Game of thrones a telltale games series episode 7

ItвЂ™s all surprisingly pedestrian, with passive AI racers and police chases that are elementary. Motion blur attempts to sell a fast pace, but never captures the sensation that the worldвЂ™s rushing by. The speedometer may say so, but thereвЂ™s no tangible sense that youвЂ™re hurtling down the road at 160 miles per hour in a fuel-guzzling death trap. The problem is, outside of drift events where itвЂ™s a non-factor, the sense of speed in Payback is startlingly lacking. Meanwhile, runner events focus on police chases and timed dashes between various points on the map. Races and time trials are occasionally interspersed between the traditional drag events in an attempt to break up the monotony, but having to heave these cumbersome vehicles around the twisting turns of a race track isnвЂ™t a great alternative. Getting your car sideways is so easy that thereвЂ™s a singular pleasure in simply seeing how long you can maintain a drift for, while drag events are short and sweet but soon grow repetitive as youвЂ™re essentially just staring at a meter to time your gear shifts.В short and sweet but soon grow repetitive as youвЂ™re essentially just staring at a meter to time your gear shifts. Race and off-road events speak for themselves, and drift competitions offer an anomalous thrill.

There are also Forza Horizon-esque speed traps and drift challenges spread out across the open-world, and these provide minor distractions on the way to each checkpoint. Like previous Need for Speed games, youвЂ™ll pull up to checkpoints within the open-world, with race, off-road, drift, drag, and runner events providing plenty of variety. Infrequent story missions do at least latch onto the pomp and spectacle of PaybackвЂ™s Fast and the Furious inspiration, but it falters here, too. All of this might have been bearable if theВ story was confined to intermittent cutscenes, but the narrative is so prevalent in everything you do that thereвЂ™s little respite from its hackneyed storytelling. ThereвЂ™s also the kind of forced banter thatвЂ™s become commonplace in video games and is dutifully featured hereвЂ“where, for example, calling someone вЂњLilвЂ™ TyвЂќ is absolutely hilarious to anyone within earshot.

The dialogue is hammy, but not in a fun B-movie way, and it frequently goes out of its way to reference everything from The Matrix to Dragon Ball Z, with some cringe-inducing millennial slang shoehorned in for good measure. ItвЂ™s the type of clichГ©d story youвЂ™d ideally want to turn your brain off for yet thereвЂ™s not a noticeable shred ofВ self-awareness involved, and its earnesty does it no favours. ItвЂ™s a simple enough conceit that gives purpose to the gameвЂ™s structure, as youвЂ™re tasked with defeating various archetypal racing crews in order to earn a shot at your nemesis. After our three plucky protagonists are double-crossed during a heist gone awry at the gameвЂ™s outset, they set a plan in motion to exact revenge on their conniving defector and the ominous criminal syndicate she represents. With a steady framerate and impressive draw distance, Fortune ValleyвЂ™s slice of diverse countryside is at times, yet its locales are never distinct or memorable enough to make a lasting impression, and speaks to an open world that fulfills its role without ever standing out.ДЄnd the same can be said of PaybackвЂ™s story. The faux-Las Vegas of Silver Rock is a glistening urban jungle of glitz and greed that gradually broadens out into sun-kissed deserts, precarious mountain ranges, and the twisting turns that skirt through its forest wilderness. Set in the fictional US state of Fortune Valley, PaybackвЂ™s derivative tale of betrayal and vengeance takes place against the backdrop of an expansive open world that surprises with its range and variety. Where Need for Speed was once heavily influenced by Vin Diesel and co.вЂ™s predilection for tuner cars and Japanese imports, itвЂ™s now taking cues from the more recent Dwayne Johnson-centric entries, with heists and over-the-top action as the order of the day.

Game of thrones a telltale games series episode 7