Post by Bytor on Feb 2, 2010 19:37:14 GMT -5
-Visuals- 8.8/10
The look and feel of the game is excellently rendered. The light and shadow combination along with streaming sunlight is very appealing as well. However, up close there are some texture issues and some screen clipping which does detract a tad. One other thing I couldn't quite grasp was the obstructed views and set camera angles (most of the time you are in full control of the camera). I simply couldn't decide if it was by design (for instance sometimes an enemy will be shooting at you and you'll turn to find them only to have your vision blocked by plants or trees or even simply by some rocks, was weird) to make the game both more realistic and difficult or if it was faulty programming. Still, overall a really, really nice job.
-Sound- 9.6/10
This is a soundtrack which accompanies a huge blockbuster Hollywood movie, not a video game! It is sweeping in it's perfect themes, changes in volume and complex melodic joy. A truly wonderful game to listen to, lol
-Gameplay- 8.8/10
The pluses are very nice, for one, the controls for the most part are spot on (an occasional glitch in jumping direction is all I really noticed) move in one direction and/or aim in that direction and that's pretty much the direction it will follow, little to no jerkiness in movements. The climbing and leaping is challenging without being simply silly and I love the ability to hide and regain some health in the battles. Now, the minuses...I swear some of the battles are simply ridiculous. You will at times feel like you are fighting an entire freaking army instead of what should be a small mercenary force, they simply seem to come in waves, and while certainly seldom are they tough battles at times it does get, to be honest, a tad boring. The addition of controlling vehicles and at times swimming also add to the overall fun of playing the game. Now, here's a word of caution, while it is an action game I'd personally call it more of a puzzle game, at least the first half, later on the battles do become a bit more prominent though. The AI is also pretty good for you, and at times horrendous for the enemies. While my allies (all two) actually did help at times the enemies can be phenomenally stupid. I can't tell you how many times I simply walked up to an enemy and blew his head off or even ran around a corner to find one crouching there and he never even noticed me!
-Story- 9.4/10
You are searching for El Diablo using clues left hundreds of years ago...unfortunaetly for you so are the bad guys. I have to admit I am a sucker for this type of story (so reminiscent of the Indiana Jones series) so I loved the treasure hunting aspect of the game.
-Overall- 9.2/10
A great game for what it is, which is an action/adventure/puzzle game which can be finished pretty quickly. There is, however, some replay-ability which will unlock some goodies not originally available. As I said, a great game, not a truly great game (I would have preferred the puzzles to be a tad more difficult, the fights a tad harder as well (not simply a button pushing marathon) and for there to have been even more treasure hunting.