I'm going to try and keep this short and sweet because Stellaris is coming out tomorrow and so I want to try and get eight more hours in before it drops (which, if video games were people, I'd feel really bad about saying - luckily they don't have the capacity to understand being snubbed.)
So, the Betrayed Hope expansion. It's fine, I guess. It's main feature is that it introduces two new game modes.
"Betrayal" has you taking over one of the solar system's planets with the intent of taking over the other seven through military force. It plays a lot like a thinly-sketched 4X (although there's no exploration to speak of, so maybe it's a 3X). In theory, this could work because The Last Federation simulates an 8-player strategy free-for-all between the alien species while you are attempting to do your thing, but I never really got the feeling that I was being allowed into the previously background simulation. My interface was almost exactly the same, and my productivity on the planets I controlled was still limited to the same old dispatch missions I'd been doing from the very beginning. As a result of this inherent time constriction, I never really felt like my power was growing as I captured planets. I suppose if you got really into The Last Federation's brand of back-seat diplomacy, it might be a refreshing change of pace to cut through the middle-man from time to time, but "betrayal" mode to me just feels like a vaguer, less satisfying version of a game I've played before.
"Invasion" mode is pretty good, though. A powerful alien has invaded one of the planets and you have to organize the other bickering 7 to drive them out, despite still having rivalries with each other and much inferior technology. It doesn't quite supplant the normal mode in my affections, but it does add a bit of urgency to the "shady mercenary uses underhanded political manipulation for peace" narrative. It would be even better if the Federation-forming mechanic were still in place and I had to occasionally sabotage a planet in order to save it, but that's nitpicking. It made me wrangle 7 fractious alien species behind the scenes and that was exactly what I wanted.
From here, I'll be going back to the base game, but I'll be upping the difficulty to normal. I may be able to get in two or more full games in my remaining time. If so, I may try a third one at hard difficulty. Here's hoping my Federation-building goes as planned.
Sunday, May 8, 2016
Saturday, May 7, 2016
The Last Federation - 8/20 hours
I came so close. There are eight species in the world of The Last Federation and I managed to get seven of them on board with the idea of universal peace. The eighth, well they decided to blow up their whole planet rather than join the Federation. So, yeah.
The really interesting thing about The Last Federation is the way it goes through the trouble of building a world with all these interesting characters and then the essential mechanics of the game set you apart from all of that. It's probably no coincidence that you are a "Hydral." You linger in the background of the setting, working from the shadows, a many-headed beast who intervenes with both aid and sabotage to bring about your ultimate goal.
It's a nice merger of gameplay and story. After awhile you start to feel like you are a superior sort of being, surrounded by short-sighted idiots and that it's your right to meddle with them to your heart's content. Whether you want to completely crash their economy or elevate them to near-godhood with a massive donation of technology, it's all the same. The only factor for consideration is whether such acts will bring them closer to unity.
I enjoy it. Call it my rarely (hah!) expressed megalomaniacal side. I will wield ultimate power in the solar system! And the puppets will dance to my tune! Interplanetary peace shall be the timeless legacy of the Hydral! Glory until the stars run cold!
Um . . . or something.
I also played the tech race mode from the Lost Technologies DLC. It was pretty much a waste of time. Though it got a little hairy towards the end when the ravenous bug-people got enough momentum to spread beyond their homeworld and there was a real possibility that they would overwhelm the solar system, it was still mostly just a straight beeline to the end of the tech tree. It didn't require any of the subtle politicking that made the base game so intriguing. I don't think I'm going to bother playing that mode again.
Which means that the next part of my agenda is the Betrayed Hope DLC, which introduces two new game modes - one where you try and get revenge for the destruction of the Hydral homeworld and another where you have to take your completed Federation and fend off an invasion from another star.
I'm a little wary of these new modes because they both seem to eschew the big central idea that makes The Last Federation so unique - that success depends on the reconciliation of diverse points of view. I like that there is a game that treats peace-making as a worthwhile and narratively interesting goal in itself. It just feels fundamentally different than, say, Civilization's diplomatic victory. It's not just about strong-arming the AI into saying how great you are. You actually have to care about the individual species' history. You have to address their needs (or make them worse and then exploit their desperation) and resolve their differences. To replace that with a military scenario kind of misses the point about what makes the game so great.
It's possible, though, that these expansion modes will surprise me. They could take the game's other unique strength - the sensation of being at the center of a web of conspiracy - and run with it to create a new kind of war game. I do kind of like the idea of fighting a war from the shadows, manipulating the various forces towards destruction through the use of spies, bribes, and political influence.
We'll see how it turns out. Tense political thriller or retread of the same military-is-everything story that's been told in strategy games since the beginning of the genre? Either way, it should kill some time.
The really interesting thing about The Last Federation is the way it goes through the trouble of building a world with all these interesting characters and then the essential mechanics of the game set you apart from all of that. It's probably no coincidence that you are a "Hydral." You linger in the background of the setting, working from the shadows, a many-headed beast who intervenes with both aid and sabotage to bring about your ultimate goal.
It's a nice merger of gameplay and story. After awhile you start to feel like you are a superior sort of being, surrounded by short-sighted idiots and that it's your right to meddle with them to your heart's content. Whether you want to completely crash their economy or elevate them to near-godhood with a massive donation of technology, it's all the same. The only factor for consideration is whether such acts will bring them closer to unity.
I enjoy it. Call it my rarely (hah!) expressed megalomaniacal side. I will wield ultimate power in the solar system! And the puppets will dance to my tune! Interplanetary peace shall be the timeless legacy of the Hydral! Glory until the stars run cold!
Um . . . or something.
I also played the tech race mode from the Lost Technologies DLC. It was pretty much a waste of time. Though it got a little hairy towards the end when the ravenous bug-people got enough momentum to spread beyond their homeworld and there was a real possibility that they would overwhelm the solar system, it was still mostly just a straight beeline to the end of the tech tree. It didn't require any of the subtle politicking that made the base game so intriguing. I don't think I'm going to bother playing that mode again.
Which means that the next part of my agenda is the Betrayed Hope DLC, which introduces two new game modes - one where you try and get revenge for the destruction of the Hydral homeworld and another where you have to take your completed Federation and fend off an invasion from another star.
I'm a little wary of these new modes because they both seem to eschew the big central idea that makes The Last Federation so unique - that success depends on the reconciliation of diverse points of view. I like that there is a game that treats peace-making as a worthwhile and narratively interesting goal in itself. It just feels fundamentally different than, say, Civilization's diplomatic victory. It's not just about strong-arming the AI into saying how great you are. You actually have to care about the individual species' history. You have to address their needs (or make them worse and then exploit their desperation) and resolve their differences. To replace that with a military scenario kind of misses the point about what makes the game so great.
It's possible, though, that these expansion modes will surprise me. They could take the game's other unique strength - the sensation of being at the center of a web of conspiracy - and run with it to create a new kind of war game. I do kind of like the idea of fighting a war from the shadows, manipulating the various forces towards destruction through the use of spies, bribes, and political influence.
We'll see how it turns out. Tense political thriller or retread of the same military-is-everything story that's been told in strategy games since the beginning of the genre? Either way, it should kill some time.
Friday, May 6, 2016
The Last Federation - 2/20 hours
My first runthrough is a warm-up on the lowest difficulty and it's going moderately well. There is a lot of complexity to this game and it's taking me awhile to remember the nuances of how to play. Basically, you have to build up your reputation with the various alien species, but since they start out as rivals, actions that benefit one can aggrieve the others.
Also, while you're focused on your own goals, all of the alien factions are focused on theirs, so there are difficult time-management decisions to be made, in addition to the complex political wrangling. Spending 10 months building a special diplomacy-enhancing building on an alien world might help you out in the long run, but while you are doing that, you are out of commission and thus unable to respond to a war or an outbreak of disease.
I've already got my basic Federation set up, thanks to the fact that three of the species are naturally peace-inclined and thus easy to ally with each other, but once that early hump is cleared, it becomes a much steeper climb to the top. The various species bring their rivalries and prejudices into the Federation and the enemy of one becomes the enemy of all.
I think I've got it basically figured out. Focus on one group at a time. Intervene in wars to prevent the non-Federation species from gaining too big a power base, and buff up my Federation planets so they don't have to worry about invasion. I'm pretty sure that at least one of the species is going to go extinct before all is said and done, but then again, this is easy mode, so maybe I'll manage to pull it off.
I'm looking forward to giving it a shot.
Also, while you're focused on your own goals, all of the alien factions are focused on theirs, so there are difficult time-management decisions to be made, in addition to the complex political wrangling. Spending 10 months building a special diplomacy-enhancing building on an alien world might help you out in the long run, but while you are doing that, you are out of commission and thus unable to respond to a war or an outbreak of disease.
I've already got my basic Federation set up, thanks to the fact that three of the species are naturally peace-inclined and thus easy to ally with each other, but once that early hump is cleared, it becomes a much steeper climb to the top. The various species bring their rivalries and prejudices into the Federation and the enemy of one becomes the enemy of all.
I think I've got it basically figured out. Focus on one group at a time. Intervene in wars to prevent the non-Federation species from gaining too big a power base, and buff up my Federation planets so they don't have to worry about invasion. I'm pretty sure that at least one of the species is going to go extinct before all is said and done, but then again, this is easy mode, so maybe I'll manage to pull it off.
I'm looking forward to giving it a shot.
Thursday, May 5, 2016
The Last Federation - Initial Thoughts
About the Game (From the Steam Store Page)
Turn-based tactical combat, with up to 5 factions competing at once.
Extremely deep simulation of an entire solar system and its billions of inhabitants. Even just watching everything unfold in Observer mode is entertaining, as nations rise and fall.
New-player-friendly ramp-up of complexity as you play, which you can disable if you're already a veteran.
Eight races each have very distinct personalities and attributes. Each one even has its own completely unique political system.
Difficulty levels split between the grand strategy and turn-based combat portions of the game, both ranging from quite casual to incredibly hardcore.
Save and reload your game with ease any time, or tough it out in ironman mode.
Composer Pablo Vega's best soundtrack to date, featuring 54 minutes of music and the vocal finale "Lay Down Your Arms."
More Details
Greetings, Hydral. I will be your computer for this "grand strategy campaign with turn-based tactical combat." I think that's code for "we're going to die."
Our solar system is vast and complicated, and I sense you are a little dimwitted -- so I tell you what, let's start with the simple stuff. Like escaping with this flagship you just hijacked from a bunch of angry robots. That seems important.
Please excuse my impertinence, but I believe you are the last of a murdered race, yes? My records note you Hydrals were the dictators of the solar system, so basically you had it coming. And by "it," I mean the moon that smacked into your homeworld. Hmm. So people really aren't going to like you until they get to know you. Well, only you can use the scattered remnants of advanced Hydral technology, so that's something.
Look, I'm not going to tell you what to do. My understanding is that you're trying to form the solar system's first-and-last unified federation, and that's noble enough. But right now nobody wants that except you, and you've got 8 very diverse, very angry races to either unify or exterminate. So... good luck with that. I'll help how I can.
Previous Playtime
26 hours
What Was I Thinking When I Bought This
The Last Federation was a pre-blog purchase for me, which means my motives were entirely down to interest in the game itself. I heard it mentioned in a forum post and its basic concept hooked me right away - it's a space strategy game where the goal is peace instead of absolute supremacy. I was so intrigued that I didn't even wait for it to go on sale.
Expectations and Prior Experience
I've already played this game quite a bit, which you might think would lead to burn-out, where I've already gotten all that I can out it and have nothing more to do but go through the motions in order to kill time. However, I don't think The Last Federation is one of those kind of games. If I recall, the starting setup was such that it was fairly easy to engineer a particular type of outcome (the "good" species ganging up on the "evil" species and making a Federation with 4 out of 8 of the original species), but that if you wanted anything different, it would require a vastly different approach. As a result of combinatorial explosion, the game has a huge number of possibilities to explore, even though the setup is the same each time.
Or, at least, that's what I recall. I also seem to remember that it was a very menu-driven and abstract experience (at least, the non-spaceship combat portions were), so it might be that this will be a situation like Redshirt, where the fun, outdoorsy, physically active socialite is more or less the same as the obsessive holodeck nerd who plays chess every day and barely talks to anyone. I honestly don't remember.
The other wrinkle is that I bought a couple of DLCs in the years since I last played this game and they both seem like they make some pretty big changes, so it's entirely possible that even if I did remember the game, it could be far different.
On the other hand, I played this game for 26 hours and I never really got bored with it (as usual, I stopped playing because I was distracted by the new, shiny thing that came along . . . whatever it happened to be in this case), so I'm not really worried. My agenda going forward is to try and get a perfect game, where all 8 species survive and to check out the alternate game modes enabled by the DLC. That will probably easily carry me to 20 hours or beyond.
Turn-based tactical combat, with up to 5 factions competing at once.
Extremely deep simulation of an entire solar system and its billions of inhabitants. Even just watching everything unfold in Observer mode is entertaining, as nations rise and fall.
New-player-friendly ramp-up of complexity as you play, which you can disable if you're already a veteran.
Eight races each have very distinct personalities and attributes. Each one even has its own completely unique political system.
Difficulty levels split between the grand strategy and turn-based combat portions of the game, both ranging from quite casual to incredibly hardcore.
Save and reload your game with ease any time, or tough it out in ironman mode.
Composer Pablo Vega's best soundtrack to date, featuring 54 minutes of music and the vocal finale "Lay Down Your Arms."
More Details
Greetings, Hydral. I will be your computer for this "grand strategy campaign with turn-based tactical combat." I think that's code for "we're going to die."
Our solar system is vast and complicated, and I sense you are a little dimwitted -- so I tell you what, let's start with the simple stuff. Like escaping with this flagship you just hijacked from a bunch of angry robots. That seems important.
Please excuse my impertinence, but I believe you are the last of a murdered race, yes? My records note you Hydrals were the dictators of the solar system, so basically you had it coming. And by "it," I mean the moon that smacked into your homeworld. Hmm. So people really aren't going to like you until they get to know you. Well, only you can use the scattered remnants of advanced Hydral technology, so that's something.
Look, I'm not going to tell you what to do. My understanding is that you're trying to form the solar system's first-and-last unified federation, and that's noble enough. But right now nobody wants that except you, and you've got 8 very diverse, very angry races to either unify or exterminate. So... good luck with that. I'll help how I can.
Previous Playtime
26 hours
What Was I Thinking When I Bought This
The Last Federation was a pre-blog purchase for me, which means my motives were entirely down to interest in the game itself. I heard it mentioned in a forum post and its basic concept hooked me right away - it's a space strategy game where the goal is peace instead of absolute supremacy. I was so intrigued that I didn't even wait for it to go on sale.
Expectations and Prior Experience
I've already played this game quite a bit, which you might think would lead to burn-out, where I've already gotten all that I can out it and have nothing more to do but go through the motions in order to kill time. However, I don't think The Last Federation is one of those kind of games. If I recall, the starting setup was such that it was fairly easy to engineer a particular type of outcome (the "good" species ganging up on the "evil" species and making a Federation with 4 out of 8 of the original species), but that if you wanted anything different, it would require a vastly different approach. As a result of combinatorial explosion, the game has a huge number of possibilities to explore, even though the setup is the same each time.
Or, at least, that's what I recall. I also seem to remember that it was a very menu-driven and abstract experience (at least, the non-spaceship combat portions were), so it might be that this will be a situation like Redshirt, where the fun, outdoorsy, physically active socialite is more or less the same as the obsessive holodeck nerd who plays chess every day and barely talks to anyone. I honestly don't remember.
The other wrinkle is that I bought a couple of DLCs in the years since I last played this game and they both seem like they make some pretty big changes, so it's entirely possible that even if I did remember the game, it could be far different.
On the other hand, I played this game for 26 hours and I never really got bored with it (as usual, I stopped playing because I was distracted by the new, shiny thing that came along . . . whatever it happened to be in this case), so I'm not really worried. My agenda going forward is to try and get a perfect game, where all 8 species survive and to check out the alternate game modes enabled by the DLC. That will probably easily carry me to 20 hours or beyond.
Star Wars Battlefront II - 20/20 hours
Running and shooting and killing things. Sometimes dying unceremoniously, sometimes going on an epic kill streak that turns the tide of battle. Flying a spaceship and being outclassed because the enemy used a sabotage special, but winning anyway because the AI doesn't know enough to focus-fire on mission objectives. Jumping into Yoda or Mace Windu or Jango Fett and dominating the battlefield for a brief period of time. Games of Capture the Flag rendered pointless by my superior human brain's ability to avoid areas of dense fighting.
Star Wars Battlefront II is basically just a series of impressions to me. I have a feeling, though, that I'm going to want to play this game again in another five years. Because the impressions I have shortly after getting through 20 hours of the game are more or less the exact same impressions I had prior to starting the game. You could look at it as being evidence that I didn't grow or learn during the entire experience, but I think it's more the case of the game being extremely straightforward about what it promises - Star Wars-themed action devoid of narrative context, but executed well and allowing you to play a wide cross-section of the setting's military characters.
I will confess to loving the Tantive IV mission. Regardless of what side you played, it felt like you were playing the movie. I suppose the Geonosis level was much the same, but it loses points because the movie wasn't as good. But my favorite part of the game was the inevitable Hoth level. It was a nice change of pace being inside the AT-AT instead of the snowspeeder, though from that perspective it becomes clear exactly how absurd that scene really is. I'm a massive, nigh-invulnerable engine of destruction and you're going to take me down with a freaking rope? Come on!
I went back and beat the campaign (the permanent defense boost I unlocked from all my battles in Galactic Conquest mode was just enough of an edge to get me past the hump). I don't like that it ended on a triumph note for the Empire. Maybe every long-running franchise experiences a flowering of maturity where people become interested in exploring edge-cases and new perspectives, but I think Star Wars is one place where I like my heroes to be heroes and my villains to be villains. Han Solo shooting first is about as far as I want to go with the whole "conflicted antihero" thing (maybe that was what was wrong with the prequels).
Overall, I'd say that Star Wars Battlefront II is a reliable workhorse of a game. At no point did it surprise or delight me and because single-player mode was just a slightly tweaked version of its core multiplayer gameplay, it lacked the over-the-top spectacle and violent excess that is, to me, the hallmark of a truly great action game. But what it does, it does well. And it is completely understandable why it has such a persistent online following (the third-party matchmaking software showed 13 active games, at 1:30am, on a Wednesday, 11 years after the game's release). Sometimes, all you want to do is blast Storm Troopers with 63 of your closest friends. And I can't think of a game that does this better.
Star Wars Battlefront II is basically just a series of impressions to me. I have a feeling, though, that I'm going to want to play this game again in another five years. Because the impressions I have shortly after getting through 20 hours of the game are more or less the exact same impressions I had prior to starting the game. You could look at it as being evidence that I didn't grow or learn during the entire experience, but I think it's more the case of the game being extremely straightforward about what it promises - Star Wars-themed action devoid of narrative context, but executed well and allowing you to play a wide cross-section of the setting's military characters.
I will confess to loving the Tantive IV mission. Regardless of what side you played, it felt like you were playing the movie. I suppose the Geonosis level was much the same, but it loses points because the movie wasn't as good. But my favorite part of the game was the inevitable Hoth level. It was a nice change of pace being inside the AT-AT instead of the snowspeeder, though from that perspective it becomes clear exactly how absurd that scene really is. I'm a massive, nigh-invulnerable engine of destruction and you're going to take me down with a freaking rope? Come on!
I went back and beat the campaign (the permanent defense boost I unlocked from all my battles in Galactic Conquest mode was just enough of an edge to get me past the hump). I don't like that it ended on a triumph note for the Empire. Maybe every long-running franchise experiences a flowering of maturity where people become interested in exploring edge-cases and new perspectives, but I think Star Wars is one place where I like my heroes to be heroes and my villains to be villains. Han Solo shooting first is about as far as I want to go with the whole "conflicted antihero" thing (maybe that was what was wrong with the prequels).
Overall, I'd say that Star Wars Battlefront II is a reliable workhorse of a game. At no point did it surprise or delight me and because single-player mode was just a slightly tweaked version of its core multiplayer gameplay, it lacked the over-the-top spectacle and violent excess that is, to me, the hallmark of a truly great action game. But what it does, it does well. And it is completely understandable why it has such a persistent online following (the third-party matchmaking software showed 13 active games, at 1:30am, on a Wednesday, 11 years after the game's release). Sometimes, all you want to do is blast Storm Troopers with 63 of your closest friends. And I can't think of a game that does this better.
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
Star Wars Battlefront II: 13/20 hours
I just finished Galactic Conquest mode, and I think I like it a lot more than Story mode. Going into a battle knowing the stakes in advance and with an understanding that the initial tactical situation is basically fair changes the complexion of the whole game. It makes me feel like the world exists independent of me, rather than purely for my benefit. It's an illusory feeling, obviously, because I'm playing single player, but then again perhaps this is what playing multiplayer is like - a world created for the benefit of multiple players instead of just one.
I doubt it, though. Mostly because my progress through Galactic Conquest seemed highly random. Assuming my troops were evenly matched with the enemy's, then surely my presence, as an individual soldier who can kill ten opponents before succumbing to death, would tip the balance in my favor every time. And while it's true that I won almost all the time, the outcomes were so swingy that I'm not sure how much of that was due to my influence. Sometimes, my forces would overwhelm the enemy and win with 50 or more surplus troops, other times it would be hard-fought with less than a half-dozen of my allies remaining. And I don't think it was a matter of my performance that determined these outcomes.
I mean, sometimes it was all down to me. On Yavin 4 I was the last of my army standing. More than 20 Imperial Soldiers still patrolled the woods. I had to use all my cunning to pick them off one at a time until I got down to the last four enemies and they were all in tanks. So I had to steal an Imperial Tank and then get in a massive vehicle battle and in the end, I won. A certain defeat was turned into a victory by my stubborn refusal to give up and I was inspired to waste a lot of time in future levels where the situation really was hopeless.
Star Wars Battlefront II (single-player mode) is at its best when it becomes a vehicle for emergent stories like that. Most of the time, it really just seems random, but sometimes you can impose order on the narrative and it becomes something magical. . . and then other times you fight your hardest and are defeated because 50 of your teammates simultaneously decided to shit the bed.
I wonder if the same holds in multiplayer? I kind of think than in this game, it might. The teams are so large that it's unlikely that they can develop into the sort of stable partnerships that allow complex tactics to be executed. I imagine that if you just play with a random group of strangers, the highs and the lows will cancel each other out and each match will essentially be a coin-flip. Does that make it less or more appealing, I wonder. I'm guessing that anything that gives people the sensation of being able to control the chaotic flux of the universe must be popular, even if it is nothing but the illusion of control.
Or maybe I'm reading too much into it and people just like shooting stuff in the Star Wars universe. That seems . . . probable.
I doubt it, though. Mostly because my progress through Galactic Conquest seemed highly random. Assuming my troops were evenly matched with the enemy's, then surely my presence, as an individual soldier who can kill ten opponents before succumbing to death, would tip the balance in my favor every time. And while it's true that I won almost all the time, the outcomes were so swingy that I'm not sure how much of that was due to my influence. Sometimes, my forces would overwhelm the enemy and win with 50 or more surplus troops, other times it would be hard-fought with less than a half-dozen of my allies remaining. And I don't think it was a matter of my performance that determined these outcomes.
I mean, sometimes it was all down to me. On Yavin 4 I was the last of my army standing. More than 20 Imperial Soldiers still patrolled the woods. I had to use all my cunning to pick them off one at a time until I got down to the last four enemies and they were all in tanks. So I had to steal an Imperial Tank and then get in a massive vehicle battle and in the end, I won. A certain defeat was turned into a victory by my stubborn refusal to give up and I was inspired to waste a lot of time in future levels where the situation really was hopeless.
Star Wars Battlefront II (single-player mode) is at its best when it becomes a vehicle for emergent stories like that. Most of the time, it really just seems random, but sometimes you can impose order on the narrative and it becomes something magical. . . and then other times you fight your hardest and are defeated because 50 of your teammates simultaneously decided to shit the bed.
I wonder if the same holds in multiplayer? I kind of think than in this game, it might. The teams are so large that it's unlikely that they can develop into the sort of stable partnerships that allow complex tactics to be executed. I imagine that if you just play with a random group of strangers, the highs and the lows will cancel each other out and each match will essentially be a coin-flip. Does that make it less or more appealing, I wonder. I'm guessing that anything that gives people the sensation of being able to control the chaotic flux of the universe must be popular, even if it is nothing but the illusion of control.
Or maybe I'm reading too much into it and people just like shooting stuff in the Star Wars universe. That seems . . . probable.
Monday, May 2, 2016
Star Wars Battlefront II - 9/20 hours
Been playing the campaign. According to online walkthroughs I'm on the second-to-last mission and boy, has it been kicking my ass. The computer's greatest weakness is that the AI is terrible. My greatest weakness as a player is that the AI is terrible.
Here's how it breaks down. You've got these AI teammates and they are absolutely useless. Sure, they'll take down the occasional enemy, but more often they stand right in front of you, clogging up narrow hallways and bridges or use explosives in close quarters, doing more damage to themselves than the enemy. I once saw one of my allies just run around in circles for no discernible reason. And needless to say, they are useless for pursuing mission objectives. You pretty much have to solo the whole enemy team.
Which is possible because the enemy AI isn't any better than your team AI. Even when you're vastly outnumbered you can make up for a lot by kiting, hit and run tactics, and using doors as cover (the AI never seems to figure out that just because a door closes, doesn't mean the thing that was attacking you has vanished).
Which is fine. I mean, it's not ideal, but there's a game there, about the elite commando who cuts their way through the battlefield and wrecks the enemy forces all out of proportion to his numerical significance. In fact, it's the plot of basically every military FPS ever made.
Where it becomes a problem for me is in campaign mode, where the mission balance out the fact of the human's relative god-like prowess by giving the enemies effectively unlimited resources. I guess that's not really a complaint, given that I am at the second-to-last level and it's probably supposed to be hard, but it has gotten under my skin a bit. I kind of feel like the game presents itself as one thing, but is actually another. Even though it turns out to be a lot like playing a more traditional shooter, you're doing so without checkpoints and with an essentially random number of lives, so you know, that's kind of a pain.
I did play a random map to compare. Like maybe I was being too sensitive and that's just what the game does to the unskilled. But the random mission was a cakewalk. I easily came out on top, with nearly 40 troops remaining (out of 150). Having a finite enemy was so much easier, psychologically, than a notionally endless one, it was like playing a different game.
I don't know what I'll do next. I should probably at least try to finish the campaign, but I may well skip it and give galactic conquest mode a shot. It may not be the thrilling challenge that the scripted missions are, but at least that way I won't have to play as the freaking Empire.
Here's how it breaks down. You've got these AI teammates and they are absolutely useless. Sure, they'll take down the occasional enemy, but more often they stand right in front of you, clogging up narrow hallways and bridges or use explosives in close quarters, doing more damage to themselves than the enemy. I once saw one of my allies just run around in circles for no discernible reason. And needless to say, they are useless for pursuing mission objectives. You pretty much have to solo the whole enemy team.
Which is possible because the enemy AI isn't any better than your team AI. Even when you're vastly outnumbered you can make up for a lot by kiting, hit and run tactics, and using doors as cover (the AI never seems to figure out that just because a door closes, doesn't mean the thing that was attacking you has vanished).
Which is fine. I mean, it's not ideal, but there's a game there, about the elite commando who cuts their way through the battlefield and wrecks the enemy forces all out of proportion to his numerical significance. In fact, it's the plot of basically every military FPS ever made.
Where it becomes a problem for me is in campaign mode, where the mission balance out the fact of the human's relative god-like prowess by giving the enemies effectively unlimited resources. I guess that's not really a complaint, given that I am at the second-to-last level and it's probably supposed to be hard, but it has gotten under my skin a bit. I kind of feel like the game presents itself as one thing, but is actually another. Even though it turns out to be a lot like playing a more traditional shooter, you're doing so without checkpoints and with an essentially random number of lives, so you know, that's kind of a pain.
I did play a random map to compare. Like maybe I was being too sensitive and that's just what the game does to the unskilled. But the random mission was a cakewalk. I easily came out on top, with nearly 40 troops remaining (out of 150). Having a finite enemy was so much easier, psychologically, than a notionally endless one, it was like playing a different game.
I don't know what I'll do next. I should probably at least try to finish the campaign, but I may well skip it and give galactic conquest mode a shot. It may not be the thrilling challenge that the scripted missions are, but at least that way I won't have to play as the freaking Empire.
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