Darkest of Days (a review)

[Sheogorath]

A game with a German Uhlan cavalryman as the protagonist? Maybe you could play the Red Baron!

Somehow I don't think playing as cavalry in a WWI game would be too exciting...
"You there, go charge that machine gun!"
Of course, the infantry didn't have it much better...

I read a preview, can't remember the link, which stated that the dev's were very focused on keeping the game historically accurate

From only playing the demo I agree with the madgod that the game seems to lack that gripping thrill from playing COD or maybe MOH in it's heyday.

The preview was LIES. I'm not much of a civil war buff, but the WWI era has several things in it that bugged me. Rocket mortars, for one thing. And apparently the Germans used them for anti-air work. Russian officers using the Luger pistols (Seriously, would it have been THAT hard to make a Nagant revolver model? You already had the civil war era revolver, so you could just base it on that. It'd be better than not even trying.)

Oh, and all of the Germans wear spiked helmets. And there's only one type of machine gun.

Further, in the WWII era, it seems the Germans issued MP-18's to every other soldier. With 100-round drum magazines, no less.


As to the thrill, I think it's mostly from bad presentation. There's no music. There's no real snap to the 'events'. When a Confederate officer tells you to man a cannon and defend against a Union charge, the Union soldiers are pretty obviously just spawning behind a ridge. And there's no aftermath. Once an 'event' is done you're immediately hauled off by the nose to your next objective which is generally halfway across the map with you on foot.

There is no 'kill the wounded' moment, nothing that makes you feel like a part of the action. You're just gunning down endless hordes of automatons.

Were it up to me, I would have added a moment before the march into the cornfield at Antietam where an officer gives a speech. I would have kept the bit where the player is locked into the marching formation, but I would have ha them walk the whole way across the field, watching as the guys next to them are taken out by musket rounds and cannon fire. I would have told the sound department that they damn well better get a decent 'rebel yell' sound effect from at least one hundred skilled practitioners, even if they have to go to Mississippi to do it. I would have then employed that sound effect in a massive charge scene, with the express purpose of making players click to quickly on the little 'reloading' minigame. I would have added drummers and flag bearers. I would have added a moment where, on the way to the battle, one of the shellshocked soldiers breaks down and starts crying for his mother, instead of just sitting there repeating a two second animation of shaking his head.

I would certainly not have placed the rebels on a cliff across a ditch. I definitely would not have the loner sections of the mission restrict the player to the single-shot musket. I would certainly not have retained the AI programmers who, when an officer informs you that "Gee, there's sure a lot of rebels in that camp, we better go around", triggers an event where the officer and his three scouts run into said camp.

I admit, if I was in charge there would be a lot more (not so) glorious charges. I have kind of a taste for those things. But you can't deny the power of a hundred NPC Russians hurling themselves over the trench edge shouting "OURAH!" as the German machine guns open up. And they'll damn well be led by an officer with a Russian pistol.

[Husar]

Were it up to me, I would have added a moment before the march into the cornfield at Antietam where an officer gives a speech. I would have kept the bit where the player is locked into the marching formation, but I would have ha them walk the whole way across the field, watching as the guys next to them are taken out by musket rounds and cannon fire. I would have told the sound department that they damn well better get a decent 'rebel yell' sound effect from at least one hundred skilled practitioners, even if they have to go to Mississippi to do it. I would have then employed that sound effect in a massive charge scene, with the express purpose of making players click to quickly on the little 'reloading' minigame. I would have added drummers and flag bearers. I would have added a moment where, on the way to the battle, one of the shellshocked soldiers breaks down and starts crying for his mother, instead of just sitting there repeating a two second animation of shaking his head.

Had it been up to you, the team might have been bankrupt before the beta phase.

I do think some of your criticism is probably valid though, but I also note that it's not some big game that was greatly advertised by rich publisher xyz so I can imagine how their budget was a bit tight or maybe they just made bad decisions.

Thanks for the review anyway.

[Greyblades]

Not really if they went to a Civil war reenactmen for the yell they would probably get it for free and it wouldnt cost much to just stuck a flag or a drum onto the allready existing models. Heck it probably wouldnt realy cost too much just to get the reenactors to record afew lines of wimpering and disoriented crys.

[Meneldil]

Had it been up to you, the team might have been bankrupt before the beta phase.

I do think some of your criticism is probably valid though, but I also note that it's not some big game that was greatly advertised by rich publisher xyz so I can imagine how their budget was a bit tight or maybe they just made bad decisions.

Thanks for the review anyway.

Wasn't Call of Juarez made by a small eastern team? Even then, the game offers some trully cool moments. You don't spend it shooting at hordes of people, even though it's pretty straightforward (endless-corridors, even though you're supposed to be in the far west).

[Azathoth]

What do you guys think?

http://xbox360.ign.com/objects/948/948336.html