This is possibly the first ZP Ive felt the compunction to post about. I can't believe I'm doing this. Anyway.
While I can see the point in a lot of what he's saying this review seems to show up that what Yahtzee often does is take a whole bunch of nitpicks, glom them together and call them a review.
Point in fact:
1)'You can't control when you get reinforcements.'
Not directly, no, but if you raise your Morale stat you'll find them turning up a lot more often. Fortunately, you get Morale by killing people and doing some of the more fun missions. And besides, I don't see why you should be able to control when you get reinforcements anyway.
2)'Then they die and you lose morale'
Yes, that's true. But it's not a hefty morale loss (1 per person) and you can get 4 morale back by killing three baddies in quick succession. 5 for killing 4, 6 for killing 5 and so on. It's not that hard.
3)'Sometimes you get reinforcements at the weirdest times'
That's true. It's a bit silly but it's not game-breaking. Besides, if you're getting reinforcements at the drop of a hat it's because you have a high Morale: I thought that was what you wanted since you were complaining about having more control over when you get reinforcements?
All in all, it's actually quite easy to tailor Morale to the level you want. If you want reinforcements instantly, work on your Morale and keep it there (which is simple). If you only want reinforcements late in a fight when it's clear that you're in serious doo-doo, keep it in the mid-range so that you don't get guerrilla buddies when you knock over a lamp pole. If you don't like support, keep it low by shooting civilians, letting guerrillas die (or killing them) and not doing the Morale upping missions. Even when I was trying I found that my Badlands Morale peaked at 64 - just right if you're worried about guerrillas turning up to shoot up the icecream store.
4)'Ammo runs out quick'
Yes and no. Certainly you run out a lot. Personally, I like that. It makes you feel like a guerrilla because you have to make your strike, shoot some people up, blow some buildings and bug out before the fuzz chase you down. What's more, if you work on your Morale stat, you'll find that the ammo pick-ups that are dotted all around the map will increase in frequency and the amount of ammo they give you. But still, there is a bit of running to base. While annoying, it's certainly more realistic. A guerrilla doesn't pack the same kind of ammo an army grunt might. What's more, it often creates exciting moments in-game where you're desperately trying to reach the safe house before those chasing you shoot you down (though admittedly it creates more "1 more minute and I'll have my ammo back" moments).
5)'Enemies descend on you really quick'
Yes. It can be frustrating (bear in mind that I play on Hard mode - on Normal it should be easier) but again, it's a bit like a real guerrilla situation: plan your hit, make it and get out.
6)'It's not very much like being a guerrilla'
What?! You just said that the ammo is low, the enemies chase you down like a pack of hunting dogs and you never quite have time to blow everything up. How is that not like a guerrilla strike? It's not very much like a real world guerrilla situation, but the realism is very much on the opposite end of the spectrum. You're closer to a god of destruction than a scared little ambusher who has to run at the slightest hints of bullets. But isn't that part of the fun?
Of course, if you're caught in the open, or a few of the 'drones' get a good bead on you for a bit you'll die. But this makes the game more exciting, IMO, than if you were basically the Master Chief blowing shit up.
Besides, I found that as long as you keep moving, use cover, and don't take on your enemies all at once, you can kill a lot of dudes and survive for quite a long time before they finally hunt you down. I like that. It's more fun and frantic spending half of your time running away and improvising a solution to overwhelming numbers than being a Greek god of war. There are enough games like that anyway.
7)'It stops you from destroying everything'
Perhaps it won't let you destroy everything, but I found the ratio of 'blow this up'/'don't blow this up' was fairly high. Yes, there's the home bases you shouldn't blow up and a few homesteads of colonists who are On Your Side, but still, I found far more EDF targets than colonial houses. Far more. And you can easily get away with destroying homes so long as you don't kill the civilians. Really, how is that different to GTA, when killing a bystander gets cops on your ass?
This ZP doesn't even have a coherent line of argument with which to lampoon the game. It's scattershot and incoherent. He complains that the game's not really about being a guerrilla then jabs at it because you don't always have enough ammo to take on the scout patrol regiments that come after you. He complains that the Morale system is hokey when it's actually quite easy to get the Morale level you want and keep it there.
While I can see the point in a lot of what he's saying this review seems to show up that what Yahtzee often does is take a whole bunch of nitpicks, glom them together and call them a review.
Point in fact:
1)'You can't control when you get reinforcements.'
Not directly, no, but if you raise your Morale stat you'll find them turning up a lot more often. Fortunately, you get Morale by killing people and doing some of the more fun missions. And besides, I don't see why you should be able to control when you get reinforcements anyway.
2)'Then they die and you lose morale'
Yes, that's true. But it's not a hefty morale loss (1 per person) and you can get 4 morale back by killing three baddies in quick succession. 5 for killing 4, 6 for killing 5 and so on. It's not that hard.
3)'Sometimes you get reinforcements at the weirdest times'
That's true. It's a bit silly but it's not game-breaking. Besides, if you're getting reinforcements at the drop of a hat it's because you have a high Morale: I thought that was what you wanted since you were complaining about having more control over when you get reinforcements?
All in all, it's actually quite easy to tailor Morale to the level you want. If you want reinforcements instantly, work on your Morale and keep it there (which is simple). If you only want reinforcements late in a fight when it's clear that you're in serious doo-doo, keep it in the mid-range so that you don't get guerrilla buddies when you knock over a lamp pole. If you don't like support, keep it low by shooting civilians, letting guerrillas die (or killing them) and not doing the Morale upping missions. Even when I was trying I found that my Badlands Morale peaked at 64 - just right if you're worried about guerrillas turning up to shoot up the icecream store.
4)'Ammo runs out quick'
Yes and no. Certainly you run out a lot. Personally, I like that. It makes you feel like a guerrilla because you have to make your strike, shoot some people up, blow some buildings and bug out before the fuzz chase you down. What's more, if you work on your Morale stat, you'll find that the ammo pick-ups that are dotted all around the map will increase in frequency and the amount of ammo they give you. But still, there is a bit of running to base. While annoying, it's certainly more realistic. A guerrilla doesn't pack the same kind of ammo an army grunt might. What's more, it often creates exciting moments in-game where you're desperately trying to reach the safe house before those chasing you shoot you down (though admittedly it creates more "1 more minute and I'll have my ammo back" moments).
5)'Enemies descend on you really quick'
Yes. It can be frustrating (bear in mind that I play on Hard mode - on Normal it should be easier) but again, it's a bit like a real guerrilla situation: plan your hit, make it and get out.
6)'It's not very much like being a guerrilla'
What?! You just said that the ammo is low, the enemies chase you down like a pack of hunting dogs and you never quite have time to blow everything up. How is that not like a guerrilla strike? It's not very much like a real world guerrilla situation, but the realism is very much on the opposite end of the spectrum. You're closer to a god of destruction than a scared little ambusher who has to run at the slightest hints of bullets. But isn't that part of the fun?
Of course, if you're caught in the open, or a few of the 'drones' get a good bead on you for a bit you'll die. But this makes the game more exciting, IMO, than if you were basically the Master Chief blowing shit up.
Besides, I found that as long as you keep moving, use cover, and don't take on your enemies all at once, you can kill a lot of dudes and survive for quite a long time before they finally hunt you down. I like that. It's more fun and frantic spending half of your time running away and improvising a solution to overwhelming numbers than being a Greek god of war. There are enough games like that anyway.
7)'It stops you from destroying everything'
Perhaps it won't let you destroy everything, but I found the ratio of 'blow this up'/'don't blow this up' was fairly high. Yes, there's the home bases you shouldn't blow up and a few homesteads of colonists who are On Your Side, but still, I found far more EDF targets than colonial houses. Far more. And you can easily get away with destroying homes so long as you don't kill the civilians. Really, how is that different to GTA, when killing a bystander gets cops on your ass?
This ZP doesn't even have a coherent line of argument with which to lampoon the game. It's scattershot and incoherent. He complains that the game's not really about being a guerrilla then jabs at it because you don't always have enough ammo to take on the scout patrol regiments that come after you. He complains that the Morale system is hokey when it's actually quite easy to get the Morale level you want and keep it there.
He doesn't have an Ozzie accent. He's a Brit in Australia.Suikun said:
