Pariah MP Demo Released...
- Thread starter Shagz
- Start date
Shagz
New Member
I need some more time with it I think, but the Halo similarities are not too far off (only two weapons at a time, some of the base architecture feels the same, all weapons have some kind of zoom on them), but I think that's where it ends. The weapons have a certain je ne sais quois that makes 'em their own kind of thing - they feel SOLID on screen - and the weapon upgrading system, though I haven't been able to get really deep into it, is a unique game mechanic. I think that's where the game will really shine, in the decisions on how and when you upgrade your weapon load out. This is also the first game that I can think of that allows you to *heal yourself* instead of having to pick up health packs. It takes a while and you're weaponless while you're doing it, but you can still run around.
The weapon wheel is a nice touch too.
But that points to something else: it definitely feels like a console shooter. It doesn't show any signs of a bad "port" from a console or anything - the graphics are high res and everything looks BEAUTIFUL - but the interface design (which also looks slick, IMO; very clean), the weapon wheel and the slightly sluggish/strange feel to the mouse movement all harks back to a console feel.
And there's no movement tricks that I can see so far. No dodging and double jumping obviously, but no gren or rocket jumping either. There might be something you can do with the sprinting ability though...
Oh, and in case you're wondering, "Front Line Assault" is sort've a simple, dumbed down Onslaught ("dumbed down" doesn't mean it's bad, it's just not as involved as Onslaught is). You don't have to charge nodes or anything. You just have to touch them and then secure the area until it switches over to your colour, then push the "front line" ahead to the next node.
This definitely feels like a "by the numbers" multiplayer component for what could be an excellent single player game. I wanna play it some more - like I said, the weapon upgrading system might prove to be very deep and involving - but I think it's the single player component that's the real meat for this game. The enviroments, the level design, the graphics...they all say "single player" to me. But we'll see...
The weapon wheel is a nice touch too.
But that points to something else: it definitely feels like a console shooter. It doesn't show any signs of a bad "port" from a console or anything - the graphics are high res and everything looks BEAUTIFUL - but the interface design (which also looks slick, IMO; very clean), the weapon wheel and the slightly sluggish/strange feel to the mouse movement all harks back to a console feel.
And there's no movement tricks that I can see so far. No dodging and double jumping obviously, but no gren or rocket jumping either. There might be something you can do with the sprinting ability though...
Oh, and in case you're wondering, "Front Line Assault" is sort've a simple, dumbed down Onslaught ("dumbed down" doesn't mean it's bad, it's just not as involved as Onslaught is). You don't have to charge nodes or anything. You just have to touch them and then secure the area until it switches over to your colour, then push the "front line" ahead to the next node.
This definitely feels like a "by the numbers" multiplayer component for what could be an excellent single player game. I wanna play it some more - like I said, the weapon upgrading system might prove to be very deep and involving - but I think it's the single player component that's the real meat for this game. The enviroments, the level design, the graphics...they all say "single player" to me. But we'll see...
Tek7 (Legacy)
CGA & ToJ President
Pariah. Hm. See, I...Hm. I'm not sure what to say.
I think that the game's beauty doesn't come through on my GeForce3 Ti450, so I can't give a fair opinion on the graphics. My framerate was low, but, again, that's probably my video card showing its age.
As for gameplay, I can't say there's anything in Pariah that would pull me away from UT2004. While the whole "get into the vehicle on the side you're currently standing" touch of realism was clever, I tend to favor unrealism (har har) over realism. My loudest complaint is that vehicle steering is horribly awkward. The reason I sprint toward every vehicle (and, conversely, for the AVRiL when I can't get a vehicle) in Onslaught is the smoothness of the controls. If a vehicle handles awkwardly in a game mode featuring vehicles, then it ruins the entire game mode for me. It's true: Onslaught as spoiled me.
The weapons were pretty cool. I guess my love for the Quake 3 and UT2004 rocket launchers proved itself in my dislike of the Pariah rocket launcher. Again, I think my personal preferences are clouding my judgment.
Still, overall, the multiplayer doesn't really seem to offer anything new. It's pretty much a cross between Halo and UT2004, in my opinion. True, it's well done for what it is, but I tend to walk away from anything short of revolutionary after a few minutes.
If you're on broadband, go nab the multiplayer demo and give it a spin.
Now I want to play a single-player demo. Perhaps SP is where Pariah shines.
Oh, and by the bye, does anyone know how "moddable" Pariah will be?
I think that the game's beauty doesn't come through on my GeForce3 Ti450, so I can't give a fair opinion on the graphics. My framerate was low, but, again, that's probably my video card showing its age.
As for gameplay, I can't say there's anything in Pariah that would pull me away from UT2004. While the whole "get into the vehicle on the side you're currently standing" touch of realism was clever, I tend to favor unrealism (har har) over realism. My loudest complaint is that vehicle steering is horribly awkward. The reason I sprint toward every vehicle (and, conversely, for the AVRiL when I can't get a vehicle) in Onslaught is the smoothness of the controls. If a vehicle handles awkwardly in a game mode featuring vehicles, then it ruins the entire game mode for me. It's true: Onslaught as spoiled me.
The weapons were pretty cool. I guess my love for the Quake 3 and UT2004 rocket launchers proved itself in my dislike of the Pariah rocket launcher. Again, I think my personal preferences are clouding my judgment.
Still, overall, the multiplayer doesn't really seem to offer anything new. It's pretty much a cross between Halo and UT2004, in my opinion. True, it's well done for what it is, but I tend to walk away from anything short of revolutionary after a few minutes.
If you're on broadband, go nab the multiplayer demo and give it a spin.
Now I want to play a single-player demo. Perhaps SP is where Pariah shines.
Oh, and by the bye, does anyone know how "moddable" Pariah will be?
Shagz
New Member
Ok, so I played some DM tonight for about 2 hrs (!!) and I think I got a bit of a handle on it now. The weapons upgrade system really does had something to the game, that's for sure. When somebody dies and drops a weapon core, everybody makes a mad dash for it...except the guy who dropped a grenade there and is waiting for everybody to intercept it. 
The physics really add to the game, and the grenade launcher is definitely my favourite weapon, simply for that fact.
I also discovered that you can shoot down rockets in mid air (a la AVRIL) if you time it right.
Yea, I think there's something here, but not nearly as deep or as good as UT2004. It's more realism based, to the point that you take damage if you fall from any height too fast that's greater than 6 or 7 feet. Without movement tricks, I don't know how long the multiplayer would keep me interested.
I'll keep it on my drive for a little while longer, but I'll be looking for the single player demo before I make up my mind on it.
re: moddable...no idea, but the XBox version has a built in map editor that creates really small files that you can share over Live. I'm sure the PC version will ship with a more robust editor than the XBox version. Beyond that, I dunno...
The physics really add to the game, and the grenade launcher is definitely my favourite weapon, simply for that fact.I also discovered that you can shoot down rockets in mid air (a la AVRIL) if you time it right.
Yea, I think there's something here, but not nearly as deep or as good as UT2004. It's more realism based, to the point that you take damage if you fall from any height too fast that's greater than 6 or 7 feet. Without movement tricks, I don't know how long the multiplayer would keep me interested.
I'll keep it on my drive for a little while longer, but I'll be looking for the single player demo before I make up my mind on it.
re: moddable...no idea, but the XBox version has a built in map editor that creates really small files that you can share over Live. I'm sure the PC version will ship with a more robust editor than the XBox version. Beyond that, I dunno...