Saturday 31 January 2015

Life is Strange (game) - thoughts



Hello again,

It has been a while and I'll be talking about my thoughts on the game 'Life is Strange'. Some spoilers!

First of all, it's a game from Square Enix and developed by Dontnod Entertainment. It is an episodic game which means, if you are unlucky or lucky enough, depending on how you see things, you'll need to wait for the next episode to be released after you've finished playing one. So if you are impatient, it might do you good to wait for all five episodes to be released before purchasing the game but I do recommend this game, if you are interested in episodic games that change accordingly to your choices. At least, that's what they advertise.

Anyway, I am definitely impatient right now. Which means, I did enjoy the game and I can't wait for the next episode to find out what that tornado meant.


Yes. That is what you see within the first five minutes of the game. I have to say though, even though this muggle device that I am using is pretty old, compared to the better equipped and newer devices, the graphics seem to be pretty nice. Mind you, I'm using medium settings with a few set on high and it is already taking a toll on the computer so this might not be the best screen shots visually but in my opinion, I still think the game's art style is pretty cool.

The music of the game is another aspect that I liked. The way they blend the music into the story is pretty interesting. Like how the music starts playing when the character listens to music on her earphones and then when she takes them out, the music fades out. I think it kind of helps the player connect a little bit more with the characters, story and environment. It might be why I was trying to rush through one part of the game because I did not want to get caught by Chloe's step dad.


So you basically start out here. Well, not exactly here, but lying on the ground while the wind blows and the rain pours. You get up and wonder how you got there and you see the lighthouse. This lighthouse is familiar and is apparently a place that you know so you start to head up there.

When you get to the top, you'll see the huge tornado that is edging ever so closely to Acardia Bay (which you'll find out later, is the town that you are in) and while you are engrossed in watching the tornado slowly ripping apart your town, a stray boat gets picked up from somewhere and gets thrown your way, smashing into the lighthouse and destroying the roof. Needless to say, the roof gets dislodged and comes crashing down onto you.

And then you die...

Nah. That wouldn't be a game, more of a very short animation.

Life is Strange seems to be a story that revolves around the main character, Max, and her ability to time travel. It might not be a new idea to time travel but so far, I'm liking how the story is progressing. Granted, it isn't moving along that quickly and the episode seems a little short considering that the first twenty minutes has been shown prior to the release of the game but the idea of being able to decide on the spot whether you'll want to rewind time and redo or choose a different option, answer, question is sometime rather new and intriguing because the game utilizes the system of choices. These choices you make affects the progress of your story.

So for the first episode, Chrysalis, the following picture shows the important decisions that I've made which would impact my story line.


As you can see, there are four important points in episode one and you can also see the percentages of players that have chosen the same as you have.

I have to admit that I am one of those who constantly wonders if I am making the right decision and to be fair, I still wonder if I am making the right decision with this game, considering that I would not know the consequences of my decision until the next episode (I am assuming) so to be able to rewind and see if I like the responses that I am given before moving on to the next checkpoint is a pretty nifty ability. That's not to say that I did not regret any decision.

I had been unwilling to see any damsel in distress, well, discounting Victoria since I pretty much did that to her but I had stayed hidden because Chloe definitely said that it would be worse if I was found and the fact that her step father is David and considering that I've intervened once, It would probably get worse but I find out later that Chloe was pissed at me. Ah well, it doesn't matter if I'm playing a female character, it seems like, whatever choice I take, Chloe will still be mad.

Sometimes, it's really hard to understand you girls. Well, life is strange that way.

As always, leave me a comment and let me know what you think, or just say hi!

Farewell,
Lord Severus

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