Zero Punctuation: Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs

[Bassplayer2014]

I guess I'm in the minority. I tried really hard to like AMFP but i just couldn't get into the game. The story starts off simply enough but towards the end of the game I got lost. On top of that the atmosphere in this wasn't nearly as good as DD. In DD it got to a point (especially in the second half when the brutes became the main enemy) where I couldn't look around a corner or open a door without the fear of death. But in AMFP I just never got to that point. And for me the only thing keeping this game off of my worst games i have ever play list is my respect for Frictional and the fact that I know that they currently working on a new IP which is why AMFP was developed by The China Room. And I'm hoping that what ever Frictional is working on will do the same thing Bioshock Infinite did. And that is completely erase my memory of ever having played the previous game. All in all not my worst gaming experience of all time (*cough* Bioshock 2 *cough*) but it's nothing to write home about either. Well nothing left to do expect go back to what i have been doing, play custom stories and wait for the announcement from Frictional.

 

[Lovely Mixture]

I guess I'm in the minority. I tried really hard to like AMFP but i just couldn't get into the game. The story starts off simply enough but towards the end of the game I got lost. On top of that the atmosphere in this wasn't nearly as good as DD. In DD it got to a point (especially in the second half when the brutes became the main enemy) where I couldn't look around a corner or open a door without the fear of death. But in AMFP I just never got to that point. And for me the only thing keeping this game off of my worst games i have ever play list is my respect for Frictional and the fact that I know that they currently working on a new IP which is why AMFP was developed by The China Room. And I'm hoping that what ever Frictional is working on will do the same thing Bioshock Infinite did. And that is completely erase my memory of ever having played the previous game. All in all not my worst gaming experience of all time (*cough* Bioshock 2 *cough*) but it's nothing to write home about either. Well nothing left to do expect go back to what i have been doing, play custom stories and wait for the announcement from Frictional.

You are not in the minority. If Steam and Metracritic are anything to buy, most players are very disappointed.

 

[Lovely Mixture]

But those all have something in common. You watch them, they require no input from you and are moving pictures with sound.

The input required for Dear Esther, Gone Home, or AMFP is minimal.

And there you've even admitted yourself that they require input. Sure it's minimal, but it's stil linput, hence, a game.

But I've addressed that.
You make choices in Choose Your Own Adventure Books, does that make it game?
You press a button on an elevator, does that make it a game?
You press the play button on a DVD player, does that make movies videogames?

If input is equivalent to gameplay, then everything is a game.

 

[Lovely Mixture]

A game is an interactive story, a story that you interact with.

No...It's really not. There are a couple thousand examples that say you're wrong.

A video game is a game but with, well, video, moving pictures, animation, whatever.

But you need GAMEPLAY.

Choose your own adventure books aren't, well, video, so they're not video game.

Read what I posted.

You make choices in Choose Your Own Adventure Books, does that make it game?

If input is equivalent to gameplay, then everything is a game.

We're not talking just about videogames here, we're talking about what a game is.

Story has never been required for a game.

 

[Vicioussama]

You liked this atrocious piece of garbage, Yahtzee? lol. Well to each their own, but TheChineseRoom can serious gtfo of the game industry considering it has never made a real game. Just interactive stories. Yes, there is a difference.

I admit this game doesn't hold a candle to The Dark Decent, but why this game gets so much hate mystifies me. I loved it, and yes, it wasn't "gamey" or as scary as the predecessor, but I felt that it was at least a good game by itself, at most a worthy enough sequel. And I'm gonna be honest, I preferred the Machine to the dark corridors of Brennenburg Castle; as Yahtzee said, the whole machine did feel like this groaning monster itself.

Here's the thing, it's not a game. Nor was Dear Esther.

It's a computer program, it's interactive, it uses animated picture (aka video) and sound as a feedback, you have to press a certain pattern of buttons in the right order to make progress and get to the end, so yeah I really don't see why it shouldn't be categorized as being a game. Besides whatever you call it the experience has to be judged on its own merits, not out of some expectations for what a game should be, or how scary it should be, or how it should be exaclty the same thing than the dark descent.
I really don't get all the hate for this game and really agree whith yathzee that despites its flaws it's still way above average of most of what's coming out of the "gaming industry" today (well maybe he didn't exactly say that).

Every book written about "what is play" and "what is a game" would never classify this kinda thing a game though. *shrugs* if people like it, so be it. But don't pretend it's a game or requires any real thought or skill when the most you do is press forward and at points grab something and move it elsewhere.

 

[Evonisia]

Well that opinion seems to be the minority, after the game came out all I heard was stuff like it's terrible, lacks pacing and it doesn't live up to the original Amnesia.

I might end up playing it eventually but have no motivation for it, for now I will stick with Amnesia: The Double D.

Oh it is very much play worthy experience. I recommend it - if just to see some grand visuals and atmosphere.
But yeah... There is less of it, also - you don't get threaten by pigmen that often. I "fought" a "boss" without knowing it (If you can call that thing something of a boss, more of a moving obstacle that goes away after certain actions)

Like.... It is a Chinese Room game... And that should tell you enough.

Hmm, I might consider buying it. Luckily it's on PC so the price drop isn't going to take that long as my interest still isn't really there right now, I have to play through Resident Evil 4 first.

 

[Korsgaard]

Funny review like always, glad to see Amnesia shook things up a little for the sequel, yet remains a solid, often scary game.

 

[Taunta]

You liked this atrocious piece of garbage, Yahtzee? lol. Well to each their own, but TheChineseRoom can serious gtfo of the game industry considering it has never made a real game. Just interactive stories. Yes, there is a difference.

I admit this game doesn't hold a candle to The Dark Decent, but why this game gets so much hate mystifies me. I loved it, and yes, it wasn't "gamey" or as scary as the predecessor, but I felt that it was at least a good game by itself, at most a worthy enough sequel. And I'm gonna be honest, I preferred the Machine to the dark corridors of Brennenburg Castle; as Yahtzee said, the whole machine did feel like this groaning monster itself.

Here's the thing, it's not a game. Nor was Dear Esther.

It's a computer program, it's interactive, it uses animated picture (aka video) and sound as a feedback, you have to press a certain pattern of buttons in the right order to make progress and get to the end, so yeah I really don't see why it shouldn't be categorized as being a game. Besides whatever you call it the experience has to be judged on its own merits, not out of some expectations for what a game should be, or how scary it should be, or how it should be exaclty the same thing than the dark descent.
I really don't get all the hate for this game and really agree whith yathzee that despites its flaws it's still way above average of most of what's coming out of the "gaming industry" today (well maybe he didn't exactly say that).

Every book written about "what is play" and "what is a game" would never classify this kinda thing a game though.

(Citation needed)

*shrugs* if people like it, so be it. But don't pretend it's a game or requires any real thought or skill when the most you do is press forward and at points grab something and move it elsewhere.

Who said games require more thought or skill than that? That wasn't in my copy of the dictionary.

Dear Esther is a hell of a lot more complex than Pong, in which the most you do is press up and down and at points hit a pixel with another pixel, but no one argues that's not a game.

 

[Vicioussama]

You liked this atrocious piece of garbage, Yahtzee? lol. Well to each their own, but TheChineseRoom can serious gtfo of the game industry considering it has never made a real game. Just interactive stories. Yes, there is a difference.

I admit this game doesn't hold a candle to The Dark Decent, but why this game gets so much hate mystifies me. I loved it, and yes, it wasn't "gamey" or as scary as the predecessor, but I felt that it was at least a good game by itself, at most a worthy enough sequel. And I'm gonna be honest, I preferred the Machine to the dark corridors of Brennenburg Castle; as Yahtzee said, the whole machine did feel like this groaning monster itself.

Here's the thing, it's not a game. Nor was Dear Esther.

It's a computer program, it's interactive, it uses animated picture (aka video) and sound as a feedback, you have to press a certain pattern of buttons in the right order to make progress and get to the end, so yeah I really don't see why it shouldn't be categorized as being a game. Besides whatever you call it the experience has to be judged on its own merits, not out of some expectations for what a game should be, or how scary it should be, or how it should be exaclty the same thing than the dark descent.
I really don't get all the hate for this game and really agree whith yathzee that despites its flaws it's still way above average of most of what's coming out of the "gaming industry" today (well maybe he didn't exactly say that).

Every book written about "what is play" and "what is a game" would never classify this kinda thing a game though.

(Citation needed)

*shrugs* if people like it, so be it. But don't pretend it's a game or requires any real thought or skill when the most you do is press forward and at points grab something and move it elsewhere.

Who said games require more thought or skill than that? That wasn't in my copy of the dictionary.

Dear Esther is a hell of a lot more complex than Pong, in which the most you do is press up and down and at points hit a pixel with another pixel, but no one argues that's not a game.

Except in pong you have to actually react to the game, Dear Esther you don't. And there is an actual lose state in the game. One thing that defines what is a "game" for pretty much all developers is that there's a lose state or a punishment for actions (as well as rewards). Is there one in Dear Esther? No. That's generally why people consider pong a game and Dear Esther just an interactive novel or movie.