Almost Alive - an early release review...

Kyle_

First time out of the vault
Hello All,

I've been a LOOOOOOONG time lurker, and I'm happy to post below a review of a new game called "Almost Alive." I see that the game's developer, Emir, has already made a post here: http://www.nma-fallout.com/threads/...tic-role-playing-tactical-action-game.215500/

This is my review with 18 hours very happily put into it...

I am REALLY enjoying this title. Although it's still in development, and the developer, Emir, has a long ways to go to make his ambitious dream a very robust virtual reality, this title is well worth every penny I spent on it, and I dearly hope that he brings his dream-nightmare into being.

It is unforgiving, tactical, and will make you want to Wake Up (reload) time and time AND time again. It is addictive.

There are some bugs. Items that one stores into cabinets, the trunks of automobiles, and the like, have the strong tendency of disappearing, especially after a save (called Setup Camp) has been made and reloaded from. After about a dozen hours of playing, I had my carrying capacity suddenly reduced by 1/5th, only to magically reappear again (sadly, without the items that were stored there before the glitch happened), but, that said, it has SO much going for it.

If one took Jagged Alliance 2 1.13, married it to Fallout's I and II, and rubbed in a dose of S.T.A.L.K.E.R., well, one would ALMOST achieve Almost Alive, except this new title has one new element that's exciting to see in action: the Player's avatar losing sanity, and engaging in mad behavior. It is something to see.

The Player's psychological state can influence observers, and rightly so. After all, everyone is constantly drowning in an utterly bleak, terribly brutal and blighted world: who could be considered sane? In our own lives, how many times have we been barely "holding it together," and then we see someone we care about do something that pushes us over the edge? That can happen in this game.

And the results aren't all bad for the Player either. Last night, I was taking on a gang that had setup some smart defenses. The "only" way that I could draw them out was by taking hit and run potshots at them, but most of the time, they rightfully wouldn't budge. This made my job of killing them a lot more challenging. At one point, my character went insane, and just started wildly shooting 70% of his rounds at them (wounding some, killing only a couple) and the other 30% went into the floor, walls, etc., while he was running about, screaming and cursing at the world. Within several seconds of this happening, the enemies' state of mind became influenced as well. A good deal of them became depressed, some suicidal. One of their suicides triggered another, and caused one in their midst to start firing his weapon in angst. Holy crap! It was something to see! By the time the dust settled, 2/3 of them were taken out by themselves, allowing me to work my way into their defenses to eliminate them with what little ammo I had left from my earlier rampage.

My jaw landed on my keyboard in shock. I've never played a video game that hit me so hard emotionally.

War is hell, but this game takes one straight down to the very bottom of Dante's pit.

Before you try it, please keep in mind how VERY fragile one is in this game. Hit and run tactics are you friend. Your BEST friend. There's no shame in running. Nope. So get ready to do a lot of it.
 
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