this may be the most innovative game of the year ... so far
So, what is this game about and what kind of a game is it? One of the developers, Carlos Bordeu, describes the game:
"Zeno Clash is a fighting game mixed with a FPS. It is not a RPG and does not have huge explorable areas like Elderscrolls: Oblivion. (Remember this is an indie game...). The gameplay is quite unlike other first person games. The game focuses heavily on melee combat and has a story oriented adventure. Players get to travel to unique and unusual locations and meet with strange characters from a completely alien world. The story is about Ghat who is son of an impressive hermaphrodite creature named Father-Mother. Ghat has a conflict with his family and will find himself a fugitive and escaping to the borders of the known world. The weapons of the game include strange pistols and contraptions made of junk plus some bashing weapons to fight against heavyweight characters. The combat mechanics work so that fighting at a distance or with your fists is an option at all moments."
That is a good and quite accurate description. As soon as you start the game you are struck with its unique visual style. The world, its creatures and characters are uniquely different, bizarre, demented, funny, scary and yet to some extent also understandable on a more primal level of their existence. Beautifully done scenery and sets are varied and change quickly as you progress through the game. But all this doesn't mean that this game is an exploration-type piece where you indulge in its unique visuals and mental overloads offered by the bizarreness of situations or characters -- in essence, deep down this game is a tremendous first person action game featuring one of the most evolved hand-to-hand combat systems. The game runs on Valve's Source engine and the setup options are plentiful including vid resolutions (select appropriate *aspect* for your monitor first, then move to your rez). The game runs smooth and most of 1 to 2 year old rigs will be able to max out this game with no problems.
Positives:
- unique, creative, innovative game
- great visuals
- very good sound
- smooth performance
- advanced hand-to-hand combat system
- made for PC (not a porting job)
- professional-grade PC game setup options
- solid Valve's Source engine underneath
Negative or needs improvement:
- some graphical glitches
- *AI Disabled* error may appear
- the story is very original but not particularly strong
- the combat system begs for the *JUMP* and *CROUCH* options/keys
- non-melee weapons are next to useless and are effectively weak
- inability to drop weapons quickly and continue fight as hand-to-hand
- make different key for pickups (health, items), from the *focusing* key
- no manual or quick saves
- built-in screenshot utility may interfere with third-party solutions
Obviously, except for a few serious issues, I've been petty in listing possible negatives. The game offers so much more positive experience that pretty much it drowns its negatives. The game is on the shorter side and an average-skilled gamer should be able to finish it in 6 to 8 hours. Overall, this is a great, creative, and innovative game that is worth your keyboard meshing effort. Overall score: 8.0/10.