Beyond: Two Souls

[Wussy]

It's another game by David Cage.

Honestly, that should tell you everything you would need to know about it. It's got the same horrific controls and constant QTE from Heavy Rain, and a bizzare off-the-rails plot like both Heavy Rain and Farenheight / Indigo Prophecy. The biggest difference is that now there's more freedom in your movement (several areas are fairly large and open) but that also makes it harder to figure out what you're supposed to do or where to go.

Plot:
The plot is pretty good, so far. The entire game is told in flashback, which only serves to eliminate a lot of tension, since you know that no matter how insane the situation she can't possibly be killed. But otherwise, there's a lot of "where are we going from here?" questions that keep popping up, and there's definitely a sense of mystery that comes from Aiden.

Aiden. There's the central gimmick, main plot, and also most bullshit part of the game. Aiden is a spirit that has been tethered to Jodie since birth. The most important thing to understand about Aiden is that he is a separate, thinking creature. Jodie can direct him, but cannot control him. He's also EXTREMELY protective of her, to the point where it leads to hilarious misunderstangs, like a snowball fight ending in a possible murder.

That's not why Aiden is bullshit, though. It's because of what he can do. He can create a shield around Jodie that renders her immune to all forms of harm, including bullets, fire, and falling. And yet, she keeps finding herself in situations where all 3 can occur, and Aiden just will not trigger the shield. It's because it's a game, and the shield eliminates all challenge, and that makes it all the more infuriating everytime it WOULD be useful, but it just isn't an option.

Gameplay:
If you've played Heavy Rain, you know exactly how this plays. Quicktime Events. QTEs for everything. QTE for climbing rocks, QTE for turning on the shower, QTE for fistfighting, QTE for writing things down. Also like Heavy Rain, just because you fail one QTE does not mean that the game is over; it keeps going despite stumbling, or getting hit, or whatever. The game is also intentionally setup to make it as annoying as possible to replay a section (there is no "reload checkpoint"), to further encourage you to just take the punch and keep pushing through.

The difference now is that there's a lot more freedom of movement than in Heavy Rain, and that can make it difficult to figure out where you're supposed to go, what to do, and in one case, even fit through a doorway just because you're not perfectly lined up with it.

My biggest complaint with the controls is that, due to the QTE nature of the game, you can't fight or move the way you want, you have to fight or move the way the game wants. You want to duck that punch? Sorry, the game says you have to block it. You want to dodge right? Sorry, the game says to duck. The game tells you to watch her body and move the way she does, but sometimes the camera is at an off angle and there are two perfectly valid choices to make, so you just hope you hit the stick in the correct direction.

Graphics:
Graphics are amazing. There's no other way to say it. They did an excellent job of capturing Ellen Page, down to the point where you can see her individual pores in the title screen. Willem DaFoe is also very well done, although some of the younger scenes look hella airbrushed. Environments are detailed, and you can see how there's been a lot of love put into them.

Overall:
It's Heavy Rain 2. Did you like Heavy Rain's story? Even with the ridiculous ending(s)? Did you like the controls? Even with the non-stop QTEs? Did you like the pointless sexual assault of Madison? Want to see it again? (Seriously, what is up with David Cage and putting his female characters into rapey situations?)

I'm guessing I'm about 70% of the way through it, and I'd have to say I'm enjoying it. At least, I'm engrossed enough in the plot to suffer through the nonsensical bits. Then again, Heavy Rain didn't fall apart until about the 95% mark, so I can't really judge Beyond: Two Souls until after I finish it.

[TF-Viewer]

How are you even playing it right now? It doesn't come out for another two days.
Your shenanigans aside, it does look like (I said look) like a neat interactive cg movie, it's not a game, nothing he's made in the last decade has been what I could call a game and I'll probably pick it up. Mostly because it's got Ellen Page and I'm hoping for a glitch like in Heavy Rain that will have her wandering around naked.

[Wussy]

Originally Posted by TF-Viewer

How are you even playing it right now? It doesn't come out for another two days.

Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies.

Your shenanigans aside, it does look like (I said look) like a neat interactive cg movie, it's not a game, nothing he's made in the last decade has been what I could call a game and I'll probably pick it up. Mostly because it's got Ellen Page and I'm hoping for a glitch like in Heavy Rain that will have her wandering around naked.

If that's what you're interested in, there's a shower scene (from the back). The nude model is definitely in there.

Yeah, people have been having fun watching me play, because I get to suffer through all of the control problems and they just watch Jodie kick ass or get slapped around without feeling the frustration. It's a great cinematic experience.

[Animeking194]

It looks incredible, and the story and thing with Aiden look pretty neat.
But by no means am I getting it at launch, gracious no.
This is a game you wait for either a price drop or glowing reviews

[Wussy]

Well, finished it and it ... wasn't bad? The story actually managed to have a reasonable conclusion, and answered most of the questions brought up during the game.

Of course, that was just one ending, and there are multiple to see. Maybe we got lucky and stumbled into a satisfying ending, but I can say that I actually enjoyed it.

Controls are still shit, though.

7.5

tl;dr
Graphics: amazing
Gameplay: terrible
Plot: decent

[Animeking194]

It's still more of a game than Heavy Rain, at least?

[Wussy]

Originally Posted by Animeking194

It's still more of a game than Heavy Rain, at least?

Yes and no. There's more stuff to do, and the Jodie/Aiden mechanic means that sometimes there are multiple ways to solve a problem, but at the end of the day it's still pushing the flashing button.

For example, there's a part fairly early on where they're teaching you the combat mechanics. The thing is, it's not a combat game, so it plays out more like the shootout at the end of Heavy Rain where you don't actually aim, you just push the corresponding button. But hey, you can walk around freely, and there's a stealth aspect to some of the levels.

[sodacat]

I've heard that every scene in the game ends with someone crying. I guess David Cage is no longer interested in making players cry, and now wants to make his own game cry.

[Wussy]

Originally Posted by sodacat

I've heard that every scene in the game ends with someone crying. I guess David Cage is no longer interested in making players cry, and now wants to make his own game cry.

While this is not true, it is funny that I had to think about it for a minute. But no, many chapters end on a positive note, or at least, not on a negative one.

My friend is doing a blind runthrough, and it's fun to see how his playthrough is already different from mine. It's only been small dialog changes, but I'm definitely curious as to how much (if any) his ending will change from mine.

[Animeking194]

Well there's standard trophies for playing through the game like 11 times.
But if you want the Platinum you need a buddy to playthrough it.
So if you hate it you at least have someone to suffer through it with you.

Also there's an ending where you kill every possible killable charaacter, then go to the afterlife with them.
I can't tell if that's douchey or heartwarming.

[Wussy]

Originally Posted by Animeking194

Well there's standard trophies for playing through the game like 11 times.
But if you want the Platinum you need a buddy to playthrough it.
So if you hate it you at least have someone to suffer through it with you.

Also there's an ending where you kill every possible killable charaacter, then...
I can't tell if that's douchey or heartwarming.

The two most difficult trophies you can get and you only need to replay about half the game.

Not coincidently, you would just need to replay from the second-to-last checkpoint once you got your "perfect" runthroughs in order to see all endings.

The Duo mode trophy is weird. There's one for finishing a scene in Duo mode, which is fine; some are very short. And then there's one for finishing the game in Duo mode, which I think has to be done start-to-finish, but no one is sure.

The best advice I could give about the game is the same advice I say about 360 games - don't worry about trophies/achievements, and just play the game. They're fun little bonuses, but if you feel like you HAVE to get platinum/1000 then you're just sucking the life out of the game. Play the game to play the game, and whatever happens, happens.

[also I was trying to keep the thread spoiler-free, which was why I wasn't talking about the endings]

[Animeking194]

Well I didn't say which characters could die. But eh, fair enough.

Some people do want Platinum Trophies though. It's pretty much the new 100% completion since Xbox doesn't have that.
Well it has 1000/1000 Gamer Score, but that isn't as neat as a trophy that's Platinum.