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Free for Gold, First Thoughts


JONBLEACH
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I've been reading about this game and a lot of people compare it to gta IV how similar are they?

 

In terms of similarity this is how it was originally described...

 

"Previewers who had access to the game in February 2012 compared the game's elements to several other critically acclaimed games, praising the parkour-style movement aspect of the game (similar to the Assassin's Creed series), the melee combat system (similar to Batman: Arkham City), the slow-motion while shooting (similar to the Max Payne series), the vehicular combat (similar to Just Cause 2), the mission structure (similar to the Grand Theft Auto series), the atmosphere (similar to the Yakuza series)."

 

...at least according to Wikipedia.

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In terms of similarity this is how it was originally described...

 

"Previewers who had access to the game in February 2012 compared the game's elements to several other critically acclaimed games, praising the parkour-style movement aspect of the game (similar to the Assassin's Creed series), the melee combat system (similar to Batman: Arkham City), the slow-motion while shooting (similar to the Max Payne series), the vehicular combat (similar to Just Cause 2), the mission structure (similar to the Grand Theft Auto series), the atmosphere (similar to the Yakuza series)."

 

...at least according to Wikipedia.

It's a pretty interesting mix of genres. I've just finished the missions in North Point, and I've come to like it. There are a couple annoyances though, regarding the camera, and the graphics aren't that great.

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It's...okay. I was expecting a bit more. I'm about 10 hours in and I feel like the story is just meandering its way towards an end. There were a couple missions I played that didn't even have any significance towards the main plot and with only 30 story missions in the game it's kinda off putting to be doing random crap during a triad war. Furthermore, the combat is Arkham style in terms of control scheme, but little in precise and smooth gameplay. Enemies also take a ridiculous amount of damage yet also deal a crazy amount of damage. The counter also doesn't work at times. Sometimes I'll go for a counter and I'll just do nothing or the enemy will not attack only for one behind me to hit because I'm stuck in a defense stance that lasts for like a second. I appreciate it trying to replicate the Arkham combat, but it fails in almost every regard. Other than that the only other thing that bothers me is motorcycle driving is probably the worst thing in the game.

 

Then again, the game's free and I've played much worse for free.

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I absolutely loved this game. I played it when it was first released. Very John Woo meets GTA meets the fight mechanics of Batman AA. It's not without its faults, but I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. So many Easter eggs and references to old kung fu movies too.

 

DLC left a little to be desired, but overall wasn't too bad.

 

Put my pork bun in your mouth!!!! LOL

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Just started playing this and now that I think I've got to grips with it I'm enjoying it. Initially I thought the running was awkward and the kung fu annoyingly inconsistent but once you've got used to it it's very satisfying.

 

I agree with what people have said about enemies dealing a lot of damage, the dodgy camera angle (in fights the camera doesn't pan so if you walk a certain way you can end up fighting back towards the screen hardly able to see incoming attacks), frustrating missed counters and dodgy motorbike steering.

 

The main tip I'd give to help with the fist fights is to be patient. Don't mash buttons and try to avoid getting surrounded in a tight circle. If enemies are close, don't try long combos as you'll just get hit from behind, instead wait for the first guy to turn red and press the counter button (again, don't mash it). Grabbing an enemy seems to allow you to manoeuvre out of a group quite easily too.

 

Seems like there's plenty of side quests and collectables to keep me entertained for a while. More than good enough for a freebie!

 

(1st Forum post) :)

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About 40% done. Here's what I think so far:

 

Pros:

-Instant selectable waypoints. Why don't other games do this!?

-Vehicle combat. Ramming shit is fun!

-Melee combat. Not too easy, not too hard.

-Collectibles aren't just there to be there, they actually help you

-Losing the cops is extremely easy (at least so far)

-Most of the achievements look pretty easy.

-Stat challenges to compare with friends.

-Soundtrack. Dream Theater!? Loving it.

-Parkour. Not quite Assassin's Creed, but it's decent.

 

Cons:

-Camera spazzes out when you try to look around while driving

-Gun combat (probably just me not being used to it yet, but I find it clunky)

-Car valet seems broken (says he "doesn't have time" and one time he showed up without a car!)

-Boring missions (not really close to the end yet but already sick of the tailing missions)

-Manually saving doesn't have you start where you left off. Starts you in the safehouse no matter what. Minor inconvenience.

-Vehicle names don't pop up when you enter them. It'd be nice to know what the name and class is without having to go to the in-game stores. Although it's highly likely I've overlooked something in the game.

-Fast travel. The only way I've found is by finding a taxi on the road. You can't go to a waypoint either. It has to be an actual marker.

 

Pretty nit-picky. I'm sure I missed some things but the pros definitely out-weigh the cons. I'm having a lot of fun with it. Great game for free! Can't complain about the price. :p

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About 40% done. Here's what I think so far:

 

Pros:

-Instant selectable waypoints. Why don't other games do this!?

-Vehicle combat. Ramming shit is fun!

-Melee combat. Not too easy, not too hard.

-Collectibles aren't just there to be there, they actually help you

-Losing the cops is extremely easy (at least so far)

-Most of the achievements look pretty easy.

-Stat challenges to compare with friends.

-Soundtrack. Dream Theater!? Loving it.

-Parkour. Not quite Assassin's Creed, but it's decent.

 

Cons:

-Camera spazzes out when you try to look around while driving

-Gun combat (probably just me not being used to it yet, but I find it clunky)

-Car valet seems broken (says he "doesn't have time" and one time he showed up without a car!)

-Boring missions (not really close to the end yet but already sick of the tailing missions)

-Manually saving doesn't have you start where you left off. Starts you in the safehouse no matter what. Minor inconvenience.

-Vehicle names don't pop up when you enter them. It'd be nice to know what the name and class is without having to go to the in-game stores. Although it's highly likely I've overlooked something in the game.

-Fast travel. The only way I've found is by finding a taxi on the road. You can't go to a waypoint either. It has to be an actual marker.

 

Pretty nit-picky. I'm sure I missed some things but the pros definitely out-weigh the cons. I'm having a lot of fun with it. Great game for free! Can't complain about the price. :p

Losing the cops is pretty easy when you have 1 or 2 on you. Found it much harder when you have 5 heat. Agree with the vehicle names and manual saves.

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I really really love the game, and especially being free I feel like I'm getting GTA for an amazing discount. However I do agree with you that sometimes I swear even though I've blocked him when he turns red it still lets them hit me and it gets annoying. But I completed the game and thoroughly enjoyed it the whole way.

Edited by staindsoul413
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I was very surprised by how great this game was. I assumed it would've been mediocre considering it had only been out for a short time and Microsoft decided to make it the free game of the month but I was wrong. After completing the game and attaining 100% completion, I've come up with a pros/cons list:

 

Pros:

  • First off, the game is free!
  • Great storyline
  • Very organized; easy to sort through objectives, look at stats, etc..
  • Cops are easy to evade (at least at low heat levels)
  • Environmental attacks are very gruesome and awesome
  • You can call your car valet to deliver any one of your vehicles wherever you are
  • Collectibles are actually helpful and also appear on map
  • Taxi's are just about everywhere to make your traveling easier
  • Good songs on the radio
  • Manual saving

Cons:

  • Camera angle is awkward sometimes and hard to control
  • Motorcycles are relatively difficult to control and take a while to get started
  • You can't keep multiple weapons or purchase them anywhere
  • Combat is often clunky and not very responsive

As you can tell, the pros definitely outweigh the cons. Another cool thing I'd like to add is that if you hijack a taxi and come to a complete stop, strangers will enter the taxi assuming you're the driver and Wei tells them off. :p

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Motorcycles aren't hard to control. The first one is. It's a pos. horrible.

Like the game a lot for first impressions. Fun. Drug busts are old after the third one though.. Having to drive all the way back home every single time sucks.

I haven't gotten to the end yet but apparently getting lvl 10 in triad sucks too. I wish there was more missions for them. All in all though. Fun. That's the most important thing.

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Thoroughly enjoyed this game, signed up for Live just to get it and it's wound up being 100% free for me since I'm on a 1 month Gold trial atm.

 

Working on 100% completion at the moment, but the combat was fun and the story was nice, gameplay was fantastic. Driving was a bit meh (horribly difficult to control the fastest car in the game) but not too bad. It needed some more polish, for sure.

 

Love the friends-list leaderboard too.

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I just started it but the camera is driving me nuts, especially when driving. I ended up backed into a corner way too many times because the camera would not move so I could see what was going on. And it has the same problem as the Batman games, that when you hit the counter, sometimes it just does not counter. That isn't so much a problem for me, just something more to be aware of.

 

But so far, I'm liking it. Of the games that have been offered with Gold, I think it's one of the best ones. (I also really like ramming other cars until they blow up. It's oddly soothing after a long day)

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