Impressions and Suggestions: HH and a new player

[Boot]

Just two months ago, I picked up Hill 30 and EiB together. The price was right, and the games looked interesting. I'd played the first set of MoH games before and enjoyed them. But, they were typical first person shooters. Done well, but still fps games. I thought BiA would be more of the same.

I was wrong. The BiA games are so much more--they deliver a much deeper experience than MoH.

I love these games. Is there room for improvement in all three games? Sure. But, all-in-all, the BiA games are classics (or destined to be classics).

I played the first two games back-to-back, then I went out and bought HH. I couldn't wait for Christmas.





I haven't been disappointed. HH is an excellent game. In some ways, its delivering an experience that I've never experienced before (and I play a butt load 'o games).

Hell's Highway is an incredible game. I am loving it.

Where do I think the game needs improvement?

These are my comments having just got to the Five-Oh-Sink mission (so, not that far into the game).





First off, the game seemed a bit too easy in the beginning. I wasn't experiencing those long, drawn out firefights I did in the first two games, where I had to work for every kill.

I remedied that, though. I set the game on Veteran (wish Authentic was able to be unlocked before finishing the game) and I turned off crosshairs, even when dug in.

I normally play with crosshairs, but I've found trying to eyeball the center of the screen while firing from the dug in position brings back some of the gameplay atmosphere from the first games. After a while, one gets the feel for it, and it's quite fun to pop over from some cover, fire one shot, and knock the kraut out. That doesn't happen often, and I've noticed that one has to get a feel for different weapons. But, when it does happen, it's a cool feeling--job well done.





I think a future patch should allow the iron sight view from the dug in position. It happens with the sniper rifle, and it should happen with the other weapons as well.





Another thing that I think should be added in a future patch is the removal of the "red" screen when bullets are getting near. The BiA games go to great lengths to make a player feel like he's really there, on that battlefield, firing that weapon, fighting that fight.

The zips and zings (audio) of the near misses, combined with the flash of white on the side of the screen, did, in my opinion, a much better job of making the player feel exposed--like he could get hit at any moment.

By contrast, the red screen system seems to be more of an un-realistic crutch. First off, it doesn't feel as real as the bullets zipping by, dirt flying up onto the camera lens (yes, I know HH does this too, but it doesn't feel as dangerous), and the near miss zooms that I used to hear.

In HH, once can stand up from cover, take a couple of shots, and never be scared that he'll get killed because he's got this this red warning light that tells him when he's near death. When the screen gets too red, just hide back down into cover, and it will go away.

I think the hit points from the first system should be changed, as they weren't very realistic either. And, I like the idea of the Red Screen system. It's just not implemented well.

There needs to be fear of instant death--a round popping you in the head--when you stand up out of cover.

So, really, this section of my post is about two things: One, I think the zing-and-pop white flash immediacy of the first two games did a better job of making the player feel like he could be killed at any moment than the red screen system.

Two, I think there should be a chance, when exposing oneself from cover, that the player could die instantly. The Red Screen system is too much of a crutch, and standing out from cover is too forgiving, even on Veteran mode.





BTW, I turned off a lot of the crutches (such as suppression indicators) allowed in the game, and I'm glad to have this ability (improvement over the first two games). I think Authentic mode should be available right from the get-go, but I am glad that I can play with all the dead bodies still lying there dead. I also noticed that weapon tracers have been minimized for weapons that shouldn't have tracers--and that's a good thing too.





Grenades are a bit too easy in this game. First, they're too easy to throw (with the circle indicator), and without the indicator, the grenades are unrealistically hard to throw.

A patch should incorporate another system. A player should be able to guess where the grenade will go, but there should be some uncertainty. The current system is too "certain".

And...why not be able to pick up some grenades off a dead body? I think it'd be neat to be able to strip a kraut of his stick grenade.





And, speaking of picking up stuff: In all three games the thought of limited ammo is an illusion. There's plenty of ammo around, and if you run out, there's always a weapon to pick up. I'm not sure that HH needs the equipment drops as often as I've seen them in the game.





I've been pretty pleased with the AI I've seen in HH. It looks to be improved from the previous games (which wasn't bad). I do know, though, that there are some instances where AI will need to be tweaked.

In the first two games, if I gave a move order, I was confident that my soldiers would try to always keep cover between them and the enemy as they moved. I'm not as confident with HH as I've seen my soldiers jump over walls when moving around the side of the wall not far from them would have been a better choice. I've also seen my soldiers run on the outside of the wall, exposing themselves to fire, when they could have been on the opposite side of the wall, using it for cover, as they moved to their destination.

So, I think some AI tweaks are in order if a HH patch is ever released.





As for giving orders....

I've always wondered why the BiA series didn't use two simple commands: Go codes and waypoints. Sometimes you're with one squad, and you've set the other squad up on the other side of the battlefield, catching the enemy from both sides in a pincer action. Well, it's doggone hard to move that other squad that is so far away from you.

In times like this I've wondered why I couldn't just open my map and issue orders to the other team on the map.

I'd also like to be able to set up waypoints (go here, then here, then there, ending up there) and "go codes" (where the squad will not move to the next waypoint without the order to move).

Go codes would make for some interesting combined assaults, the enemy being hit from different directions.





Finally, as others have said, I liked the Skirmish maps in EiB. Those maps (including the ones released with the patches) nearly doubled the length of the entire game! They were an excellent addition to the game and attacked perceived value to the game. BRING 'EM BACK IN A PATCH!!

Also, let's talk about the Extras in HH. They're history lessons, and that's fine. I like them. But, I also loved reading about how Gearbox modeled the real battlefields and real houses and streets from the real battles. Those were just as interesting as the other stuff in the first two games. Now, I'm only to the Five-oh-Sink mission, but, so far, I haven't seen anything like that in HH.

Strangely, those Extras also added perceived value to the game. I'd sit there and think, "Wow! These guys really researched this fight! That's what the real house/barn/city looked like back in 1944! Amazing!"





Well, Gearbox, that's the impression of one customer. If it sounds like I don't love HH, then re-read the first paragraphs of this post. I think HH is amazing. But, if I were to improve upon it, these are my comments. I could go on about the things I love about the game, but I figure, "Those things are already perfect--let's tell them what I think needs improvement."

And, hopefully, we'll see some of these ideas show up in a patch or two.

[Boot]

Oh, and I forgot one comment: Blood.

The game is "adult" and "mature" in every aspect (violence, gore, language, situations) except blood.

If we're going to blow the heck out of people like that...how about some blood on the ground?

[rwl2]

The "Red Screen of Death" can be turned off, although it doesn't change the enemy's accuracy; you just aren't able to tell when they're getting close.

But, yes, most of those comments most the people here have brought up, many times, and hopefully they'll be looked into for BiA4. And, even they're not, I know I'll still buy it.

[Wintahs]

One of the best posts I've seen since the release of HH,your criticism makes sense and you're respectfull towards to developer.

[EasyCo506]

very nice. I agree with you 100%.

[hells highway]

Great post buddy,i agree with you.

[vzerby]

Originally Posted by Wintahs

One of the best posts I've seen since the release of HH,your criticism makes sense and you're respectfull towards to developer.

Yes, something that other criticizers didn't do when posting here, I think Gearbox would have been more happy with post like this during it's release.

[trollchi]

Boot's post puts all the cheers and jeers in one basket with the respect and honest intent of a true Bia fan.

[ikkiegw]

Good post. You sure know how to indicate the strong points from the first games vs. HH. I agree with you at all points. IMO, the most annoying thing was that Authentic was way to easy compared to the first two BIA's.

[Boot]

I will say this, too: Gearbox sure knows how to tell a story!

Awesome gameplay makes the BiA games incredible, but it's not only the gameplay. It's the story telling. I wish other game companies would take note. I don't think I've seen story telling this good in a game before. The cut scenes, especially in Hell's Highway, are nothing less than phenomenal. My jaw drops every time I see them. The directing. The faux camera work. The voice acting. The character movement. All of it adds so much to the game--that special "atmosphere" that BiA games deliver--that its hard to quantify just how much this does improve the game.

I mean, look at the subtle detail. When the glider landings are happening, one of the soldiers says, "We'll be OK." "How do you know?" The other soldier says. And, the guy just looks out the window. Silent. In his own thoughts.

Is he confident? Is he just as scared as his buddy is?

That's amazing work.

That's stuff you see in good movies, not games.

When the glider lands and almost hits the tree, Baker turns his head to peer at the pilot off-camera. It's quick, but awesome.

I remember in Hill 30 when one of the guys is killed on the causeway bridge from the Stuka dive bomber (Purple Heart Lane). Hartsock is pissed. He throws his helmet into the stream.

In Earned in Blood, that scene is revisited, and gives it so much more meaning. I mean, just being furious that your friend died was enough. Then, in game #2, we learn he throws it because of the number 13 painted onto the back.

And, that ties back into Baker's original voice over just before the D-Day drop in Hill 30.

Incredible. The details in this game are amazing!

Baker's helmet, in Hell's Highway, still shows some old paint where the heart symbol was on the side of his helmet, now replaced with the R symbol.

Simply incredible.

I still haven't finished Hell's Highway. And, that's good. I want it to last.

But, I just got to the "Written In Stone" mission, and I can tell, the superb story-telling is definitely amplified in this game.

The details...

Things like the rain hitting your helmet in Hill 30 (Gearbox...bring that back!). If you watch the men in Hill 30, you'll see them get dirtier and dirtier as the 8 days wear on. Their uniforms get dirtier, and their beards get thicker.

On that first Hill 30 mission, you, as Baker, lost your leg bag, and don't have a weapon. Mack gives you his. Well, if you watch, Mack's holster stays empty until you do get a weapon, and when you do, you must have given him his pistol back off-camera.

Now, I see, as Hell's Highway continues, that the story-telling is even more gripping than in the first two games.

Heck, I want to find out what happens.

I'm that interested.

It's good stuff.