AMY's Doesn't Suck. It's Just Hard.

vansau

Mortician of Love
May 25, 2010
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AMY's Doesn't Suck. It's Just Hard.



Despite what everyone's saying, AMY's developer wants you to know that the game isn't broken. People are being mean because they don't like how hard it is.

Last week, survival horror game AMY hit Xbox Live Arcade. Today, it's been released for the PlayStation Network. Both versions have been slammed by critics: The XBLA version <a href=http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/amy>currently has a 22% rating on Metacritic, while the <a href=http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/amy>PSN build is hovering at 35%. The general consensus from critics has been that AMY is the kind of game that is so amazingly terrible that it's the stuff of legend, thanks to a slew of issues. Developer VectorCell has finally addressed the criticism leveled against its game, and it's claiming that critics are upset because the game's just too dang hard.

VectorCell took to Facebook today to address the issues with AMY, which is claims aren't really issues at all:

Hi all,

Today is the official release day of the PSN version in the US and we wanted to take this opportunity to come back to you.
As many of you have already heard, AMY is a HARD game. Some people totally disliked that while other really enjoyed it.
We believe this is part of the survival experience we tried to build as we wanted the game to be challenging.
However, we actively listen to the community and comments and hence recommend the non-hard core gamers to launch the game in EASY mode (in the settings) for now.
This will give them a much more pleasant and smoother experience, especially as the checkpoints are scarce.

In addition, we wanted to thank those of you who bought the game and rated it on the XBOX market and the PSN Store.
Indeed, AMY has been #1 in the daily XBLA charts since its launch in all major territories and players have rated it between 3 and 4 out of 5 on XBLA and more than 4 on the PSN despite the controversy.
For us, the players' ratings (almost 9500 so far) are the most important ones.

As always, we will come back to you with updated information as soon as we can.
Thanks a lot.

This statement is amazing. It completely ignores the fact that parts of the game are entirely broken, like the segment Susan mentions where an enemy appears and the character model is (sometimes) inexplicably missing a head. It glosses over the noted issues with collision detection (which are only important, you know, when you need to fight monsters). It also makes a point of avoiding the noticeably bad control scheme. Instead, the statement just puts all the blame on people who don't like the game by effectively saying "everyone else likes the game just fine; what's wrong with you?"

Susan Arendt recently mentioned AMY - <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escapist-podcast/5230-029-Amy-Gaming-Disappointments>in last week's Escapist Podcast - noting how there were typos in the subtitles and "the controls are such shit that they actively prevent you from playing the game."

Other problems noted in reviews have included an inventory system (that's wiped clean when you die), save points that are so few and far between that you're forced to play through the same areas and watch the same cutscenes over and over again, and animations that are literally broken.

By this logic, here are a couple of other games that weren't bad, they were just too hard to be appreciated by some gamers: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_64>Superman 64.

Source: <a href=https://www.facebook.com/AMY.thegame/posts/362878560395936>Facebook

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Soviet Heavy

New member
Jan 22, 2010
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Thanks for reminding me of Drake and the 99 Dragons. I thought I'd repressed that nightmare.
 

Something Amyss

Aswyng and Amyss
Dec 3, 2008
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Amazing they can take this:

vansau said:
This statement is amazing. It completely ignores the fact that parts of the game are entirely broken, like the segment Susan mentions where an enemy appears and the character model is (sometimes) inexplicably missing a head. It glosses over the noted issues with collision detection (which are only important, you know, when you need to fight monsters). It also makes a point of avoiding the noticeably bad control scheme. Instead, the statement just puts all the blame on people who don't like the game by effectively saying "everyone else likes the game just fine; what's wrong with you?"

Susan Arendt recently mentioned AMY - <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escapist-podcast/5230-029-Amy-Gaming-Disappointments>in last week's Escapist Podcast - noting how there were typos in the subtitles and "the controls are such shit that they actively prevent you from playing the game."

Other problems noted in reviews have included an inventory system (that's wiped clean when you die), save points that are so few and far between that you're forced to play through the same areas and watch the same cutscenes over and over again, and animations that are literally broken.
And turn it into a "haters gonna hate" sort of statement.

Tzekelkan said:
So you're saying that Amy...

*puts on sunglasses at night*

... sucks hard.

*am I doing this right?*
I'd say your future's pretty bright.
 

gigastar

Insert one-liner here.
Sep 13, 2010
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Well, inde developers releasing a crap game isnt a concept new to the world for sure.

However its quite sad when said developers come out saying its not the game but the players that are at fault.
 

Azuaron

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Mar 17, 2010
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vansau said:
Susan Arendt recently mentioned..."the controls are such shit that they actively prevent you from playing the game."
Look, if you can't QWOP, what are you doing playing survival horror?
 

Richardplex

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Jun 22, 2011
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Azuaron said:
vansau said:
Susan Arendt recently mentioned..."the controls are such shit that they actively prevent you from playing the game."
Look, if you can't QWOP, what are you doing playing survival horror?
Oh god I forgot about that game, thanks for reminding me.
 

Tanis

The Last Albino
Aug 30, 2010
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This is retarded...so retarded.

Releasing a BROKEN game /=/ being hard.
 

The Random One

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May 29, 2008
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Well, the reason there's no draw distance on Superman 64 and there's so much stutter is because it's KRYPTONYTE FOG. The kryptonyte fog makes Superman spaz out. It's there because this is actually a virtual recreation of Metropolis, which is why there isn't anyone on the streets. It all makes sense.

Bottom line, at least Superman 64 was creative in justifying how it sucked.
 

Baresark

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Dec 19, 2010
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This is interesting. I had a little back and forth with a guy about this game after the first review. He swore that the game deserved a much better score than 2/10, and that IGN and Eurogamer were just mad they didn't pay for the review... and I even said I would give it a try... but I can't bring myself to drop the money on it. I know it's only $10 and I'm not gonna die if I pay that money for a game that is bad. But, so few people say it's good. I eat games up that are difficult. I have 130+ hours in Demon's Souls and almost as much on Dark Souls. Those games were hard but well worth it. This one... I have to wait and see.

Also, can they release a patch that fixes the controls and graphic issues? They do this for other games (definitely on the PC, but what do the patches on consoles do if they aren't fixing the game?).
 

Waaghpowa

Needs more Dakka
Apr 13, 2010
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They couldn't just leave it alone could they? It's one thing that people think your game sucks, but it's another to have them also think you're a pretentious asshole too.

Had they said nothing, it wouldn't be so bad. There are people out there who genuinely enjoy their game. Now they just look stupid.
 

Volothos

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Dec 31, 2008
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This video sums up my every little thought on the subject matter


Seriously, screw any company that tries to use this excuse so it doesnt have to listen to basic criticism. just GAAAH
 

poiuppx

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Nov 17, 2009
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Well, this is a shame. I liked the concept and was gonna give this a try at some point, regardless of reviews, when the price point dropped a bit. After this reaction? Yeah, no.
 

squid5580

Elite Member
Feb 20, 2008
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Its hard because of the reasons it sucks. The checkpoint system is complete ass. Not being able to stop playing mid chapter without having to restart the entire chapter is garbage. There is great satisfaction in solving one of the many puzzles the first time but when you are forced to repeat them over and over because there is a new trial and error section around the next corner (most of which involve standing around waiting for some jerk to walk by) it becomes tedious. And BORING!!!!

I guess they never tried holding the RB button for hours since it tends to cause fatigue. Why no toggle??

My favorite glitch (and the reason I am now allowing it to collect virtual dust) was midway through chapter 3 I died (which happens alot) although instead of allowing me to restart at my hard earned checkpoint it decided to loop the you are dead screen forcing me to turn it off (which meant suffering through 20 minutes of boredom that took me hours to figure out).

And for the record GALLERIES is spelled with 2 "L"s
 

search_rip

New member
Jan 6, 2009
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So "AMY's doesn't suck, it's just hard." is equal to them saying "screw you, we are not wasting time and money fixing and patching our horrible game". That statement telling us "... recommend the non-hard core gamers to launch the game in EASY mode (in the settings) for now..." is just adding insult to injury :mad:
 

PureIrony

Slightly Sarcastic At All Times
Aug 12, 2010
631
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Its a shame its so terrible. It seemed like one of the few games these days to have a unique and interesting premise.

Also, I'm going to assume that mentioning the spelling typos twice was an ironic joke.
 

RaikuFA

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Jun 12, 2009
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Tzekelkan said:
vansau said:
AMY Doesn't Suck. It's Just Hard. [/B]
So you're saying that Amy...

*puts on sunglasses at night*

... sucks hard.

*am I doing this right?*
YEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!! You're doing it right.

I guess though that Dark Souls is the worst game ever to be made, right?
 

sunburst

Media Snob
Mar 19, 2010
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Baresark said:
I eat games up that are difficult. I have 130+ hours in Demon's Souls and almost as much on Dark Souls. Those games were hard but well worth it. This one... I have to wait and see.

Also, can they release a patch that fixes the controls and graphic issues? They do this for other games (definitely on the PC, but what do the patches on consoles do if they aren't fixing the game?).
If they fixed all the problems, the game wouldn't be hard anymore. The only challenge is the horrid controls mixed with trial and error gameplay. Some of the puzzles are interesting but not complicated. Plus the "errors" that kill you are unpredictable, unavoidable and usually not your fault.

Avoid AMY like the plague.