Gaming Hard Reset Preview

We try turning it on and off again for our hands-on with PC shooter Hard Reset.

http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/pc/2011/08/12/hard-reset-preview/1

 

'PC exclusive'

**** yes. Flying Wild Hog will se my money coming their way shortly.

 

You want me to watch an ad, so I can watch an... ad?

Ah, no.

 

The graphics look v . nice, but I guess it will all come down to whether the gameplay is really challenging . In the gameplay clip the movement looks very basic (turn and shoot) ,admittedly not 'on rails', but not far away.

For a PC game, you'd hope for something where at the very least, 'crouch', 'run' and 'jump' are included and their use essential for progression in the game, otherwise it may as well be an 'on rails shooter'.

 

What is with all the game "previews" recently?
I understand that this is a PR thing pushed from the publisher side, and there haven't been any actual game releases for you to write about, but the number of "previews" are getting beyond a joke. Is it the newest marketing fad?

I'm not goint to pre-order off a "preview", nor am I going to get excited by the marketing churn and an incomplete glimpse of the game. I just cannot see the point, especially when the game is so close to release.

There are two reasons I can see for a "preview": 1) The game is fundamentally broken in some respect and the publisher it trying to bump pre-orders and early sales before poor word-of-mouth and reviews kill the game dead, and 2) so the publisher can get a double bite at a publicity surge to get the game talked about.

I seem to remember an Alpha Protocol "preview" that was very positive, which was followed up by a very negative actual review.

I don't even have Skyrim on pre-order, even though I'm fairly certain it is going to be great, and certainly not Rage (it is id, and I think id games aren't a certainty). I'm definately not interested in the latest iteration of CODBLOPS: MOH 37 until it is very cheap. I must admit that I have pre-ordered Deus Ex: Human Revolution, though, but that is because it is Deus Ex. Deus Ex isn't a an actual "game" as such, rather a necessity (in the same way as water or shelter is) around the globe and a human right in most developed nations.

 

Shoot the giant in the jockstrap? Sounds rather pornographic to me.

 

Hmmm. Deus Ex: HR and BF3 for me.

 

The point of a preview is to give people information about the games they might be interested in. There's been a lot at the moment because, as you say, not many releases and the industry is gearing up for the end of the year, teasing their later releases. We've had a chance to play these and, as we bring you our honest thoughts when the game is out, we bring our honest thoughts beforehand too.

Alpha Protocol was a hands-off preview (unlike all the ones lately, where we've actually played - a fact I always try to make clear in the copy). When we watched the dev play it and talk us through, the game looked amazing. Later, if played like crap.

This goes both ways too though - we did a hands-off preview of RAGE last year and thought it looked shite. We went hands on two weeks ago and it was awesome.

 

Please don't confuse the French-Canadian cash-in that is Human Revolution with the greatest game of all time.

 

I would find it hard to believe that Eidos can screw up DE that much, that the game isn't worth playing. After all, there isn't an EA or Activision executive in a decision-making position anywhere near the game.

I know Invisible War gets a bagging from DE fans (for several good reasons), but it was still very playable and enjoyable. If HR is as good as IW, then it will be worth my money.

 

From what I've played of the leaked beta, It sits somewhere in between the two, better than IW (partially just due to being a bit more modern and having the conveniences that come with that, and from being very open) but not as good as Deus Ex.
The two games it reminds me of the most are neocron and vampire bloodlines (although there are some quite clear half life influences there).

As for hard reset, it certainly looks interesting, plus more PC exclusives are always good (as is more cyberpunk stuff)