Machine pistol in each hand? Check.
City full of zombies? Check.

Some days that's all I need.

PC Gamer gave it, what, an 89%? Even accounting for it being PCG, I was dumbfounded by the review. It listed many of the obvious faults that stood out in the demo, but then went on to proclaim how great (?) and atmospheric (?) it was.

Ray, it's PC Gamer. How long have they been bought and paid for? PC Gamer is the group of guys that VOLUNTARILY take their pants off for nin's mounting EULA

The only reason to read PC Gamer is because they have a good "new shit coming up" section. Their reviews are about as useful as Flagship's pricing model.

Creston

and the EULA that personally bends you over the table, rips off your pants, mounts you, and then asks "Are we havin fun yet?!?" has, frankly, turned a lot of people away from the game.

edit: BRIC! BRIC! BRIC!

Teeeeheeeheeee... Fun!!1!!

Creston

If I buy the game but don't subscribe.. can I play all the classes I tried in the beta?

Yeah, you can try them. You're limited to just 3 online though. If you go singleplayer, then you can create as many as you want. You also don't get the new classes without a subscription.

If I buy the game but don't subscribe.. can I play all the classes I tried in the beta?

There is a 3rd person view, but you can't go top down ala Diablo.

Yes you can play the game cooperatively.

Elf, i think the problem is that the demo truely blows arse, where as the game itself is really good natured fun. its got bugs by the tone load, but its a live production tho so that should all get patched out, even if you dont pay for it (IE the monthly subs), bugs fixes and improvments will find there way in to the base game, other wise subscription wont work without the solid base(no one will sub, if the base game is shite).

ray prolly should give this one a go, the problem comes by trying to convince someone to part with cash for something thats a fun game, but the demo says otherwise.

personally ill prolly never subscribe, ill just wade thru loads of demons drunk online with my buddys.

/Theo.


This comment was edited on Nov 1, 18:29.

do you have the option to put the camera above as in Diablo 1 or 2? instead of follow mode of first person, can i look down on the action and play that way?

i tend to suffer from motion sickness from particular views (which is why i'm still playing WoW).

Oh, and is there cooperative play?
_________________________________________________
I'm bleeding, making me the victor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPqkCxV8SkI
This comment was edited on Nov 1, 18:16.

Ray, I have to say I'm surprised and a little dissapointed by your post. Your typically one of the people on here that will put something through it's paces and give a pretty straight forward review/thoughts on a game/demo.
But I have to say in some of your post, it is wrong.

For Ray, I guess if you liked Diablo and/or Diablo 2 then I really don't understand how someone couldn't like HLG (Business Model Aside).

As far as what games people who may like HGL have played... well, I'm 36 and have been PC gaming since the Trash-80 to the latest Pentuims, I've played RPG, FPS, and everything in between. Sometimes I like a Baldur's Gate, sometimes I like to mow down MOBs with my friends for some nice MINDLESS entertainment (like Diablo/Doom 2/Quake2/UT).

Don't know what to say, I think they are getting what they deserve in the form of a bad rap from their greedy online subscription model but the game itself is Diablo in a 3D setting with new classes, I happened to LOVE Diablo 1 and 2 so this game appeals to me. I thought the demo sucked, Beta was better cause I could go past Hub 1, now I am hooked.

*Shrug*

Ray, I went back to look at your post in the other thread. Since I do enjoy the game, lemme see where I disagree:

Bland graphics
I disagree here. The graphics, especially in Hell, look very interesting to me. Sure, the random_subway010.map is boring. But later on in the beta, you come to the museum. That was cool. And like I said, Hell was cool looking. Small, but cool. I'm hoping that there's more stuff taking place in Hell.

Limited sound effects
You're right on this one. I'm not noticing though since I'm having fun blasting through the demons. After 50 levels, I may change my mind.

Jerky animations
I actually looked for this last night since I remember you mentioning it. I just don't see anything jerky about it. The "pose" of the model is lame looking in the character select screen, but in-game, it seems to be fine. In fact, the blademaster has some cool animations, and the engineer runs while holding both guns and that looks kinda cool. I didn't see anything that looked jerky though.

Confined, linear levels
Agree here. Not much to say.

Unlimited ammo
This doesn't bug me very much. What I'd like to see is the addition of ammo, but make it for elite/hardcore play. But the normal gameplay is brain-dead zombie killing. Ammo would just be a money sink and get in the way of that.

Big, ugly interface
If you're using the chat, then yeah, the UI sucks. It also sucks that you can't do melee in 1st-person. As for the size of the UI as you play it, again, this isn't an issue for me. I'm playing at 1600x1200, and it doesn't seem to get in the way. I also play in 3rd-person, so my avatar is blocking stuff also, and I still don't mind. I figure raiding in WoW took up 3/4 of my screen anyway, so this is actually better. (not to say that it is better than WoW's GUI. Nothing beats that).

Incorrect FoV
Havn't noticed this.

Generic NPCs
The NPCs had character, but they ripped it all out due to the complaining. From what I understand, there were many threads in the beta forums about how non-demon-attacking-the-world the NPCs sounded. Perhaps they neutered it too much, though.

Dialogue broken up over .. clicks
Agree. Very annoying. I hope it's fixed.

Lifeless world
The crates explode. Debris kicks up as you shoot. There are containers to loot. Supposedly there are secret passages if your Luck is high enough. I don't agree on this one. It's no less lifeless than a majority of other MMOs out there where the only thing you can do is fight and open chests.

Lack of story
Well, the demon thing is the story. And if you only played the demo, then you wouldn't see much of it. As of act 2, there is a device that someone created that can seal the hellrifts. He died, so it's your job to use it in another hellrift. When you do, it pisses off the demon in charge of that one and he comes after you with all his buddies. I admit, I'm not reading much of the quests due to the problem with the clicking over and over mentioned above. But I am picking up some of it.

Ability to walk into NPCs
In single player, this shouldn't happen. If they were anticipating a lot of people in one HUB, then I can see how they'd want to not allow this. The game instances the HUBs, so this shouldn't be allowed. Agree on this point, but doesn't bug me.

Generic weapons with generic blast patterns
I got a new weapon last night. It fires a flaming dart thing that lodges wherever it hits (monster neck, body, walls, etc). It burns for about 1 second and then explodes. I have another weapon that fires a spray of fire and covers the ground with napalm looking stuff that burns everything in the area. And of course the magical effects are going off at the same time. I disagree with this.

(Weapons) that shoot all over
Depends on which one you use. Some have a higher spread than others. The dart thing, for instance, shoots where you tell it to.

Guns that cannot be used because you're not a melee toon
Weapons are indeed restricted to classes. This is no different than other class-based games though. Melee in HGL sucks though.

Battles that consist solely of circle-strafing..
Try a boss fight or elite mode. In normal mode fighting, yeah, this is how I play. In a boss fight, they run faster than you so it doesn't work so well.

Combat that entails holding down the attack button through the level
So far, this is true. The addition of ammo would solve this.

Simple FedEx quests
The one I mentioned above in the sst was fun and different. Since I'm only level 10, I can't really disagree.

Lack of oveall direction or atmosphere
Welcome to the demo. I think they had Larry the Fuckup design the layout of the demo.

pointless talents
As an engineer, you can go three different ways. Hunter (they can call in napalm strikes), forget what the 2nd one is called, but basically they can control nanobots or a larger bot that fires rockets, or you can go all out with one big bot that can tank and heal group mates. What I dislike is that each skill can take up to 10 points at times. That's 1/5 of your skill points in a single skill, so you're very restricted in the area you go.

Thinks that's aboot it.

So basically, I agree and disagree on stuff. But what you don't address is the gameplay: wading through the burned out city and ruins of London mowing down demon wave after demon wave. Running in to the fucking-huge boss that kicks your ass. Walking in to a room, tossing out a few bots, and having the place got bat-shit crazy as guns and spells are going off all over the place. And that's why I am going to buy it. The gameplay is Diablo simple. Find demons, click buttons until demon dies. Be careful not to die during a boss fight.

The demo was pure shit. As I mentioned before, I uninstalled the game after the demo and was ready to put it out of my mind. But I had a beta key, a fast connection, and boredom. So I tried it. The very first of the demo is the same as the retail game. But the 2nd HUB is different, and that's where it starts to become fun (I don't remember if they had a hellrift in the demo). Unfortunately, there's no way to try the real game without buying it. I really wish they'd just let people download the client and play to the 2nd HUB for free. I think they'd pick up a lot more people.

The pay model sucks, as does the limitation of 3 chars online. I'm willing to put up with that, though, for some good clean demon hunting with my friends online. And as for the ads, they really are hard to notice unless you are looking for them.

I think that's it. That's basically why I'm going to buy the game. Now to push the post button and see how many typos I have...

Edit: 3 typos so far, but I can't find the 3rd one now.

This comment was edited on Nov 1, 15:51.

The demo sucked. The game itself is a good bit of fun. Just don't expect a deep story or a lot of variety etc. It's fairly mindless but fun, with a surprising amount of customizability built in.

Isnt Halloween over?..

LOL these guys at Flagship are pathetic..

The actual game is a lot better than the demo would indicate

I have no idea how people can play this thing. Even with the beta/retail likely being somewhat better, at least further in the game than the demo went, so much would need to be fixed, changed, or completely revamped for it to be even remotely adequate.

I hate this game. I hate it with a passion. But I would swear there is a Blizzard-like mentality, but for Roper or the "old Blizzard" crew. PC Gamer gave it, what, an 89%? Even accounting for it being PCG, I was dumbfounded by the review. It listed many of the obvious faults that stood out in the demo, but then went on to proclaim how great (?) and atmospheric (?) it was.

I will STFU in a bit because I hate this game and have nothing nice to say about it, but I am utterly dumbfounded by the people that think it is a good game. The best rationalization I can come up with - and it's an egotistical one - is that it somehow has to do with teh depth of games played by people. IE when you've played a lot of games for a number of years, Hellgate London does not seem to offer anything new or even right. Pong is still great, if you haven't played any other game.

Is the start of the game at least better (drastically) than what was shown in the demo? And if this is truly a gem hidden in the rough and this becomes a lifetime-defining game in the later levels, they need to release a new demo.

I'll shut up and I won't post further (I'm just spewing trash from my mouth at this point,) but I am utterly flabbergasted by anything even remotely positive being said about this title.
It's just a mediocre, $20 budget game. At least that's what I see.
Clueless,
Ray

-----
I watched Transformers on DVD.
It made me feel stupid. I worry about humanity.
http://www.livejournal.com/users/raymarden/
s{I love you, mom.
This comment was edited on Nov 1, 14:34.

Bill Roper is the "John Romero" of this decade.

heh....

I was having fun playing co-op with my friends last night. Unfortunately the game is plagued with memory leaks. I won't be paying a subscription. But for what I've played so far once they fix the leaks it should be a solid game.

Co-op games are few and far between on the PC and this one is really fun.

I would just wait a half a year till they fix the bugs.

"When its done" ....right, MY ASS!

Melee gets better as you get higher lvl and get faster weapons and cooler abilities. But I agree, it still feels off compared to say Oblivion or Dark Messiah.

I am a Marksman fan myself.

The videos looked cool for the blademaster. I just haven't seen those skills yet.

There must be some kind of Leap Attack (ala D2 Barb Leap Attack) skill, the following screen shot looks interesting:


http://hellgate.incgamers.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1599