What rating would you give Aftershock?

[Paranoid Jack]

I came across another low scored review of Aftershock on Blue's News and after reading it I was left thinking this guy probably didn't even play the game half way through. Maybe a week or two tops. And what time he did play he spent it comparing it to X-Com.

 

I can understand comparing a game to another but that shouldn't effect your review if the games are over five years apart. How can you compare games that are so far apart technology wise? You can't. And if he did compare it to the old UFO games how can you give it a low graphics score? This game is a hundred times better... hell, like I said there is no comparison. Yeah, you can compare the game-play or storyline but besides that its pointless. Oh, well. Sorry for the rant. I'm just tired of people comparing every game to another before it and rating it low because it doesn't meet their nostalgia for an old game. Especially when there is ten to twenty years difference... just baffles me. Besides nothing ever lives up to ones nostalgia for days past.

 

What follows is my response to his review.

 

 

Not sure if this reviewer was playing the game or playing with an old memory of a game long dead. This game is not related to X-Com and its ten times better than Aftermath. Yes, its in the same vein as X-Com but it is not X-Com.

 

I have been playing this game for over a month, exclusively until the XBox 360 release. Coming from a guy with Adult Attention Deficit Disorder that is say a lot. From his review I would assume he only played it for a week or two at most.

 

https://www.strategycore.co.uk/forums/index.php?showforum=26

 

Check the forums even with the bugs this game has been very well received by the gaming public. It is not the best game ever made but it is far better than the score given. Why people continue to rate games based on nostalgia they have for older similar game is beyond me.

 

This game has far more positive things in it than negative. Like I said check the forums. The only thing I agree on is the sound could have been better.

 

Graphic 8.5

Sound 7.0

Gameplay 9.0

A.I. 7.5

Value 10.0

Tilt 9.0

 

Over All damn better than 6.3 he gave it in my opinion.

[Martian base commander]

True what you said about the majority of gamers these days,they know nothing,and half of them are fresh out of school anyway,unlike me who is 31 and has been playing games since I can remember.However,I wont criticise EVERY kid,as there ARE some clever ones out there,they are just a rare commodity these days.

I was also a great fan of the X-COM games years ago too,and spent many many hours playing UFO and TFTD.My entire early teenage years was spent playing games like these.

As for this game you are right it surpasses XCOM in every way,and it should NOT be compared to XCOM,even though they appear similar.This game has some nasty bugs in it yes,but as soon as the patch is available the game will be far more than it is now.

This game has also had a disappointing time as far as reviews go too,in fact I didnt even see any out there in the major PC mags.

Is this game worth playing?well put it this way,since the games' release I have lost about 6hrs of my usual sleep each night!

 

MY SCORE:

Graphics- 9 (there are some great effects on a good enough graphics card)

Sound- 7.5 (above average sounds,nothing to go mad about)

Gameplay- 10 (I am totally addicted)

AI- 2.5 (so far the enemy has used no complex tactics against me other than an en masse approach)

Value- 5 (average,due to some nasty bugs)

Tilt- you decide on that one.

 

My scoring may be too high in some areas,but we all percieve things differently,and the only thing that has really let the game down is the bugs.

[Paranoid Jack]

You're right everyone has a different view or perceive things differently. It has been studied. Take for instance... ten people witness a violent crime. Due to their psyche they all give different accounts of how things happened. The accounts may be similar but just as different when describing people and events (time-line). A whole range of other things come into play like upbringing, racism, education, etc. Strange us humans.

 

Interesting how you gave the game a low "value" score. I perceived value to mean "bang for the buck" or "Is the game worth X amount of dollars/quid?". So to me I judged it by the amount of enjoyment times countless hours spent playing equals high value.

 

Cheers.

 

Oh, if I sent you some money could you ship me a keg of Guinness?

 

I like the stuff here in the US but it doesn't compare to a freshly poured pint from the old world. I swear I can taste a difference.

[Martian base commander]

You are right about the Humans being strange PJ,which is why ive decided to defect and collaborate with the enemy

They are far more interesting than us.

 

Anyway back on course.I gave the game a low 'value' score generally on its value to the player,and not his value for money.After all,if a game keeps crashing at certain points and suffering from annoying bugs then his games' value to him diminishes.Hope you understand what I mean here.

The patch will hopefully put the games' value up where it belongs.The AI is quite poor also,you never REALLY have to adapt or evolve your tactics much.Conclusion,a very good experience marred only by bugs.

 

And you want a Guinness eh?,well I could send you one over but id probably end up supping it myself

[Crazy Gringo]

My scores as a 32 year old +500 games old bigtime gamer.

 

10 is a PERFECT scores and the game would have to blow me away and make me a total addict until the next game which beats it come along and hooks me on that.

 

Warning if your easily offended and have somewhat crush on this game, please refrain from reading this review. This review is the sole opinon of me and nobody else. Just me.

 

The review:

 

Graphics: 8.5 since it's very detailed with the enviroment and the textures. Not much to say about it there. Check out the screen shot section to see what I mean.

 

Sound: 8.0.

It's detailed even if the full blown 3D effect from a 7.1 sound system is nowhere to found due to bugs (running with software sound on). But it's a nice touch when you zoom around the map you pick up the sounds from the action as in a enemy screaming in agony as he is being hit or the roaring fire which ingulfed a group of enemies slowly roasting them to a crisp. The downside is the negative energy that the voice characters bring to the tactical battles. Their hearts doesn't seems to be into it. Has Marvin the most depressed robot in exsistence been put into this game....Give them some mood pills. Or do these leftovers from Earths former civilization really hate it so much being then on Earth?

 

Gameplay: 6.0 due to bugs. If bugs were ironed out 10.

There are lots of bugs in the gameplay as for one only being able to throw a grenade at a target you can see (LOS). What if I wanted to start a crematory bonfire on a rooftop infested with enemies I can't because the game tells itself: NO LOS!. In UFO aftermath I nuked my way through the first parts of the game with handgrenades which was my deadliest weapon at that point. Which brings me to the weapon selection. The small selection is above average and has some errors in caliber type and names (A 9 mm Desert Eagle? That is called a Baby Eagle. And the M72 rocket launcher? It's a AT4 rocket launcher! And 20 mm grenade launchers? It has and will always be 40 mm grenade launcher). But I like weapons and would like as many as possible ways of eradicating the remains of a doomed civilization and kicking the aliens of the planet.

Get rid of that bloody terrain hugging camera view or at least give the gamer the possibility to have some more camera view options.

The physics engine is impressive with ragdoll physics and destroyable enviroment (I want to see a building be levelled completely). But it's no Silent Storm which with out question is the best physics engine I have seen in a third person perspective game. A major plus is the modebility so that the games modder society can easily mod the game into something groovy.

Autopause....with standard settings a pain in the rear. They need to be customized to suit your playstyle. But that's up you each gamer to do that.

The SAS system has some better appeal over the standard turnbased system because it gives the gameplay better flow when executing your tactics to bring down the endless supply of enemies.

 

 

A.I.: 2.0.

No wonder the Aliens, at least the reticulans, managed to conquer Earth....At least they were smart enough to outsmart the dumb humans with that offer deal. The A.I. in this game is....plain old dumb. Even Alex the smartest parrot in the world has more brain power then this games A.I. The simple phrase from the movie 'Heartbreak Ridge': "You adopt, improvise and overcome" is no where to be found. I can understand those mutant are a bit dafted, but the rest of them, except the reticulans are just as dafted?

 

Value: 6.0 with the bugs. 9.0 without the bugs.

It's a instant classic with a grand and epic story and thrilling gameplay.

 

Reviewers Tilt: 8.0.

I do love these kinds of games. Strategy and tactics filled gameplay along with a storyline that keeps you guessing are what makes a great game.... Now where did that reticulan waiter go?

 

Total: You do the math....I'm busy playing UFO Aftershock!

[Accounting Troll]

Paranoid Jack, I've just read that review after Slaughter put in a link in the news section, and I can understand your irritation. A lot of the reviewers don't seem to spend more than a day playing a game before they write their review, so I think the games that get the best reviews are the ones that wow the reviewer with eye candy in the first half hour

 

I've noticed that most of the reviewers who are directly comparing Aftershock with the eleven year old UFO: Enemy Unknown seem to think that EU was perfect. I think EU is a good game, but it isn't perfect - once you have a couple of skilled telepaths the game loses its challenge unless you deliberatly handicap yourself by not using them. This doesn't happen with Aftershock - once you've managed to hold your own against the mutants, up pop the Cultists, and they are only the start of your troubles. There just doesn't seem to be a point where you cannot lose, at least on the harder levels.

 

Overall, I think the game will be worthy of 9/10 or 9.5/10 once the bugs have been eliminated and the modding tools are released.

[TYR]

Well i have already wrote a review aviable here,

 

https://www.strategycore.co.uk/forums/index...?showtopic=4605

 

overall the game gets a 6/10 score from me, too many details are missing or do not work as intended,

the sound is crap and the atmosphere is not really good, it could be much better which is the most important thing for any ufo sequel.

[Darkon]

X-COM LIVES!!

.

.

.

.

Okay maybe not a classic history making game like X-Com, but still a damn good try.

 

I'm loving this game, I got it a week after I got CIV 4, and have not picked up CIV 4 since.

For this game to stop me from playing a Civ game, that's alot, only a handfull of games have ever done that for me.

And I have the rings under my eyes to prove it.

 

2 weeks, 14 days, 480 hours of playing this game, and I still want MORE!!

 

8.4/10 is my ranking and a faithfull, if evolved, successor to X-Com. Keep em comming guys!

[Raxxman]

Okay here comes the rant, hold on tight folks.

 

I feel the major problem this game has is its SAS system. But not in the way most people do. I think the problem is this genre has been imbedded with Turn based games. To the point that an alarming number of fans don't seem to be able to adapt to real time with pause.

 

Now I'm sorry if you prefer turn based games and immediately take offence, but if you do then get a grip FFS. I'm sick to death of reading things in forums about the 'Turn based stalwarts' spouting off about real time, but I'm not sick to death of it cause I'm being pompous, I'm sick to death of it because 99.99% of the stuff they spout is utter drivel.

 

So coming back to AS. I think its simple, people are trying to play this game like a turn based game. This game sucks as a turn based game. It's a mentality issue, I had the problem adapting myself. You feel like you're out of control and the game lacks detail cause your brain is wired into turn based. UFO Aftershock has a decent set of commands your soldiers can perform a variety of stances, you can perform more realistic squad based actions.

 

So to conclude (cause I need to start breathing again) I think the major problem most reviewers have is the lack of adaptation to a turn based system, snide comments like 'simultaneous turned based, that's called real time' only show their immense naivety. Mostly every argument I've ever seen against this style are based on incorrect assumptions/statements and boil down to preference at the best of times, and down right prejudice at the worst.

 

 

Rant /off

 

As for review well pre patch the games graphics are better, it crashes less. All good

 

Overall I think their are 3 things that let this game down from a super high score

 

1. AI, while this AI might function somewhat more effectively in a turn based environment, the opponents really don't ever act like a combat unit, (coordinated fire, supressive advancement, saturation bombardment) This makes them come at you often in trickles to be picked off as they come.

 

2. The progression of weapons is irritating at best, in that weapons really don't get that much better. Makes all that hard research seem like a waste of time.

 

3. The progression of plot and variety of enemies is limited, coupled with a limited terrain, the game becomes somewhat repetative.

 

Graphic 8.0 They function, but any true strat player shouldn't care about eye candy

Sound 8.0 I like the music, the effects, cultist talk and stuff. gets 8.0 cause the soldiers voices are really annoying (although I agree to a point with the 'Again?' comments, AM had much better voices, sterotypes, yeah but I loved the slack jawed redneck Yankies)

Gameplay 9.0 It plays good

A.I. 7.0 I dunno how the AI runs, but I have a feeling that it runs somewhat in a unit by unit way. I think it would be much better if it worked in a squad by squad fashion.

Value 10.0 It's cheap, and its long

Tilt 10.0 I love squad base strat games, and the UFO series brings a fairly unique feature with the SAS system. I love all games that try something innovative.

[Slaughter]

We just started a poll here. Please vote and provide your reason for rating the way you did there as well

[1stStrikeRecon]

I think the biggest issues with people reviewing UFO:AS is that they instantly compare it to their experiences to XCOM, totally forgetting (Usually) that 1: Like pretty much everyone, they're memory only recalls the GOOD parts... not the BAD ones. I've been playing XCOM:Apoc to hold me over until Amazon sends me UFO:AS (Amazon being the only one I trust... and the only one in the states that apparently cant get AS yet... >.<).... and let me tell you, it ain't as good as people make it sound. Afterall, if they are so great, why hasn't someone just remade them with a new engine?

2: As someone said before, most of them can't get their minds around SAS, and looking at it, it just seems so incomprehensible to them that they freak. Maybe this is why Fallout Tactics wasn't so popular. Regardless, I am a HUGE fan of the SAS type system from Fallout Tactics, UFO:AS, and even XCOM: Apoc. Turn-based is just too slow for me. Even though you can pause at will, real-time still has a much more visceral pace to it. Compare it to a turn-based system, where if something unexpected happens you have however much time you want, and can easily react to it... so long as you have action points. In a system like SAS, things can become much more frantic. Sure, you can pause to give your orders, but when you press "GO" the enemy goes too... not when its his turn. Just much more realistic to me, and far more "fun." (For those looking for a good turn-based/SAS type strategy game, you should try the Combat Mission series made by the folks at Battlefront)

 

Anyway, I'm done ranting

[Gungadin]

I rate it 3/10. I have now tried the patch, found that the game was the same bullcrap it was before. Issues below.

 

- LOADING TIMES! For a game with graphics that are only so-so, this game lags and has FAR too long loading times. This becomes unbearable, I remember walking my squad into an ambush and getting everybody killed. This made me ram my forehead into the keyboard. Not because of frustration at my own stupidity, but because I would now have to sit staring at the goddamn loading screen ONCE AGAIN for the stupid mission. The loading times wouldn't be good if they had nude photos of Shakira as loading screen backgrounds!

 

- THE PATCH DID NOT FIX THE GODDAMN KEYBOARD CAMERA CONTROLS! I haven't got a wheelmouse, making it impossible for me to zoom in or out. It's still impossible, the game company didn't FIX THIS! X AND Z BUTTONS DO NOT DO ANYTHING DESPITE BEING MAPPABLE! As a result, I have to spend the game zoomed so close to my men I can count their split ends, making strategy impossible.

 

- Much less open ended than UFO 1. You only have one starting location in Europe and not 3 as in UFO 1, your violently irritating advisors interrupt your gameplay all the time with more-or-less irrelevant information and the game feels much more linear than before.

 

- The diplomacy system can go to hell, as can the resource system. AS tries to be Enemy Unknown and fails. Pathetically. X-Com had a good setting, keeping good relations with the world's nations was interesting and rewarding. Keeping good relation with one of the three (3!) factions is boring and was for me mainly a question of doing a mission in their country every once in a while and sending them my excess materials.

As for the resources, it just isn't engrossing. And the entire "build railway" thing - This isn't Imperialism. Imperialism was a GOOD game that revolved around building up your infrastructure - AS is a tactical squad game that has railway building slapped on like a turd on a pizza.

 

- Stupid setting, bad colours and irritating voice acting.

 

This game was a total disappointment to me. UFO 1 was excellent, this is bull. I hope there'll be no more sequels and that the series die here.

 

Now I can only hope that Hammer and Sickle will save the squad based genre of games...