Was Pariah worth the wait?
by Ben Zackheim 
{ May 4th 2005 at 10:03AM }
If you've been looking forward to Pariah, you aren't alone. Clip after clip of the game was sent to us in our tips section, and for the most part, it's an impressive sight to see in action. But does it live up to the hype? Early reviews are starting to come in, and it's not looking awful for us hopefuls — it's just not looking great. Gamerankings has the lowdown, with three reviews. One from 1up (75%), one from IGN (80%) and one from EGM (73%).
Is this the final word? Hell, no. The game hasn't even hit the shelves yet, so expect many more opinions to start flowing soon. If you've been in this game for more than a couple of years, you know how inaccurate early reviews can be (IGN's 9.8 for Halo 2 comes to mind).
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mike @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM
I think halo 2 was worth a 9.8 review. its the best first person shooter i ever played. (i dont play PC games)
SurfMurph @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM
Agreed #1. I still play Halo 2 on Live every day. There's not many other games that I can think of that have gotten this much play time in my Xbox. So for me, yes, I think Halo 2 deserves that high a mark...especially coming from IGN, which is notorious for inflating their review scores.
And yes, PS2 fans, I know it pales in comparison to God of War. ;-)
Glenn @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM
"PS2 fans"? How about video game fans. While I still Play Halo 2 myself, there is no way it deserves a 9.8, a 8.2 maybe. Single player had the annoying texture problem, 4.1 sound not 5.1, and could have used some THX certification (i.e. sometimes your black gun is darker than the dark gray shdows). Multiplayer still had horrible weapon imbalance and really poor respawing.
Belgand @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM
If you don't play PC games then really you pretty much don't play First Person Shooters. Sorry, but that's pretty much just the way it is. There are some FPS available for consoles, but due to the controls and technology they really have lagged behind.
This pretty much sums up why Halo is often spoken of so well. I suspect that many people who think so well of it are used to playing FPS entirely on consoles and have never really seen a truly great game. Halo's not terrible, but it is well behind, saying it's a great FPS is like comparing Duke Nukem 3D to Half-Life.
The important thing, though, is to enjoy yourself in the way you see fit.
Hal @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM
I've played most of the highly-rated games. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Doom 3, etc. I still say, pound for pound, Halo2 is right up there with the best of them. I agree it had lots of problems and clearly was rushed to market. But it had the best voice acting and most imaginative story of all the FPS. This game is incredibly fun and has a great sense of humor. I love H2. Scoring by these magazines is ridiculous anyway, but H2 deserved a top score. The only game that genuinely deserves to be rated higher than H2 is Half Life 2. Look, Grand Theft Auto is one of the top-rated games by all these magazines and I think it doesn't deserve a 2.2. It's a clunky, dumb piece of shit. It's all relative. You like what you like.
SurfMurph @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM
what's amazing, Glenn, is that until you brought those things up, I've never heard of them or, more importantly, noticed them while playing. (I have a 5.1 sound system, but haven't noticed any missing channels either) Oh well, some people like pineapple on their pizza, some don't.
Jake @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM
The Pariah Xbox demo was below average. Gameplay was slow as molasses. I was really looking forward to this, but not so much after playing the demo.
Glenn @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM
You never heard of the problems? Go listen to your center channel during gameplay (not cutscenes which are in 5.1) and you will see the game is only in 4.1. Go to a dark shadow in a game and have your gun in front of it, your gun will be darker than the shadow. What I'm saying here is that the color pallette of the game is a bit washed out and unbalanced. Yes I'm being a bit critical but when you go from playing DOOM 3 on a high end PC to this it's a bit jarring. I'm positive you've noticed the texture pop-in when switching to and from cutscenes. On certain levels in slayer multiplayer the sword, rocket launcher, and shotgun can make things very unbalanced. And finally, I once spawned 11 times in a row on Foundation directly in front of someone with my back to them. BAD. I won't even bring up the 4:3 HUD in 16:9 mode. Oops. Sorry. These are the things, to me, that bring it from a 9.8 down to a 8.2 and I'm fine with the "ending" :)
Jake @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM
I hear what you're saying, Glenn, but I've played Doom 3 and, although I agree it looks incredible on the PC, it is fundamentally more flawed than Halo 2. Okay, you're a perfectionist and you have a right to be after paying your 50 bucks, but that said, Doom 3 has some of the wimpiest weapons in big game history. The shotgun is inexcusably weak. The endlessly repetitive hallways. Frankly, the gameplay is lackluster. It lacks new ideas. H2 has dozens of great new ideas. Imo, Halo 2, in the most meaningful catagories--story, vision and character, is hands-down a better game. Yeah, it's flawed, but it's fun. Halo 2 on Legendary is amazingly challenging. And, although ingenious in many ways, Doom 3 was a bit of a letdown.
Glenn @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM
Whoa whoa whoa Jake, I was ONLY using DOOM 3 as a graphics comparison. I think Halo is a great game as I said it was worthy of a 8.2. The flaws I brought out were what brought it down from a 9.8 for me. In my opinion, playing games since the esrly days, these flaws simply cannot be overlooked.
Phob @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM
"If you don't play PC games then really you pretty much don't play First Person Shooters. Sorry, but that's pretty much just the way it is. There are some FPS available for consoles, but due to the controls and technology they really have lagged behind. "
Begland, that's like saying if you don't watch hollywood movies you don't know what a film is. There are lots of other great films out there. Not a good analogy. Successful gameplay is about good writing and design not poly count. I agree that Half-Life 2 is awesome, but so is Halo 2. And I completely disagree about this tired old argument with console controllers vs. mouse and keyboard. The keyboard is the single most un-ergonmicly friendly device in the gaming world. Yes, you can whip your point of view around frantically, but that can drive you insane. The console controller forces you to act more delibrately, which is just as exciting in the balance of this argument. Also, the console controller is much less lethargic than PC users claim. To me, this argument is made by people who haven't had the patience to learn a console controller. I have come to like it better than mouse and keyboard and I've played on PC games going abck to Quake 3 and Unreal. Your last sentence is right--to each his or her own.
CaptSnuffy @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM
whoa whoa whoa hold on now
i agree with begland and completely disagree with phob
i used to be completely into consoles just around the time halo came out. I was completely blown away by that game, honest. But now that i started playing pc fps games there's no going back for me. I think its not that pc gamers havent got to know the controller, i think its console gamers wont give the keyboard and mouse a chance! the controls are MUCH MUCH MUCH better! its not about the keyboard, its the amazing accuracy and fluent motions you get with a mouse (keyboard is cool too since you can bind commands and scripts). Add to that the advanced features of a computer, the game development capabilities (mapping/modding) and the fact that all the best fps games come out for pc. Halo 2 isnt a bad game (not at all) but console fps games still cant hold up to the pc titles (i mean good ones, not crap like doom3). And yeah i was talking more about the multiplayer experience, the single player in pc fpss tend to let me down.
Phob @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM
First off... not a horse, dude. Stop with the "whoas." Second, I gave the keyboard and mouse a chance for years. I started gaming many years ago on PC. I still have one. A Mac, also. As I said, I played Quake 3 and Unreal multipayer on PC a lot. Fun games, no doubt. That doesn't change my opinion of the Xbox console controller. I like it very much. I can't be quite as quick with the controller, but I can be just as accurate. It's simply another tool that you learn to finesse. The only thing I agree with you about is modding. I played some great Quake 3 mods over the years. But downloadable mods are coming in the next generation of consoles. As I said above--successful gameplay is about good writing and design. The power of a good PC is impressive, not doubt, but not essential to have a great gaming experience. Human beings suspend disbelief quite easily once transported by an emotional story. Quality is less important to our brains than strong feelings. We can be moved by a puppet show if it's well told. Why do you think people are raving about some of the new PSP games? The thing is 333Mhz. But some of the games are fun.
TwEaK @ Dec 18th 2005 8:45PM
Ive played consoles my whole life, until about two years ago, when i could afford to build a nice PC. And I tell you that I am never going back to consoles to play FPS again. Hell yeah the original Halo blew me away too, but that was before I played any PC game. And because of Microsnot's controllers my wrists are fu(ked for life, them damn controllers are a big POS. Now when it comes to adventure games consoles own, but as for FPS there is no comparison. Espicially when it comes to resolution, where x-box can only push 640*480, as compared to 2.5 times that (1600*1200) for PC's. Maybe this is why Halo gives me massive headaches. And one more thing, QUAKE 3 EXCCESSIVE owns all FPS mutiplayer games, there is nothing that will ever compare to the speed and challange.