Sunset Overdrive

[miffy495]

So between D4 existing, my getting a new job a month ago and having some extra money, and a very pretty bundle with a white  Xbone and Sunset Overdrive included, I became an Xbone owner this week. I haven't started D4 yet, but own it and have downloaded it. I started off with Sunset Overdrive and man, it's pretty fun.

 

This game, for those who didn't quite know what to think from trailers and such, is a hybrid of Jet Grind Radio's traversal, Ratchet and Clank's weapon design, and InFamous' city design. I love all three of those things, so this is a pretty easy sell for me. I was honestly very worried from early footage that the game would feel slow, similarly to the way that JGR stopped being fun the second anything messed with your momentum. Watching people play still looks slow, but I can assure you that it does not feel that way. A big part of this is the fact that when you're not running around grinding and bouncing and such, you're blowing shit up. Enemies are everywhere, with really big crowds and a good variety so far between zombie things and survivor/raiders. The weapons are good so far. Only have three, and have leveled all of these up to level 3, which means that I can load mods into them to change their effects. I can choose, for example, whether the records that I fire out of my modified record player have a chance to electrify enemies or a chance to turn them into an explosive teddy bear. I have also upgraded my melee attack to throw fireballs. Movement feels great, and even though there is a bit of that old JGR "well shit, I missed the rail and now have to use clunky running controls for a bit" it feels quicker to get back into the flow than in the games that inspired it. I killed a bunch of time so far not even playing any missions or challenges but just zooming around the city, and it feels really good to do. Actual gameplay feels incredible.

 

What could get tiresome really quickly is the kinda forced-feeling "punk" attitude of the game. Don't get me wrong, I love punk shit. The music in the game I'm actually really liking. The fact that when an explosive zombie (because of course there are explosive zombies) blow up, the goo blowing out of their bodies forms the word "POP!" in mid-air before falling is also nice. It's the little things though, like when you load your game and the camera is really zoomed in so the character throws is a sarcastic look and elbows it back to the regular distance, that feel like they could get tedious really quickly. Good music and a chaotic atmosphere are great, and a reason I like the game, but when it pulls you out to force you to look at how not-seriously the game is taking itself I just feel like I want to pat Insomniac on the head and say "Yes, developers. You're doing such a great job rejecting mainstream games. Now go get your juicebox and let me get back to actually playing what you made, ok?". It feels really unsure of itself, like those moments are craving validation for what they're doing rather than just having the confidence to let the game be crazy on its own terms.You're a good game, Sunset Overdrive. You don't need to keep asking me to confirm that.

 

Anyone else playing it? Thoughts?

[syntheticgerbil]

I probably won't ever end up owning this game unless it goes multiplatform, but I've been sort of interested in it, especially since I like the Ratchet and Clank series, and Fuse was pretty good even though it tried too hard in it's own way.

 

I'm glad you said something about the forced punk attitude, that was sort of what was bothering me most. Like I wanted to watch gameplay videos because the game looks so pretty but I also sometimes would cringe at this SkateorDie type attitude. I think you nailed it though, they probably feel the need to be overbearing with the attitude as a former second party AAA developer.

[Apelsin]

Much like the syntheticgerbil, I'm unsure whether I'll ever own a Xbone, and as such this game.

It definitely looks like something I could very much enjoy, what with its colors, and bouncing, and Jet Set Radio-type grinding. However it is not quite enough for me to go purchase a new system.

To be honest though the I'm far closer to purchasing an Xbone now than a PS4.

[Twig]

This game looks so fucking fun.

 

I wish it wasn't exclusive to the only console I won't buy. ):

[thefncrow]

I picked up an Xbox for this over the weekend.  Its been a busy weekend, so I'm only about an hour and a half in, but it's fun so far.  I really like the traversal stuff.

 

The tone is worrying early, but my understanding is that the writing actually really improves once you get 4-5 hours in, so I'm trying to reserve judgement until I get a little deeper in.

 

Jeff Gerstmann made a comment that Sunset Overdrive looks like a reaction to Overstrike's style and soul being sucked out of it and being turned into what Fuse became, and that seems like a pretty fair comment from what I've played so far.

[N1njaSquirrel]

I love the look of this game. Sadly I felt it wasn't worth the £400 price tag that came with it.

 

I'm placing my bets on this game being released on the PC in about 6 months time, just like Dead Rising 3.

[Twig]

Insomniac has never released a PC game, so I wouldn't count on it.

[Architecture]

I'm placing my bets on this game being released on the PC in about 6 months time, just like Dead Rising 3.

I don't expect this to happen, but I desperately hope it does. This game looks like my sort of thing.

[CollegeBaby]

Insomniac has never released a PC game, so I wouldn't count on it.

 

True, but until last year they never released a multi-platform game and until Sunset Overdrive they never released an xbox exclusive, so it doesn't seem out of the question. They'll put it on whatever platform they're paid to, and if Microsoft Studios is paying them...

[Twig]

I'm not denying the possibility, but I'm definitely saying if you want to play the game badly enough, I wouldn't bother waiting. Or, get over it, because it's unlikely.

 

I want it as badly as the next person who wants it badly, but I've resigned myself to just never getting to play it. Same as D4 and (possibly, not sure if I care, yet) Scalebound.

 

(D4's probably the most likely to come to PC, although I don't know if Deadly Premonition did well enough for them to care. They certainly didn't put a lot of effort into that port...)

 

I'M GETTING OFF TOPIC. Everyone go back to gushing about this game I can't play, I'll just be in the corner, crying or something. ):

[CollegeBaby]

Don't get me wrong I don't think anyone should get their hopes up. But I'm not getting an xbone either so I don't loose out by waiting for this game to come on PC, even if it takes until the next console generation.

[miffy495]

I figure that I try to play enough things that I will end up with each console. I did last generation, and don't regret any of my purchases (though the percentage changed a lot. Heavy 360 at the beginning, but by the end nearly exclusively PS3) so given that in the back of my mind "One day I will own this" was already there it didn't take a lot to push me. It was financially not a problem and there are now 3 games that I quite wanted to play that I could not get anywhere else. Tack on that there was a bundle with a much more aesthetically appealing console and one of said games thrown in as a bonus and I was ready to bite. Honestly, the console itself is pretty clunky. The UI feels really laggy, and whenever I pop up the home menu it shows the last thing I had open for a bit before loading what I want to actually see (kind of like a crappy phone web browser). That's nothing to do with the game, but is worth saying I guess.

 

Another hour in today (putting me at about 3 now) and I'm enjoying the side stuff. I'm unlocking some new weapons as I go and discovering just how much STUFF there is in this game. Character mods, weapon mods, "Overdrives" (which you earn for doing things in the world well and then enhance your abilities to do those things. I was grinding on a lot of rails, so now earned an overdrive whereby grinding increases my combo multiplier faster), and the items scattered around the world that let you craft them. I think there are 5 kinds of currency (3 for creating "amps" and then another two for buying things) and at least another two kinds of collectible on top of that. Movement still feels amazing and I'm getting better at it. I'm at a point where if I'm NOT in a combo it feels completely wrong. The missions and story are, so far at least, totally forgettable. I'm finding the game really good for short bursts (my hour today was played in three sittings) as nothing is compelling enough to keep me fixated for an extended time but it's still fun enough doing it to keep me coming back. That's a little worrying for the long term, but for now I'm having a good time. It was great today to have a half hour before I had to go pick up my girlfriend and actually just be able to sit and play a thing for that time without worrying about being able to drop it when I needed to. Most recently, I'd been playing Wonderful 101 on my WiiU, and I had been afraid to start playing it unless I knew I had 2 hours because those missions could go on and on. Not having to worry about that has been kind of liberating, honestly.

[twmac]

Yeah - I am of the same opinion as Miffy (wait until you get the air dash that means combos all the time, every time) this is a great game to play in short bursts. It also has a fantastic and robust multiplayer.

 

What surprised me the most is that I absolutely love the traversal and weapon specific side missions - more so than the story ones.

[twmac]

Twig - there are now 3 games that you want to play on the Bone. If you can find two more, I would recommend getting one (that is the tipping point for me on any console) as there are more than enough good things coming out (some of the smaller offerings like Chariot and Volgar the Viking are great too).

 

Is there something stopping you financially from doing this? Otherwise, it is starting to seem like a knife to the nose to spite the face scenario.

[Twig]

I have a PC, a Wii U, a 3DS, and I'm planning to get a PS4. I also don't want any of those games nearly as much as I want any of the games I want on other platforms. There are literally no other games I'm interested in, as far as I know, that won't eventually come to PC. I bought a 360 and regretted it a year later when all but like two games I played on it eventually came to PC. I already have too many games to play. I shouldn't even get a PS4, but I'm going to anyway because it'll have far more exclusives that I'm interested in. (Bloodborne is, of course, already number one by a million miles compared to anything on Xbone.) An Xbone is out of the question.

[twmac]

 I guess I fell into the other camp in that regard. Apart from Bloodborne there is nothing else I want on the PS4 and I am not invested in PC gaming (I have played 4 PC games in the last 7 years).

 

For me it is one of those things I have started to see increasingly across comments threads.

 

"Oh man, I want this game but Xbone exclusive"

 

I had this problem on the previous generation whereby people held out for the exclusive awesome stuff on the PS3 and some of it never came to fruition (Last Guardian, Final Fantasy XIII Versus) and the rest went multiplatform (Tekken, Devil May Cry).

 

It seems like there are just so many odd nuances to the perceptions of the two console giants right now. Sony gets valued for keeping its exclusives completely exclusive and Microsoft gets dragged over the coals for platform parity and derided for allowing titles to be released on other platforms.

 

Sorry this is getting a bit ranty but I guess that is part of the fact that this thread has more posts talking about how they wish this was coming to a console they would buy (because ironically all the Xbone exclusives come out on PC later so why buy it - damned if you do, damned if you don't) rather than focusing on anythign remotely positive about the title it just bums me out.

[Twig]

Well that's why I said "I'M GETTING OFF TOPIC. Everyone go back to gushing about this game I can't play, I'll just be in the corner, crying or something. ):" but then YOU dragged it out YOU ARE THE PROBLEM!!!

 

[Dewar]

Watching the Giant Bomb Quicklook, it struck me that they were talking about how much they liked the game, when nothing they were showing looked remotely interesting. *shrug* Maybe I'm just done with shooters. None of the big shooter releases lately have grabbed me.

[Architecture]

because ironically all the Xbone exclusives come out on PC later so why buy it - damned if you do, damned if you don't

I'm pretty sure this isn't an example of irony.

[twmac]

I thought about it and it is something that is comical that happens in a way that you don't expect it.

 

So guy complains that he will never get to play a game because he won't own the console and damn Microsoft. Microsoft releases on another platform and you think people would go 'yay' but instead damn Microsoft anyway for not keeping their exclusives properly exclusive. (EDIT: this is not aimed directly at you Twig you were just part of the group of people that I have noticed that follow a trend)

 

I think that fits irony, or am I stretching the definition?

 

Anyway, to not be part of the problem. The story missions do get a lot better, there is a set piece with a boss that takes place on the top of a building that the initial traversal reminded me a lot of scaling the building in Crackdown. The boss itself has been spoiled a lot in the press material but it was still a hell of a lot of fun. At the same time - I don't think it is the shooting that is fun it is the traversal that is the most important part the shooting is just for points and most of the time I just run from mission to the next ignoring the enemies.

 

The much derided humour is a legit complaint, it grates so hard. It made me realise that I am getting old though, I was listening to the Gamers with Jobs podcast and one of the guy's kids (who is about 10 years old) thinks it is hilarious.

 

Video Gamer has been pretty harsh on the game but I can see why. The combo meters aren't all that important in the main thrust of the game, if you loose meter you don't feel like you are being punished for it, however in multiplayer a bad player can ruin your chances of getting a good overall team score. Your individual combo meters and scores contribute to a larger pool and if you don't keep it going then everyone misses out on more points.

 

I am almost done with The Evil Within so I am looking forward to spending a lot more time with Sunset Overdrive.

[Architecture]

What you're describing is colloquially known as a catch-22.

 

An example of irony would be Twig finally relenting and purchasing an Xbox One for Sunset Overdrive only for Microsoft to announce its PC release the next day.

[twmac]

Okay. 

 

I would have settled for a 'yes, you are stretching it'.

[miffy495]

So, putting more and more time into this game, I think I'm really starting to love it. I'm barely touching the story, but think I'm going to power through a bunch of it just to see what unlocks. I made that mistake in Skyrim too. Played 12 hours and never unlocked shouts. I hit a story mission that gave me a super jump move and realized "oh shit, I've been doing all of these things and I'm still not able to even more around the world the way they intend yet", so now I need to get all the movement stuff before I go back to just fucking around all the time. That said, fucking around in this game is GREAT. Out of curiosity (and with diminished hope because of how few Xbone-owning [Xbowning?] Thumbs there are), is anyone playing this online? I'd like to give it a spin sometime and would love to try it out with some people that have already been somewhat vetted for quality. Never had a bad online experience with a Thumbs group. JamesM, if you're reading this (and probably not because I haven't seen you around here in a few months), you up for a spin some time? Anyone else?

[thefncrow]

I've gotten deeper in as well, and yeah, I really love the traversal.  There's just something so satisfying about how the traversal and combat are intertwined.  I'd kinda compare this game to something like Vanquish, in that it's something you could totally play in a pretty boring way and make headway through and be left with the impression that the game is boring, but the real joy in the game comes from playing incredibly recklessly and stylishly.  The non-grunt enemies also do a good job of trying to interrupt your traversal, making them something you at least have to engage with on the level of trying to avoid their shots.

 

Also, having now played the side mission Fizzle: The Inside Story, man, you can really tell how much Insomniac must have hated developing Fuse.

 

And I haven't touched the multiplayer myself either, I might be up for a session one night after work or something.

[miffy495]

Can I point out how genius one decision in this game is? The ammo management is SO WELL IMPLEMENTED. Here's what they do:

 

Obviously, you're going to have a favourite gun. Being Insomniac, they have put a huge amount of effort into developing a big range of fun weapons to use. The usual thing that happens in a game like this (for me, anyway) is that I find a favourite gun and play almost exclusively with it. All the cool guns I will give a quick look to, think "oh, neat" and then switch right back to my favourite. In this game, they have a system in which enemies drop TONS of ammo, but not for the gun that you're using. If you get any drops at all, it's not enough to make a difference. You're going to be running out of ammo for the gun that you're using within minutes, if not less. However, ammo for every other weapon has been dropping constantly over that time, so you have at least a couple of weapons that are completely full up and ready to go. The way that this subtly encourages you to play outside your comfort zone is dramatic. I'm usually a single-shot, mid-distance kind of player, but this ammo system has me messing with charge weapons and deployables and really enjoying them. Even beyond that, every weapon does different amounts of damage to different enemy types. Something that's great against the zombies will sometimes be useless against humans enemies. Very cool.