Let a bandit escape and they may jump you at an inopportune moment. If you rescue a prisoner, they may turn up to randomly help you in a future combat encounter. The stories you discover and the choices you make will have an impact on the west and the people in it. I loved the world and the people in it, and the way in which they reacted to me. It’s compounded further by the fact that having a horse allows you to bypass some random events which you’re forced into if you’re on foot.īut when I overlook those irritations, I had a really good time playing Weird West. There’s always the option of stealing a horse, but they run away after a single journey, leaving you to slog your way back if you’re in the middle of nowhere. Again, thematic, but not necessarily fun. Because each character needs to buy their own horse. You could buy one, but they aren’t cheap and you’ll need to grind a bit of cash to get one. Your travel time on the map is very slow unless you have a horse. That repetition is, amusingly, repeated elsewhere. A good use of throwables can really tip the odds in your favour. It feels a little wasteful, and whilst it makes sense thematically, from a gameplay standpoint it’s not a great decision. This means you’ll end up spending resources on things you know rather than having enough to try out something a little different. Whilst there are a handful of unique ones, you’ll find yourself having to unlock that silenced shot and stun arrow five times if they’re abilities you like. Those nimp relic abilities are irritating though, as almost all abilities are the same from character to character. These are a bit more standard, such as more health and increased sneak speed, but the fact they’re persistent is nice. Then there are golden ace of spades cards which are used to give you permanent buffs for the rest of the game. Each character can use certain items called nimp relics to unlock special weapon abilities - silenced shots, elemental bullets, things like that - that last for the duration of that story. There isn’t a levelling system as such in Weird West, in spite of all those RPG trappings, but you will get more powerful over the course of the game. Every place you visit has something useful to find, whether that’s items, vendors, or side quests, so exploration is encouraged, although not entirely necessary. There are towns, mines, temples, and a manner of other places to discover on your adventure, and there’s a lot of scope to go off the beaten path should you want to. You’ll move around an over world map by selecting where to go before exploring your destination. The gameplay itself reminds me very much of classic Fallout games, or Desperados if you remember that wild west adventure. Or you could murder absolutely everyone and muddle through alone. Meeting and talking with other characters is the best way to progress. I enjoyed the journey far more than the destination. The five characters you embody have an overarching story that culminates after the 15 – 20 hour campaign, but the individual stories they’ll experience along the way are far more interesting than the resolution to the main storyline. Things do not end here though, as you’ll then take on the guise of another denizen of the deserts, and then another, and a further two after that. She’ll fight her way across the west, making friends and enemies before resolving her tale. I don’t want to spoil too much story wise, but you begin as Jane Bell, a former bounty hunter forced to unearth her buried guns to avenge her murdered son and rescue her kidnapped husband. There’s a great theme, and great pedigree, so hopefully we have a great game. Thankfully, we now have Weird West, developed by Wolfeye - who were founded by former Arkane devs. In recent years, the only ones that spring to my mind are the Red Dead Redemption standalone expansion Undead Nightmare, and the criminally overlooked Hard West - seriously, you should check that one out. Even rarer are those alternative universe Westerns, set in what’s often referred to as the weird west. It feels like an era and theme perfectly suited for interactive entertainment, but for some reason there are only a handful that ever come along. Video games set in the wild west are surprisingly uncommon.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |