Remember Me Review - Sadly Forgettable

[Werewolfkid]

I just hope publishers don't use this game's lackluster reception as an excuse for not having female main characters in future games.

 

[sooperman]

The reminds me of some hypothetical sequel to Ghost Trick with heavy action sequences. Ghost Trick's plot was more sensible, and it got way better review scores. I would play a crossover, probably.

 

[The Goat Tsar]

...Why do people instantly and blindly believe everything a reviewer says as law? Just because a reviewer thinks it isn't omg10/10preorderatgamestopdoritosmountaindew!!!1111oneone!111, doesn't mean you automatically have to as well!

Mindless sheep...

Well if a reviewer you mostly agree with doesn't like a game, it's generally a good indication that you won't enjoy it, and will be a waste of $60. For me personally, if I spend $60 on a game, I expect to love it. Otherwise it's just best to get it on a Steam sale, and to save the money for something else. I'll still get the game, just much later and much cheaper.

So a 3 out of 5 doesn't mean "don't buy" to me, it means "wait". And I'm sure it means that to others as well.

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

So the game is commended for its:

- Storytelling.
- Voice-acting.
- Potentially raising food for thought, with regards to the subject matter.
- The setting.
- Visual design of landscapes and architecture.

[hr]

Criticism I don't agree with:

- The combat system being similar to that of Arkham Asylum. Forgive me if I'm off base, but wasn't that particular combat system largely praised by gamers?

- "Serviceable platforming" - at least it isn't broken. Personally, I wouldn't consider that a point to mark the game down.

- Notifications guiding the player forward progress - A feature which is largely included in most games these days.

- Memory remixing: It may not function perfectly, but I'm intrigued by the concept and can even forgive the downfall of the gameplay mechanics used to manipulate the system. Sounds like fun to me.

- "An interesting big-idea sci-fi setting cannot hold the whole game together"

I have to fully disagree. Personally, I'm reminded of Bioshock. The setting enhanced the game and served to drive the gameplay forward while roping you into the story and atmosphere. Bioshock would be nothing without Rapture/Columbia. Spec Ops: The Line would be nothing without the meta-narrative and Captain Walker.

[hr]

Criticisms I can get behind:

- Lack of exploration.
- Extreme linearity.

I love exploring and it's disheartening to discover that this game seemingly has very little of it. However, I don't have a problem with linearity in gameplay if it serves a narrative purpose.

[hr]

Overall:

"Remember me doesn't do anything outright terrible. Neither does it come together as something truly great."

This sounds like a good game, maybe not a great game, but definitely not a "forgettable game". A forgettable game is something which is functionally broken, uninteresting or holds no lasting value. Remember Me doesn't strike me as a game deserving of that title at all.

Personally, I think this review is being unnecessarily harsh with its critique. Remember Me should be judged on it's own merits. Not by the way of side-by-side comparisons of other games with similar elements.

 

[wolf thing]

So the game is commended for its:

snip

from what ive seen of the game the writing and voice acting is total shite, and the detailed environments mean you have to be lead through them like a dog on a lesh because they lack good enough game design. but that just from what i have seen of gameplay and such.

 

[wolf thing]

Saw this coming, videogamer.com posted a video say the game looked like balls from the demo they were allowed to play, so i was prepared for it to be met with substandard reviews

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

So, it's fairly average then?

Well, that's disappointing. I will still get it at some point just because I like the premise well enough and there really aren't very many new IPs floating around at the moment.

 

[Beffudled Sheep_v1legacy]

Meh I wasn't expecting anything revolutionary and I never got too hyped about it in the first place.
It looks interesting enough to hold my attention so I'll pick it up one day.

 

[TrulyBritish]

I don't understand the logic in the story.

If a sen-sen can get hacked, why did everyone adopt it in the first place? Memory changing? Drugs and alcohol do that just fine, why does that warrant an expensive surgery? Hell, even people in Ghost in the Shell didn't all get cyber brains.

And on top of that, why does the sen-sen make everyone turn into a junkie? Its like those strange prohibition propaganda where alcohol will cause everyone to be an alcoholic and society will collapse.

As a side note, every time I hear someone say some futuristic city name like "Neo-Paris" I immediately think of the robotic ghost of Christmas future from Aqua Teen and "Robo-France 29 in the year 9595." Might as well get him to narrate it too.

You've hit what annoys me most about the premise right on the head, who in their right minds develops a system where other people can change your memories? That's rather more important than a computer being hacked.
Also, nowadays whenever I hear about a futuristic city where science has caused a degradation and insanity of people while the pioneers get to muck about I can't help but think of Bioshock. Leapers=Splicers anyone?

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

So the game is commended for its:

snip

from what ive seen of the game the writing and voice acting is total shite, and the detailed environments mean you have to be lead through them like a dog on a lesh because they lack good enough game design. but that just from what i have seen of gameplay and such.

Then again, I may be completely wrong when I get around to purchasing the game, in which case, I'll be disappointed, but it isn't the end of the world. I tend to be very apologetic to a game's mechanical flaws and more appreciative of an overall concept and story. But that's just me.

I was merely listing my particular criticisms with this review in particular. There seemed to be more positive attributes mentioned instead of outright negative one's. (I'm going off the video review.) It just made me feel like the review was overly harsh.

 

[Legion]

Anyone else thought this would of been a better game if they went in the path of Heavy Rain? Honestly for all the hype and controversy to which was the doing of the developers themselves, they only have themselves to blame. This was their DEBUT game as a development team and the first moment of controversy they went hollering. I certainly side with them as the choice of what gender and such should be made by them and not the publisher but honestly there really is no focus aside from the concept to which you really can't do anything about.

I mean the setting still has potential but as much as I love brawlers I mean even THE BOUNCER by Squaresoft gave players more to do than simply pressing X and Y and then dodging.

I think it'd have been better with a more Deus Ex approach. Fairly linear overall, but with multiple paths to take during each scenario that allows for re-playability. So perhaps you can take the violent approach, or if you want you can go down the memory hacking route and so on.

Obviously not a clone of Deus Ex, or else the memory thing would just be a gimmick, but I think that direction would have been the kind of way to lean more than what they went with.

 

[ace_of_something]

I think it's juuuust different enough that I might give it a try... when the price comes down.

 

[BarkBarker]

It still tickles me how strongly they fought for their female protagonist, a casual person instead of the super heroine with sex appeal as part of the character....then the bottom half of the box art is just HER ASS....NICE ONE, ALL MY HIGH FIVES FOR YOUR INTEGRITY.....ya goofs.

 

[soitgoes19]

I'm still planning on giving the game a chance - the setting and storyline hooked me - but I'm going to wait for the price to drop to 40. I can't justify spending 60 on something without a lot of replay value. I've enjoyed plenty of games that are linear though, as well as games that only received average reviews.

 

[antidonkey]

Awww...how disappointing. I was looking forward to this game. Oh well, I'm sure I'll still get it but it'll be a $20 max game.

 

[Ishigami]

Anyone else thought this would of been a better game if they went in the path of Heavy Rain?

No. Every video game is better off being not like Heavy Rain, even Heavy Rain would have been...

Anyway I will stick with Remember Me because the whole packet seems still interesting enough for me. And everything else atm seems pretty ?meehhh?.
Kinda interesting though to see so many disappointed people. I mean video gameplay demonstrations of this game have been around basically since its announcement.
This review does not reveal anything that I couldn't have already told from those videos.

As far as scores go I personally don't give a fuck about them but slightly above average is usually considered to be still recommendable to fans of the genre or subject matter.

 

[Falseprophet]

It doesn't sound that bad to me. I mean, Dishonored's setting was way more interesting than its main plot, and that game was still really good. I doubt Remember Me will have as much replay value as Dishonored, but that's okay, neither did Tomb Raider.

 

[CloudAtlas]

The problem I can see is that any failure of this game will be trumpeted by some as a failure due to playing a female protagonist.

I'm afraid of that as well. Mediocre reviews, short playtime, not much marketing (I think) - but should it not sell well, it'll surely be the female protagonist's fault.

It still tickles me how strongly they fought for their female protagonist, a casual person instead of the super heroine with sex appeal as part of the character....then the bottom half of the box art is just HER ASS....NICE ONE, ALL MY HIGH FIVES FOR YOUR INTEGRITY.....ya goofs.

Yea, that does indeed send an ambiguous message.

 

[Slycne]

Criticism I don't agree with:

- The combat system being similar to that of Arkham Asylum. Forgive me if I'm off base, but wasn't that particular combat system largely praised by gamers?

- "Serviceable platforming" - at least it isn't broken. Personally, I wouldn't consider that a point to mark the game down.

- Notifications guiding the player forward progress - A feature which is largely included in most games these days.

- Memory remixing: It may not function perfectly, but I'm intrigued by the concept and can even forgive the downfall of the gameplay mechanics used to manipulate the system. Sounds like fun to me.

- "An interesting big-idea sci-fi setting cannot hold the whole game together"

I have to fully disagree. Personally, I'm reminded of Bioshock. The setting enhanced the game and served to drive the gameplay forward while roping you into the story and atmosphere. Bioshock would be nothing without Rapture/Columbia. Spec Ops: The Line would be nothing without the meta-narrative and Captain Walker.

Yes, I meant that Arkham Asylum and Uncharted we examples of these mechanics and systems being at their best and Remember Me wasn't doing them as well. Those specific aspects of Remember Me's combat mechanics worked well, the repetitious enemies without other means of dispatching or subverting and the broken combo system dragged it down.

The whole issue of only serviceable platforming, guiding the player and exploration all go hand in hand for me. Instead of feeling like your in this world, it's just busy work to move you to the next fight arena. Push control stick in direction of arrow and press A until another wide open fight room appears, rinse and repeat.

I don't disagree with you on setting, which makes me think you're misinterpreting my point. BioShock is good setting and good gameplay. Remember Me is good setting and bad gameplay. A single weight won't balance out the scales on either end, at least for this specific genre.

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

Yes, I meant that Arkham Asylum and Uncharted we examples of these mechanics and systems being at their best and Remember Me wasn't doing them as well. Those specific aspects of Remember Me's combat mechanics worked well, the repetitious enemies without other means of dispatching or subverting and the broken combo system dragged it down.

The whole issue of only serviceable platforming, guiding the player and exploration all go hand in hand for me. Instead of feeling like your in this world, it's just busy work to move you to the next fight arena. Push control stick in direction of arrow and press A until another wide open fight room appears, rinse and repeat.

I don't disagree with you on setting, which makes me think you're misinterpreting my point. BioShock is good setting and good gameplay. Remember Me is good setting and bad gameplay. A single weight won't balance out the scales on either end, at least for this specific genre.

I mentioned in a previous post that I could be devastatingly wrong, however, you have played the game and I have not.
So I can definitely respect your informed analysis and viewpoints.

Although personally, I put greater emphasis on setting, story and themes over gameplay. While there should obviously be a standard of good and polished gameplay. I tend to be very forgiving and work with functioning gameplay while I get wrapped up in the world.

It's disappointing to hear about the repetitious nature of the game's enemy variation and exploitative combat.

All in all, I appreciate the reply and more insight from you. I do hope that I did not come across as hostile in my previous message, forgive me if that was the case, that truly was not my intention.

Admittedly, I had high-hopes for the game. To be safe, would you recommend that this is a game that should drop in price before purchasing? Again, thank you for the reply.