#tegaming

[tegaming]

Steam Roulette - Jan 14, 2014 - Played

So, Red Orchestra 2 single player. What can I say? I think that the game is sound, and multiplayer is probably a blast (especially with a group of the right people), but as a single player game it doesn't hold up terribly well.

I think the only big issue that I struggle with is the AI. Frankly I'm happy that this exists though. I can tell that they probably put a ton of work into... well simply getting the AI working. There's actually a lot going on in this game when it comes to positioning, reacting to damage types, and dealing with complex geometry. Granted, the AI doesn't really do any of that all that well, but it does function about 75% of the time.

I don't even know about first person shooter AI anymore. It all seems like it's getting worse. I'm going to probably play some F.E.A.R. this week to see if my memory holds up, but it feels like there was a time when AI did function well enough and communicated in interesting ways.

I can command my squad, but what good is that? It's not like I've really been compelled to command them all that much. I either tell a few to follow me and the rest to attack, or I simply tell them all to attack the objective and that works well enough. I might play a bit more to see if it gets anymore interesting without getting overwhelming.

Now, the combat itself (AI aside) is extremely satisfieing. The report on the weapons are okay, but the way that damage plays out is refreshing. Killing enemies feels like killing more than other games, as opposed to "neutralizing". I don't think that the penetration modeling is very good with cover, but it's so rare that games even try to do much with that. 

Inventory is a bit unclear. I don't really know how much I get slowed down by picking up a second primary, but being able to switch between a semi-automatic I found laying about and a bolt action is extremely powerful and satisfieing.

The cover system works...   sometimes. It deals with corners extremely well, but pop up cover it struggles with a bit.

Graphics are alright. It seems to cause a few stuttering issues with my system, but that's on me and not the game I think. I'm running some older hardware, but I do play most games pretty well.

Story isn't compelling to me as it's told in the game. I feel like absolutely all of the voice actors from Company of Heroes (the first) were hired for this. I am completely okay with that. I really liked those voice actors. It's more just setup and briefing for the missions, but for what this game is trying to be I suppose that's totally fine.

(most emphasis added as lazy headers)

Thanks for the read, TE Gaming

[voxfeles]

Possibly going to try get into Crusader Kings 2 over my graveyard shift

If you recommend any guides give me a heads up. I'll be taking screenshots and blogging about it on my tegaming blog.

[tegaming]

Once more unto The Depths.

Capra Demon has been defeated. It was really a matter of me walking away for a moment and gathering myself. I saved both, Griggs and Laurentius.

I'm going to stick with my Zweihander. This is the first time I've ever played the game as a strength oriented character, and I figured that I'll simply go all the way with it. I've grown very accustomed to the reach and timing of the strikes. 

After the depths I intend to detour to the Undead Asylum once more. It'll be really fun to see how that goes. I've never actually defeated that demon in pervious playthroughs. I'll also be grabbing some higher poise armor if I can help it. Perhaps I'll defeat pinwheel or the butterfly before I head down to blight town, but honestly, that Lordvessal is a bit of a priority in terms of how I'm spending my game time.

It's really fun to come back to this game after a year of not playing it on a very different platform. I'll write more on that in a separate post.

~TrueEmergence