THE BOUNCER 1886 |OT| "Ready at Dawn, finished by the afternoon."

[bork]

Forbes: 6.5

While I can’t recommend you spend full price, I do think it’s worth checking out at some point—either when the price drops, or as a rental, or borrowed from a friend. It’s a really gorgeous game, and I don’t at all regret my time spent playing it. I’m certainly rooting for a sequel—one that can maintain its vision of being story-driven and compelling, but that pushes even harder to be a good game. Ambition is all well and good so long as the core mechanics are sound. And they simply aren’t sound in The Order: 1886.

CraveOnline: 6

The Order: 1886 ends on a note that displays a full intention for there to be subsequent releases in the franchise. But in this day and age there isn’t any room for games that are costly to craft, and don’t stand out enough to be impactful. It’d be a surprise if a sequel ever saw the light of day.

Polygon: 5.5

But the real sin of The Order: 1886 isn't its shoddy storytelling or regrettable dialogue. No, the real problem is that it's all so incredibly boring.  Every moment of The Order: 1886, from the in medias res opening to the abrupt final battle, feels entirely predetermined. With the exception of a handful of gun battles, in which the player is free to decide in which order they will kill all the bad guys, Ready At Dawn is entirely unwilling to let go of the player's hand.

The Escapist:


IGN: 65

But the shallow, slow, and generic quick-time event-riddled gameplay make it feel like an experience that would've been better served by a non-interactive movie than a game. With no multiplayer, and no reason to revisit the short and stunted single-player campaign once it’s been completed, there just isn’t a lot to it.

EGM: 4.5/10

The Order: 1886 is a paper-thin PS4 launch title delivered 15 months behind schedule. It’s nowhere near as profound or innovative as it thinks it is—the epitome of all style and no substance.

Gamespot: 50

What, then, to make of The Order: 1886? It is, at best, perfectly playable, and lovely to look at and listen to. But it is also the face of mediocrity and missed opportunities. A bad game can make a case for itself. A boring one is harder to forgive.

Metro: 4/10

Unbearably boring from its first moments, with an underwritten script, bland characters, and repetitive and overfamilar action. No replay value or additional game modes.

Giant Bomb: 2/5 - "There's a word for games like The Order: 1886. Rental."

There are things here worth checking out, but the action feels half-cocked and you'll be finished with it in an afternoon. I won't pretend to guess at how much $60 means to you, dear reader, but I will say that The Order is a middling experience with a couple of bright flashes that only serve to remind you that this could be a more interesting game if more of its ideas were fully formed. If you're bent on seeing The Order for yourself, you should probably rent it.

VideoGamer.com: "Ready at Dawn, finished by the afternoon."

"Rather than summarizing I think I'm just going to go for a simile-- The Order is like, you're allowed to gaze upon the Mona Lisa. But you're not allowed to do so unless you are drinking a cup of piss."

 

[kick51]

Sony tends to get -2 review handicap because they don't strong arm publications and don't have the money to sweeten their relationships with them. Then there's the fact that they tend to be very hands off, and use their IPs as loss leaders. If they're not, all the better.

EA and Ubi have the deep pockets to market a mess of a game and find friendly eyes at the big sites. Not everyone does though. A better context would be they actually get a +2 handicap

[bork]

Sony tends to get -2 review handicap because they don't strong arm publications and don't have the money to sweeten their relationships with them. Then there's the fact that they tend to be very hands off, and use their IPs as loss leaders. If they're not, all the better.

EA and Ubi have the deep pockets to market a mess of a game and find friendly eyes at the big sites. Not everyone does though. A better context would be they actually get a +2 handicap

At first I was like


Then I saw http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=152738888#post152738888 and was like

[bork]

[bork]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=152743637&postcount=2301

 

[Joe Molotov]

Cinematic! Oscar-caliber screenplay! $100 steak!

[kick51]

Gonna shoot straight to the top of the Redbox charts

[Lucretius]

Remember The Bouncer?

[demi]

Fuck you Bouncer has gameplay

[bork]

Remember The Bouncer?

People are saying The Order is Sony's "Ryse," but yeah, this does remind of The Bouncer with it being all about the graphics.  At the E3 before The Bouncer came out, Square did not show any game play -only cut scenes- which is when we knew something was up. 

[kick51]

I've seen more mentions of the Bouncer in the past few days than I have since the internet started, what the hell?   

It is fun to playthrough and laugh at

can this be changed to the Bouncer OT

[bork]

can this be changed to the Bouncer OT

 

[kick51]

can this be changed to the Bouncer OT

 

nobody had the heart to tell her she's a beard and that the dudes who rescued her are second only to amtrak in train rides

[The Legend of Sunblade]

Kou Leifoh was my boy, most fun to play as.

I only barely remember the horned cactuar guy having a tragic love interest or some shit.

[demi]

i've never actually played the bouncer but i DID buy it on ebay recently in a combo pack with Dirge of Cerberus

[bork]

i've never actually played the bouncer but i DID buy it on ebay recently in a combo pack with Dirge of Cerberus

LOL, man, I bet it has not aged well at all.   

Is Dirge even playable now?  Didn't it have some required online stuff?

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Fuck you Bouncer has gameplay

Bouncer

[Great Rumbler]

Congrats on creating the videogame equivalent of 2004's Van Helsing, guys.

[bork]

 

[cool breeze]

a friend roped me into playing the bouncer coop at release.  the pictures showed multiple characters and it said multiplayer on the case.  so we booted it up and saw it's a single player brawler with AI partners.  after watching him play, alone, I'm glad I didn't have to.

and the order looks like dull asuras wrath.

[kick51]

There was a versus mode or something.

Rip tobal devs

[bork]

The Bouncer had a 4P versus mode, yeah.

So it still has way more game play than The Order does!

[Am_I_Anonymous]

The Bouncer had a 4P versus mode, yeah.

So it still has way more game play than The Order does!

you know what also has more gameplay than the Order?

[bork]

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Somebody more skilled in photoshop than I really, really, needs to grab that full motion video icon and past in on the order's box and post it in the review thead.

[mjemirzian]

Sony is really flubbing the exclusive output on PS4 so far. I've been gaming on my PC, PS3, and Wii U way more.

[Rufus]

Congrats on creating the videogame equivalent of 2004's Van Helsing, guys.

It is kind of the best movie game for a movie that doesn't exist.

[Joe Molotov]

Somebody more skilled in photoshop than I really, really, needs to grab that full motion video icon and past in on the order's box and post it in the review thead.

OVER 2 1/2 HOURS OF FULL MOTION VIDEO

[bork]

[bork]

Kotaku: NO

"Do you like movies? Do you like video games? If you answered "yes" to either of those questions, you should probably skip The Order: 1886."

 

[T-Short]

There should be space in the video game business to make products which are targeted to excel in the visual presentation so they can be judged on those merits alone. Why should such visual masterpieces be tied down by expectation of people who do not understand the true goals of the product. I read many fans wanting to pick this game up based on how it looks so is there no rating system that protects the desires of said fans to be able to take pride in their purchases and know they're receiving a top-rated visual experience without it being dirtied by the expectation of people who don't appreciate the goes of presentation the product has set for itself? I don't know man... I just feel for people who are getting bummed out by these reviews and treated like what they want from the product is a mediocre gaming experience when what they want is in fact an excellent visual experience. If a game says its a platformer then we shouldn't attack it for not being a RTS and in the same right, if a game says its visually stunning then we shouldn't attack it for gameplay. People are even recommending not to purchase this game hence victimizing people who pre-ordered it. Its rather insensitive to come out and tell people not to buy something they've put money towards... AFTER THE FACT. No one likes to be judged for their purchasing decisions so this judgmental atmosphere at the very least seems rather anti-consumer. Aren't media supposed to be on the consumer's side? Finally on the idea that the product is too short... a good product should leave you wanting more. Like when people say you've overeaten when you feel bloated and you should stop eating when you feel you are about to get full.. in essence, you should be wanting more before you stop eating; this is the proper way. Overeating will make you obese and there's nothing good about that so why are we trying to promote over-gaming like its something healthy. The Order should be commended for not piling on the fat with unnecessary content, variety, game length and extra modes and collectable. It cares about the consumer's gaming health. Judged based on its visual fidelity and respect for consumer health, I'd give the order a 9.7 out of 10 but Metacritic won't carry my review on the "reviewer" section so I'll leave it here and I ask journalist to be kinder with their review. We need more products like the order. Dare I say it... I'd like to The Order another one of these!

[bork]

Aw, beat me to it!

[Steve Contra]

I'd like to The Order another one of these!

[T-Short]

BORK PLS

http://neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=152794301&postcount=5278

[Joe Molotov]

God-tier troll if troll.

[Rufus]

Yeah, as soon as I got to "pride in their purchas" I suspected, though people actually do say things like that. Grats on purchasing this readily (potentially infinitely) available good.

[pilonv1]

Thread reported for bullying

[bork]

 

[recursivelyenumerable]

i was interested in the bouncer because it was a dream factory game and i loved tobal. in the end i never got around to playing it. i heard the multiplayer mode could be fun as a 4-player variation on a tobal-like fighter, but only if you unlocked everything first by playing through the story 6 times or something.

from my experience, i feel for anyone who was following the order because they actually wanted a Victorian steampunk cinematic shooter or whatever. they didn't ask to be dragged into the horrors of console war.  :'(

[recursivelyenumerable]

i've never actually played the bouncer but i DID buy it on ebay recently in a combo pack with Dirge of Cerberus

Is Dirge even playable now?  Didn't it have some required online stuff?

the online was a separate mode with its own missions, and was never included in non-Japanese editions of the game to begin with.

[mormapope]

Posted this in the thread about GAF, but fuck it

www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=152811188&postcount=5919

Review threads for hyped up platform-exclusive games are consistently some of the most embarrassing threads on my site.

[bork]

 

[bork]

i was interested in the bouncer because it was a dream factory game and i loved tobal. in the end i never got around to playing it. i heard the multiplayer mode could be fun as a 4-player variation on a tobal-like fighter, but only if you unlocked everything first by playing through the story 6 times or something.

It was like playing a really shitty, watered down version of Tobal.  Dream Factory peaked with Tobal 2.  Ehrgeiz wasn't as good, but was still fun, and then things just went to shit with the Bouncer.

[Steve Contra]

I just read that Order interview about steaks and bullies

[bork]

The end is 

[Bebpo]

The dumbest thing about this is if they just cut down on cutscenes/QTEs and focused on a 6-8 hour campaign like Gears of War, had some unlockables for re-runs and added a token multiplayer mode it'd probably at least be a decent Uncharted 1 type "first game".  But the whole we can do no wrong "We are gonna be awesome!  We don't need a multiplayer mode or any reason to replay the game" attitude totally sank the ship on this one.

Everyone complains that they don't have the team size/budget to do multiplayer.  Well if you're the publisher and you're already putting 50 million into a game and you'd rather it actually sells well rather than is a complete sales disaster, you spend another 10 million, hire some B team to come in and make the MP portion so it's a complete package at launch.

[Bebpo]

Actually the sad thing is seeing a good developer like RAD put out such a shabby product.  Daxter and the GoW games were good.  Had good gameplay and were stylishly cinematic.  Also they were single player only and under 5 hours...oh wait, shit, this is getting familiar. 

Uh, maybe The Order is the kind of game that Ready at Dawn makes, just that those kind of games were a lot more acceptable on b-tier handhelds at $20-30 price points.  Also...with fewer cutscenes.

[eleuin]

those games were also based on established franchises so the gameplay was kinda hard to fuck up

If this mediocre gameplay & story is the best that RAD can do then they don't have a future

[cool breeze]

i was interested in the bouncer because it was a dream factory game and i loved tobal. in the end i never got around to playing it. i heard the multiplayer mode could be fun as a 4-player variation on a tobal-like fighter, but only if you unlocked everything first by playing through the story 6 times or something.

from my experience, i feel for anyone who was following the order because they actually wanted a Victorian steampunk cinematic shooter or whatever. they didn't ask to be dragged into the horrors of console war.  :'(

hearing it's made by the tobal people is making me want to track it down again. 

[headwalk]

just found out the company founder/ceo is also the lead writer.

it all makes sense now.

[recursivelyenumerable]

i wish someone would investigative journalism on dream factory and what the hell happened. apparently they still exist in some form??

[kick51]

i wish someone would investigative journalism on dream factory and what the hell happened. apparently they still exist in some form??

http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/company/12752-dreamfactory

hoky fuck, they made kakuto chojin

Apparently their last game was toshinden for the wii

And apparently there was a toshinden game for the wii

they made Crimson Tears too, i just got that in the mail.

[Sho Nuff]

i wish someone would investigative journalism on dream factory and what the hell happened. apparently they still exist in some form??

 
Hey, I am more than happy to talk about that, because I myself worked with a lot of those guys.

Apparently, quite a few of the Dream Factory guys decided to split off and make their new company after Tobal #2. That company was Anchor Inc. They are the guys who did the original Ultimate Fighting Championship game for the Dreamcast, the first game that I ever got to work on in Japan (tester! Wheeeee!). I joined them full-time after graduating from college, and I worked on both WWF Raw 1 and 2 for Xbox, and Pride FC for PS2 (this is probably the game that I am most proud of and have the craziest memories of, plus we got to go see the fights ALL THE TIME). They also did quite a bit of work for Sega, and the dude next to me animated Vanessa in VF4. I think they also designed the Del Sol character in Fighting Vipers 2.

They are still around. Onoguchi-san is currently working on the crowd sourced fighting game EF-12 which is crazy awesome; it's being programmed by a guy who I have only known as "THE FOOL." Seriously. At work we only referred to him as "Fool." I miss working in Japan sometimes.

[kick51]

EF-12 looks like Fighter Maker on crack:

[Cerveza mas fina]

See Borys is trying hard to justifying his xbox none purchase for the kids

But no amount of trolling will result in Kinect support or games that look as good as the Order

[kick51]

please stay on topic, this a Bouncer and dream factory thread

[Cerveza mas fina]

Maybe i can buy it, finish it this weekend and sell ot on monday

Hmmm

Sorry sony

[Cerveza mas fina]

You cant rent games in Denmark.

Even Killzone PS4 ia still 30+ euro second hand here too.

Id def rent if I could, I already sell all my games cause fuck collecting

[bork]

[archie4208]