I Am Alive

[rmoxon]

Sketcz will only like this if it has realistic reloading mechanics .

[Sketcz]

If there's only two bullets at a time, there's little risk of popping out a magazine and popping a fresh one in just to reload after a single shot.

Based on MrKirov's description, it sounds like this game was made for me. Looking forward to the PSN drop and attempting the hardest difficulty. Just the kind of thing I like in games. A proper cerebral challenge and desperate rationing.

Someone describe what the inventory looks like...

EDIT:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwNYlcEnmNQ

You can PERMANENTLY damage your stamina bar!

Holy crap, this game wasn't made for me, it was made by a time travelling version of me!

[MrKirov]

Permanently until you use an item... Which can be quite rare!

[crocky-chocky]

All finished.

There was a brilliant stretch of climbing towards the end. Great sense of height with some

->Open Spoiler<-

refreshingly hopeful signs of life at the top

. Definite highlight of the game I'd say...

Followed by a frustrating struggle through a gang littered area, which stripped me of my gun and left me with just my bow and a single arrow. Why are these guys even here? I dunno, but if I downed a single enemy, the rest would walk over to look at it, one at a time. So I ended up just

->Open Spoiler<-

taking-out the one furthest from the exit, and belting it past the rest.

The many stealthy approaches I took beforehand were a nightmare thanks to enemies and there hawk-like vision, piercing the thick fog - Which also made it impossible to read their movements.

I really, really liked bits of it, but I nearly always felt that my characters many deaths were due to bad game design. And golly, I know I keep prattling on about it, but that checkpoint system...ugh...For some reason, it doesn't save up to your last retry if you exit the game, so on my last session, I had to retread about 20 minutes of gameplay just because of where I'd switched it off on the previous play. Madness.

[Sketcz]

Hmm, does sound like there's genuinely niggly bits... Thanks for the detailed impressions.

[MrKirov]

I do agree with those impressions mind, sometimes I really feel like ive played myself into a wall, with little stamina, no items to replace it, and no way to progress without a certain amount of stamina...

It's not happened yet, but keep feeling like it might at any moment. It's either really great game design or really awful, and I can't tell which!!

That checkpoint issue got me the other day, I wasn't impressed!

[Sketcz]

I ATE THE HUMAN MEAT!

Playing Survivor. Almost clocked it. Had to resort to cannibalism due to a precarious moment near a hanging train - it was that or die.

Glorious moment where I got the shotgun, heard a woman's screams so decided to help her, only to waste three of the five shots because some guys rushed me and I panicked.

It's flawed, true, but still rather good. Pathologic is better though.

[Neon Ignition]

Back on this as I continue to pick my way through my 360's remaining games. Quite enjoying it, the only irk is when retries are used and the canned AI of the npc's is highlighted. First time you reach someone it's proper tense not knowing how they'll act.

[Sketcz]

I Platinumed it. Horribly flawed in places, and not as good as it could or should have been, given the potential of the initial premise and previews all those years ago - clearly they had to scale it way back when changing developers - but it was still pretty enjoyable.

Pathologic is still better though.

[Neon Ignition]

That's the vibe I get from it while playing, it's a shame Ubisoft didn't have the faith to stick with it and properly support it as a full budget project

[JazzFunk]

I quite liked the demo of this, and I'll definitely be getting this when it's half price on XBLA/PSN.

Any difference between the two versions? Would rather be getting the 'optimum' version of this.