Alien Swarm Can Be Played As a Terrifying FPS 157
AndrewGOO9 writes "With a few simple commands from the developer console, Alien Swarm can go from being played as an isometric top-down shooter to a first-person perspective. Surprisingly easy, it does make the game, which was released for free via Steam earlier this week, a lot more terrifying. But, anyone who is at home playing games like Modern Warfare or Halo should have no problem slaughtering their way through wave after wave of creatures. In fact, it poses the potential to make the game easier for people who would've otherwise struggled with the overhead view."
Re:Or.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Not everyone likes 3rd person view for all games. I think it sucks for when you control a walking/running character and need to aim. That's the job of 1st person view.
Terrifying?? Try System Shock 2, Doom 3, Undying (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Or.. (Score:2, Insightful)
Yeah, it's true that 3rd person sucks for aiming, but this is only usually because you cannot zoom in 3rd person. Or for some other reason, like the crosshairs or ironsights being invisible. The camera distance increase only usually has a marginal penalty on accuracy.
For games with a visible crosshairs in 3rd, accuracy can sometimes approach even. It does take quite some getting used to. There are many games where the FoV change makes up-close combat more favorable to 3rd person, and as a result you see all skilled persons fighting in 3rd when close. These guys can turn and headshot another in .1 second when the opponent appears at 270 degrees left, while a person in 1st-person view would not have seen the enemy at all. It also makes rapidly switching between targets a lot easier.
It's easy to tell the difference between the styles of play. Someone in 1st-person might make one kill and take a small moment to locate another opponent that happened to move. A skilled person in 3rd-person will perform three near-simultaneous executions to kill off opponents on all sides. FoV increases really shouldn't be underestimated.
Plus, there is the obligatory "seeing around corners" benefit. It can help in multiplayer. A lot.
Re:is this a joke? (Score:3, Insightful)
I think both of you just need to chill, take a hit or whatever will calm you down, and just let Mr. Taco run his blog however the fuck he wants to :)
Re:the kids seem to like top down (Score:5, Insightful)
And it does suck. The aliens spawn too far out to react to your increased visibility, the hacking screens don't seem to respond, and the graphics are low-poly and blurry when viewed up close. The game is very atmospheric with the overhead view. The controls do take a few minutes to become comfortable with, but they work well enough. There's no need to turn the game into something it's not. There are already enough FPS on the market, leave Alien Swarm alone. :P
Re:Easier? (Score:3, Insightful)
"In fact, it poses the potential to make the game easier for people who would've otherwise struggled with the overhead view."
I do not think their is any other way to read this quote...
Re:Or.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Or.. (Score:3, Insightful)
Yeah, it's true that 3rd person sucks for aiming, but this is only usually because you cannot zoom in 3rd person.
As long as laser precision at infinite range is the norm for FPSs, why wouldn't everything else suck?
These guys can turn and headshot another in .1 second when the opponent appears at 270 degrees left, while a person in 1st-person view would not have seen the enemy at all. It also makes rapidly switching between targets a lot easier.
*sigh* that's whats wrong with games these days. 270 degree .1 second headshot. How is that immersive? Shot to the head is "realistic" but foot, hand, arm, leg, abdomen etc, those are glancing blows. Twitch shooting is going to kill the FPS genre.
Wouldn't you all like games with real life tactics better? Not the aim for the head!, or finish the guy off with a pistol at 300 yds kind...
Re:Or.. (Score:2, Insightful)
No, it's first person view that's completely unusable for any game. If I could do 1 thing to improve gaming, it would be to go back in time and murder the guy who created FPS before he was born. Gaming for the past decade would be orders of magnitude better.
Re:Or.. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:not for the mac (yet?) (Score:3, Insightful)
Left 4 Dead still isn't available as a Mac title...and now this. Which is completely bizarre, because Alien Swarm was originally available for the Mac; it's based on UT2004...available for, oh, you know, 6 years?
Buy a real computer and you can play games. Buy the $400 more expensive hipster "computer" and you can do what Jobs thinks you should be doing.
Re:Or.. (Score:3, Insightful)
No, it's first person view that's completely unusable for any game. If I could do 1 thing to improve gaming, it would be to go back in time and murder the guy who created FPS before he was born. Gaming for the past decade would be orders of magnitude better.
Absolutely, I completely agree. The problem is that a first-person view has no connection with how I perceive things in reality.
See, I was born with no eyes, and at a very young age I was fitted with a shoulder-harness camera that sits about 30 feet over my head, as well as slightly behind (about 30 degrees) and to the right. This makes it virtually impossible for me to play a first-person game because I have never perceived the world this way, and it just looks strange and alien. I feel right at home playing a top-down isometric game, as I watch myself play the game from a top-down isometric view.