instant kill situations. I don’t feel there is much intensity at all during these moments.
Then there are RE4 moments that are just incredible. Enemies flood a room from all sides, yes there are still environmental traps and ways to quickly kill enemies but they are limited so you are absolutely forced to shoot, fight, run, do everything and anything to barely stay alive. During these moments TEW comes alive, it is exactly what the majority of the game should be. The good thing is most of chapter 5 and 6 is like that so maybe the game keeps the intensity.
So for me when the game is like RE4 it is fantastic. When it is meandering its cool and atmospheric but with no compelling story I just cant wait to hit the next action room.
To me it feels like a lower budget Resident Evil 4 with influences from other horror games as well. I'm really liking it, but so far of the two big horror releases this month I definitely liked Alien Isolation more.
Heh...its kind of like Mikami is thinking "I really want to make another Resident Evil, but I don't wanna go back to work for those assholes at Capcom".
edgecrusher said:To me it feels like a lower budget Resident Evil 4 with influences from other horror games as well. I'm really liking it, but so far of the two big horror releases this month I definitely liked Alien Isolation more.
Heh...its kind of like Mikami is thinking "I really want to make another Resident Evil, but I don't wanna go back to work for those assholes at Capcom".
He clearly wanted to make a sequel to RE4 but address the "its not scary" thing. Except he totally missed the point of what we meant. If you wanted to mix RE4 with the horror elements we wanted it needed to include stuff like exploration, puzzle solving, a real sense of oh damn that enemy will destory me I better run (and not in the cheap the enemy is untouchable and has an instant kill way, that is not an enemy, its a disgused scripted moment). But keep the really fun combat and include moments of RE4 intensity throughout.
Instead we get a game that has these scripted moments that feels like any generic game from this past gen. The walk forward while shit happens moments. Stealth sections that don't really need to be there. But then you reach a part and its like "hey there is RE4!" and that is pure brilliance. You can't just make everything bloody and look scary and hope that makes it actualy scary, cause this game is not scary. Its the wrong mix of elements, so he should have just stuck with RE4 all the way.
Destiny.