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The Order: 1886 |OT| Gears of Yore

graffix13

graffix13

Member
OneUh8 said:
I am having a hard time wrapping my head around some of those really low scores it got.
Click to expand...

Me too. While playing the game I was thinking "wow, this is fun...wait! This is suppose to suck, all the reviews said it does. And it wasn't just one review it was a bunch so it must suck."

I can understand 1 or 2 bad reviews but I as many as it got just baffles me.
 
J

Jisgsaw

Member
OneUh8 said:
For some reason lots of people only focus on the negative and completely ignore the good parts of games. It baffles my mind. Like an above poster said, I love playing games for what they are, not critique them and let the negatives kill an experience for me. Of course there are bad games, but this game simply is not a bad game. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around some of those really low scores it got.
Click to expand...

Well, the good points list mainly consists of the DA, the atmosphere and the graphics. (And personaly, the VA)
Which all are "destroyed" (the word is too stong, but I couldn't find a better one) by the subpar and troncated story, the at best average writing, and the very dated and at times odd gameplay/game design (see my post in the previous page).
The weak and anticlimating ending also doesn't help, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth, which naturally influences your judgement on the game.
 
L

Loudninja

Member
Jisgsaw said:
Well, the good points list mainly consists of the DA, the atmosphere and the graphics. (And personaly, the VA)
Which all are "destroyed" (the word is too stong, but I couldn't find a better one) by the subpar and troncated story, the at best average writing, and the very dated and at times odd gameplay/game design (see my post in the previous page).
The weak and anticlimating ending also doesn't help, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth, which naturally influences your judgement on the game.
Click to expand...
Ah have you been reading this topic?
 
admartian

admartian

Member
graffix13 said:
Me too. While playing the game I was thinking "wow, this is fun...wait! This is suppose to suck, all the reviews said it does. And it wasn't just one review it was a bunch so it must suck."

I can understand 1 or 2 bad reviews but I as many as it got just baffles me.
Click to expand...

Not just reviews - even people who have never played it said it does! I mean, listening to reviewers who have played it, is one thing. But people who hate on it just cos exclusive! THEY'RE THE ONES WE NEED TO LISTEN TO!

:p




Having fun with the game. I decided to play a couple hours - still have to finish a game in the backlog.


Was good fun with what I played. Love the characters already.
 
H

hydruxo

Member
Jisgsaw said:
- And lastly, not really game design, but: why the heck does everything has to be so dark and so grey? We know you wanted to go for a dark mood; that doesn't mean you have to take every color and brightness away from your game.
.
Click to expand...

I don't mean to pick out one thing from your impressions, but you do realize this game is set in Victorian London don't you? It wasn't exactly a colorful place. There was filth and polluted smog everywhere.

Plus there were plenty of areas in the game that weren't grey. It's not fair to pick on this game of all games for being "too dark".

m1ob.jpg

Mgr3Bp.jpg

abeTheOrder188620150220.jpg
Click to expand...
 
N

nickfrancis86

Member
I was given this DLC code yesterday, I couldn't redeem it. I think its a US code, I'm in EU.

Here it is,

G359-2NN5-6M8L

Enjoy.

I completed the game today. I did enjoy it, I'm glad I didn't listen to the reviews and formed my own decision. It's not worth £50, but some reviews saying that it's not even worth a rental is absurd.
 
A

ArkkAngel007

Member
Ok, I think I'm ready to give my final impressions. Excuse the length.

Possibly necessary information:
  • Difficulty mode: Hard. Some missions after on Medium when wrapping up Platinum.
  • Aim assist off, aim/shoulder bias on
  • Completion time: 8 ½ hours after factoring breaks and unnecessary loitering (mini-breaks, excessively staring at hard-to-read document).
  • 1st session played until Ch.11 (~6 hours); finished in 2nd session.
  • Tv is a LG 720p 42 in plasma. Audio through tv speakers.
  • Generally interested about the game before release; hadn't seen any footage outside of the first two chapters that wasn't in the trailers and the brief firefight in Ch.3 that was demoed.
  • Paid $37 for the game.

Visuals:

  • Beautiful game, even when not getting the intended 1080p output. Fabric textures, models, lighting...it's easily the best looking console title and better than a lot of PC titles that I can recall.
  • The one element I found disappointing visually were the lycans and
    vampires
    . The fur and skin looked more par for the course this gen than the above and beyond efforts put into the design of the rest of the game and models. Noticed that the transformative models of characters tended to suffer a bit from their traditional models.
  • Collectables such as the newspapers and
    Sir Darwin
    documents ranged from difficult to read to impossible to discern. This may be a case where I'm at fault for being limited by 720p and not the native 1080p that likely would have provided cleaner/crisper image. However, an option to read through text provided
  • Text seemed quite small on my set, so those with smaller options might have a lot of trouble if relying on subtitles or attempting to read the constant tutorials.

NPCs and A.I:
  • Found that on Hard (and Medium on a second run) that enemy A.I. was aggressive in throwing rounds at the player, even if the enemy in generally attempts to maintain distance from said player. Rounds tended to find their marks as well, though in easier difficulties I noticed the aim became increasingly inaccurate.
  • Despite their scripted movements, NPCs would collide with each other, catch on geometry, and other similar unnatural issues. One of the more glaring technical issues I've come across.
  • Found that the NPCs repeating dialogue to be an annoyance. It was programmed to loop so that the player can listen in at any time while also maintaining passive chatter to make the world feel 'alive', but found it to bring me out of the game more than keep me immersed. Would likely have been better to have some audio overlay in the background for the community chatter while the actual dialogue would be instigated through proximity.
  • Partner A.I. is next to nonexistent. There to purely send rounds down range with no flexibility to changing circumstances. If a shotgunner is running up to the line or breaks it, the A.I. is going to keep shooting at that rifleman at the end of the encounter space with nary a care in the world for the aforementioned development. A.I. will not attempt to assist with enemy targeting the player, including when the player is downed.

Mechanics:

  • Gunplay felt solid. Lots of good feedback visually from the weapon and enemy reactions. Weapons were quite varied, though the lack of opportunities with the arc and thermite weapons was disappointing.
  • QTEs and contextual actions were generally well implemented, though quite excessive. The timing never felt unfair. Only other thing that could be said is that a more subtle visual cue as in Beyond Two Souls may have been preferable to seeing the button icons paired with the cues.
  • Blacksight (aka Bullet Time) is simple and effective, though found that at times the auto-targeting wouldn't adjust/account for exposed enemy parts and would continue to shoot the center of mass that was still covered.
    [*]Blackwater has a sloppy execution. Player has to wait about 3-4 seconds before they can activate it, than mash x to rise up and fill their Blacksight. The lattermost point is interesting, but often whatever downed the player in the first place will kill them before they can 'revive'. Paired with the 'presently-not-present' A.I., there's not much use to be had of it.
  • Having cover be both through contact or through action was awkward in some instances (Ch. 6 when attempting to break cover and head towards the cockpit). Some other cover actions such as vaulting or rounding corners (hold o) don't always work as intended.
  • Rolling being relegated to a contextual action in response to grenades felt too restrictive. Overall, the cover aspect of The Order was the only thing in general encounters that felt half-baked.
  • The timed/precise stealth kill contextual actions felt unnecessary. Would have been more effective if just relying on proximity and initiating the action on command.
  • Felt that the morse code signaling was a lost opportunity, but likely would have required aspects that I've already declared as lacking to be in good shape.
  • Too many [redundant] tutorials.

Encounter Design [aka The Weakest Link]
  • Human enemy encounters are either wave based or room clearing. Very basic, with 'specials' being the only differentiating factor. Little done with verticality.
  • As the game progresses, the 'arena' layouts become more and more 'gamey'. This clears up in Ch. 11 and onwards, but the preceding chapter 9 felt especially disjointed from the usual care put into the world.
  • Instant fail stealth encounters were not welcome. Found a few times that the prompt cue would fail to initiate at the proper proximity, almost guaranteeing a fail state.
  • Lycan encounters are insultingly pattern based and carbon copies of each other. Shoot, dodge, repeat until the kill prompt appears. In many ways easier than the human enemies, and far less interesting before the first encounter even wraps up.
  • Elder Lycan fights are a similar deal, except dealing exclusively through QTEs and contextual actions. The fact that one of them is the [end note of the game] is a major disappointment.
  • Shotgunners aren't fun to fight. It's kill before they cross the room, or you die. Felt like an odd pseudo-difficulty modifier to spice up encounters without having to manage the design beyond what tinker toy is thrown in the mix.

Story/Narrative

  • Simple story. Order fighting Rebels supposedly linked to Half Breeds. Standard fare of betrayals, uneasy alliances, and family/love drama.
  • World design holds a lot of potential undercurrent narratives, though the lack of interaction and engagement leaves it untapped...
  • ...very much like everything else in The Order 1886's narrative. Many of the basic questions (Why/how was The Order formed? What did the Knights of the Round Table have to do with Half Breeds? How did Grayson come to get involved in The Order? Why the alliances with the Half Breeds and others? How is The Order organized? Why is there no concern for the Queen by Her Majesty's Knights?) are not touched on.
  • Similarly, quite a few elements developed through the story are barely implied in passing, delivered bluntly, or completely left in the air.
  • Quite a few moments, particular towards the tail end, where the writing falters. However, the performances are quite strong.
  • The collectibles (when discernible) do help give a feel for the world and attempt to supply potential threads in a future title, but felt that it was all largely irrelevant to this game.
  • Anti-climactic end. There is some resolution, but too much left open. Felt like it was between book ends, rather than being one of them.
  • Took away from this that a sequel was intended from this game's inception, and felt a bit insulted that what was given was more of a tease for the future of this franchise than a proper foundation. Maybe the payoff will be there, where there's good reasons as to why so many questions and fundamentals were left untouched (not to mention promotional material seeming to do a better job at fleshing out the world than the game..), but I can only work with what has been given here and not attempt to play crystal ball.

Conclusion: Recommended. A 3 out of 5 scores pulled from my ass
 
J

Jisgsaw

Member
Schryver said:
People complaining about crates and sand bags as cover again? rofl
Click to expand...

It's a very sticking example of how dated the game design is.

hydruxo said:
I don't mean to pick out one thing from your impressions, but you do realize this game is set in Victorian London don't you? It wasn't exactly a colorful place. There was filth and polluted smog everywhere.

Plus there were plenty of areas in the game that weren't grey. It's not fair to pick on this game of all games for being "too dark".
Click to expand...

Yeah, I hadn't too much complains at the beggining. Past the half of the game though, you mainly are in very dark areas, I found that a bit annoying.
 
S

Saint Gregory

Member
I only got in about a half hour of play before I had to stop last night but I wanted to at least get a taste of what to expect. From that short play time the only thing that really struck me was how much more I would be enjoying the experience without all the button prompts everywhere. I'm not talking about the QTEs really, just the fact that everything you can interact with in the game has a tag with a button assigned to it. I would have really preferred to explore and discover what I could and couldn't do in the world on my own but maybe that's just me.

On the subject of the QTEs I didn't find them obtrusive to overly frequent but I found them to be in odd places so far. There wasn't one that I can think of where that actually made sense to me to be a QTE, they were things I could have every easily done with standard gameplay. Like I said I had a very brief amount of time with the game but felt already as if I experienced so many strange design decisions. I'm not going to make a final judgement until I've finished it but I could at least feel early on why the game has had so much criticism, whether it's fair or not.

I'm sure that a lot has been said about the visual presentation already so I don't think I can add more to that. it's simply a standard higher than I've seen in any game and better than a lot of CG I've seen in past games.
 
J

Jisgsaw

Member
ArkkAngel007 said:
Found a few times that the prompt cue would fail to initiate at the proper proximity, almost guaranteeing a fail state.
Click to expand...

I noticed that too. It happens when you are "stealth running" toward the ennemy instead of simply walking; the game doesn't take into account the fact you're running, and therefore the prompt comes too late.
 
A

ArkkAngel007

Member
Schryver said:
This breaks my heart man
Click to expand...

Mine too, as well as my eyes and mind that get headaches from the 'blurriness'. I do have a 22 in Samsung that is 1080p, but the upper right area has a huge scratch that was either from the young cat or someone wasn't paying attention when moving something or another and failed to inform me of the damage.

Coupled with the fact that the 720 is a gift from my father-in-law and that my wife doesn't 'see the difference', been stuck with it.

This MCX nearby has a 55in Sony (55kdw900a I believe) that I really want though, so hopefully it's still there in a few months and I can return to sanity.
Jisgsaw said:
I noticed that too. It happens when you are "stealth running" toward the ennemy instead of simply awalking; the game doesn't take into account the fact you're running, and therefore the prompt comes too late.
Click to expand...

Happened when stationary too while in cover. I think in the second segment in the gardens in Ch.11 in that particular instance. Did the same exact thing as I did before after loading and everything worked fine. Just one of those odd instances.
 
L

Lord Error

Insane For Sony
Does anyone have the transcript for that one text you find the brothel? The hand written one, probably made by
Charles Darwin
. The letters on that one were big and all, but I just couldn't decipher the handwriting.
 
D

DVPredator85

Member
Get rid of the black bars, tone down the use of QTE, add more enemy variety (with better AI) and make the cover a little more fluid and this game would be amazing. As it stands, it's a decent action game.

But the good news is, this franchise can only get better, so hopefully RAD will actually listen to people's feedback and deliver the game we all want.

At one point I hoped this would make me forget about Gears of War, but no. I still feel the hard cover in those games was better and the soft cover from TLOU was also much more dynamic.

Overall 8/10
 
G

gthobbes

Banned
Had a chance to play a few hours over the weekend, and I've enjoyed it thus far. Far and away the best looking game I've ever played, and it's been as fun as TLOU to me. At this rate, I suspect it will take me another 2-3 weekends to complete, which should be just in time for MLB The Show. Glad I bought it.
 
P

Patrick Bateman

Member
Just played through it. What a sudden ending.

It took me more than 10 hours to finnish it. I can't see how people are able to finnish it in half the time..
 
A

ArkkAngel007

Member
Lord Error said:
Does anyone have the transcript for that one text you find the brothel? The hand written one, probably made by
Charles Darwin
. The letters on that one were big and all, but I just couldn't decipher the handwriting.
Click to expand...

I've been wondering this as well. Maybe if I had a bigger television at higher resolution it might be possible, but it was making my head hurt trying to read it.

But yes, it is written by him and about the physiology of half breeds (at least Lycans).

I find it crazy how on the Rebels side there is
Tesla
,
Indian royalty
, and
possibly true Arthurian legends in the form of Merlin or a Knight
, while the ITC has
Darwin
,
Edison
, and
British government.
. Hopefully the next game does a good job in bringing all of this together.

Loudninja said:
Oh about the no reflections:

https://twitter.com/AndreaPessino/status/569677172723417088
Click to expand...

There's even an old man sweeping in Ch. 2 that you should be able to see in the mirror, but can't. People got way too excited there over nothing : )

Unless every sap in that city is a secret half-breed. Who knows with RAD
 
F

Frillen

Member
Patrick Bateman said:
Just played through it. What a sudden ending.

It took me more than 10 hours to finnish it. I can't see how people are able to finnish it in half the time..
Click to expand...

I beat the game and got the platinum in 7-8 hours. I think those who beat it in 5 hours didn't collect the collectibles and didn't soak in the atmosphere much.
 
Warnen

Warnen

Don't pass gaas, it is your Destiny!
Just finished it and fuck that stealth shit at end, not hard but so dumb. Rest of it I loved, could have done without the digital wieners. Having flash back to gta...

Guns were fun, loved the thermite and the duelist revolver the most. Hope the sequel (if there is one) just adds more to it.
 
B

bananafactory

Banned
Warnen said:
Just finished it and fuck that stealth shit at end, not hard but so dumb. Rest of it I loved, could have done without the digital wieners. Having flash back to gta...

Guns were fun, loved the thermite and the duelist revolver the most. Hope the sequel (if there is one) just adds more to it.
Click to expand...

I liked the male nudity, it made sense within the context of the situations and didn't feel forced.
 
TGO

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Just finished it, there's loads of room for improvement but what a fantastic game/world/story whatever
But dat ending
ending there is such a odd choice especially with a lot unresolved, then the mid credit ending too teasing, RAD you bastards
I want more!
Oh and 4 days of 3-4 hours sessions it took to beat it.
Probably about 10 hours I guess.
 
N

Neuromancer

Member
Warnen said:
Just finished it and fuck that stealth shit at end, not hard but so dumb. Rest of it I loved, could have done without the digital wieners. Having flash back to gta...

Guns were fun, loved the thermite and the duelist revolver the most. Hope the sequel (if there is one) just adds more to it.
Click to expand...
Wait what?
 
S

Skux

Member
Lord Error said:
Does anyone have the transcript for that one text you find the brothel? The hand written one, probably made by
Charles Darwin
. The letters on that one were big and all, but I just couldn't decipher the handwriting.
Click to expand...

Damn old handwriting is hard to read...

Collectible guides call it
"King's College Lecture"
and so far I've got...

"I have not as yet attended to one most remarkable physiological feat, namely the (xxx) of a first impregnation on the (xxx). Hoping of the (xxx). The case of Lord Mortimer (xxx) has often been guarded and can be applied to the case of the (xx) Lycanthrope in question after pondering(?) a hybrid to an unknown Half-Breed species she (xx) (xx) of hoping (to?) another piece of ..."
 
V

viveks86

Member
bananafactory said:
I liked the male nudity, it made sense within the context of the situations and didn't feel forced.
Click to expand...

I didn't like the fact that he was
flaccid
so quickly. I mean, having knights catching you in the act can be a total put off, but still… not realistic! :/ out of 10
 
S

Skux

Member
viveks86 said:
I didn't like the fact that he was
flaccid
so quickly. I mean, having knights catching you in the act can be a total put off, but still… not realistic! :/ out of 10
Click to expand...

Well if you look closely ( ͡º ͜ʖ ͡º), he's still
sort of pink
, so at least they got that right. Maybe he's just
not that well equipped to begin with?
 
S

Shadow_FFVI

Member
Frillen said:
I beat the game and got the platinum in 7-8 hours. I think those who beat it in 5 hours didn't collect the collectibles and didn't soak in the atmosphere much.
Click to expand...
Even then, you can't skip cutscens and there are sections where you are forced to walk (wich I hate).

It's like people who finished in that many hours, did so trying to prove a point.
 
D

Demon Ice

Banned
OneUh8 said:
Of course there are bad games, but this game simply is not a bad game. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around some of those really low scores it got.
Click to expand...

Yep. I've caught myself thinking that countless times. This game is really, really good. The gunplay is great and I don't mind the slower exploration parts at all. Probably because the graphics are just so unbelievably good, makes exploring the environment its own reward. Seriously god-tier lighting. Story seems pretty solid so far too, voice acting and character facial animation are fantastic.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
peterb0y said:
I feel like I'm the voice of negativity in this thread- but I'm really not- I just hate analysis like this. There is no "bad game" or "good game" here. There is a game that will affect different people In different ways. A review is just a written recap of ones time with a piece of art, meant to convey how that experience affected you. It's just an opinion.
Click to expand...

Spot on.

Reviews aren't (or shouldn't be) some attempt at an objective statement about a game's quality. They are just opinions and reflections of individual experiences.
 
R

ReturnOfTheRAT

Member
Ancedotal and all, so take that as a grain of salt. A coworker that I have NEVER talked to about games before brought up The Order and said a) the reviewers being on hard on this game was crazy to him, and b) that he finished it this weekend and had a good time with it. He also couldn't stop talking about the graphics and the way it goes from cinematic to gameplay on the fly.

I told him I was at chapter 5
(the zeppelin)
and mentioned that I thought it had some pacing issues with cinematics vs. gameplay.

Other than that, I'm enjoying what I've played so far.
 
F

Fury451

Banned
graffix13 said:
Me too. While playing the game I was thinking "wow, this is fun...wait! This is suppose to suck, all the reviews said it does. And it wasn't just one review it was a bunch so it must suck."

I can understand 1 or 2 bad reviews but I as many as it got just baffles me.
Click to expand...

I'm finding this as well. I've got criticisms for it, most of which even agree with the reviews, but the way the reviews presented some things, I expected this to be an utterly boring, barely playable crapfest. It isn't.

Enjoyable game, despite it's flaws, and I hope those get hammered out for a sequel.
 
Schrade

Schrade

Member
I think a lot of the review scores and childishness from the gaming press comes from them living in an echo chamber. Many of them are friends and if they see someone making fun of something many try to just go with the flow. I witness this a lot with Arthur Gies and his group of friends on the RebelFM Podcast. Arthur takes what he "hears" from people at work/friends and then passes them on to his friends. Points out all the bad things and whatnot. Of course that's Arthur Gies, he's bred to hate on Sony.
 
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