Home » ARCHIVES » JA clones and likes » Matrix officially announce Hired Guns
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Matrix officially announce Hired Guns[message #202738]
|
Sat, 29 November 2008 04:27 
|
|
Nstratsky |
Messages:4
Registered:January 2008 Location: cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
|
|
I just bought this game today at best buy. however i don't have a working DVD drive (0/2) and it takes a 128mb card to even play. i'm hoping i can run it super low res on my on-board but i have a 256mb coming an a week so i'm sure it'll work. I'm really excited to play it. The back of the box art that shows like the tactical map screens and sector inventory screens and it looks just like vanilla ja2 but until i get it booted i wont make any real judgments.
Report message to a moderator
|
Civilian
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Matrix officially announce Hired Guns[message #202876]
|
Mon, 01 December 2008 05:59 
|
|
Siresmithnj |
 |
Messages:17
Registered:March 2004 Location: NY |
|
|
There I was... in Best Buy on Black Friday, and this lil Gem was on the shelf, and the Matrix site still says coming soon.
$29.99 = Gotta get it now.
Installation... no problem, pumped the resolution to max for my monitor too, which was nice.
Game play... well it is a hell of a lot harder than JA, JA Deadly Games or JA2. (BTW - Just for clarification HARDER in a fun but not overwhelming way)
Quests, are a bit hit or miss so far. Death, pretty much easy as pie as the AI is good, or REALLY good at times. Grenades lobbed at you the first chance they get.
Its a great game, for the price and especially considering the dry spell. But it is not Jagged Alliance. Even though your laptop interface is identical right down to the questions for the personality text for your personal Merc.
Is it a Win, I'm tossing my Hell Yah.
If you haven't bought it because your wondering... get it. But only if you can stand poorly translated but still understandable games. The text and speech has made me go WTF a couple of times out of confusion.
Only things I can say we need are a way to custom build our Mercs... and a way to tweak the weapons in the online store. But thats not the publishers, thats the modders. So Help me Bears Pit.
[Updated on: Mon, 01 December 2008 16:02] by Moderator Report message to a moderator
|
Private
|
|
|
|
Re: Matrix officially announce Hired Guns[message #202940]
|
Mon, 01 December 2008 22:27 
|
|
dduke |
 |
Messages:5
Registered:October 2006 Location: Italy |

|
|
The Italian version is shit, the translation is awful google-like, no 1.07 working patch for us, the only one on gamershell is broken, making the disk useless "insert the 1.07 dvd" 1.07 dvd? seriously .
The combat gameplay is fun and working good with a modified file I downloaded at the perter-games forum, otherwise my buckshots made -2 hit damage fixed with the file.
About AI: playing at easy but still competitive enough. Nothing compared to Silent Storm anyway, the Nival's game it's the best 3D turn based game actually.
The rest:
story...where it is? "hi, I'm the bro of the governor, go there and do that, goodbye" zero fun
tryed to play at night? it's like noon...what the hell is going out there in this fictional africa!?!? my only reason to play turn based games is night.ops.
weapons I don't know at the moment. One needs to play enough to gain access to all the weapons, but how I'm supposed to play with this buggy game?
So...do I have to wait for a patch or it's time to make a video "how a 30
[Updated on: Mon, 01 December 2008 22:27] by Moderator Report message to a moderator
|
Private
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Matrix officially announce Hired Guns[message #203304]
|
Thu, 04 December 2008 17:57 
|
|
Siresmithnj |
 |
Messages:17
Registered:March 2004 Location: NY |
|
|
Ok, a few updates...
There are some interface bugs, the most annoying of which is that it offers the option to turn of displaying the Trees... but this does not work for me at all.
Some equipment bugs... there appears to be eye and face slots on your paperdoll, but after reviewing the xml files, I find no equipment to go in these slots.
IMP Editing... I cant figure it out, and have talked with a few others who have given up as well. No matter what the Mercs skills get set too (even if your memory editing), they revert back to 85s.
But I'm still enjoying the game. Definitely playable, fun and entertaining.
Its a day short of a week of play time, and Ive tinkered with it in normal mode, as well as a few mods in the xml and lua files. Its fun.
Is it JA, no. Will it keep us busy for awhile until JA3 is released yes.
Its a fun game. Id agree with an earlier rating of a 7/10... if I could edit the IMP settings and build a team of 6 IMPs It would be a high 8.
Report message to a moderator
|
Private
|
|
|
Re: Matrix officially announce Hired Guns[message #203467]
|
Sat, 06 December 2008 12:53 
|
|
Stromb |
  |
Messages:40
Registered:March 2007 Location: France |
|
|
I've tried it again and honestly, it's still a joke, a bad joke, but at least this time, the joke is in english.
The gameplay is still flawed. Line of sight are a problem and in fact, most of the past issue seems to be still the same. At least this time the game don't crash to desktop, so you less need quicksaving / quickloading.
As an example, i replayed the 2nd mission, Safari. You arrive with your beginning team, having nearly no ammos for the good rifles you found in the first mission. Your skills are rather low as you only can afford low skilled mercs (essentially). You face a gang, nearly three times your numbers (more or less). And then it's raining grenades. First fight, i took something like ten grenades and i don't know how, i manage to survive and win the battle.
I retried because the main NPC i was looking for was killed immediatly (without me being able to do anything, it seems he suffered some critical punch attack from a marauder).
In my second and third battles, i was not that lucky with grenades attacks, and they seriously hurted my team. In one case, in one round two 'nades killed two of my mercenaries, including the hero (they were already wounded by grenades the round before). In the other case, i was quickly badly wounded, and continuing would have been nearly useless.
The biggest problem is that when you play, it's again a question of pure luck. Nothing tactical. You began in a tight square. The ennemy has a lot of grenades, and use them better than you, most of the time. You may spray your guys, try hiding behind cover, IA still think it's a good way to dispatch you attacking this way (which is as a matter of fact a good idea).
It's all a question of passing / surviving the grenades, and after the fight plays more or less normally. I dare not thinking what it will be when you meet professionnal soldiers, or elite forces later in the game.
The only solution i see is playing at newbie difficulty level or hoping that when you gain experience and better weaponry, it's enough to make a difference and thus quickly take the advantage. There are some fun moments, but not enough to justify more than 5/10. It's just better than nothing if you want to play some JA clone in 3D with nice graphics and poor tactics.
Report message to a moderator
|
Corporal
|
|
|
Re: Matrix officially announce Hired Guns[message #203588]
|
Mon, 08 December 2008 20:52 
|
|
DocZ |
Messages:2
Registered:August 2007 Location: Washington state |
|
|
Just got the game and while I agree it's not JA2, it's OK IMO. So far no crashes to desktop for me and the translation is a little dodgy but generally understandable. The grenades are certainly a major concern as I watched the battle between soldiers and bandits (?) in the first sector and saw how lethal and frequently used they are...Generally it should provide some enjoyment for people wanting a tactical game and it may well be modded into a better game in the future. The camera angles are not the greatest, but i think you might be able to modify those with some settings IIRC.
Report message to a moderator
|
Civilian
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Matrix officially announce Hired Guns[message #203708]
|
Wed, 10 December 2008 02:03 
|
|
Stromb |
  |
Messages:40
Registered:March 2007 Location: France |
|
|
Hi
I've tried the game at easy (newbie) difficulty level and i've no more the "raining grenades" problem. So i've been able to make some good battles without being suddenly and randomly exterminated by the IA So far i've not seen more than 3-4 grenades (though i've found more on dead bodies) and the results was "normal" (like some bad wounds but not every time).
In this case, at least you can enjoy the game. The only problem is obviously it's just "too easy" (the more when you're used to this kind of tactical game). I suppose that it may be a little harder later.
That's a good news that Matrix will tweak the parameters because, to be a bit more positive, there's some fun times in Hired Guns (and the scenery is really nice). It really looks like it's just not finished.
As for other complaints, i'll add that i've seen ennemy mercs "stuck" on a light cliff / slope near the sea (some kind of pathfinding trouble as they were trying to advance from their start point on the edge of the map (coastal city map, after the dam) towards the center.
It was during an attack of the town after i conquered it. At the beginning i was waiting for them, entrenched in the building on my start position, and after several turns seeing no one coming, i had to explore the surroundings to find them. When i did find them (at their starting location apparently, some decided to move towards me, while some stayed on the same tiles, like sitting ducks... They found a way to retreat though when critically wounded, but too late for them Anyway, you got the idea i suppose.
Also, when you open a door, sometimes your merc behave strangely. For instance, i've seen once a guy opening the door, advancing and then turning and closing the door ... (the move was just to advance and open the door). Another time i've seen one merc opening and advancing (when i had just ask to open). It's not dramatic.
On Line of Sight topic, it's sometimes nearly impossible to shoot an adversary which is prone. It's like he dug himself. In this case, you have to either stand up (if you're in crouch position) or move, usually advancing towards the target. I'll add that there was nothing between the shooter and the target (bush, grass, ... nothing, just dirt). I even see once an ennemy lying on the ground (after a critical shot or an explosion ; think ragdoll effect), and it was completely impossible to shoot him. I thought he was "dying" (as he didn't move anymore, but a few turns later i suspect he throws a grenade at me (safari map). Obviously, there was some kind of bug and he was under ground, or something like that.
LoS problems are not common, but you still rather often see them.
I've noted too that stamina quickly drop to zero (even whe you weight allowance is still under 100%). Considering that some maps are rather big and that some ennemies are either in static position on the edge, or have fled far away from you when hurt, sometimes, you have too explore without being able to run, so when walking / resting, it's a bit long as the game stays in turn mode. It's a bit like "where is the last of them". If he's critically wounded, he'll die sooner or later (i suppose they don't heal themselves). Again, nothing dramatic, but in some case, it's frustrating (it reminded me the same problem i had once in X-com where finishing a battle was impossible because an alien was hiding...).
That said, the solution i've found for this is to use a sniper to scout. I don't know why, but the sniper I hired sees ennemis really far away (nearly twice).
Report message to a moderator
|
Corporal
|
|
|
Re: Matrix officially announce Hired Guns[message #203771]
|
Thu, 11 December 2008 01:04 
|
|
dinglehopper |
 |
Messages:134
Registered:January 2008 |
|
|
I bought the game from amazon and got it last Friday, here is my review so far after playing it for more than a few hours.
The grenades are a big problem! I tried playing it on expert, the safari mission is impossible because you start with your guys in a tight clump. More than once I never even got a turn because the marauders got to go first and killed me before I even got to do anything. Even on easy it is doable but one well placed grenade can take out 3 or 4 of your mercs. On other maps, especially larger maps and once you have better guns the grenade thing isn't so bad as if you get to go first you can usually take out or at least handicap everyone who is close enough to throw a grenade before they do so. Even if at the start the enemies were limited to stun or mini grenades it would not be so bad, but the full on hand grenades are a real game breaker at the early levels.
The English translations are usually good enough you can understand what is trying to be said, but never so good you can forget they are Russians using babelfish to translate their game for them.
Many missions are broken. For example if on the sefari mission you side with the buss driver and kill the bad dude you are supposed to save, not only does your "boss" not even make a mention of your rouse to hide it as he was killed in the fight, but the french resistance fighter dude the buss driver tells you to meet at the train station doesn't act any differently towards you. He just tells you not to make train ticket prices too high, which there is no way i have found to adjust the prices, so he is totally useless.
Also the mercenary squads you hire at 15 grand for 5 guys say you should get rid of them fast because they cost money daily, but in actuality if they do it is a few cent's a day at best.
Sectors where you would expect natives to be are filled only with army guys, like the sector below the road to the airport says it is where some brothers families live, but the place is empty.
Sectors are also, except for the first sector, devoid of equipment. Every once in a while you will find a sector that has one spot that has a bunch of really nice items in it, but other than that you will at best find a single small clip in an outhouse toilet occasionally (my guess is Russian humor suffered under communism).
After a fight everyone you fought drops the same crap. At best you can expect two different guns and if you are really lucky they use different ammo types, but not usually. These guns are not what you can clearly see the bad guys you are dropping where using, which after getting spoiled by 1.13 breaks the immersion (whatever is left after the horrible translations).
The character speech is so horrible I had to turn it off. If it was just bad in one way I would have forgiven it, but it is bad in every possible way. For example it is not uncommon for a merc who has full health and never even been shot at, to say something like "Ahh, what's that wet stuff, it's blood, my blood, I'M BLEEDING" to celebrate making an awesome head shot that one shotted an enemy. Seriously, it is completely random, you will hear them say "Found an item here" to complain about bleeding and when there are no items on the ground anywhere in the game. Clear the sector and they are complaining about needing rest, leave combat without having cleared the sector and they are telling you the sector is cleared.
The second thing wrong is they literally stole many of the voices directly from movies. I am honestly surprised there have not been some serious lawsuits over this, and suggest Matrix do something about this before there are. For example, there is a Chinese guy named dragon. Most of his lines come from the Jackie Chan and Jet Lee flick from late last year or earlier this year. Can't remember what it is called, but it wasn't a great movie to begin with, it is the one where there is some Monkey king who is imprisoned. Well, the line you get most often from him when you click on him is cut straight from that movie and is an annoying monkeyish laugh that the monkey king makes in that movie. Many other lines from this character are cut straight from the movie, like "You do not have any kung fu" and "My kung fu is better than your kung fu". Another line I heard from several mercs is straight from a comedian, and you can even tell it is the comedian himself saying it because he has a distinct voice. I even remember him saying it in a movie but can't recall right now which movie it was. The actor/comedian is Richard Lewis and I think the line comes from Wagons East. There are more, but that should get the point across.
Their gun's are completely out of wack. The FN FAL for example is completely useless, it is one of the worst guns in the game, how can this be? It is barely better than some pistols, can barely out range some shotguns, and is not even as good as the stinking calico 9mm rifle. At least you can buy it fairly early in the game, to bad you can barely ever buy ammo for it and many other guns you can buy early on until you are almost done with the game.
And there is ammo in the game, and always readily there to buy, that is not even used by any guns in the game. We are not talking a few types of rounds here either, there are like a dozen ammo types that are never ever used by any in game guns.
Sniper rifles are way to powerful, but it is because of poor AI not because they are actually too powerful. You see, if you load your mercs up with sniper rifles, get into a new zone and set all your guys up in a corner, and manage to take out every guy near your guys before the enemy has a turn to "see" you, then you will just be able to sit there with sniper rifles and take pot shots at enemies clear across the zone without them moving, coming to investigate, or anything. Shoot one in the chest and he just stands there like nothing happened, forever (or at least until you kill him). You can clear entire zones this way without ever even getting a shot fired at you, and hard zones too, like the airport is an easy one to do this at because it has no hills for enemies to hide behind.
Basically, I am enjoying the game, I recommend it only because it has enormous potential for modding greatness. But it has a ton of problems still that should be ironed out by Matrix and the Russians before many more people get there hands on this game.
DH
Report message to a moderator
|
Sergeant
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Goto Forum:
Current Time: Sat Sep 30 20:00:18 GMT+3 2023
Total time taken to generate the page: 0.01931 seconds
|