@Prats1993 I agree with the sentiment but not the example, and besides that you're fudging the numbers.
1. The problem with the "artsy" bs is not when a game is beautiful and contemplative, but when it has nothing to say with that and is just using visuals and sound to appear depper than it really is. Journey doesn't suffer from this problem, the whole game has a very clear message. Now crap like Dear Esther, 30 Flights of Loving and Protheus... THESE are work from people who don't have ANYTHING to say and are hiding it behind the "artsy" veneer.
2. Journey lasts more than 2 hours and is not just walking in a desert if you try to explore it and replay to find everything (which is nigh impossible on first play; it is designed for you to replay it and help newcomers around).
3. Guacamelee was only "around $10" for a couple of weeks for PS Plus members, and Journey is not $18. Both are $15 and got a discount for PS Plus members initially. That said, sure Guacamelee lasts more and gives more time for your money.
@grey_fox1984 @ixmardukxi It's the best game of this subgenre I've ever played since the classics that named it (Super Metroid/Castlevania SOTN). And yes, I do have an Xbox and played Shadow Complex. It's great, but Guacamelee is better.
Also, alongside Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider, DmC and Bit.Trip Runner 2, it's on the top 5 games of 2013 so far.
@Granpire @cheetah_TM Sure enough. Imagine trying to beat the jaguar battle or some of the more tricky moves/jump combos you need to pull to get to certain areas with ANY input method less than 100% precise! It'd be a nightmare!
@TrueGB "No game has a gun like the shield gun in it"
Come again? Insomniac itself had a whole *series* of games featuring a gun with a shield as secondary fire. It's called "Auger" and it's a staple in Resistance.
PS: And I have played solo. I can *really* imagine how much more fun this could be with actual friends, online or local.
PS2.: I wonder if reviewers received the game's final code to review, because every single one of them is complaining about AI issues I simply didn't see. Sure, it's no F.E.A.R. or Syndicate AI (some of the best in any shooter out there), but they've always healed me (and several times, the game is not that hard but it's no cakewalk either even on Normal), saved my ass in time both times I was bound by a boss, and generally try to spread out and get aggro whenever there's enough space for that so I can flank the enemies.
I'm still in the beginning (2 hours in) and I don't see the "serious" part. Visually yeah, it's less cartoony/more realistic, but the characters crack jokes all the time and the story seems to be fairly action-y in a 80's sci-fi movie kinda way. I don't get how someone would take this seriously, it's just a serviceable setup for shooting and going through set pieces with friends.
I think the score is fair so far - 7 is still "good", after all. I can see the game becoming boring if you play it for very long stretches, but it does a lot of things right. Some of which, by the way, I wish Gears of War had done in the 3rd game already, if not the 2nd, such as incorporating mild RPG elements, allowing a bit of stealth, adding team bonuses/skills and making movement a little less clunky/slow.
Fuse is no Vanquish and Binary Domain, but it's one more rare 3rd person shooter that adds something to the genre so it can get past the Gears formula at least a little bit.
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