I definately did not ever intent to insult you.
Sorry for misunderstanding.
What I said - or maybe only meant to say - was that it'd be dumb to assume that there could ever be some kind of objective truth that would clearly state "Players will enjoy it/not enjoy it".
Actually I wrote or at least intended to write that if someone loves old-school games and has access to that kind of humour will definitely enjoy it. I have read so much excited and positive user reviews. So it is not a bad game it just is not for everyone.
However, I do not believe the developers when they do.
I share your doubts, I also wondered why it should not be possible to map weapon change to a consoles button. But that is what they told. So maybe it is just a design decision that we both cant understand at this moment.
There is also another point to be made here, which is that the variety of weapons, and the amount I can have in my inventory does not equal complexity.
No, but the kind of weapons can be fun and at least create a bit more variety. I have to mention that you not only carry 2 weapons, you also have grenades, a mobile trap and a hologram to distract enemies. Because of that it adds a bit strategy. I played it at medium difficulty and often needed these elements to survive especially when fighting bosses.
It definitely felt more complex than Crysis 2 as an example.
Variety does not necessarily equal "intelligent" gameplay, though.
Yes, it of course is a shooter and not comparable to any strategic games. So I would not try to debate too much about the term "intelligent". Anyway I gave enough reasons to explain why it is more complex than most today's rail-shooters.
In terms of story it is quite simple though: Aliens came back and took the women to give birth to a new alien brood. The Duke is pissed and strikes back even when the president told him not to do so.
Actually I am happy that it is not a complex story about treachery and a network of intrigues. This would absolutely destroy the mood of this game.
Humour...It's not my kind of thing, and that must be respected as well.
I always wrote that this game is only for people who like this kind of humour. Some other people hate it because of that. So this is another reason why there are some groups of people loving or hating it.
Obviously, Valve are independent, and they create Half-Life, but those is such a different beast of a game, that I'd feel bad comparing it to DNF, same genre or not.
It is only hard to compare because DNF ist more aimed toward fun while HL2 is a more realistic scenario. But really, if you play it, then they are very similar. You run around, solve puzzles, interact with the environment, you drive a bit, get out, get some gas, walk into a mine, kill some alien larvae, break some wooden planks, solve a phyics puzzle. HL2 is the game that is actually the most similar to DNF.
You argue that a true-spirited sequel should keep a majority of its elements, including characters, story, location and gameplay, the same. However, many of the well-known franchises don't.
Actually you are right, not everything has to be preserved. There can be new elements and new story twists of course. I was talking about the feeling, the spirit, the mood. It is often hard for me to recognize a sequel as a new version of its original. I did not find the mood of this great peaceful alien world with these kind and religious Nali in Unreal 2. The good old mixture of aliens, fantasy and sci-fi was just missing in part 2. We got another military shooter instead.
FarCry and Crysis were a bit open with an exotic scenario and lots of options to walk, to drive to steer a boat. Crysis 2 was just a narrow shooter in New York.
But what exactly qualifies a franchise? How much must be preserved in order for two games to be actually considered a "sequel"?
Good question and I think there is no general answer. In the end it should meet the same mood of the original, the features that most fans remember when they talk about that game. And FarCry / Crysis will always be remembered as beautiful Island shooters with a quite open level design.
The Duke is remembered as a cool guy with some harsh and funny speaking while killing aliens and interacting with a environment that has been build with lots of detail and interactivity.
They matter to ME, because I think lots can be learned from discussions like these
Yes, I mean, it does not matter to the Duke at all
In the end I think I will remember this game much more than Crysis 2 as an example for several reasons:
Crysis 2 is located in New York, that is all. I saw great locations in DNF like a western town, took a ride on a lorry in a mine, had some funny monster truck driving, visited some nice alien places and jumped through a burger restaurant while miniaturized. The driving with the hoister was new to me and the boss fights were challenging in medium difficulty. I found it funny to set traps and to listen to the jokes.
Crysis 2 was just shooting and hiding. I had some options to make me temporarily invisible and some melee attacks. But in the end it was very repetitive. But it got higher ratings.
