movievet-dotcom Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 8/10 - pretty good! http://www.videogamer.com/reviews/the_evil_within_review.html A Mikami megamix of sorts that doesn't hit the heights of the director's previous work, but is enjoyable all the same. Note: the embargo for media that received The Evil Within from Bethesda is on October 14th, the day of release. As Bethesda declined to send us a review copy of the game (presumably due to the score we gave Wolfenstein: The New Order) we bought our own copy. As such said embargo does not apply, hence why the review is live now. One of the the most interesting things about famed Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikimi's latest is how much it feels like Silent Hill. While the influence of past Capcom classics is obvious - it plays like a cross between Resi remake's slow-burn horror and resource management while effortlessly slipping gears into the slasher-terror of Resi 4's action - The Evil Within's paranormal setting gives the director free reign to play with notions of reality in a way that resembles Team Silent's best. Crumbling hospitals, dilapidated prisons, the odd, dreamlike feeling that none of the spaces you inhabit bear much relation to any real-world rules: you wouldn't be surprised to bump into James Sunderland. Does the combination work? It does, even if The Evil Within doesn't hit the heights of Mikami's previous work. It's a game that expertly sustains a feeling of dread, and knows when to ratchet up the feeling of being utterly overwhelmed, first slowly then suddenly in a way that induces sheer panic, much like Resi 4 before it. But detective Sebastian Castellanos is no Leon S. Kennedy: there are no suplexes or diving out of windows here. Instead Castellanos is a man who struggles, who limps, who, like the player, has to fight tooth and nail to prevent the next enemy encounter being the last. The game is divided into distinct chapters, each beautifully presented in 2.35:1 ratio and backed up by superb, grisly art direction as well as technical grunt, before pulling players out to a menu when each is completed. It seems an odd, momentum-breaking decision at first, but later reveals itself as an effective way of letting players simply breathe again. Beyond mere survival The Evil Within's chapter objectives (find a key, flip a switch, etc) are simple, and for good reason: they serve as effective ways of focusing the terror. From the word go the game is about survival in its basest form: there's a lot of action, but none of it is macho or glorious, and most of it is in the service of getting the fuck out of town. Your foes - whose tactics are essentially the same as the ganados in Resi 4 - work perfectly in these dreamscape worlds: they just keep coming. Mikami, more than perhaps anyone, understands that the secret to gunplay and enemy encounters is crafting weapons that are actually tools, with specific functions, not just bang-bang power fantasies. The Evil Within's environments are cramped, dangerous, and oppressive. But they're also that to your enemies. Best laid plans will often go wrong, but the maxim remains: use your weapons and items wisely. Failure to do so will result in death, and you'll probably die a few times anyway as a matter of course. Enemies are tough and intelligent, moving in packs and swarming the player, using melee and ranged weapons to box Sebastian in. Their resilience - a well-placed shotgun shell to the face sometimes isn't enough - is at the heart of their danger. In a nod to Resi remake's Crimson Heads, one of the few times players will feel safe is after burning downed foes. Even then, matches are at a premium. There's a satisfaction to combat that feels distinctly Mikami - every encounter is a test, a potential last stand, and it takes true skill to come out alive. Choices have to be made - do you use the various tricks and traps against your enemy, or break them down into ammo for your multi-purpose bow? It's up to you, which makes combat so much fun. It's these elements that drag you through a game that is, on the face of it, exhausting to play. Even when it isn't at its best, you'll want to press on. It sags considerably in the middle, unable to match Resi 4's superb pacing and letting some rather uninspired environments get in the way. Sometimes you'll be killed cheaply, which given the Herculean effort needed to survive at all can grate. At times it feels like a Mikami megamix: it has the village with the chainsaw-wielding dude, another mansion, etc. But Mikami does this so well it's difficult to get annoyed. It's not unusual for directors in either film or games to recall past glories, and few do it better than Mikami. Even though this isn't his best, The Evil Within has enough magic to make it a worthy investment. Version Tested: PlayStation 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devourerplease Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 8/10 is more or less what I expected, but the most interesting part of this review is this: Note: the embargo for media that received The Evil Within from Bethesda is on October 14th, the day of release. As Bethesda declined to send us a review copy of the game (presumably due to the score we gave Wolfenstein: The New Order) we bought our own copy. As such said embargo does not apply, hence why the review is live now. The fact that publishers are still blacklisting journalists is depressing. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltyie Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I'm worried about the release day embargo. I've read some people's thoughts who got the game early, and many agree that: - Melee combat is annoying, if you don't have bullets and stealth is not an option, it can take 10-12 hits to kill people (no big deal really, just save bullets). - The story doesn't really open up until chapter 9 ( I believe the game has 14-18). That means you're running around for a couple of hours not knowing what to do. - The atmosphere and tension in the first hours is great, but the game ditches that to throw countless enemies at you. - Here's an arguable one that only one poster said - the game is only 8 hours long. The devs said 20 hours, so that was obviously a vast overstatement if this is true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capreb Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I'll wait for angry joes review.. him or total biscuit, they're the only guys I even remotely take seriously when it comes to game reviews. They're independent and have no reason to not be honest about the games they review. Regardless, I'll probably just rent it. 8/10 is a good start though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayhem5100 Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 yeah i think it's better to wait for TB review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FluffyAssassin64 Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I've always thought this game looked like a 'good', but not necessarily 'amazing' game. I'll still be picking it up regardless because I love survival horror and have been waiting for a good one since Outlast. I find the best way to get most enjoyment out of a game is to buy what you think looks interesting; unless it gets awful reviews (like 3's across the board), you'll probably enjoy it regardless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittens Are Awesome Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I almost never buy a game at launch. I only do when it comes to PSN releases since those rarely get reduced prices. Valiant Hearts was the only one I can remember doing that. Given that, I let all you launch buyers test new games for me. My partner is one of them. He pre-ordered this game on 360 (sacrilege, I know). I'll watch him play it for a while before I make a decision. I'll wait for angry joes review.. him or total biscuit, they're the only guys I even remotely take seriously when it comes to game reviews. They're independent and have no reason to not be honest about the games they review. Regardless, I'll probably just rent it. 8/10 is a good start though. I always read other brits say they don't like TB. Somebody about him selling out to Americans or something? I like his reviews when I come across them though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capreb Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I almost never buy a game at launch. I only do when it comes to PSN releases since those rarely get reduced prices. Valiant Hearts was the only one I can remember doing that. Given that, I let all you launch buyers test new games for me. My partner is one of them. He pre-ordered this game on 360 (sacrilege, I know). I'll watch him play it for a while before I make a decision. I always read other brits say they don't like TB. Somebody about him selling out to Americans or something? I like his reviews when I come across them though. Brits might say that about him, because he married an American Lady and moved to America to go live with her.. so I guess you could he sold out to Americans and left his poor little Britain behind haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Light_Infinite_ Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 bought the game and the season pass cant wait to play it ! the score it good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon-Archon Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Here's an arguable one that only one poster said - the game is only 8 hours long. The devs said 20 hours, so that was obviously a vast overstatement if this is true. 99.9 out of 100 times that's based on the hardest difficulty setting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parker Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 99.9 out of 100 times that's based on the hardest difficulty setting Which, in my opinion, is how a survival horror game should be played. Still, anywhere from 12-20 hours is definitely good enough for me. Parker 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
movievet-dotcom Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 Which, in my opinion, is how a survival horror game should be played. Still, anywhere from 12-20 hours is definitely good enough for me. Parker I would much prefer to play games on the hardest difficulty setting all the time, but I usually avoid that because I'm always worried that it will suck the fun out of playing it. Ya know, like making things that are stupid difficult, even though it's still doable. It's happened to me a few times and that's often why I'm apprehensive. Am I wrong that most games do that? Here is the second review (which you will need to translate) that also gives it an 8/10, and mentions that the horrific journey lasts just under 20 hours. http://www.gameblog.fr/tests/2075-the-evil-within-ps4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lebium Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 The gameplay trailer peaked my interest, but one of the things that worried me would be if after the first few chapters the game starts feeling redundant? If it loses itself during the middle only to be picked up coming closer to the end? The survival aspect of it sounds amazing though, that was what I loved the most about Outlast, you couldn't fight back, only run, hide and survive. Regardless I'll probably give this a try in a month or two, although I'm yet to finish Outlast on insane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mosessaur Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 IGN Review is out http://au.ign.com/articles/2014/10/14/the-evil-within-review scored 8.7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltyie Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Yep, it took IGN 23 hours to beat the game on survivor difficulty, which is the 3rd hardest. I'm pumped now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DARKSCORPONOXR Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 (edited) it's just fallout 3 with triple the gore and before ppl start pointin out that it has nothin to do with bethesda as they are just the publishers then think again... the game was developed by shinji mikami's tangoworks studio which is a studio within the zenimax media brand, bethesda is also another dev/publisher division within the company so any fallout comparisons are rightfully just... Edited October 14, 2014 by DARKSCORPONOXR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayhem5100 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Yep, it took IGN 23 hours to beat the game on survivor difficulty, which is the 3rd hardest. I'm pumped now. She also said that she died over 200 times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
movievet-dotcom Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 8/10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltyie Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 it's just fallout 3 with triple the gore and before ppl start pointin out that it has nothin to do with bethesda as they are just the publishers then think again... the game was developed by shinji mikami's tangoworks studio which is a studio within the zenimax media brand, bethesda is also another dev/publisher division within the company so any fallout comparisons are rightfully just... No... I don't think you know what the evil within is if you think it's similar to fallout 3. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheIncinerator1 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 it's just fallout 3 with triple the gore and before ppl start pointin out that it has nothin to do with bethesda as they are just the publishers then think again... the game was developed by shinji mikami's tangoworks studio which is a studio within the zenimax media brand, bethesda is also another dev/publisher division within the company so any fallout comparisons are rightfully just... Looking at the trailers and a few gameplay vids, off the bat it has more similarities to games like Silent Hill, Alan Wake, and most definitely RE4. There's really no comparisons to the Fallout series, unless I missed something that showed it going full Mad Max out of nowhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damon8r351 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 No... I don't think you know what the evil within is if you think it's similar to fallout 3. What, didn't you know that's how it works? Tomb Raider is just a clone of Final Fantasy without the turn-based combat. Yeah, because Crystal Dynamics is a subsidiary of Square Enix, that's why. Thought you knew that? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarneyBadAss Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 (edited) Hope it's good. Edited October 16, 2014 by BarneyBadAss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuffyZorugelion Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 I would much prefer to play games on the hardest difficulty setting all the time, but I usually avoid that because I'm always worried that it will suck the fun out of playing it. Ya know, like making things that are stupid difficult, even though it's still doable. It's happened to me a few times and that's often why I'm apprehensive. Am I wrong that most games do that? Games these days are hardly ever too difficult. Most likely they will be stupid easy even on the hardest setting. You really have to dig to find games that are annoyingly difficult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now