Comments on: MEMBER BATTLECRY: Full of Life

By: ZombieBoner

ZombieBoner — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:56:09 +0000

My battlecry goes out to Dead Space. The game’s environment was intense and you were immediatley terrified at what was around each corner as soon as you picked the controller up.The ambiance along with a great attention to the sounds the ship made really increased the horror instilled into you as you played the game. The amount of loneliness you felt while playing the game also hightened the horror factor as you would only encounter a number of human survivors, and the sections of the game where you were in space only made things harder as all noise was muffled and enemies could sneak up to you.

Dead Space had a really great atmosphere and the amount of immersion was overwhelming. This game is a true gem of this generation of consoles

By: Legather

Legather — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:40:25 +0000

My battle cry goes out to Silent Hill 2. If you played the first Silent Hill, you could imagine what was coming in the second; a dark, moody survival horror that changed the world around you and pitched you against out and out demons or the monstrous human inhabitants of the town. With better graphics.

How wrong you were! True enough, there were beasties to be found. True enough, the world changed around you and the people you found were broken and sick. But coming from the tried and true ‘evil cult’ plot of the original, how different a tale did 2 provide when you found out exactly what happens to your character’s wife? How much did you feel sorrow or outright hate for him when you played the game differently and witnessed the different endings?

This was supported by one of the most resonant game soundtracks I’ve ever heard by Akira Yamaoka, almost perfectly capturing audio melancholy. The technically improved graphical design helped paint a better picture and what a disturbing and enthralling picture it was, all at once. It will always be a ‘special place’.

Oh and Pyramid Head. That great abuser of mannequins. That’s one creepy guy.

By: CrinnyCow

CrinnyCow — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:26:20 +0000

My battle cry goes out to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl. It took me a couple hours to really start to feel immersed in ‘the zone’ but once I was in an underground laboratory scavenging for bullets and bandages, hoping that I’d come across some food in a tin, and praying that there was not another blood sucker around the next corner I didn’t want to leave.

To add to the immersion is painfully intelligent AI and unforgivably realistic gun play. A gun fight in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. can feel as intense as an action sequence in a movie. You play as a absolutely normal person who is in no way superior to his enemies. In most of today’s single player experiences you play as some sort of distinctive entity such as a super soldier or a ‘chosen one’ with a specific destiny, and while this can help flesh out a story or add some sort of unique gameplay element, it makes the main character un-relatable and lowers the effect of the player’s imagination and as a result, makes a game less immersive.

While the game may not have been polished upon release and was certainly overlooked by people with twitchier gameplay preferences, if a little bit of time is given to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. it becomes an unforgettable experience. In terms of immersion, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl is second to none.

By: Goslashyourwrists

Goslashyourwrists — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:05:53 +0000

My battle cry goes out to halo 1/ halo 2. Even after all these years I still get goosebumps when I’m driveling a warthog over a hill on halo or fighting a hunter and the epic music kicks in. Even though I know exactly what going to happen it’s never lost its magic. Also being able to pull this off in a co-op mode makes it the most atmospheric game I have ever played. Halo 1&2 defined the term epic and put FPSs on the map.

By: dilatedmuscle

dilatedmuscle — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:13:39 +0000

My Battlecry goes out to the Original Metroid Prime on the Nintendo GameCube. It had amazing atmosphere. Each world had its unique effects on the HUD; Rain drops tapping, steam from pipes causing your visor to fog, sound being muffled when underwater and many more emmersive effects. Even eatch weapon had a cool effect, while most games had a simple weapon switch, Samus’s cannon shot many things and had different animations when changing power and different animation for each weapon fired. Seing Samus’ reflection on the visor because of a blast near your helmet was absolutely amazing for its time, Samus’ Hud felt like it had its own depth and atmosphere at times. The entire games atmosphere was multiplied by the ammount of visors you had, that says a lot.

Who could forget its amazing levels and lonely yet immersive music. It was one of the first FPS games to have native creatures, whether they were harmful or not, unique to every world.

It ran the gammut of level design; Rain, Lava, underwater, ruins, mechanical, snow (Riddly’s shadow was awesome!), Phazon “mines”, and im sure im missing more… The Metroid Prime level had so much atmospheric immersion that it could compete with any game of this generation…. Just remember the Phazon Blast at the final bosss fight… E.P.I.C.!

By: EpicBattleAxe » Blog Archive » MEMBER BATTLECRY: A Prime Example | Gaming News That Cuts Through The Crap!

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:31:15 +0000

[...] pertaining to this week’s topic: The most immersive or atmospheric games or franchises. After yesterday’s look at Half-Life 2, today we’re going to examine one of the most established franchises in gaming…and a [...]