This is a premonition thread. It is now the first sentence of the thread so please no comments raging about discussing a game that hasn't been released or anything of the sort. I'm not going to be making and wild and groundless statements I'll just say what is known and what I think it means. Cheers.
If you haven't heard of the game, Hunted is basically an action RPG paced like a shooter; in a very small nutshell.
I was surprised to learn this game was made by Bethesda which excites me but at the same time makes me very nervous. Bethesda is obviously most well known for the Elder Scrolls series and Fallout 3. Both great games but also greatly flawed in many ways, even the revered-by-many Morrowind. While I personally don't agree that Bethesda is the deft rpg veteran many people seem them as, they can make a game that trumps most others. What scares me about Bethesda is that other than their known games, the have a shaky and rather small track record. Apart from Wet, they haven't really made much at all aside from a slew of Terminator games in the early nineties. And going back to Wet, probably the closest thing Bethesda has made to a game in the style of Hunted, was an utter shitpile. The game is on the Unreal 3 engine but all in all the game seems to be entering uncharted territory, especially for Bethesda.
Looking through the screenshots I was pained to notice that every single one showed the same two heroes which almost certainly means two things to me: This is a coop based game, and there is no character customization. I won't go into detail, but games, especially shooters, based on coop, are notoriously flawed in their gameplay. Character customization is something that was done very well in Bethesda's large RPG's and at least to me a major draw of those games. However, this is not an Elder Scrolls game, and I'm assuming that too much customization would ruin balance. Despite this, it wouldn't hurt to not have the same fucking bald guy or hot elf chick.
One could write a book on the arguments over what entails an RPG. I understand that over time the term has perhaps changed to not even imply role playing anymore, but I honestly see this game as more of a fantasy shooter or something. Yes, it will have gear and stats and levels, but I do not foresee any role playing in this game's future. A shooter campaign generally lasts 10 hours or so and that's what I expect from this game. The problem with applying this length to an RPG is that there isn't enough time for character growth. You don't get to experience the fruits of your labors so to speak. It's the Fable syndrome where the game abruptly ends right when you felt it was really getting going.
I'm sure I had other things to say that I forgot but I'll stop for now. I have a track record for guessing how a game will be (I'm looking at YOU, Alpha Protocol) but of course I realize this is all here-say about an unreleased game. Basically I think this game will be mediocre. It's an obvious appeal to the masses, dropping exploration and role playing, and increasing combat and pace. Due to the very low character customization (warrior or ranger, both have magic) and COOP based gameplay, the fighting itself will likely be very monotonous and lots of abilities will be based around setting up your partner for an easy kill. This can in theory work if you have a good friend playing with you, but it's more likely to you'll be paired with some rando online or a computer character.
TL;DR Nah sorry. It's long but if you don't want to read tough beans.
If you haven't heard of the game, Hunted is basically an action RPG paced like a shooter; in a very small nutshell.
I was surprised to learn this game was made by Bethesda which excites me but at the same time makes me very nervous. Bethesda is obviously most well known for the Elder Scrolls series and Fallout 3. Both great games but also greatly flawed in many ways, even the revered-by-many Morrowind. While I personally don't agree that Bethesda is the deft rpg veteran many people seem them as, they can make a game that trumps most others. What scares me about Bethesda is that other than their known games, the have a shaky and rather small track record. Apart from Wet, they haven't really made much at all aside from a slew of Terminator games in the early nineties. And going back to Wet, probably the closest thing Bethesda has made to a game in the style of Hunted, was an utter shitpile. The game is on the Unreal 3 engine but all in all the game seems to be entering uncharted territory, especially for Bethesda.
Looking through the screenshots I was pained to notice that every single one showed the same two heroes which almost certainly means two things to me: This is a coop based game, and there is no character customization. I won't go into detail, but games, especially shooters, based on coop, are notoriously flawed in their gameplay. Character customization is something that was done very well in Bethesda's large RPG's and at least to me a major draw of those games. However, this is not an Elder Scrolls game, and I'm assuming that too much customization would ruin balance. Despite this, it wouldn't hurt to not have the same fucking bald guy or hot elf chick.
One could write a book on the arguments over what entails an RPG. I understand that over time the term has perhaps changed to not even imply role playing anymore, but I honestly see this game as more of a fantasy shooter or something. Yes, it will have gear and stats and levels, but I do not foresee any role playing in this game's future. A shooter campaign generally lasts 10 hours or so and that's what I expect from this game. The problem with applying this length to an RPG is that there isn't enough time for character growth. You don't get to experience the fruits of your labors so to speak. It's the Fable syndrome where the game abruptly ends right when you felt it was really getting going.
I'm sure I had other things to say that I forgot but I'll stop for now. I have a track record for guessing how a game will be (I'm looking at YOU, Alpha Protocol) but of course I realize this is all here-say about an unreleased game. Basically I think this game will be mediocre. It's an obvious appeal to the masses, dropping exploration and role playing, and increasing combat and pace. Due to the very low character customization (warrior or ranger, both have magic) and COOP based gameplay, the fighting itself will likely be very monotonous and lots of abilities will be based around setting up your partner for an easy kill. This can in theory work if you have a good friend playing with you, but it's more likely to you'll be paired with some rando online or a computer character.
TL;DR Nah sorry. It's long but if you don't want to read tough beans.
