Ghostbear
09-12-2011, 08:27 AM
Hard Reset Review
Product: Hard Reset
Platform: PC
Developer: Flying Wild Hog (http://flyingwildhog.com/index.php?page=2)
MSRP: $29.99 (http://store.steampowered.com/app/98400/)
Editor: Jeremy 'Ghostbear' Spurlock
What's Hot: Pretty, intense shooter with a focus on tons of action.
What's Not: Checkpoint system can be frustrating, weak voice acting.Flying Wild Hog is made up of former People Can Fly, CD Projekt RED and City Interactive developers, so you know what you're likely to get from them is a high quality, PC focused title. Hard Reset hearkens back to shooters of old. There is no reloading, there are about a million enemies at any given time and you have a wide variety of ways to destroy your robotic foes.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6162/6138275846_c417390189_z.jpg
Feel my awesome destructive power you overgrown microwaves!
Speaking of destroying robots, the way Hard Reset handles weapons is a lot of fun. You have two basic weapons, one that shoots projectiles and one that shoots electricity. They can both be upgraded to do more damage, turn into mortars, emp blasts, rail guns, etc. You can also upgrade things like your health, shields, and how much information about your enemies is displayed. There didn't seem to be a distinct disadvantage to one weapon or the other, so mix and match to your heart's content.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6074/6137777433_2d7c949497_z.jpg
Choices abound, choose wisely.
You are in for a challenge with Hard Reset, it starts off tough and never really lets up. You will be harassed by foes at almost every turn. When I say harassed, I mean there will probably be at least a dozen or so robots trying to shoot, stab or blow you up all the same time. I found myself reloading a checkpoint many times even on normal difficulty. You have to constantly stay on the move to not be torn apart. You have a few advantages however, as mentioned earlier you have plenty of weapon variety, but you'll also have a lot of environmental attacks. I do not know how anyone safely traverses this city without setting off something that explodes or shoots electricity everywhere.
There is a decent variety of enemies. Some smaller robots that range from melee style to others that try to get near and explode. Medium machines that will force you to dodge them like a matador and bigger opponents that will bombard you with artillery. There are two big boss fights as well and trust me when I say they will make you work to defeat them. Get ready to destroy smaller foes while dodging giant laser beams from bosses.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6165/6137731761_c055f48169_z.jpg
Glowing red means he wants hugs.
This game is clearly not focused on the story, and that's a good thing because there is not much to speak of. What little there is to see is shown in comic book style panels with some slight motion. The art is pretty good and worth looking at. The voice acting however, is another story all together. It is frankly, terrible. The scenes are shown while loading into the next chapter and you can skip them as soon as the game has loaded. Honestly though? The action more than makes up for some wonky voice acting or weak story bits. You're here for some man on robot mayhem, so just load in and blow some stuff up!
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6076/6138278144_9f37cf5180_z.jpg
So easy...
While we're on the negative side of things, I'd like to mention my one real complaint, the save system. You cannot quick save so you are at the mercy of the checkpoints. After my ninth attempt to beat an area, I was starting to get really tired of leveling up my weapons nine times. I get that they are trying to set a certain level of difficulty by removing quick saves, but if you're gonna do that, you need to have a lot more checkpoints. The fights can be tough and I would rather not relive the five minutes it takes me to get back to that fight over and over.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6159/6138275678_99c848ddbb_z.jpg
Everything explodes in this city!
Even with my complaints, I would still recommend Hard Reset to anyone looking for an intense, old school shooter experience. Fans of Painkiller and Serious Sam take note, this is your new game. Prepare to dive into a Blade Runner-esque city with a really bad robot problem. A problem that can only be solved by glorious man on machine violence.
Score: 4 out of 5 CoGs
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/CoG4.png
Jeremy says, "If you want a shooter that will challenge you, is pretty and really intense, you can't go wrong with Hard Reset."
Product: Hard Reset
Platform: PC
Developer: Flying Wild Hog (http://flyingwildhog.com/index.php?page=2)
MSRP: $29.99 (http://store.steampowered.com/app/98400/)
Editor: Jeremy 'Ghostbear' Spurlock
What's Hot: Pretty, intense shooter with a focus on tons of action.
What's Not: Checkpoint system can be frustrating, weak voice acting.Flying Wild Hog is made up of former People Can Fly, CD Projekt RED and City Interactive developers, so you know what you're likely to get from them is a high quality, PC focused title. Hard Reset hearkens back to shooters of old. There is no reloading, there are about a million enemies at any given time and you have a wide variety of ways to destroy your robotic foes.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6162/6138275846_c417390189_z.jpg
Feel my awesome destructive power you overgrown microwaves!
Speaking of destroying robots, the way Hard Reset handles weapons is a lot of fun. You have two basic weapons, one that shoots projectiles and one that shoots electricity. They can both be upgraded to do more damage, turn into mortars, emp blasts, rail guns, etc. You can also upgrade things like your health, shields, and how much information about your enemies is displayed. There didn't seem to be a distinct disadvantage to one weapon or the other, so mix and match to your heart's content.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6074/6137777433_2d7c949497_z.jpg
Choices abound, choose wisely.
You are in for a challenge with Hard Reset, it starts off tough and never really lets up. You will be harassed by foes at almost every turn. When I say harassed, I mean there will probably be at least a dozen or so robots trying to shoot, stab or blow you up all the same time. I found myself reloading a checkpoint many times even on normal difficulty. You have to constantly stay on the move to not be torn apart. You have a few advantages however, as mentioned earlier you have plenty of weapon variety, but you'll also have a lot of environmental attacks. I do not know how anyone safely traverses this city without setting off something that explodes or shoots electricity everywhere.
There is a decent variety of enemies. Some smaller robots that range from melee style to others that try to get near and explode. Medium machines that will force you to dodge them like a matador and bigger opponents that will bombard you with artillery. There are two big boss fights as well and trust me when I say they will make you work to defeat them. Get ready to destroy smaller foes while dodging giant laser beams from bosses.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6165/6137731761_c055f48169_z.jpg
Glowing red means he wants hugs.
This game is clearly not focused on the story, and that's a good thing because there is not much to speak of. What little there is to see is shown in comic book style panels with some slight motion. The art is pretty good and worth looking at. The voice acting however, is another story all together. It is frankly, terrible. The scenes are shown while loading into the next chapter and you can skip them as soon as the game has loaded. Honestly though? The action more than makes up for some wonky voice acting or weak story bits. You're here for some man on robot mayhem, so just load in and blow some stuff up!
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6076/6138278144_9f37cf5180_z.jpg
So easy...
While we're on the negative side of things, I'd like to mention my one real complaint, the save system. You cannot quick save so you are at the mercy of the checkpoints. After my ninth attempt to beat an area, I was starting to get really tired of leveling up my weapons nine times. I get that they are trying to set a certain level of difficulty by removing quick saves, but if you're gonna do that, you need to have a lot more checkpoints. The fights can be tough and I would rather not relive the five minutes it takes me to get back to that fight over and over.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6159/6138275678_99c848ddbb_z.jpg
Everything explodes in this city!
Even with my complaints, I would still recommend Hard Reset to anyone looking for an intense, old school shooter experience. Fans of Painkiller and Serious Sam take note, this is your new game. Prepare to dive into a Blade Runner-esque city with a really bad robot problem. A problem that can only be solved by glorious man on machine violence.
Score: 4 out of 5 CoGs
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/CoG4.png
Jeremy says, "If you want a shooter that will challenge you, is pretty and really intense, you can't go wrong with Hard Reset."