So if fired up the game late last night and tried about an hour of gameplay. A lot of the controls and presentationn reminded me of Red Dead Redemption. A few buttons were changed but for the most part, I felt right at home. The facial animation was better than I had hoped. Truly awesome stuff. I already know this is going to be one of those games that I have to play with no disturbances and totally immerse myself in. I love a cinematic game and this game captures that feel.
I'm a big fan of Heavy Rain and I was kinda hoping this game would top it, as far as captivating me was concerned. I know CGI said Heavy Rain was better but I was wishing he was wrong and blinded by nostalgia. My only reason for wishing this was that I've already finished HR and I was hoping for the new experience to be more absorbing than the old--games like that don't come out too often so I was hoping the bar would be raised. Well, to my disappointment, CGI was right. So far, Heavy Rain is still the Heavyweight Champ.
I don't know why this game was the subject of those Lens of Truth comparisons. In my opinion, this game isn't a graphical powerhouse. Yeah, it does some things very well but for the most part, the environments, characters (aside from their faces), and effects are nothing special. That's okay because I'm not a graphics whore and that's not what this game seems to be about. A good game can immerse you without having to be the "prettiest girl at the ball". I've played a couple of games that some would consider the best looking games of all time, and I hated them. Presentation is no big deal and I don't like he fact that so much fuss was made over how this game looks.
So the atmosphere was great. The characters were believable. The period feels authentic. The gameplay feels familiar. I like it alot, already. This is all just a first impression, though. I can't wait to dive into the game fully.......after I finish Red Dead Redemption.
