14 July 2013

Remember Me is a good French Film

It's not actually a French film, mind you. It's a video game set in Neo-Paris, and I felt compelled to change the language to French with English Subtitles. And it really makes a difference with the feel of the game.
Voice acting is pretty important and in a genre that I find is commonly employed with North American voice actors, it's nice to hear something from the region of its setting, like a game coming out soon based on a classic set of films, Mad Max, where word got around that they weren't going to have any Australian voice actors in the game. 
That's changed since, as one of the higher ups of the development team piped up and said "Alright, we'll bring in the strine", and on that thought it makes me wonder how many people will need subtitles. Jenny has a hard time understanding shows from Aus, which makes me laugh.
Getting back on track, Remember Me is fun. There's naturally a few problems, the controls and combat is a bit clunky, but the impact of combat is very interesting. You end up having four fight combinations, and with that you can organise what buttons use what trigger, whether its a power strike or a health boost, and that'll figure out how you handle your fights between dodging every other part of the mob surrounding you and the occasional bit of ranged fire.
Between fights you're doing a beginners course of Circe Du Soleil Wall Climbing through slums and futuristic apartments with, what I assume, a taste of old French Architecture. And from that, i swear her fingers must be able to crack walnuts.
Now the story is the best part of the game. Set in 2084 Neo-Paris, the worlds big thing is memories. Sharing, Trading, Storing. The game starts with an Interview Advertisement about people's experiences with it: an elderly lady who can re-experience her life without the fear of forgetting it all; a girl feeling everything her partner feels about her in an instant; and a third guy I've forgotten about.
But with the good comes the bad, which is where our main character comes in, being drained of her own memories in a white cell before being led down a long hallway of other cells and staff to the next part of her "Treatment".
That is when a voice in her head, a friend from the outside, contacts her and helps her escape to the outside world to help a cause she was helping before she was sent to these "Doctors". And during her escape we find that she's a memory hunter, who tracks, steals, and even Remixes Memories.
That's one of the coolest parts of the game. You run through a memory of your target and change subtle things about it which change the outcome of that memory. There may only be a handful of these mini games, but they're still really cool.
One of my favourite parts is the visual implementation of technology. There aren't really any more signs on your door stop, it's a digital drop down that appears as you get close. Restaurant menus, special offers, even government decrees stating the shop is closed pop up. Others include local dangers like fire hazards, acidic waste, and live wires.
But my favourite is the Zorn, a robot that has an aesthetic of an Evangelion, and rather than have a proper humanoid head with facial features like a mouth and nose built into its head, it roars at the player with a terrifying projection of digital teeth larger than its torso.
I fucking loved it.
It's a game that, while I finished it in a day, it was worth the fun. I can't wait to play it with Jenny.

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