| Damnation |
| Written by Pat |
| Tuesday, 02 June 2009 15:53 |
|
It’s been a while since I’ve seen a game take quite as much of a universal beating by critics as Damnation has. Taken on it’s own it’s pretty much just your average sub-standard shooter, but thanks to the level of hype, the expectation placed on the game and it’s failure to deliver on promises made, it’s a beating that is somewhat deserved.
Now the problem with this storyline is that it’s frighteningly similar to the unbelievably bad 1999 movie Wild Wild West, only without the film’s polish and God-awful giant spider in the third act. This in itself is reason enough to avoid purchasing the game and giving relentless crap to anyone who does buy it. Unfortunately, the problems don’t end there. Part of the reason why Damnation is so disappointing is the amount of hype that Codemasters put out about it. The claim was that this game was going to “evolve the shooter genre” but really it’s just a case of more of the same stuff we’ve seen before, and no real originality. Another line was that Damnation is a “shooter gone vertical” which really is nothing new for anyone who has ever played any of the Tomb Raider games.
The cut scenes are badly animated and look as though they were made for an earlier generation console more like the X-box or the PS2. The voice work is fairly bad, as all of the characters sound preoccupied. I mean how do you make yourself care for a character when they sound as though they’d rather be somewhere else while telling you about their tortured past?The A.I. on your enemies is particularly poor. I don’t know how it was in the old west, but if someone shoots me once I’ll be throwing myself behind some cover, not standing there waiting for the next bullet. Another annoyance is waiting for those who find the sniper rifle their weapon of choice, with the zoom on it no better then with any other weapon and it taking 2 shots to bring an enemy down, there really is no point in even picking it up. The steam machine gun fares little better, it takes almost 100 rounds to take an enemy down with it and it becomes utterly useless at anything longer then close range.The only really enjoyable weapon in the whole game was the Railroad Spike gun, because let’s face it, who doesn’t enjoy literally nailing an enemy to the wall? On the good side of the game the vehicles are actually pretty fun surprisingly. With the motorbike you can activate a speed boost to launch yourself over gorges or just to make the trip faster, and knocking people down G.T.A. style became a bit of a guilty pleasure, even if aiming for them on the bike is fairly tough.Another point in Damnation’s favour is the landscapes. Each area is wide and open (with the exception of Boomtown) and gives the game a “frontier” feel as well as plenty of cover to hide behind in a gunfight. This coupled with the somewhat handy spirit-vision allows you to essentially romp through the game with no real challenges though.
Unfortunately Damnation is a game that aimed high and failed big time. With the graphics being poor, the concept uninspired and the playability average, I’d say avoid parting with your hard earned cash on this one and just talk a friend into getting it, that way you can play it for an hour and then be glad you didn’t pay for it. |
