The Glade 4.0

We've got a new cinematic adventure from the makers of Heavy Rain.

Beyond: Two Souls follows Jodie (Ellen Page), who since birth has had a strange psychic connection to a supernatural entity named Aiden. They are quite literally tethered to one-another and can't stray too far without risk, possibly death? Throughout the game you mainly control Jodie, switching to control Aiden to do anything from scaring people, temporarily possessing people, espionage, and things of that nature.

I have been playing for a few days and I'm a bit over half way through the game at this point. Let me start by saying, this game is not for everyone. Everything is pretty heavily scripted, just like Heavy Rain. Unfortunately, due to different subject matter and a different storyline format, B:TS does not carry the same emotional impact that HR did. Those things said, I still find it extremely compelling and can't wait to get home and play some more, just like I did with HR.

The game is told in a nonlinear narrative, skipping back and forth between three points in Jodie's life. You start off Tarantino style at [what may or may not be] the end, not knowing how you got where you are, and you start to piece things back together one event at a time.

The game has been subject to pretty extreme love/hate reviews, which I think is understandable. The gameplay is not for everyone, but the voice work and game visuals are top-notch. Ellen Page does great and Willem Dafoe also does a pretty good job throughout the game as her doctor/mentor/surrogate father. If you played and liked Heavy Rain, I need to recommend this game. If you didn't like Heavy Rain, maybe don't bother. If you don't have the time to commit, go ahead and watch the game on YouTube, it's basically an interactive movie anyway

Screens:

This is another "Quick Time Event: The Game!" isn't it? Why the **** would anyone want to play an entire game of nothing but QTEs? This studio needs to just make movies because they sure as **** don't make games.

Regardless, the visuals looks very impressive.

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Los Angeles Kings 2014 Stanley Cup Champions

"I love this **** team right here."
-Jonathan Quick

The only things that could be considered QTE are fighting or action sequences, and they're pretty appropriate in those contexts. It fits the game style and makes more sense than free-roaming button-mashing would.



The experience itself is still engaging and entertaining. To say that this doesn't count as a game is extremely narrow-minded. Does Mario not count as a game because you only use two buttons and run side to side?

But Mario doesn't go into slow-mo and flash "Press A!!!" whenever you approach a Goomba, either.

That's not to say I can't sympathize with the argument, though. The Quicktime events in Tomb Raider were generally infrequent (unless you made them not so via actively seeking out dodge-stun combos and finishers), and, for the most part, flowed fairly naturally from the normal movement and control schemes. With the exception of a few of the more annoying dodge-stun-finish minibosses, they were usually well-done to create an engaging cinematic experience while retaining some interactivity.

Even in Tomb Raider, though, there was that annoying tendency for them to turn into "repeat until you get the sequence and timing right to NOT DIE!!!" frustrations, though.

QTEs work the best when I can figure out early on that they'll occasionally be thrown at me in cutscenes, and then from there on, they reward me reacting normally to the events in the cutscene such that I go "Oh, there was a quick time event there" after I pass it.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

This game is much more "world interactive" than direct player control, much more interactive story, just like Heavy Rain. If you hated that one, you'll hate this one. Personally, I think they're pretty good at storytelling, and it's fun to play a game that isn't just like everything else getting shoveled out these days. It also helps that they used a recognizable actress that's adorable in the lead role, really helps build empathy with the character much faster. Whether you like them or not, quantic dream sure has a vision for their games.

You're right, but that doesn't happen in this game either. Time does slow down, but it's up to you to see what direction Jodie is moving in, and finish her attack/defense/dodge for her. There's no button icons popping up except for the first time you do something as a tutorial.

There are a couple of "get this right or start over" moments early in the game during your training montage. During the actual storyline, though, if you miss a punch or block or whatever, the scene still moves forward. It's very fluid. You can afford to mess up a few actions without dying.

Beat the game last night, I thought the ending was better than Heavy Rain. I would say that this was a better game overall, but slightly less emotional since you don't have a missing child on the verge of death the entire time.