Man, The Club is such a wasted opportunity

[TVC15]

I checked out the demo after hearing it was actually decent.  The game totally has potential, but I can't help but think that Bizarre only half-delivered here.

The combat is fast and precise, but there's really nothing there if, as the demo suggests, the single player content is basically a Q3/UT test drive for multiplayer.  It's a fucking tragedy, because the trial level is a tight environment, and the action seems pretty nice.  Lacking a compelling storyline or bit of momentum will kill this game.  No matter how good the MP is, we know it won't run with the big dogs since the game has absolutely no hype. 

I guess I'll hope that Bizarre delivers a sequel.  I can't emphasize how promising the demo seems, and I would not be surprised if I buy this a few months down the line.  It looks great, it plays great, but it's missing that third part of the triangle--without momentum in either the SP or MP department, the game is a turkey.

[Eric P]

that's unfortunate.  i was interested in this.

[brawndolicious]

they really tried to make it like pgr with shooting.  can go through the same environments in different modes for different "medals".  it's weird, but I don't think they had any plan other than making a quick gameplay demo.  they might beef up the story and gameplay features in the next game but I'm sure there'll be a small, active community for the next 6-12 months.  by then, we should hear about a sequel or new Bizarre game.

[AdmiralViscen]

I thought the demo was cool, seems sort of like Stuntman with shooting.

[drohne]

i liked the demo too. i'm not a pgr fan at all, but somehow that pgr concept works for me in a shooter. i'd probably check it out if dmc4 wasn't monopolizing my gaming time. maybe when it bombas

[AdmiralViscen]

Yea, it's going to be a Stranglehold sort of pleasure in 6 months. Only it'll be more worth the $20-30.

[dark1x]

I didn't think the demo represented the game well.  Each event basically consists of a number of rounds (say, 6 rounds) that take place within one environment.  Like a racing game, you are given a score based on your standing at the end of each round and those numbers determine which place you eventually fall in when you've completed the full event.

Each round involves a slightly different goal.  You might start by simply making your way to the exit while pulling off the best score possible, then you might have to stand and defend an area as dudes stream in, while the next round may have you doing laps (literally) while shooting enemeis for time.  That sort of stuff.  It's different from UT in that you are building combos based on each kill, not necessarily competing with those enemies.  Going for high scores is a blast and gives the game a different feel from any other arena shooter.  It's very slick.

[Smooth Groove]

I played the PC demo and had a fair amount of fun with it.  The visuals were a refreshing departure from the dark and gritty graphics of most shooters.  I hope this game does at least ok.  As much as I love shooters, the criticisms about FPS games having cookie cutter design aren't entirely false.  Maybe things will change if shooters like The Club can be successful.

[AdmiralViscen]

I didn't think the demo represented the game well.  Each event basically consists of a number of rounds (say, 6 rounds) that take place within one environment.  Like a racing game, you are given a score based on your standing at the end of each round and those numbers determine which place you eventually fall in when you've completed the full event.

Each round involves a slightly different goal.  You might start by simply making your way to the exit while pulling off the best score possible, then you might have to stand and defend an area as dudes stream in, while the next round may have you doing laps (literally) while shooting enemeis for time.  That sort of stuff.  It's different from UT in that you are building combos based on each kill, not necessarily competing with those enemies.  Going for high scores is a blast and gives the game a different feel from any other arena shooter.  It's very slick.

How many total environments are there?q

[TVC15]

I played the PC demo and had a fair amount of fun with it.  The visuals were a refreshing departure from the dark and gritty graphics of most shooters.  I hope this game does at least ok.  As much as I love shooters, the criticisms about FPS games having cookie cutter design aren't entirely false.  Maybe things will change if shooters like The Club can be successful.

I was considering buying it on Steam.  How are the controls, and how well does it run?

[Smooth Groove]

I played the PC demo and had a fair amount of fun with it.  The visuals were a refreshing departure from the dark and gritty graphics of most shooters.  I hope this game does at least ok.  As much as I love shooters, the criticisms about FPS games having cookie cutter design aren't entirely false.  Maybe things will change if shooters like The Club can be successful.

I was considering buying it on Steam.  How are the controls, and how well does it run?

Game ran great.  I was getting well over 100fps at 1920x1200.  I'm not not sure if SLI were being used, but even if it was, it should run well enough on your rig.  I didn't notice any graphical artifacts that were indicative of a bad port job either. 

The controls felt fine.  I was getting a whole mess of headshots with KB/M.  The funny thing was that I thought I dominated but the scoring chart told me that I came up short.  I didn't pay attention to the rules and probably didn't pull off enough combos. 

[MoxManiac]

Tried the PS3 version demo but immediately it seemed like the type of game that needs to be played keyboard/mouse. Alas, I'll have to wait until I upgrade before I can try the PC version.

[dark1x]

Yeah, anyone worried about PC performance should not be.  The game runs like butter.

Of course, I have no use for really high resolutions (as I'm using a CRT for most of my PC gaming), but it sounds like it performs well at those levels.

One thing I have noticed, however, is that the blurring effect Bizarre uses (same as PGR) doesn't really work as well at high framerates.  When you move the camera around, you can notice it, but while running forward, it does not impact the environment.  On the 30 fps console versions, the motion blur has an effect on the surroundings as you move through the world just like PGR.  I wonder if running the PGR games at 60 fps would have killed their blur effect?

[hyp]

anyone wanna play online with me (360 version)?  i wanna try out the team modes.  game rocks so far.

[AdmiralViscen]

Can we get some more impressions? How many distinct tasks are there to perform? How is the online, the demo only has one mode available?

My friend is going to be giving me $70 he owes me and I'm tempted to buy this.