Concertina Inspector General 最近的评测

Great game that doesn't require linking your account to any unnecessary third parties

It's a perfect update, all the scheming and backstabbing from the original packaged up with modern conveniences. There's nothing like getting a notification on your phone that it's time for your next turn, and you start cackling because you remember the orders you placed last night, and everyone on the subway is staring at you but it doesn't matter because you know that idiot Astaroth just walked right into your trap.

It also runs well on the steam deck, which is nice for quickly submitting your turn in an async game. I'm looking forward to the UI scaling update though, since the text & button size is rough on such a small screen.

Edit: They added UI scaling back, but a lot of the game's windows (sometimes including important bits of text or even buttons) go off the edge of the screen if you go over 100%, so for now I'm sticking to tiny text + a magnifying glass when I use the steam deck

fast, fun, friends

Runs buttery smooth on Linux now! I'm getting 5-10 more FPS than I was on Windows, too, probably due to fewer background processes running.
- Proton experimental & easy anti cheat runtime
- Fedora 36, kernel 6.1.11
- AMD Ryzen 5600X
- NVIDIA GeForce 3090 (drivers 525.60.11)

One of the most elegant strategy games ever released. A reasonable number of simple mechanics, that mesh beautifully to create complex interactions and a dizzying array of strategic options. The 'random' aspects of the game (NPC actions, environmental effects, etc) are telegraphed in advance, eliminating the frustration of watching your plans unravel due to chance. High production value across the board is the cherry on top of this remarkable achievement.

By far the most satisfying locomotion system yet for a VR game. It's like co-op Tribes vs. huge bosses. Most of the negative reviews seem to have not figured out how movement works, which is fair; it's not incredibly intuitive. You use the grappling hooks to change direction (they don't retract), the wrist rockets for small adjustments, and mostly gain speed with boost pads and gravity. If you don't take a few minutes to learn the movement system, you're going to have a bad time. But once you do, planning out a path while flying headlong towards spikes at 100mph is super challenging and incredibly rewarding to nail.

A simple idea, executed extremely well. Really satisfying to play (especially in hand mode!)

Over the years, the "Alien" franchise expanded from its claustrophobic horror roots into a sprawling canon, that somehow birthed monstrosities such as Aliens: Colonial Marines and Prometheus. Alien: Isolation positions itself as a direct sequel to the original film, both in tone and in the story arc. Ellen Ripley's daughter, Amanda, is led to a space station where information about her mother's disappearance is located. She then has to survive the same kind of horror that made the original movie so enduring.

Alien: Isolation took me nearly a month to play through. This is somewhat startling because it only lasted 18 hours, and I really savored every one of those hours. Most games glue your butt to the seat by throwing out every aspect that isn't 'fun,' and hours generally evaporate in a haze of feel-good empowerment. Isolation, on the other hand, is not concerned with 'fun' but with providing a tense, exciting, and terrifying experience. I'm glad that Creative Assembly was given the chance to wield AAA funding in this indie-championed genre of survival horror, because they really did pull it off.

Isolation so perfectly explores the feeling of being hunted by a terrifying space monster that it can be difficult to play, especially for long periods of time. The experience isn't just intense, or scary, but actually mentally draining. There is little to alleviate this tension, so if you're easily spooked or looking for a game to relax with, this is not a good choice. There were definitely days where I was just not up the task of evading the titular Alien, but I always looked forward to my next foray into Sevastopol.

The game does a good job at dragging you through the terror by exquisitely pacing every aspect of the design. You reach each save point just as your will to carry on is fading, and each game save emboldens you to continue just a little farther, to see what's next. As each mechanic begins to feel repetitive, they introduce something to mix it up. Just as getting eaten by the Alien begins to feel routine, they introduce a flamethrower that can scare it away for a short while, changing the dynamic from a black-and-white 'if you're seen, you're dead' into a tense game of conserving very limited fuel. You are gradually introduced to a variety of craftable items that change the way you solve problems, but never provide you with much power. The crafting system is very simple and feels kind of unnecessary, but it definitely adds to the atmosphere to be scavenging random bits from the environment to tape into makeshift items.

The gameplay generally consists of activating consoles, supplying power to things, finding keycards and passcodes, and getting from point A to point B without dying. It's a dull formula, but Isolation does its best to plaster over this traditional skeleton with an arsenal of clever design tricks. Amanda Ripley is (conveniently) an engineer, which lends credence to the game's conceit that progress can always be made by messing with Sevastopol's machinery. The levers you have to pull, the buttons you have to mash, and the terminals you have to interact with are satisfying objectives. Instead of just hitting E and watching a light change color, interacting with objects sometimes takes multiple button presses and involves satisfyingly mechanical noises and Ripley's hands performing full animations.

Most objectives tied into the overall story well, and I only occasionally felt frustrated by tasks that seemed like busywork. The obstacles to be overcome between objectives are constantly in flux. The type of enemies present, the composition and relationship between them, and the environment are switched up frequently to provide interesting challenges. Even the simple corridor, that dull staple of games immemorial, becomes a terrifying expanse of unbroken sight lines with nowhere to hide.

By far the most interesting challenge is the Alien itself. While there are other dangerous entities on Sevastopol, the Alien is the smartest and most deadly. It is almost always a threat, as well, prowling through the ventilation system and wandering corridors, always close but not usually on-screen. This is something that movies figured out a long time ago, but games struggle to implement: monsters are scarier if you don't see a lot of them. When you see the Alien, it is in glimpses as you peek to see if it's still in the room, or as it stalks past your hiding spot as you hold your breath. You hear it and almost feel its presence, and it overshadows everything you do; but you don't spend a lot of time staring at it, giving your brain time to compartmentalize and understand this threat. They could have shortened its kill animations, as well, because these definitely begin to lose their edge and actually provide relief from the constant tension for their duration.

The game can be frustrating if you try to play it slowly. The Alien is exploring the area independently from you, not hovering over your shoulder, so you can (and should) generally move quickly from room to room. Crouch-walking and moving slowly increases the number of encounters you're going to have with the Alien, and actually makes the game far more difficult. It's easier and more satisfying to move quickly, but cautiously, and try to be ready to hide at a moment's notice. You'll quickly find a rhythm that works, but you have to break out of the habits that other stealth-oriented games have instilled in you. Hiding is not a 'visible/hidden' spectrum, but is completely logical and takes into account everything from whether the object you're holding is generating light or making noise, whether you're always hiding in the same place, how dark it is, and how much of you is exposed. For example, crouching under a desk isn't going to work if the Alien is across the room from you and can see under the desk from where it's standing. However, it works great if the Alien's right next to the desk because it can't see under the desk from that vantage point. It's logical, but it doesn't feel very game-y. It feels much more like you are playing against a human opponent, so I would get a rush of satisfaction when I outwitted the Alien that I usually only feel in multiplayer games.

The game is quite a looker, as well - it borrows heavily from the visual design of the films, which are still a sort of gold standard for sci-fi corridors. It's a perfectly done "70s future" lavishly implemented with excellent lighting and an eye for detail.

Alien: Isolation crafts a near-perfect Alien experience. The tension and thrill of the experience is maintained right up through a terrific third act full of surprises. It's a game that breaks the rules with style and confidence, and really deserves to be played.

Disclaimer - This review was based on the Alpha Weekend and Closed Beta builds of the game. I have not had a chance to play the new game modes or the new characters included in the final version. My "Not Recommended" rating was meant to dissuade people from pre-purchasing what I consider to be a 'wait-and-see' quality game, and as such the review is less applicable now. If I ever purchase the game, I will update with my final thoughts. I will leave it up for now becaue 1) the comments are hella amusing and 2) I think some of my criticism still applies to the final product, if the professional reviews coming out are any indication. Thanks for reading!

ORIGINAL REVIEW(S) -

A QUICK CLOSED BETA UPDATE:
(Also, note that my hours in closed beta aren't reflected in the 4.8 above)

Played some more in the closed beta. I realized that a lot of the people saying "you're playing the game wrong" in the comments are nicely outlining one of my issues with the game. There's a specific, pre-defined way you're 'supposed' to play, and the challenge is in sticking to that script. In multiplayer games, the human element allows incredible breadth of strategy and personal style - but Evolve is constantly trying to get you to play it on its terms. By so rigidly structuring each match, Evolve is severely limiting its own replayability. This is reflected in the current pricing situation: it seems to me like they are trying to set themselves up to make most of their profits in pre-orders by bundling content in different ways, because interest in this title isn't going to last very long.

I hate being so negative, because I really wanted this game to succeed. I hope Turtle Rock rediscovers the spark that brought us Left 4 Dead with their next title.

ALPHA WEEKEND REVIEW:

This game ticks all of my boxes: it's a unique, asymmetrical, jetpack-fueled FPS that relies heavily on teamwork (or being a sneaky bastard, in the case of the monster). Sounds great, right? Game of the year material, yeah?

Not really.

It's in alpha, so you have to take the following complaints with a grain of salt. I do feel, however, that my issues with the game are deeply rooted in the current design and won't be fixed with more content or polish. I would be very surprised if any major changes are made this far along in development, and I think it would take some major changes to fix the issues with Evolve.

First off: GRAPHICS. It's very pretty. It's running off of Crytek, so this is to be expected. Great textures, models, and monster animations. But the visual design is terrible. Everything is a muddy grey color, and they've got the 'dark and moody' dial cranked up to 11. It gives all the levels a very samey feeling. And it doesn't help that the -

LEVEL DESIGN is homogenous. The maps are all fairly small, mostly open, with a fantastic amount of verticality. There are places to hide as the monster, and good chokepoints for the hunters. The levels are decent, but at this point too similar (hopefully the new maps will spice things up a little). The issue is the size of the monster prevents the level design from influencing the mechanics of the game in any meaningful way. Whenever you encounter the monster (outside of the final defense), the battle will play out similarly no matter where you threw down the 'mobile arena,' with little influence from your environment. And it doesn't help that the -

HUNTERS have few meaningful decisions in combat and otherwise. Your class defines pretty strictly what you will be doing in combat. Use lightning gun until its cooldown kicks in, switch to assault rifle until cooldown is up, switch back, place mines, repeat. The classes DO interact in interesting ways, with the support providing temporary invincibility to one player, the medic healing, and the REALLY interesting ability to tag spots on the monster with a sniper rifle to create vulnerabilities. The problem is that these abilities are so specialized, and you have such a small repertoire, that sometimes it feels like the battles are playing themselves. It only takes a few encounters with the monster before things start to feel repetitive. This wouldn't be an issue if the gunplay itself was interesting, but aside from the jetpacks, it's some of the most uninspired, unsatisfying, console-esque 'hold button while reticle is in vicinity of enemy'. It probably feels great for console owners, but for PC shooter fans, this is some mediocre combat.

The hunting itself is lackluster. For the most part, you bumble around, sort of following the monster's path, sort of just hoping you'll run into him. I suppose this could be better with a more skilled group, or a group of friends who communicate well - but relying on friends for fun is really lazy design. The idea of 'hunting' is so central to this title that it really needs to FEEL like you're tracking down a monster, which it rarely does. It mostly just feels like you're chasing something much faster than you. That's not a super gratifying experience. There are environmental hazards that insta-kill you if you teammates don't rescue you quickly enough, which is frustrating. I guess they're there to spice up the combat, but I've never seen them act as more than a nuisance. Luckily, it's much better as the -

MONSTER: the best times I've had playing Evolve were as the monster. Knowing when to engage, the constant feel of being hunted, the tense moments of vulnerability as you evolve into the next stage, the terror as you're surrounded by a dome of light and can no longer run away... It's good stuff. I can see myself putting a lot of hours into this game in the hopes that I can play as the monster.

CONCLUSION: This feels like the developers plucked an interesting boss fight from a larger game, and then tried to duct tape a bunch of stuff on in order to justify selling it as a standalone experience. If there are major changes made in the next few months, they might make that duct-taped mess interesting enough for this game to have staying power. But I'm not holding my breath.

EDIT: I've thought a bit more about Evolve, and I've come to the conclusion that another reason (and perhaps the main reason) it fell flat for me is the pacing. Every form of entertainment has an ebb and flow of action that keeps the audience engaged, and I feel Evolve was sorely lacking in this department. Even when you're hot on the heels of the monster, hunting has little tension as the hunters, but as soon as the mobile arena comes down tension is immediately ratcheted sky-high. There's no natural ebb and flow, there's just periods of mild disinterest with the occasional intense battle. I sort of feel like the 'mobile arena' is too contrived of a concept, and that there should be objectives during the match to force confrontation. This would allow the designers to control the interest curve and keep people engaged at the same level for the length of the match.