First Impressions

JennyGenesis · #1 07-23-2014, 09:51 AM

This is just a thread to you to give your first impressions of the game, if like me you haven't gotten very far, so far, I've just completed the Stockyards.

So what can I say, well firstly, I don't like the new LED Screens, personally I thought the old ones looked far better, I also don't like the controls, well, I wouldn't say dislike them, but I really don't see how the new control scheme benefits the game in anyway, in my mind, I'm completely stuck with the old scheme, and it took me a zillion years just to work out how to get muds to follow me! I really would have liked it if they gave us the option of using the old controls. Apart from these gripes, the game is amazing, everything about is amazing, and the new controls present a challenge to me, as I have fallen down holes plenty of times, which to me is a good thing as it's nice that Abe's Oddysee feels fresh again.

WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD!

I had a massive problem with the final secret area in Rupturefarms with the meat saws and trap doors, main problem being, you have to be ridiculously precise to get through it, if abe is just one little pixel off, you get hit by the saws, which is real annoying, as it is near impossible to judge when you are safe. Unlike the old game where it ran on a grid and fixed positions and could judge when you were safe, here it is up to you to perfectly position abe, to be honest, I think the solution here would be to give the meat saws a greater distance between each other.

Holy Sock · #2 07-23-2014, 09:58 AM

You should have read those LED screens. They tell you how to speak to the Mudokons very early in the game.

From what I've seen so far, can't play the PS4 version, the game looks pretty great but I can't comment about the response of the new controls - but on Streams I've seen that most new players seem to really like them.

Havoc · #3 07-23-2014, 10:28 AM

The meat saws especially are just bloody hard to get through because of a combination of clunky controls and it not really being clear what the death zone is. It's highly trial and error which makes the Quicksave option pretty much mandatory. Had this game not had Quicksave it would be next to impossible to complete the game with 299 saved without losing your sanity.

I do like that the Mudokons at least respond quicker to movements now. It's easy to maneuver them through hazards.

Connell · #4 07-23-2014, 10:54 AM

The meat saws are damned impossible to get first try. The different camera angles in each zone make it really hard to guess. and I had real trouble with UXB's... It didn't seem to register my command in time even though I know I can do them with no trouble in the original.

Littleleeroy · #5 07-23-2014, 11:15 AM

The controls, oh the controls! Just give me an option to change them! I'm past stockyards and still keep pressing triangle every now and then, and holding R1 whenever I run.

The steam? How is there steam in the middle of nowhere? Shadows made so much more sense.

The fact that I can't toss mudokons until they die when I'm a slig saddens me.

Dead mudokons like rolling into the floor and twisting their limbs even though they're dead.

The weird shape that appears when chanting irritates me. I don't get why it is so perfect and why they can't just have glowing orbs fly around Abe.

Same as Jenny, I dislike the LCD's. They are hard to read with light gray writing on a bright orange background.

Oh and some of the character voices should be louder, and the loud high pitched bombs should be quieter haha. I turn down the volume every time I'm near them.

On the plus side, I love the visuals and camera movement. There are lots of quirky things that JAW have added that work and are funny. I am enjoying the game and I'm sure I'll come to love the things that irritate me now. They'll be what made this new game so special.

Holy Sock · #6 07-23-2014, 11:15 AM

The UXBs are different in this one, though. They have fast green blinks and slow green blinks. On Hard there's a lot more fast green blinks.

Havoc · #7 07-23-2014, 11:40 AM

Oh by the way, one of the funniest and best things in this game is the German Mudokon in Monsiac Lines. He says 'HALT!' with a thick German accent (stream footage for evidence at 2:01:50). Best thing ever.

OWI_Alex · #8 07-23-2014, 11:56 AM

Meat saws, what meat saws?

***Xavier*** · #9 07-23-2014, 12:10 PM

Stop it

Seriously, some of those saws are impossible.

I have to say I am a bit disappointed there is no bonus when you finish the game on hard with 299 muds saved. There were some sweet artworks in AO.

Anyway now that I've finished the game I can say it was truely an amazing experience. It was like falling in love with Oddworld all over again. The game is beautiful, the levels feel alive, the gameplay is fun. It's perfect in my eyes!

Oddey · #10 07-23-2014, 12:32 PM

It was very much worth the wait.

That said, I've managed to get stuck a few times and had to come up with what were probably cheap solutions to certain puzzles.

Havoc · #11 07-23-2014, 12:50 PM

:

Meat saws, what meat saws?

Well if you do it like that...

Maybe it's just that we're stuck in our old Abe's Oddysee ways by trying to roll directly from next to the saw.

OWI_Alex · #12 07-23-2014, 12:56 PM

:

Well if you do it like that...

Maybe it's just that we're stuck in our old Abe's Oddysee ways by trying to roll directly from next to the saw.

Helps if you get your speed up a little first. You can do it either way.

Scrabaniac · #13 07-23-2014, 01:08 PM

Zulag 2, door 2 is impossible to run past the sligs without them shooting you. Tried blowing them up with grenades, but when i go up the lift to pull the zulag lever, i haven't got time to run and jump onto the ledge.....

Varrok · #14 07-23-2014, 01:14 PM

I have a question. I don't own the game yet. Can a mind-controlled slig run past that fast-moving meatsaw, like in the original?

***Wil*** · #15 07-23-2014, 02:23 PM

No, because there aren't any Sligs in that secret area and there's no -it_is_me_you_father.

Varrok · #16 07-23-2014, 02:27 PM

I mean in general. Like at the meatsaws near the zulag 2 locked entrance. There is always one fast moving meat saw at the time. Can a slig run past the faster one, using good timing?

JennyGenesis · #17 07-23-2014, 02:53 PM

Holy fucking shit, that secret area in the Paramonian temple with the meat saws, fucking hell, that was ridiculously harsh! Took me nearly a billion attempts to get past it! Seems that this time, bats are not my big hate, it's meat saws!

I must say though that my favourite level so far has been Paramonia (Right now I've called it a day at the start of Scrabania). Paramonia is not only the best looking level so far, but I thought it was fantastic that there were brand new sections in the level.

Crashpunk · #18 07-23-2014, 03:07 PM

I don't want to get too into it as i'm planning to do a full review. But to put it simply. It's the best remake ever. It perfectly captures the original game and gives it a new, modern feel and look. It's a beautiful game. Breathtaking throughout. It plays well and it's hilarious.

I'm not into nitpicking at tiny details, but I will say which did bother me was the controls. They are fine. In fact, they're pretty good. It's just sometimes they are little unresponsive. I kept wondering if it was the battery on the duelshock 4 but I think it's mostly because of Run and Walk being on the same analog stick. It works most of the time but I have issues with the run and jump. Abe sometimes walks and hops instead, it's got me killed a few times.

As for the meat saws. I have no issues with them. They work how they should. The times I got stuck at them is because of either my lack of timing or the fact it was impossible to roll underneath it. (The third secret in Zulag 1)

Anyway. You can see all of my first impressions when you watch my Let's Play.

Scrabaniac · #19 07-23-2014, 04:55 PM

Okay, I have just finished the game with 296 Mudokons.. Not bad for a first try on hard let alone first try altogether. I'm guessing by chapter select you can go back and rescue forgotten Muds. Although there were quite a few bugs stopping me progressing at certain points, audio glitches and so on, the game was AMAZING. voices were nailed, (some mudokons sounded Indian or Pakistani which was really funny!), secret areas are all in the same places, even though they hard as fuuu! Meat saws, I lost patience with them a few times, they were too damn fast. I had to get used to how abe jumps without stepping forward a bit first, which got me in a lot of hassle :P but I got there by about zulag 3. Graphics are insaaane, really allowed me to relive my childhood. I know a lot of people complained about creature noises, but they are better IMO, they are more menacing and fearsome! (Except you can sneak behind scrabs.. I don't quite get that bit). I love the extended parts just for Elum too, they were hard also!

Overall fantastic re-imagining JAW, spot on. Will definitely play it again to get the alternative ending. 8/10

(-1, Bugs)
(-1, Frustration)

Holy Sock · #20 07-23-2014, 05:09 PM

Mind giving me a lend of your PS4, Scrab? Since you've finished it and all..... :P

Scrabaniac · #21 07-23-2014, 05:12 PM

I'd love to, but I don't know how I'm gonna get a ps4 to your location, being the stockyards and all... :P

Getchapants · #22 07-23-2014, 05:51 PM

Its Been Great I've beaten the stockyards and I think I've saved every mudokon up to that point(Around 100). I've had no real problems of yet only the timing of the mines has given me trouble, I'm finding this game easier than the original (Quick save really helps ay). I've got the day off from work today so it seems I wont be putting the game down for most of the day

JellyHop · #23 07-23-2014, 06:22 PM

I absolutely love this game. I never played the original but I thought the controlls were great and had no problem with the grinders.

V_O_T · #24 07-23-2014, 06:25 PM

I haven't finished the game yet (I'm at Zulag 1, returning to Rupture Farms) but my first impressions are as followed in short:

-Controls:
- 10 minutes in - wtf, ok..
- 15 minutes in - I was afraid of change, these feel great now lol
- 30 minutes in - Ok, I've picked it up and I am ready to take on the meat saws.
- 2 hours in - I am not ready to take on the meat saws.
The Paramonia secret with 2 meat saws. My god I've never seen such snuff in a game before lol.

Over all, I am enjoying them thoroughly. Its the benefit/consequence of taking away the wipe screens but it works well with the way the designers have designed it. While grid was more accurate and precise, this still works well and it adds to the look and smoothness of the world.

My only negative point would be that some times the controls can feel a bit sluggish and say if I wanted to hop to the left of right with Abe, some times he would take a step instead and set off a mine, wake a slig, etc.

-Graphics & Atmosphere:
Nailed it hard. For the unity engine, its extending the boundaries and it looks absolutely gorgeous. CGI and game play is seamless, the environments are lush and alive (Paramonia. Holy cow. Paramonia, I mean, Crysis has some nice trees, but as a whole, NnT takes the cake for me.)

Also I love how they've split up bits of the dialogue into different CGI snippets. Nice touch

-Audio:
Soundtrack when plz?
The music is what gets me and it felt like I was a wee lass in my lounge room billions of years ago. Incredible music.

As for the mudokon dialogue, they sound great, the mixture of voices makes it unique each time, but god damn do they all sigh a lot. lol, I know in some games there are dialogue options that let you adjust how much they talk, like chattery, casual, silent. When I play I try to listen to each worker/slig but its over crowded by sighs or too many people talking lol. Regardless, its making me laugh and smile when I hear them saying "Boy this one spot of floor is going to be shiny!" lol

I think there is a bug too that cuts out noise. Much like the original Abes Oddysee, there were some sound errors from time to time (disk read errors I think). But yeah, sometimes the voices are gone or the sound effects for shrykull dont play. I think others are getting that as well.

But like I said, I'm not finished yet because I was playing all night and the battery ran out for my controller so im writing this while it charges lol.

I am incredibly pleased with New N Tasty, I am wicked excited for OI and JAW's future. I can nit pick some things that I loved from the original that would be amazing in this game, but I cannot help but love every inch of the game, from stone to slog

I'll post more later on once I finish the game

Keen to see Alfs escape now

Any news on that yet?

Connell · #25 07-23-2014, 06:39 PM

I'd just like to say the now-infamous Paramonian saw secret didn't cause me much distress at all.

SoulStorm64 · #26 07-23-2014, 08:36 PM

Can someone from the JAW team guesstimate when this game will be on ps3??? D: after reading all if this I'm Jonzing to test my oddworld skills on this game to see if it's harder to get used to than the original.

V_O_T · #27 07-23-2014, 09:40 PM

Anyone gotten odd messiah yet? I got it when I found an extra secret room with the last 3 Mudokons in it. It wasn't in the original game. I'm looking on the leaderboards and everyone on there has only found 296 :O

But woo! Completed it! Now to kill all Mudokons to unlock the bad ending.

Connell · #28 07-23-2014, 09:53 PM

I got 292... Foolishly forgot to go into the trap door with bombs originally on top of it in the return portion of Zulag 1 and apparently I'm missing some in Zulag 4 but I couldn't tell you for the life of me where, unless I just forgot to save some.

OWI_Alex · #29 07-23-2014, 10:29 PM

:

Anyone gotten odd messiah yet? I got it when I found an extra secret room with the last 3 Mudokons in it. It wasn't in the original game. I'm looking on the leaderboards and everyone on there has only found 296 :O

But woo! Completed it! Now to kill all Mudokons to unlock the bad ending.

There's definitely 299. We hid 3 pretty well...

OWI_Alex · #30 07-23-2014, 10:32 PM

:

My only negative point would be that some times the controls can feel a bit sluggish and say if I wanted to hop to the left of right with Abe, some times he would take a step instead and set off a mine, wake a slig, etc.

I hold L1 when I want to hop. Or you can press left/right then X, or X and left/right at the same time, or X then left/right. It's pretty flexible and you just need to find the method that suits your style.

:

Paramonia. Holy cow. Paramonia, I mean, Crysis has some nice trees, but as a whole, NnT takes the cake for me.)

Paramonia was the bit I wanted to keep showing people at E3. It's beautiful.

:

I think there is a bug too that cuts out noise. Much like the original Abes Oddysee, there were some sound errors from time to time (disk read errors I think). But yeah, sometimes the voices are gone or the sound effects for shrykull dont play. I think others are getting that as well.

Audio's been worked on, don't worry.

:

Keen to see Alfs escape now

Any news on that yet?

Played bits of it yesterday. My jaw dropped. You're in for a treat.