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Horizon Zero Dawn Spoiler-free Impressions (for real this time)

A

Aizen.S.Kennedy

Banned
More_Badass said:
Some vague but spoilery stuff from the trophy thread


That implies a level of your choices impacting the narrative that I never anticipated from this game
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Does that mean that the ppl who questioned rather it was a "true" rpg will put away the pitchforks now? I didn't expect those kinda choices either honestly.
 
L

LastMinuteHero

Member
MiamiWesker said:
Man I am going to play this so slow, just spent an hour doing hunter trials for time, which I paired with some new weapon and ammo types. So some details on this first one
it's three trials one is to knock off ten components off a grazer (a deer) well at first I tried this with arrows and didn't do to well. Later I bought a new bow that came with this arrow that does no damage but instead blows off all componenets on a robot, so using that I easily got gold rank.

The came use log traps to kill robots, wait what log traps?! Omg there are ewok style log traps ready to be shot down on the sides of the cliffs. So I throw a bomb behind the pack of grazers, they start running into the path with all the log traps and I shoot them open and watch logs take them out. Awesome.

The hardest one was using a blast trip wire to kill six robots in under three minutes. This takes prep time so I lined up the paths with some wires , threw a bomb to try to lure them but they went a different way. One time they hit one wire and they all turned around so they didn't run into my other wire. I didn't get gold the first time. The second time I lined up the three paths with wires and decided to lure them down one path, then back down another and that way they go back and forth and hit the wires. Got it, got all golds which gave me a skill point and loads of exp. just messing around and killing so many robots with the trial exp leveled me up like three times.

Cool thing to note, one robot got super injured and was hoping around on only three legs, acted just like a wounded animal that couldn't keep up with the herd. Oh and a watcher would notice my trip wire and go underneath it, it got stupid and tripped it when I engaged it.
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That's some neat AI. Wonder how deep the trap system is later in the game?
 
M

MiamiWesker

Member
Ok cleared the first human outpost, it's straight up assassins creed. Someone said earlier it's like MGSV, no, these humans are stupid and boring to fight. I went stealth, headshot a bunch of guys. Set a trip wire in the middle of a door, threw a rock on the other side and a guard walked right into it causing an explotion that didn't seem to alarm many people including a guy near him. I repeated the action and he walked into a wire too. This is on very hard.

On the flip side I fought three big ass robots that had all sorts of awesome attacks. This felt like a boss battle that I randomly decided to start. I went through all my healing items, using buff potions was a must, I used most my traps. It was amazing, thrilling, everything the game promised with larger robots.

I have some pictures I will post later showing fog and an invisible wall so you can see what that post was talking about. It really depends on the weather and time of day.
 
D

dEvAnGeL

Member
MiamiWesker said:
Ok cleared the first human outpost, it's straight up assassins creed. Someone said earlier it's like MGSV, no, these humans are stupid and boring to fight. I went stealth, headshot a bunch of guys. Set a trip wire in the middle of a door, threw a rock on the other side and a guard walked right into it causing an explotion that didn't seem to alarm many people including a guy near him. I repeated the action and he walked into a wire too. This is on very hard.

On the flip side I fought three big ass robots that had all sorts of awesome attacks. This felt like a boss battle that I randomly decided to start. I went through all my healing items, using buff potions was a must, I used most my traps. It was amazing, thrilling, everything the game promised with larger robots.

I have some pictures I will post later showing fog and an invisible wall so you can see what that post was talking about. It really depends on the weather and time of day.
Click to expand...
So, now that you're on the open area how big is the game compared to recent open world games?
 
D

DriftingSpirit

Member
MiamiWesker said:
Ok cleared the first human outpost, it's straight up assassins creed. Someone said earlier it's like MGSV, no, these humans are stupid and boring to fight. I went stealth, headshot a bunch of guys. Set a trip wire in the middle of a door, threw a rock on the other side and a guard walked right into it causing an explotion that didn't seem to alarm many people including a guy near him. I repeated the action and he walked into a wire too. This is on very hard.

On the flip side I fought three big ass robots that had all sorts of awesome attacks. This felt like a boss battle that I randomly decided to start. I went through all my healing items, using buff potions was a must, I used most my traps. It was amazing, thrilling, everything the game promised with larger robots.

I have some pictures I will post later showing fog and an invisible wall so you can see what that post was talking about. It really depends on the weather and time of day.
Click to expand...
I think the MGSV comparison was in terms of how you could approach different outposts, not the enemy AI. Unless you disagree with that as well.
 
V

VanWinkle

Member
I don't understand why the human AI is bad. GG have been working with "human" AI for well over a decade. What happened?

Also, I have to know: does the concept of "clearing outposts" and fighting humans in general make SENSE in the context of the story and the character? Just thinking about it, it seems weird, but I'm hoping she has good reasoning in doing what she's doing at least.
 
M

mombo2811

Neo Member
VanWinkle said:
I don't understand why the human AI is bad. GG have been working with "human" AI for well over a decade. What happened?

Also, I have to know: does the concept of "clearing outposts" and fighting humans in general make SENSE in the context of the story and the character? Just thinking about it, it seems weird, but I'm hoping she has good reasoning in doing what she's doing at least.
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maybe it will be fixed in a day one patch??
 
M

More_Badass

Member
VanWinkle said:
I don't understand why the human AI is bad. GG have been working with "human" AI for well over a decade. What happened?

Also, I have to know: does the concept of "clearing outposts" and fighting humans in general make SENSE in the context of the story and the character? Just thinking about it, it seems weird, but I'm hoping she has good reasoning in doing what she's doing at least.
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Designing AI for open world is very different from AI in the controlled defined spaces of linear levels. FEAR for example; its AI would never seem as smart as it does outside of those levels. Enemy AI and level design are inexorably linked
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Mezoly said:
Engadget leaked review
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'Horizon Zero Dawn' made me fall in love with open-world RPGs

There's something about Aloy. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's an enchanting kind of magic in the way she shoots a bow, speaks her mind and sprints across vast valleys littered with monstrous metal beasts. Aloy is powerful and loyal, an underdog outcast who rises to glory on an epic scale, and it's impossible to not root for her. She's as clever as Hermione Granger, as tough as Lara Croft and better with a bow than Katniss Everdeen -- and she's the reason I fell in love with Horizon Zero Dawn..
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.
 
D

DriftingSpirit

Member
VanWinkle said:
Oh, that I understand. But all of that unknown stuff worked out great and they one thing they knew well turned out bad. Just seems weird.
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As others have pointed out, the AI between a linear game like Killzone and an open world game like Horizon is night and day in terms of implementation. It is much more difficult in the case of an open world. Never mind Horizon having huge robots to balance with too. There are a ton of factors involved.
 
V

VanWinkle

Member
Cave Johnson said:
I don't think it work as well as you think as it corroborates with the level design. Although it would be nice to have awareness like especially when MGSV have very reactive enemies.
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Fair enough.

Mezoly said:
Engadget leaked review

Edit: Could someone archive it. I don't know how to do that.
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Yoooo. That's some high praise. Also blessed us with this beauty:

2httI5w.jpg
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Mezoly said:
Engadget leaked review

Edit: Could someone archive it. I don't know how to do that.
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Not sure how to archive but I copy/pasted the text to a Google Doc

===

But, with Horizon, 30 hours sounds like barely enough time. I wish it were 60 hours long. I wish it were an infinite MMO that I could live inside of for years to come. Finally, I understand open-world RPGs.

Aloy drives my infatuation with Horizon,...Aloy is the kind of character I want to hang out with for hours on end -- compassionate, thoughtful, independent and the best warrior in the land. She radiates power, and it feels marvelous to wield her strengths and fight through her weaknesses.

...

The team at Guerrilla Games have crafted a powerful narrative headlined by an equally compelling protagonist
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If that's going to be a common sentiment, those people certain that Guerrilla can't do a good story might be really surprised
 
M

Mezoly

Member
The Engagdet review is gone. I have copied its text If a mod allow it I would post it here. I could spoiler tag it just in case.
 
B

B.O.O.M

Member
Guys here's a question, and might be a dumb one who knows. You think I could play a game like Horizon in short bursts? Life is rather busy now and I won't be able to allocate more than a few hours a week for a while to play games (Until maybe after July). But I do want to play this real bad :S
 
G

gundamkyoukai

Member
More_Badass said:
If that's going to be a common sentiment, those people certain that Guerrilla can't do a good story might be really surprised
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GG did the right thing .
They knew they were doing something they never did before .
So they hired the right people for the jobs they need .

Man i really hoping this is GG break out hit .
 
L

LastMinuteHero

Member
hydruxo said:
Funny you mention that because the review had a quote that said "environments so lush they'd make Bob Ross blush"
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Haha I read that article too, I just wanted to point that out cause the pic is too good
B.O.O.M said:
Guys here's a question, and might be a dumb one who knows. You think I could play a game like Horizon in short bursts? Life is rather busy now and I won't be able to allocate more than a few hours a week for a while to play games (Until maybe after July). But I do want to play this real bad :S
Click to expand...
I think it's possible. I cleared ME2 in two or three weeks because of real life obligations
 
E

Exquisik

Member
Mezoly said:
Yeah I don't want to rob them out of click. It's a nicely written review.
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I concur. Jessica's review of the game was very nicely written, and I recommend everyone to give it a read when it's posted on Engadget.com rather than through the link posted in the other thread.
 
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