06-26-2007, 01:23 AM
Hiya!
I decided to write a little something about what I think is good and bad in Penumbra: Overture Episode 1.
Note that I will referr to the tech-demo as Penumbra only.
Needless to say, this is spoiling. Don't read unless you've finished the game, or want it ruined.
The Good Stuff:
1) The Storyline
Yeah!
I really like the story, wich just keeps giving the player more and more questions all the way from the introduction to the final scene!
I really hope that the game keeps pouring in plot-twists like the one in the end of Episode 1, and that it doesn't mess up!
2) Early and end-game Enviroments
It was hard not to love the setting in the beginning of the game. A small mine with mysterious tunnels dug through it.
The part where you were chased by the Grey Rock Worm the second time was probably my favourite part, but in fact that's the one part you DIDN'T have to detail as you only ran through it was swiftly as possible and closed doors behind yourself all the time.
Also, I'm really excited by this "Shelter". It looked alot like Penumbra's setting.
Returning to the original Penumbra locations whould be a great deal of fun.
3) Red
This is a character I will not forget soon.
Obviously insane, seemingly having escaped from the "Shelter" he guides player aswell as misguides him as "punishment" for not beeing nice towards him.
That he died before the player got a glance at him was quite effectful, as it made the player partly feel like there never even was anyone else apart from himself down there.
Can't wait to find out what caused Red to be the way he was. One of the most intressting speculations I've found is that he was turned immortal (Just like Philip) by using one of the artifacts, but that whould not explain why he died when beeing burned to death.
Another really nice note is when Philip checks the place where Red seemingly attempted at suicide he sais "How many hours did he hang in this" -or something like that-, indicating that Red accualy was in it without dying.
Ofcourse it's not certain he is dead. He could have been standing at the bottom of the hole in the incinerator-place and yelling upwards, fooling the player that he was burned.
4) Spider Eater
I really liked this character. Eating spiders and accualy liking it. All his notes was very intressting to read.
His cut tounge was very large too, either suggesting lazy modellers, or that he wasn't was human as one might think.
In my own mind I'm having a picture of the Tainted-monsters from Diablo II.
On his death I just need to write what I think happend:
He heard Philip walking around outside, asks "Who is there" (Something like that). After thinking a while he decides perhaps he said it too low and that someone really is out there, opens the door, is devoured by dog.
5) Easter Eggs
Yes, I loved those that were.
The very moment I heard the name "Freeman" I knew you were going to put in some reference to Half Life. Couldn't help but to smile when I found the crowbar.
Even if it perhaps not is an "Easter Egg", I found the Beef Jerky obviously inspired from Silent Hill a nice little something.
I only used it once to test how it worked, and it was quite pointless as you found like 18 of them with there only beeing 8 or-so dogs in the game.
6) The Ending
As I saw the shadow of a beeing, clearly human, I felt safe for the first time in the game.
Having played Penumbra, and beeing unaware of that whould be the end of the game, I was quite certain it whould turn out to be a hunter and attack me.
Yet, I put my pick axe down and walked towards it.
The safe feeling was thorn away in the blink of an eye as lights suddenly turned off (Very cliché, yet powerful) and my flashlight stopped working. After a moment I though "Ok!", have it this way then and lighted my glowstick.
I went, prepared to engage the shadow or turning the lights back on realizing it was gone.
All out of the sudden I was grabbed from behind and strangled.
When I played that part I was really scared.
I played it around 1:00 in the night, had really high sound and all other lights off.
Sweet end to a game. No way I'm not buying Episode 2.
Afterwards, I think it felt a lot like the TV series Lost.
A group of unknown, supernatural people controlling a small Shelter keeping the player from getting to know too much. I love it.
The Bad Stuff:
1) Combat
No, really. Combat in Penumbra: Overture was probably the worst in a game I've ever plaid.
Swinging and stabbing was ok, but I'm quite certain no games have used it since the time of Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall.
Facing quite fast enemies and only beeing able to point in one direction without holding MOUSE2 down was annoying and made combat alot harder than it had to be.
What I (Among others) found the true charming part of Penumbra (Tech-Demo) was that it was a quite scary game, even without means of defense and with only 2(!) enemies in the entire game.
In Penumbra: Overture there was a lot of enemies, and three weapons wich of one was totaly useless.
When you take damage nothing indicates how much life you have left, apart from red flashing in the edge of the screen when you are about to die.
2) Enemies
Then there is the enemies.
The bat and especially the hunter from the original Penumbra had a quite special design.
Yes, I have heard of the unfortunate faith of the hunter. Someone dropped off. Anyways, the game have turned out rather popular so why not find the stone the dropp-offer is hiding under and kick it over?
Penumbra: Overture Episode 1 is ofcourse only the lead-in and perhaps shouldn't contain too major enemies, yet I was very dissappointed of the ones that was.
Some sort of wolf, wich didn't look husky and scary at all. Its eyes glowing didn't look all that good either.
It was very tough, fast and glitchy. Yes, several times when lying down it "floated" down into the floor for a short time and once it started twitching insanely and got stuck in the floor. Afterwards I was seemingly chased by the wolf, even if IT was stuck in the ground. Ended up beeing bitten to death.
Then there is the spider. The cut-up one is Spider-Haters room looked really cool, but once you face them you dont see much of them except their bellies, exposed as they jump towards you.
They were very tricky to hit, in fact too tricky. Also, when they died the had a dying animation, but every time hit the dying animation restarted. This way you could keep hitting a dead spider for a long time without it ever ending its dying animation.
3) Size matters!
Yeah, size does matter.
The items you pick up seem normal sized, but when you equip them as weapons they turn mini-small. Not good.
The pick-axe was small as an ice-pick, the hammer as a toy given to a three year old and the broom looked like a tooth-pick (Is that the right word?).
4) The Glowstick of Unlimitedness
I'm sure noone's missed out on this thing.
The flashlight shine only over a small area and required batteries.
The flares was small, glowing and totaly useless. In Penumbra you could toss them, perhaps you can in Overture too but if you could, I totaly missed that.
However, both of the above was pretty much useless compared to the almighty GLOWSTICK.
Glowing quite far (That really should be reduced) and beeing unlimited (I guess thats Ok, but then it really shouldn't shine so brightly) made it the undoubtably most used item in the game. Thanks to this most players didn't even bother using either flashlight or flares.
5) The Broom of Uselessness
Yeah!
That is the perfect name for it.
First, it is quite weak. Probably stronger than the first hammer however, I didn't bother checking. Second, you find it AFTER the much-more-powerful pick-axe (I loved the pick-axe. Well balanced. Good job, guys!).
In fact, the broom couldn't even enlight gas canisters: this is ofcourse realistic, but makes it even more useless.
Less weapons like this in Episode 2!
6) The Dynamite of No-Kaboom
Well, this is pretty much only good for suicide.
I really like the idea of dynamite, since the chance of finding dynamite in an old mine is really realistic, and blowing up stuff is always fun. Yet, it was quite useless and boring.
I don't think it should be removed since its a remenant from Penumbra, but it REALLY needs dusting off.
Also, in some places there was walls, rubble and similar wich SHOULD be able to blow up with dynamite, but instead you have to build custom bombs/mash a wall with a mining cart by doing puzzles.
I think those puzzles should be able to be skipped by players who have kept/picked up dynamite.
Note that I DID enjoy making that custom bomb-on-vial thing and carrying it around.
7) Mid-game Enviroments
Okay, this you guys must realize yourself. The second part of the mine was really boooring. Most places looked the same, and even the smaller rooms did!
Final:
Yeah, I really loved this game.
It's easy to complain on some things, but the things that was good wans't good, they were GREAT.
More bad things than good above, but that doesn't mean I didn't like the game nor that I'm not waiting for Episode 2.
I hope this series doesn't screw up, cuz it has a lot of potential.
Thanks for reading, (If you did)
Kedjane.
I decided to write a little something about what I think is good and bad in Penumbra: Overture Episode 1.
Note that I will referr to the tech-demo as Penumbra only.
Needless to say, this is spoiling. Don't read unless you've finished the game, or want it ruined.
The Good Stuff:
1) The Storyline
Yeah!
I really like the story, wich just keeps giving the player more and more questions all the way from the introduction to the final scene!
I really hope that the game keeps pouring in plot-twists like the one in the end of Episode 1, and that it doesn't mess up!
2) Early and end-game Enviroments
It was hard not to love the setting in the beginning of the game. A small mine with mysterious tunnels dug through it.
The part where you were chased by the Grey Rock Worm the second time was probably my favourite part, but in fact that's the one part you DIDN'T have to detail as you only ran through it was swiftly as possible and closed doors behind yourself all the time.
Also, I'm really excited by this "Shelter". It looked alot like Penumbra's setting.
Returning to the original Penumbra locations whould be a great deal of fun.
3) Red
This is a character I will not forget soon.
Obviously insane, seemingly having escaped from the "Shelter" he guides player aswell as misguides him as "punishment" for not beeing nice towards him.
That he died before the player got a glance at him was quite effectful, as it made the player partly feel like there never even was anyone else apart from himself down there.
Can't wait to find out what caused Red to be the way he was. One of the most intressting speculations I've found is that he was turned immortal (Just like Philip) by using one of the artifacts, but that whould not explain why he died when beeing burned to death.
Another really nice note is when Philip checks the place where Red seemingly attempted at suicide he sais "How many hours did he hang in this" -or something like that-, indicating that Red accualy was in it without dying.
Ofcourse it's not certain he is dead. He could have been standing at the bottom of the hole in the incinerator-place and yelling upwards, fooling the player that he was burned.
4) Spider Eater
I really liked this character. Eating spiders and accualy liking it. All his notes was very intressting to read.
His cut tounge was very large too, either suggesting lazy modellers, or that he wasn't was human as one might think.
In my own mind I'm having a picture of the Tainted-monsters from Diablo II.
On his death I just need to write what I think happend:
He heard Philip walking around outside, asks "Who is there" (Something like that). After thinking a while he decides perhaps he said it too low and that someone really is out there, opens the door, is devoured by dog.
5) Easter Eggs
Yes, I loved those that were.
The very moment I heard the name "Freeman" I knew you were going to put in some reference to Half Life. Couldn't help but to smile when I found the crowbar.
Even if it perhaps not is an "Easter Egg", I found the Beef Jerky obviously inspired from Silent Hill a nice little something.
I only used it once to test how it worked, and it was quite pointless as you found like 18 of them with there only beeing 8 or-so dogs in the game.
6) The Ending
As I saw the shadow of a beeing, clearly human, I felt safe for the first time in the game.
Having played Penumbra, and beeing unaware of that whould be the end of the game, I was quite certain it whould turn out to be a hunter and attack me.
Yet, I put my pick axe down and walked towards it.
The safe feeling was thorn away in the blink of an eye as lights suddenly turned off (Very cliché, yet powerful) and my flashlight stopped working. After a moment I though "Ok!", have it this way then and lighted my glowstick.
I went, prepared to engage the shadow or turning the lights back on realizing it was gone.
All out of the sudden I was grabbed from behind and strangled.
When I played that part I was really scared.
I played it around 1:00 in the night, had really high sound and all other lights off.
Sweet end to a game. No way I'm not buying Episode 2.
Afterwards, I think it felt a lot like the TV series Lost.
A group of unknown, supernatural people controlling a small Shelter keeping the player from getting to know too much. I love it.
The Bad Stuff:
1) Combat
No, really. Combat in Penumbra: Overture was probably the worst in a game I've ever plaid.
Swinging and stabbing was ok, but I'm quite certain no games have used it since the time of Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall.
Facing quite fast enemies and only beeing able to point in one direction without holding MOUSE2 down was annoying and made combat alot harder than it had to be.
What I (Among others) found the true charming part of Penumbra (Tech-Demo) was that it was a quite scary game, even without means of defense and with only 2(!) enemies in the entire game.
In Penumbra: Overture there was a lot of enemies, and three weapons wich of one was totaly useless.
When you take damage nothing indicates how much life you have left, apart from red flashing in the edge of the screen when you are about to die.
2) Enemies
Then there is the enemies.
The bat and especially the hunter from the original Penumbra had a quite special design.
Yes, I have heard of the unfortunate faith of the hunter. Someone dropped off. Anyways, the game have turned out rather popular so why not find the stone the dropp-offer is hiding under and kick it over?
Penumbra: Overture Episode 1 is ofcourse only the lead-in and perhaps shouldn't contain too major enemies, yet I was very dissappointed of the ones that was.
Some sort of wolf, wich didn't look husky and scary at all. Its eyes glowing didn't look all that good either.
It was very tough, fast and glitchy. Yes, several times when lying down it "floated" down into the floor for a short time and once it started twitching insanely and got stuck in the floor. Afterwards I was seemingly chased by the wolf, even if IT was stuck in the ground. Ended up beeing bitten to death.
Then there is the spider. The cut-up one is Spider-Haters room looked really cool, but once you face them you dont see much of them except their bellies, exposed as they jump towards you.
They were very tricky to hit, in fact too tricky. Also, when they died the had a dying animation, but every time hit the dying animation restarted. This way you could keep hitting a dead spider for a long time without it ever ending its dying animation.
3) Size matters!
Yeah, size does matter.
The items you pick up seem normal sized, but when you equip them as weapons they turn mini-small. Not good.
The pick-axe was small as an ice-pick, the hammer as a toy given to a three year old and the broom looked like a tooth-pick (Is that the right word?).
4) The Glowstick of Unlimitedness
I'm sure noone's missed out on this thing.
The flashlight shine only over a small area and required batteries.
The flares was small, glowing and totaly useless. In Penumbra you could toss them, perhaps you can in Overture too but if you could, I totaly missed that.
However, both of the above was pretty much useless compared to the almighty GLOWSTICK.
Glowing quite far (That really should be reduced) and beeing unlimited (I guess thats Ok, but then it really shouldn't shine so brightly) made it the undoubtably most used item in the game. Thanks to this most players didn't even bother using either flashlight or flares.
5) The Broom of Uselessness
Yeah!
That is the perfect name for it.
First, it is quite weak. Probably stronger than the first hammer however, I didn't bother checking. Second, you find it AFTER the much-more-powerful pick-axe (I loved the pick-axe. Well balanced. Good job, guys!).
In fact, the broom couldn't even enlight gas canisters: this is ofcourse realistic, but makes it even more useless.
Less weapons like this in Episode 2!
6) The Dynamite of No-Kaboom
Well, this is pretty much only good for suicide.
I really like the idea of dynamite, since the chance of finding dynamite in an old mine is really realistic, and blowing up stuff is always fun. Yet, it was quite useless and boring.
I don't think it should be removed since its a remenant from Penumbra, but it REALLY needs dusting off.
Also, in some places there was walls, rubble and similar wich SHOULD be able to blow up with dynamite, but instead you have to build custom bombs/mash a wall with a mining cart by doing puzzles.
I think those puzzles should be able to be skipped by players who have kept/picked up dynamite.
Note that I DID enjoy making that custom bomb-on-vial thing and carrying it around.
7) Mid-game Enviroments
Okay, this you guys must realize yourself. The second part of the mine was really boooring. Most places looked the same, and even the smaller rooms did!
Final:
Yeah, I really loved this game.
It's easy to complain on some things, but the things that was good wans't good, they were GREAT.
More bad things than good above, but that doesn't mean I didn't like the game nor that I'm not waiting for Episode 2.
I hope this series doesn't screw up, cuz it has a lot of potential.
Thanks for reading, (If you did)
Kedjane.