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GB Crush
Staff
USA
112 Posts |
 Posted - 04/28/2006 : 3:11:18 PM
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I just had to go and do it again. I gave the GR:AW PC demo a spin, and like everyone else who played it, found I had some opinions to express. However, I will spare your lovely news page my verbosity and invite you to read my impressions (and look at a few screenshots) here.
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GB Crush
Staff
USA
112 Posts |
Posted - 04/28/2006 : 3:29:47 PM
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If I start describing what I thought about this demo, I will end up turning this into a full-blown review. So, I’ll try to keep my words limited to those first impressions that stood out the most.
Being there:
I’ll get right to it, I like the GR:AW PC demo. First of all, the map was large both in terms of sheer size and in play time. There was no blazing through this demo here—I could’ve reached VIPs 1 and 2 on the 360 in the time it took me just to reach the president’s abandoned limo on the PC. Encounters with groups of half a dozen rebels or more were intense, with the AI unfairly engaging from behind cover and using suppression fire to cover their advance on my position. Firefights took minutes to resolve, not seconds.
What really shined most, though, were the little touches. Deploying via Blackhawk was a real treat, complete with crew chiefs manning the guns (as they should), and a fast rope insertion befitting a tight urban environment (the ropes even detach!). The ground was littered with discarded cans and food cartons and other evidence of city life. Stone kicked up powder when shot, while metal surfaces dented. I was happy to see that the chambered round was kept when I reloaded and I ducked when gunfire zipped and whined around me unlike any other game I’ve heard. The lovingly detailed gun models felt a part of my soldier instead of “part of my screen”--it was nice to see it turn and adjust to my movement and my positioning against objects. More, it felt like my character had a presence. Movement was jostly and carried the weight of the soldier, an effect some people will complain feels drunk or sluggish, but the result was convincing for me when I could look down, see my body, and know that I was there.
The duller side:
It wasn’t all a holiday though. Several issues became apparent in the demo. Foremost for me was a reliance on the mouse wheel to select commands and weaponry. This means a player is screwed if they don’t have a mouse wheel (e.g. if one uses a trackball), or mapped the wheel to something else. Second, I couldn’t aim low while prone. I appreciate that my gun cannot lower itself through the street, but it is puzzling being unable to turn or maneuver my gun against the ground when I can do so around a corner. Also, not having respawns or checkpoints in co-op was great for keeping the tension the mission built so well, but being forced through the opening minutes of video feed in the chopper became a pain after the 5th time.
Perhaps most problematic was that the demo did not show off the adversarial Domination mode. As big a fan as I am of single player and co-op (and as much as I enjoyed not having one more piece of Gamespy on my machine), I know that the community plays a good deal of team vs. team. Not getting to try this out left a big empty question mark in my thoughts. For now, I can only look forward to it based on how much I enjoyed the rest of my experience, but those players questioning a purchase may be questioning a little while longer.
That old GR feeling?
Well, maybe or maybe not. Whether they should or shouldn’t be, comparisons will be made to GR1, and for me this demo promised both hitting and missing that mark. The impressive map, need for unit cohesion, the intensity of the firefights and the necessity of using cover, even the “authenticity factor” were all there. On the other hand, the mission structure unfolded in a linear fashion (an issue with all GRAW games in general, reacting to a story and not a military campaign), and an emptiness that would have fit the woodlands of Georgia felt out of place in the world’s most populous city.
What I’m left with is a peek at a beefy, immersive tactical shooter full of guts and consequence, where the tension is high and caution is king. In that way, it reminds me of when GR came out and we only had the R6 series to compare it to. But this isn’t 2001, and while some may worry that this demo doesn’t play like a GR1 expansion pack, I say there’s nothing wrong with keeping GR1 on your machine for when you need that GR1 experience, I know I will. But along with that, I eagerly await the release of the full game next week and look forward to years of enhancements from both GRIN and the modding community for this shiny new toy we’ve been given. Job well done.
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Some images from my goofing around:
  
  
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GR:AW PC Demo Impressions
