I am Alive!
I Am Alive
(Xbox 360 (XBLA), PlayStation 3 (PSN), Microsoft Windows)
The Good:
Bluffing enemies with empty weapon
Pretty solid platforming elements
Interesting story (What there is of it)
Makes you manage ammo and stamina
The Bad:
Only half a game
Half of a story
No real ending
Depressing final cutscreen that happens in middle of a mission you will never finish
Gameplay glitches with aiming and sometimes camera
This game had potential to be great if it was a finished game. There are no plans on a sequel so it will never really have an ending. Think of this game like watching half a good movie and then turning it off right in the middle when things are getting interesting. Imagine Peter Jackson making one and a half of the Lord of the Rings movies and then in the middle of the second one saying “Good enough…” and halting production, but releasing the movie in theaters with no intention of finishing the film let alone the trilogy. That would be this game!
It literally ends in the middle of a mission as the main character is planning his next move then cuts to a crappy and depressing cutscreen featuring an unknown character and no resolution to anything the game was about.
This seems to be a trend lately with new games Ubisoft have been releasing, but they outdid themselves with this one.
To be fair though they had switched studios a couple times, took six years and spent about $35 million making the game. So when they decided to cancel it they later changed their minds and released what they had as a cheap game to recoup losses. However, from a player standpoint I feel a tad ripped off story wise. Water it down and make it shorter and less impressive sure, but at least give the damn thing a proper ending!
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Violence |
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Moderately violent. Subdued colors and the exact same surprise attack over and over involving slitting the enemy’s throat with a machete. Very little blood and what there is, is desaturated to almost black and white. Very limited ammo and very little variation in combat.
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4 |
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Nudity |
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None that I noticed, unless you count the occasional skeleton without clothes. Some skimpy female clothing, but also no real variation or detail.
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1 |
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Sex, Sexual References, Sexual Situations |
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Gangs do kidnap women for sex, but it is all implied mostly. One woman tied to a bed with a pervert about to have sex against her will. Overall it is more referred to than anything.
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2 |
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Pop Culture References, References to Other games, Poking fun of Self |
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None that I noticed. Very serious game with no comedic moments to lighten the mood.
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0 |
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Atmosphere |
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Good job creating post-apocalyptic atmosphere, but very limited and small world with desaturated colors and tons of “Fog” referred to as dust to hide the limited design.
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5 |
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Story |
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What there was… was good, but the game stops abruptly right in the middle of a mission which never ends. Also, in the middle of the story which has no real conclusion only more questions than answers. Not a problem if it was an episode and more was coming, but the company has no plans on a sequel to finish the story.
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5 |
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Ending |
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Rushed, depressing, answers no question, creates more questions, happens suddenly in the middle of a mission which you will never complete, about middle of the story overall. Basically the game was cancelled at one point after changing studios several times and someone high up must have said “We invested millions into this game… Slap a crappy ending cutscreen onto what we have up to now and ship it!” I’ll give it a one only because there was a ending there other than just nothing mid mission.
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1 |
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Scariness, creepy vibe |
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Personally not scary or particularly creepy. Seems like they tried though…
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2 |
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Graphics and effects fitting game style |
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Fine overall, but not mind-blowing. Most of the game is hidden in the “Dust” which is just a fancy term for “So much fog you can’t see much of anything”.
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5 |
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Gameplay |
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Some neat features like bluffing enemies with an empty gun, good mix of platforming and first person shooting when you use what little ammo you have, but glitch controls and targeting system which can be annoying and get you killed… a lot… Same over used animations over and over for combat. There is maybe three kill animations, five if you count kicking someone off something or into fire.
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6 |
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Fun Factor |
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It’s fun while it lasts… Nothing stands out though other than bluffing enemies. Overall enjoyable.
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7 |
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Imagination and Creativity |
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Tough question… There was the beginning and middle of a very good story. Then it ended with a crappy little depressing cutscreen that answered nothing really. I’ll give a five for half a story.
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5 |
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Gore Factor |
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Almost none…
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2 |
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Crude/Mature Humor |
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Was no humor at all that I noticed…
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0 |
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Immersion |
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Ok… better than average I’d say for what there was to the game.
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5 |
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Game Length |
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About 5 to 8 hours depending on how much you wander around trying to get the achievements. I’ll give five as was only half a game so half points!
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5 |
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Total of possible 160 |
55 |
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Percentage score: |
34% |
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Recommendation: |
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If you want a fun end of the world game that is short, has half a story, will never have a conclusion, depressing ending filled with all questions and no answers then you will enjoy this game!
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Letter Grade |
C |