I was astonished to note the other day that very few people seem to be talking about this game. A couple of people seemed to have tried it though, and convinced me enough (okay, so it didn't take much, especially at ?20!) to buy it the other day.
I have now played about three and a half hours and I'm really enjoying it. There has been a great variety, with standard platforming type things, with puzzle sections, along with chasing a looter and fighting a monster in a hovercraft, and a sort of air hockey minigame, just to name a few. There is also an ongoing mission to photo all the types of animals in the world, and I'm actually finding that really enjoyable, sad though it may sound. I suppose that by inhabiting the world with these creatures, many of which are just incidental, it makes it more immersive or something. Either way, I appreciate it.
Graphically it is quite solid, and though the PAL version may be 50Hz, widescreen only and occasionally there are slight lapses in the framerate, I really couldn't care. It isn't anything that gets in the way of the gameplay.
One thing that isn't amazingly important that I really like is the interface, in particular the radial menus. You have everything around a circle, and you select by pointing in the correct direction with the analogue stick. There is a very satisfying "spiral" version for entering door codes and the like. It is certainly far more intuitive than the classic on-screen keyboard often used in console games, and perhaps is something that should be adopted elsewhere...
It's getting late, and I haven't really got much to add for now. Suffice to say that it is one of those irritating games where it is really hard to stop yourself playing! I look forward to hearing other people's thoughts!
I have now played about three and a half hours and I'm really enjoying it. There has been a great variety, with standard platforming type things, with puzzle sections, along with chasing a looter and fighting a monster in a hovercraft, and a sort of air hockey minigame, just to name a few. There is also an ongoing mission to photo all the types of animals in the world, and I'm actually finding that really enjoyable, sad though it may sound. I suppose that by inhabiting the world with these creatures, many of which are just incidental, it makes it more immersive or something. Either way, I appreciate it.
Graphically it is quite solid, and though the PAL version may be 50Hz, widescreen only and occasionally there are slight lapses in the framerate, I really couldn't care. It isn't anything that gets in the way of the gameplay.
One thing that isn't amazingly important that I really like is the interface, in particular the radial menus. You have everything around a circle, and you select by pointing in the correct direction with the analogue stick. There is a very satisfying "spiral" version for entering door codes and the like. It is certainly far more intuitive than the classic on-screen keyboard often used in console games, and perhaps is something that should be adopted elsewhere...
It's getting late, and I haven't really got much to add for now. Suffice to say that it is one of those irritating games where it is really hard to stop yourself playing! I look forward to hearing other people's thoughts!
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