Zero Punctuation: Get Even

[Arnoxthe1]

I don't think anyone would have cared about the protag's name if this was just another fun shooter romp. And it looks like they TRIED to do that at first, but as Yahtzee said, it feels like another dev studio came along and started trying to push story and consequences into every single thing. Like Serious Sam, but every time you gun down a Gnaar, you have to listen to the crying of his kids.

 

[KoudelkaMorgan]

See they could have easily named him Blake Cole, but at least they stopped shy of Koal Blakk. I had already heard the name of this protagonist a few days ago and my eyes had already rolled, so I was mostly immune even though in the interim I had forgotten this game existed.

 

[Palindromemordnilap_v1legacy]

Sorry but Cole Black is no Flynt Coal

 

[beleester]

I'm disappointed that there was no joke that Get Even was "a bit odd."

A game that gives you something fun to do, then chastises you for doing the fun thing? Uh oh. We've got the Dishonored problem again.

I thought Dishonored made it easier to stay on the stealthy path than most games. Get caught in Thief, and your options are basically "Get out the sword and start murdering" or "Reload last save." But get caught in Dishonored, and you could blink a few times and disappear in the shadows, stop time and run away, possess one of your pursuers... it's the only stealth game where after failing the stealth I felt motivated to keep stealthing instead of reloading my save.

 

[kilimaw]

What is this? The fifth "guys from painkiller break off to show everybody how to make games" game or something?

 

[sageoftruth]

I'm disappointed that there was no joke that Get Even was "a bit odd."

A game that gives you something fun to do, then chastises you for doing the fun thing? Uh oh. We've got the Dishonored problem again.

I thought Dishonored made it easier to stay on the stealthy path than most games. Get caught in Thief, and your options are basically "Get out the sword and start murdering" or "Reload last save." But get caught in Dishonored, and you could blink a few times and disappear in the shadows, stop time and run away, possess one of your pursuers... it's the only stealth game where after failing the stealth I felt motivated to keep stealthing instead of reloading my save.

True, I'm not arguing against that, although there are actually are some other interesting ways to get away in Thief, like the flash bomb, or exploiting a guard's inability to scale a rope or ledges.

Anyway, that's an interesting point, and it actually makes me want to go back and play it again. I reloaded far too often in that game and wouldn't mind playing in that fashion.

I guess this argument only holds water now if you have more fun playing the game non-stealthily.

 

[darkrage6]

A game that gives you something fun to do, then chastises you for doing the fun thing? Uh oh. We've got the Dishonored problem again.

Yup, lets make all the really cool powers give you the shitty ending so you never get to use them if you want the good ending! brilliant game design!

 

[darkrage6]

...seriously? This is what we've come to? A character in a AAA game named "Cole Black"?

Some people like to make the argument that we're heading head-first into another video game crash...if this is the type of unimaginative shit we can expect then I say "Bring on the culling!"

It's even more hilarious then Cypher Rage.

 

[darkrage6]

I'm disappointed that there was no joke that Get Even was "a bit odd."

A game that gives you something fun to do, then chastises you for doing the fun thing? Uh oh. We've got the Dishonored problem again.

I thought Dishonored made it easier to stay on the stealthy path than most games. Get caught in Thief, and your options are basically "Get out the sword and start murdering" or "Reload last save." But get caught in Dishonored, and you could blink a few times and disappear in the shadows, stop time and run away, possess one of your pursuers... it's the only stealth game where after failing the stealth I felt motivated to keep stealthing instead of reloading my save.

The issue isn't the difficulty of staying on the stealthy path, the problem is that in order to get the good ending you're only allowed to use the boring powers, if you use any of the really cool ones you get the shitty ending.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

The issue isn't the difficulty of staying on the stealthy path, the problem is that in order to get the good ending you're only allowed to use the boring powers, if you use any of the really cool ones you get the shitty ending.

So... from Painkiller to Fun killer, eh?

It's a shame. I was looking forward to this one, but with the very first review I read - which praised it, mind - I knew that this would be a hard pass for me. Thank God for the Japanese. I've been playing Mahjong in Yakuza 0 for two months now and I think I start to get it now.

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

I would play a game where the main character was called Edgewood Darkbottom

 

[Vern]

I couldn't help it. As soon as he said the name "Cole Black" my eyes rolled so hard that it was actually kind of painful.

You're so sharp and edgy that you should re-register as Edgy McEdgeface. I'm totally serious, your comment actually cut me because it was so sharp, you need to put a piece of plastic on that edge of yours.

 

[Ambient_Malice]

One of the best games of 2017. Mechanically a bit weak, but narratively top notch.

Or maybe it would make more sense if the antagonist was named Even/Evan.

His name is Red. But even that is something of a lie. Nobody is who they appear to be, not even "you."

Regardless, the title conjures an objective of revenge or justice or both, which usually involves some necessary shooting of mooks. Why penalise the natural course of action? It wasn't called 'Get Through Peacefully'.

It's completely impossible to explain this without massive spoilers. Also, there is no "penalty", aside from violence causing more violence. There is no "good" ending. There is no "bad ending". The game is indeed about two men (and a woman) who wanted to "Get Even", but when the game is lying to you about the nature of reality from the moment you take control of Black, nothing should be taken for granted.