Zeno Clash is...strange. A first person game without any emphasis on guns but no puzzles. A Beat Em Up where guns have infinite ammo. A game based around melee combat where you're lucky to get a melee weapon. At its heart this game is something that should be a complete contradiction, sure it's technically a BEU, but it's impossible to think of it as anything but a FPS based around Good Old Fisticuffs.
Trust me when I say, you'll be using fists 90% of the time (with the exception of a level involving an interesting...torch/Energy Weapon hybrid, but I won't spoil that). Weapons are easily knocked out of yours (or your opponents') hands with a few well placed blows, guns are slow to fire and reload and melee weapons are slow and don't offer as many combos; you'll never use them outside of the odd sniping section or to take down the few enemies who need heavier weapons to harm them. Luckily the hand to hand works. You can aim your blows, block, parry, deliver one-two punches, grapple/throw opponents into one another and even charge them down. Some enemies can pull off some impressive gymnastics, but Ghat's simple but brutal repertoire of punches, grapples and shoulder charges is so cathartic to pull off you won't care. The AI is also quite impressive, pulling back and retrieving weapons when they can in a manner that makes it seem like you're fighting a person rather than the 3D equivalent of an MK Walker (despite the punishing difficulty).
While the gameplay is solid, the story and setting also deserve a mention. Quite a few questions are left unanswered by the end, but you still feel intrigued; wanting to learn more about both what happened to Ghat in the last month or so of his life that lead to him killing the 10 foot tall creature that (apparently) raised him and the (borderline insane) world he's fleeing through. Even though he's essentially running for his life instead of setting out, you can't help but want to push forward and explore, like a much more linar version of Shadow Of The Colossus. The entire thing is like some sort of stone age acid trip, but in a way that leaves you desperate to understand it.
Overall: If you want a challenging Beat Em Up with a unique setting then this is for you. The difficultly might put some players off, however. I'd suggest you play the demo first and decide if it's for you. 8/10
A unique Beat Em Up in a unique setting
Zeno Clash is...strange. A first person game without any emphasis on guns but no puzzles. A Beat Em Up where guns have infinite ammo. A game based around melee combat where you're lucky to get a melee weapon. At its heart this game is something that should be a complete contradiction, sure it's technically a BEU, but it's impossible to think of it as anything but a FPS based around Good Old Fisticuffs.
Trust me when I say, you'll be using fists 90% of the time (with the exception of a level involving an interesting...torch/Energy Weapon hybrid, but I won't spoil that). Weapons are easily knocked out of yours (or your opponents') hands with a few well placed blows, guns are slow to fire and reload and melee weapons are slow and don't offer as many combos; you'll never use them outside of the odd sniping section or to take down the few enemies who need heavier weapons to harm them. Luckily the hand to hand works. You can aim your blows, block, parry, deliver one-two punches, grapple/throw opponents into one another and even charge them down. Some enemies can pull off some impressive gymnastics, but Ghat's simple but brutal repertoire of punches, grapples and shoulder charges is so cathartic to pull off you won't care. The AI is also quite impressive, pulling back and retrieving weapons when they can in a manner that makes it seem like you're fighting a person rather than the 3D equivalent of an MK Walker (despite the punishing difficulty).
While the gameplay is solid, the story and setting also deserve a mention. Quite a few questions are left unanswered by the end, but you still feel intrigued; wanting to learn more about both what happened to Ghat in the last month or so of his life that lead to him killing the 10 foot tall creature that (apparently) raised him and the (borderline insane) world he's fleeing through. Even though he's essentially running for his life instead of setting out, you can't help but want to push forward and explore, like a much more linar version of Shadow Of The Colossus. The entire thing is like some sort of stone age acid trip, but in a way that leaves you desperate to understand it.
Overall: If you want a challenging Beat Em Up with a unique setting then this is for you. The difficultly might put some players off, however. I'd suggest you play the demo first and decide if it's for you. 8/10