E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy Impressions
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The game world is a sort of amalgam of Warhammer 40k's mythic pseudo-magical theology and more familiar Deus Ex-like cyberpunk. You are a super-assassin working for some kind of monster-slaying brotherhood who are struggling for control of various locations against other cyberpunkian factions of men in dark glasses and long coats. All this is backed up with a library of written back matter, which I couldn't really be bothered to read. It's nonetheless impressive that the team have put so much work into their world, even if they couldn't quite afford to flesh it out. More immediately, there's some kind of immediate sub-plot where your mentor might be a baddy and people are suggesting you betray him, but I've not really uncovered how deeply the RPG elements run just yet. I simply haven't played enough. No matter how these conversation trees impact on your experience, I suspect it's going to be tricky for anyone to invest too deeply in this baroque world of largely-silent blank-faced nightmare soldiers.
The scope, then, is impressive, but you have to remember that we are dealing with indie production values. The levels are enormous, and often swathed in atmospherics, but the game does feel a little wobbly in places. Menus don't feel intuitive, and while there's a huge bank of tutorial videos provided to explain the game to you, principles of how to play aren't really expanded upon beyond a basic tutorial corridor. While the NPCs do have a few animations and a few speak weird-language nonsense vocals, most of what we get is text boxes, with the NPCs remaining static. The game world is huge and detailed, but it doesn't quite manage to feel authentic in the way that higher budget games do. I think this is down to the way the team have had to limit their ambitions. While there are bits and pieces of incidental detail, such as little beasts crawling about on the floor, there isn't much in the way of scripted events or little details that might otherwise bring a game to life. Some areas are seriously impressive, while others are simply fogged and gloomy boxes.
And then I'll nab a list of pros and cons from the Steam forums:
+ Lots of fun weapons and cyber implants.
+ Armor changes your appearence as well as other things.
+ Enemy placement seems to be randomized. ALSO instead of killing my target silently, I accidentally set off an alarm. In the next mission I was scolded for it, and the Federation mounted an assault on my starting area. This makes me believe that there are various branches throughout the game.
+ In conversations, it acts like Oblivion, which allows you to kind of make your own decisions on how things work. When my Menter told me to act silently after the Fed assulted us, I told him to eff off, and suggested a different approach. (One that involved my minigun.)
+ Cyber powers are cool. Sprinting, jumping, creating a squad of clones etc. etc.
+ Enemy AI is standard Hl2 AI. Some like it, some hate it. I personally enjoy it.
+ The game has LOTS of backstory, and a really immersive universe for you to play in.
+ The level design is actually quite good. Not in that its the most graphical game ever, but in that I actually felt I was in a cyberpunk setting. Neon and shadows are the primary decor.
+ Replayability seems fairly high with the aforementioned random enemy placement, but also with the enemy levels, and secondary objectives that unlock after you beat a mission.
+ Guns feel like they should. In that its an HL2 mod, and guns feel like Hl2 with some nice recoil, ironsights, and a second mode that zooms in. (by right clicking a second time.)
+ I like how hacking can effect just about any robotic item. Simply aim your scope at a bot, and you can hack it. Deus Ex style.
+ Persistant Char that levels up over COOP MP AND SP. I read you can have ten total so you can mix and match.
- No weapon customization as far as I can tell.
- Research is poorly explained. As I understand it you task people back at base to research various things you find in missions. When this is done you have various access to bonuses and such. For instance, I researched 'medkit' and I can now carry a syringe into battle to heal teammates.
- Hacking is confusing as hell. To simplify it you are fighting the computer. You choose different 'attacks' to give you bonuses to dominate the objectives firewalls. YOUR BAR IS ON TOP. THE ENEMY DEFENSES are on bottom. Its confusing until you do it a few times. Your skill makes a big difference.
- Despite the massive levels, persistent char, and general Rpg feel, it is STILL just an HL2 mod. In that you see that same silly bar when finishing a mission or loading one. and despite the HQ HUB, you can't go back to previous missions that I know of without restarting the chapter.
