Well, the graphics look a bit better than the last one, and it might end up having a little better stealth and obstacle and layout variety, but I'm guessing stealth will still be underutilized, and objectives repetitive like the last one. I can't help feeling that and the lack of variety in layout and obstacles was a big part of the reason the first one was so short.
I think they're focusing too much on flowing freerunning and data grabs. It would have a lot more depth and pacing if they'd include some segments where you have to slowly sneak past guards, and had objectives where you hack cameras or plant viruses, instead of just freerunning, pausing a bit for coms, then data grabbing. It gets old.
I also feel the running to avoid gunfire is immersion breaking. I'd rather see some leapfrogging from cover to cover and use of objects in the world to temporarily hold and use as a shield. Maybe even have her need to stop and heal now and then, instead of looking super human. There could also be use of electrical jamming devices to stay hidden in the dark, distractions of various kinds, etc.
It's a series that I think has great potential, which is wasted on a very lopsided parkour based theme, and ends up looking more like a comic book super hero story than a futurist real world thriller. So basically ME is a love/hate affair for me. I'm always hoping it will evolve into something with more depth and substance, but they seem to have written themselves into a corner.
I'd not have minded them dropping Faith's ability to use weapons if they'd done so realistically with the above suggestions or something equally sensible. Instead, here she is even more invulnerable than in the first game, stunt running right through gunfire, vs grabbing a weapon and leveling the playing field, or using the environment somehow to avoid it.
I expect that from The Matrix, a story where you're not really physically there, but here it just looks silly. Even in the The Matrix though, they didn't just dodge bullets, they had guns. So this is even less realistic than that. And no, you don't have to give us guns or allow us to use those of enemies, just stop with the "If I can run fast enough, their bullets won't hit me" stuff.
Yeah, I know games are games and not the real world, but if you're going to place armored NPCs with powerful weapons, it ought to at least FEEL like there's a real threat there, instead of being able to run right through gunfire. Hell, you can't even do that in Batman, and he has substantial armor.
5 minutes of awesome
at least in my case
