For the very first post in this new games review section of my blog, I thought I'd tackle a vastly underrated and much shit upon game. Damnation.
Yes, you all know the name, and you all know the low scores it received and the general bad press and word of mouth.
Well, I went into this game knowing how bad it it, or should I say, was supposed to be, but after getting through the first stage and getting a hang of the control scheme, I really found myself enjoying this title.
I can however, see why many people got so worked up in hating this game as it's flaws are blatantly obvious and I too would be pissed if I had to have paid full price.
There are clipping issues, significant frame rate drops, poor AI, bad texturing, bad voice acting, outdated visuals, odd control system, bad script... Everything about this game just comes off as bad.
Now, despite all this, there is a half decent, fun little game under this "mess" and everything isn't as bad as everyone seems to say.
From what I've noticed (for the most part), everyone who got past the first level and continued playing could see the little gem that was lodged under the large pile of shit.
Others just threw their dummies out of the pram and jumped on the bandwagon.
It's time to break it down.
Graphics 6.5
The graphics in this game are a mixed bag.
Yes, it doesn't look all that great when compared to a powerhouse game like Uncharted 2, but they aren't half bad either.
They are well polished and you can see what's what, the lighting effects I found were outstanding and the colour scheme was refreshing.
This game is a steampunk western, so lots of browns and greys and to be expected, but the developers tried to add more variety to their colours, such as purples, blues and vibrant greens, they really pay off.
Especially in the Mesa Dorado level.
Textures however. These are fine for the most part, except when on a motorcycle. Then the developers did get a little lazy and just slapped some unrendered textures around, hoping you wouldn't notice since you were zooming along at 200mph.
I've also found the same texture problem in other area's, namely those you really don't need to be visiting.
Character models however look good, especially Jack, she looks fantastic... I think the dev's must have fought over who got to design her. some enemy models seem to be lacking when compared to the main characters, but it's only really noticeable when sniping. And even then you have to look.
Gameplay 8
Ah, I hear the gasps of all those who saw that score. Yes. 8.
I must admit, on the first level, I too was thinking "meh" but I found that was down to the awkward controls (push L3 to reload, hold R1 when climbing to jump back) and the "on ice" crosshair (it never seemed to stop where you wanted it to)
Then I got used to the control scheme, and in regards to the cross-hair, well... like most shooters now, you jam on that stick like you're pulling a U-Turn. In damnation however, the trick is to be quick, yet gentle.
The odd control layout is easily forgotten and soon you do get the hang of it. I did rather quickly, and before I knew it I was sprinting diving across gaps in walkways, wall jumping onto ladders before swinging off poles back into another wall jump to a shimmy and climb up a platform before shooting the total shit out of the stupid bastards that stood in my way.
And oh yes, the enemies are as thick as fuck. But so is your AI partner(s)
Well... They aren't all bad, some stand around like nothings happened after you've popped his mates head from his shoulders, some turn round and try to take you down.
At other points it seems like they've been talking with a military mastermind as they try and flank you in groups while waving shotguns around like ninny's
I did find I preferred the platforming over the shooting segments, but the shooting segments were rather fun.
On top of that, there are a couple of puzzles lying about... And they are smart puzzles, though not too taxing.
Also I'd like to commend the developers on the level design as the levels themselves are like giant puzzles and they are absolutely MASSIVE in scale, each level in the games 6 mission length will take you anywhere from an hour to 2 hours, pretty good in my book... especially seeing as levels now seem to be uninspired and short.
And the bike segments, oh were these fun... Well, actually they reminded me of the bike segments from Tomb Raider: Legend... But with more corners... And wall riding.
But they were a nice change of pace from the shoot this, climb that mentality of the game, they really are quite fun.
There are some bad framerate dips when swamped by enemies though, this is quite a bad thing
Sound 3
Yeah... 3.... It would have been a 4, but two things brought the mark down. Zagato, propaganda speakers.
The bad dialogue and voice acting isn't all that bad, the V.O's make the best with what they have, except Zagato. He over delivers his lines and they sound dumb and clichéd. As for the propaganda speakers, eh, they aren't bad in terms of sound quality... But the repetitive droning drives you mad.
Good thing you can shoot them and shut them up.
Other than that, I had no real problems with the V.O
Everything else is good too, the guns sound fine, they even have a cool hissing sound when you stop shooting, the ambient noises are pretty good and the background music fits the scene.
I can't really complain.
Story 4
This again is cliché
Bad man wants to rule the world but only a plucky band of rebels can stop him while the main protagonist also searches for his lost love.
Been there, done that. Oh... And there's a plot twist... But it's easy to figure out so it's no twist at all.
I'm not going to spoil the story... But I'll say this, it's very reminiscent in terms to RE5's basic structure.
Overall rating 6.5
For every bad thing this game does, it does something right to try and make up for it, at the bargain prices you can get it for now, it's worth a play. If you don't like it, that's fine by me. I just wish people would look beyond the flaws and try and give games like this a chance.
The market is over saturated by generic games and when new games come along, they get dumped on, simply because they aren't call of duty and then people complain that there isn't anything innovatively new coming out.
I know the developer who made this is now bankrupt, but I'd love to see someone else pick up the rights and make a sequel because I feel such a franchise, given a little polish, a lot of care and a big boost has a fair amount of potential... Look at BloodRayne (Before Uwe Boll made those god awful films)
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