Gaming Horizon Series: Zero Dawn (PS4) and Forbidden West (PS4/5)

So grabbed this game this past weekend, twas my birthday. Maybe about 8-10 hours in.

Spoiler

Have my mount and I'm with Sora and the war party now. Just attacked the raider camp last night and found out some more news about where the rest of the raiders are before my last save.

Great game so far, really enjoying it. This is what a AAA game should look and feel like.

 

I'm disappointed that Gameinformer only rated it 8.75 in their latest issue. The only cons they could come up with were certain trivial flaws that they found in the Open World and the expressions that Aloy sometimes makes as you're roaming around the area without doing anything specific. Of course they gave a perfect score to the new Zelda game on the Switch console. Wouldn't want to get the Nintendo fanboys upset.

 

Zelda's earnt that score AT, I'm not seeing why you've linked the two.

Had H:ZD not had the misfortune to come out just before Zelda, maybe it would have done better in critical terms but Zelda's release date kept jumping so Guerilla couldn't plan for it either. Still no reason to seek to slag it off, particularly as it doesn't appear to have had any impact on sales of H:ZD. (Which includes 2.6m in 2 weeks ahead of release - https://www.gamespot.com/articles/horizon-zero-dawn-sells-26-million-copies-in-two-w/1100-6448779/)

Besides, in what world is 87.5% out of 100 crap? Gamespot gave it 9, IGN 9.3, that's not much different.

Also, their prior games:

• Killzone 2 - Metacritic has it as 91 critic and 8.1 user scores (http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/killzone-2)
• Killzone 3 - Metacritic has it as 84 critic and 7.9 user scores (http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/killzone-3)

H:ZD gets 89 critic and 8.6 user scores, so can be said to be Guerilla's best game and its their first go at an open world game, there's plenty to be happy about without trying to punch holes in another game.

 

Well I was hoping for a perfect score. I'm under the impression that the notion of a female protagonist drops the ratings a few points just because that's how they are. I wonder just how many female-protagonist-led games have earned perfect scores over the various mediums.

 

If there's a problem in that respect it's less likely to be with the pro reviewers and more with certain groups of gamers who are very against female characters leading a game, or it seems having any influence at all!

(In which respect Zelda's likely not far behind H:ZD for the lesser crimes of forever talking of a Goddess and Zelda being so important to it all.)

 

If Zelda actually had her own game, and Link wasn't always there to rescue her, then I'd be interested more interested in the franchise. And I've never been too enthusiastic about Nintendo to begin with.

 

Aside from MIcrosoft, which has never been that popular a company long before it went into gaming consoles, I've never really understood this notion of being enthusiastic for or having to sign up to a company like Sony or Nintendo. Surely it's more that you'll buy some of their games, others you won't?

 

About 20% in at this point, taking this game nice and slow and enjoying the story, graphics, music, even the mechanics as much as I can. This is one of those games that restores my faith in the gaming industry. Good on Guerilla for doing it right.

 

It's really not a question of if, but when I will buy the game. Every day I check on eBay for the collector's edition. I just want the Steelbook case, the Aloy statue, and the game in like new condition. Not really concerned with the DLC or artbook.

 

When I first saw the trailer for this game, I thought it looked great, it seems on this thread there are no negatives to the game. I have not bought it yet, but just want to know if it was worth a buy and if there is anything that is a negative?

There was lots of hype for No Man's sky and they made it look great with all the open world stuff, but that ended up being a bit boring and repetitive. I know they are not the same, but sometimes, there can be too much wondering around

 

I really can't imagine any negatives for the game. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was disappointed that Gameinformer didn't give it a perfect score in their review. They gave very vague drawbacks, like the open world not being...expansive enough. I guess they were comparing it to FFXV. The controls are great. The story is great. The graphics are top notch (it even features a camera mode where you could manipulate the screen to take an ideal screen shot; I did it to take an awesome shot for my PS4 wallpaper). I feel that it's the type of game you really look forward to playing again and again.

 

Awesome, thanks for the reply! It does look truly amazing. Given that, I might purchase it over the summer when I have more time Thanks again

 

Here's the image I told you about; taken with the camera mode in-game and just screen capture with PSN.

 

Ahsoka's Tano Thanks for the image, it looks great! The graphics look even better than I thought, it is so realistic. It does look fun, I will probably invest in a couple of months

 

Great shot Ahsoka's Tano! I love camera mode in HZD. I have a ton of shots. Not quite as epic as that one though, lol. I go for more atmospheric and dark. Maybe I'll post one when I get a moment.

 

I was trying to do an even better action shot; one where Aloy is sliding with her back to the ground aiming her arrow at a small machine ready to attack her, but just couldn't get it right. I did all this while I had rented the game from Redbox for a weekend. Still have yet to buy the game (I'm really waiting to get a good deal on the full Collector's Edition with the Aloy statue).

 

Here's the other shot that I took. I think it's a great action shot too, but I liked the one where Aloy is riding while aiming her bow and arrow better.

 

Oooh are we sharing our HZD photos?

 

Great pics, but please no spoiler pics! I don't own the game yet, so I want to play through to get the full experience.

 

It's okay, I don't have any pics from outside the first couple of hours of the game anyway.

 

That first picture looks like it could've been something from later in the game. I know early in the game, when Aloy is younger, you discover the cave with "ancient" technology.

 

It's the first cauldron I came across. They're little dungeons that let you hack into more kinds of robots after completion. You come across them pretty early on.

 

Wow, those images are incredibly good.

It's not a question of if I give this a go, it's when.

 

Finished up a few days ago. Feelings of a huge void in my life have begun.That is the sign of a truly great game inho. Anyway, have 77% of the trophies at this point, so I'll grab as many more as I can before I give in to temptation and start over.

 

I'd imagine that once I get the game for keeps, you'll have to pry me away from it even after I complete it. IMO it has very high replay value; especially for an offline game.