Binary Domain Demo impressions (Available now on JP Store)

[ROJM]

I am surprised not more people are talking about this!

That's my concern as well, i think Bayonetta made a bigger splash in fan gossip when its download became available. I just hope this game won't get ignored like VANQUISH did.

[Barry the Nomad]

downloaded the demo this morning, will give it a play tonight.

I'm hoping it's a little forgiving to those who are not pros at cover-based shooters, but Cosmic's comment makes me think its not.

[Aki-at]

That's my concern as well, i think Bayonetta made a bigger splash in fan gossip when its download became available. I just hope this game won't get ignored like VANQUISH did.

Yeap, I have similar fears, especially as I feel this is a great attempt at a Japanese developer seriously trying to enter the Western market, gameplay, robot design, music, almost everything about this game looks like it should be a massive game and a big series for SEGA.

downloaded the demo this morning, will give it a play tonight.

I'm hoping it's a little forgiving to those who are not pros at cover-based shooters, but Cosmic's comment makes me think its not.

Depends, if you play it on hard (Game calls it Saviour) then yeah, you might find it hard, but in between each of those three, in stage there are shop terminals you can access, these allow you to buy ammo, health and weapons, so they should balance out for you Barry.

Some of the robots are right buggers too, the red one in particular, they sidestep almost everywhere making sure its hard for you to hit them!

[Shigs]

Anyone else notice the file size of the demo is twice as large on 360 as it is on PS3?

[MadeManG74]

I wonder if being so bent on making this game a 'western' focused title has been a mistake. As said earlier, I think Bayonetta garnered a lot more attention, and I can't help but wonder if that's because it was so different in style to the majority of Western Developed games. The game was unashamedly weird and bizarre, whereas Binary Domain just seems to get lost in the shuffle.

I also have to say I personally think Bayonetta looked a lot better in terms of overall quality too (not to say that BD isn't great, but Bayonetta is one of my all-time favourite games so maybe it's not a fair comparison).

[Aki-at]

Someone's planning to upload the whole playthrough of Binary Domain (Unfortunately been leaked via torrents) but I've just wanted to see if all the cutscenes are going to be completely horrible trash or geniuely good scriptwritting and I have to admit, the scene had some good lines and acting!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79iy71LT89w&t=3m55s

I wonder if being so bent on making this game a 'western' focused title has been a mistake. As said earlier, I think Bayonetta garnered a lot more attention, and I can't help but wonder if that's because it was so different in style to the majority of Western Developed games. The game was unashamedly weird and bizarre, whereas Binary Domain just seems to get lost in the shuffle.

I also have to say I personally think Bayonetta looked a lot better in terms of overall quality too (not to say that BD isn't great, but Bayonetta is one of my all-time favourite games so maybe it's not a fair comparison).

Bayonetta works for Bayonetta because its a crazy over the top action game, but that style with Binary Domain? It's meant to be a serious game with over 4 hours of plot, I think making it weird would have just taken away from the whole game.

Besides, there have not been many man vs machine video games this generation either, that ought to make it stand out.

[CrazyT]

I just watched some parts on the channel and My god the game looks amazing!

You know, I don't really have a ps3(neither a 360) so I can't share my thoughts on the demo sadly. I sometimes visit my parents where i continue play yakuza 4 a little bit (at the last part now) and then don't play it for weeks, so I might be able to play it in a week if i'm bothered to visit them. No doubt when I do get a ps3 myself, this will be the game i'll pick up with.

Edit: Though I gotta say, i'm really sad to read there's framrate chopiness in the ps3 demo. Anyone experiencing the same? Hope it's only in the demo

[MadeManG74]

Bayonetta works for Bayonetta because its a crazy over the top action game, but that style with Binary Domain? It's meant to be a serious game with over 4 hours of plot, I think making it weird would have just taken away from the whole game.

Besides, there have not been many man vs machine video games this generation either, that ought to make it stand out.

I wasn't implying that they should make BD different, just that the whole concept of 'make a game western-like to succeed in the west' might be a little flawed.

[Aki-at]

I wasn't implying that they should make BD different, just that the whole concept of 'make a game western-like to succeed in the west' might be a little flawed.

Not sure with Binary Domain about that, since they said its going for Japanese audience too (And promoted a lot in Japan) Personally I would have agreed with you if the original teaser trailer was consistent with what we saw, but with Binary Domain it seems to have a lot of that Yakuza appeal, especially in its cutscenes.

I actually believe the reason there is so little hype is after October, SEGA completely stopped marketing this game, except for that period in December, it does not help that Binary Domain has only 11 news articles on the SEGABlog, prior to October, SEGA was marketing this game very well. But they have dropped the ball massively.

[Aki-at]

I just watched some parts on the channel and My god the game looks amazing!

You know, I don't really have a ps3(neither a 360) so I can't share my thoughts on the demo sadly. I sometimes visit my parents where i continue play yakuza 4 a little bit (at the last part now) and then don't play it for weeks, so I might be able to play it in a week if i'm bothered to visit them. No doubt when I do get a ps3 myself, this will be the game i'll pick up with.

Edit: Though I gotta say, i'm really sad to read there's framrate chopiness in the ps3 demo. Anyone experiencing the same? Hope it's only in the demo

Been reading up some Japanese fans impressions, cannot tell if they are Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Nagoshi fanboys but they seemed to indicate framerate issues have been fixed.

Also you better force people to buy Binary Domain, bad enough you're not supporting the tan man's Dead Souls!11!!1!!!!

[Barry the Nomad]

I played the demo last night and...


It's shit. I'm sorry, but it was awful.


Just kidding! I really enjoyed it! I set the difficulty to "Can I play, daddy?" so it would be easier and I still ran into a bit of trouble. Mainly because the demo just drops you into combat scenarios with little to no setup. Mission 1 was loads of fun! The microphone is a really cool feature, and I can see how the game could become Sakura Taisen in terms of keeping your team happy (though no sexy time). Loved taking down the big robot. Mission 2 had the already beloved French robot. He's the star of the game, IMO. However, I wasn't sure what the goal was. They were telling me to get on the train, I think, and I did but the train never left. Robots just kept coming. Finally, I went down some steps and completed the mission. One thing to note: the stages are really colorful! Especially the train station.

[ROJM]

I wonder if being so bent on making this game a 'western' focused title has been a mistake. As said earlier, I think Bayonetta garnered a lot more attention, and I can't help but wonder if that's because it was so different in style to the majority of Western Developed games. The game was unashamedly weird and bizarre, whereas Binary Domain just seems to get lost in the shuffle.

I also have to say I personally think Bayonetta looked a lot better in terms of overall quality too (not to say that BD isn't great, but Bayonetta is one of my all-time favourite games so maybe it's not a fair comparison).

BAYONETTA was more popular in japan sales wise then it was in the west

Not sure with Binary Domain about that, since they said its going for Japanese audience too (And promoted a lot in Japan) Personally I would have agreed with you if the original teaser trailer was consistent with what we saw, but with Binary Domain it seems to have a lot of that Yakuza appeal, especially in its cutscenes.

I actually believe the reason there is so little hype is after October, SEGA completely stopped marketing this game, except for that period in December, it does not help that Binary Domain has only 11 news articles on the SEGABlog, prior to October, SEGA was marketing this game very well. But they have dropped the ball massively.

You are correct. What's clever about this title is while it does take the western aesthetic it also adopts the element in which JRPGs are good at the emphasis of teamwork  which traditionally has always been an element that appeals to the Japanese. So i think its doing what BAYONETTA did well and what Sega needed to get back to. Creating a game that appeals to BOTH markets and not just one or the other. This is the thing many people have lost sight of and why Japanese gaming at one point was so big at one point.

And its going to get talked about at last but its the marketing which let VANQUISH down. It s great to see Sega to take a game genre that they only had limited experience with and then release two titles in the space of three years that both introduce original elements in the gameplay that the other big studios that do third shooter genre will end up adopting.

[CrazyT]

Been reading up some Japanese fans impressions, cannot tell if they are Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Nagoshi fanboys but they seemed to indicate framerate issues have been fixed.

Also you better force people to buy Binary Domain, bad enough you're not supporting the tan man's Dead Souls!11!!1!!!!

I will make them suffer the consequences lord AKI!

I hope you'll be happy to know that i'm getting that ps3 early next month  I will defenitly have to buy dead souls eventually. I have a part time job but lately i've been a bit lazy.. Would be great if the game didn't cost so much at launch. Hopefully 40 euro's

[SOUP]

I played through the demo, but the game didn't really wow me. The whole thing almost came off to me as a poor man's Vanquish.  Movement and melee attacks felt a bit clunky compared to Vanquish, but the shooting was pretty solid.
That said, I have faith in the Yakuza team's storytelling abilities, so I'm sure that aspect will be great. I enjoyed the chatting with teammates feature too.

[MadeManG74]

BAYONETTA was more popular in japan sales wise then it was in the west

Wouldn't surprise me, but I was trying to compare western reception of Bayonetta vs western reception of BD. Will be interesting to see how BD fares in terms of sales when it launches.

Also, I don't think I'll bother with the demo since the game is out next week anyway.