If you are about to read what is written below, I ask you to make a little effort first. Clear your mind and give free rein to your imagination, close your eyes and follow me on a long journey into the past: go back to yesterday, last year and back again at least a decade.
Let yourself be lulled by the folds of space-time and, when you are ready, finally open your eyelids. In front of you, Predator: Hunting Grounds.
"Let me guess ... you must be beautiful inside!"
I don't lie: the first impact with the game was alienating, heartbreaking. Unable to believe my eyes, I have repeatedly suspected that I had started a title of the last generation. Indeed, the alpha version of a title of the last generation. Visually, Predator Hunting Grounds it's bad to take your breath away. Stendhal syndrome stuff, but backwards.
Visually, Predator Hunting Grounds is breathtakingly ugly
In order to avoid misunderstandings, let's clarify one thing right away. Never, I say never, I would have liked to dedicate the first paragraph of a review to the technical sector of production. An element, this, far from being a priority in the evaluation. But this time the case is so exceptional as to force an exception to the rule. And be careful, because this is not a sterile debate of the "it's beautiful, it's not beautiful" type of debate. If this were the case, we could also postpone it, but this is not the case and we cannot go further. We can't because Predator's graphic problems (and not only) affect the experience as a whole and, at least on PlayStation 4 Standard, the title moves on the edge of unplayability.
The obscene amount of aliasing, il texture pop-in on every single object in the scene (not even in the menus they appear in time!) and thechromatic mixture they are enough to cause seasickness and make it unjustly difficult to identify targets in space. To this pretty picture is then added a granite frame rate, immovable from below thirty frames per second, which in the most agitated scenes proudly settles around the 15-20 fpsmaking it impossible, in fact, to even take aim. With all due respect to the cross-play.
On PlayStation 4 Standard the situation is dramatic, with aliasing everywhere and drops to 15-20 frames
For the sake of completeness, we also point out polygonal models and explosions (in) capable of rivaling the beginnings of the beginning of the last generation. And again, animations, when present, on the verge of abomination, physics almost non-existent and prehistoric weapon feeling. But let's go on ...
Artificial dementia
Predator Hunting Grounds it is configured as an asymmetrical multiplayer Vs. 4 1, along the lines of products like Evolve, Dead by Daylight or the more recent Resident Evil Resistance. In this case, a quartet of soldiers, the Fireteam, has to contend with the Predator, a lethal alien hunter, protagonist of the homonymous film of 1987.
It must be admitted that, precisely in the game setting, the title reveals its best cards. In fact, at the starting formula Ilphonic has made original and significant changes that should elevate production beyond the mediocrity of the competition, at least on paper. A good example is the variety of goals to be completed for the Fireteam. To achieve victory, in fact, humans are not obliged to eliminate the Yautja, but must carry out other tasks to counter dangerous drug traffickers, before escaping aboard a helicopter.
The missions vary from game to game and without a doubt this component PvE it would be the most interesting addition to the offer. The conditional, however, is a must, since these sequences are plagued by macroscopic problems. Objectives are too similar (go from A to B, find object X, kill enemies), making the experience boring, and NPCs are often affected by severe forms of dementia. Not infrequently you will happen to walk next to enemies without them having the slightest reaction, at least until you give them some XL rations of lead. L'1.05 update it had to solve the problems of artificial intelligence, if it can be defined as such, but nothing has changed. The result, unfortunately, is the total annihilation of what could have been a valid expedient to give variety to the games and increase the tension of the clashes. It would have been quite different to have to look after human adversaries, hunted by the Predator at the same time, but these, alas, never represent a real threat.
Great on paper, the PvE component is bad in practice
Even net of these glaring stumbles, the rhythm the hunt works the same, becoming the most successful aspect of the whole game. L'anxiety to come face to face with the alien is palpable, despite the considerable imbalance in favor of the soldiers, and the general feeling is that of being in danger, always, like trapped mice. All good, all nice (so to speak), even if the suspicion that all this is due more to the original material than to game design insights, has never abandoned us.
The pinnacle of the food chain… maybe
If at this point you are legitimately beginning to hope that the worst is over, stop! Think again. It is not so. In spite of the paradox in fact, the Predator represents the lowest point touched by the game in terms of gameplay quality. So do not be surprised if, after the initial desire to take on the role of the alien, you fall back sadly on the Fireteam. I know well that logic would dictate the opposite and I already see you reading these statements in disbelief. After all, between shoulder blasters, invisibility, over-the-top arsenal and tree racing, what could possibly go wrong? Well, pretty much everything.
Against all odds, the Predator's gameplay is perhaps the worst part of the production
The Predator's movement system is a disarming concentrate of inaccuracies. To dominate the list of problems we find the jump that can be performed with the dorsal. In practice, by holding down R1, a parabola pointer is activated that allows us to decide where to land. Leaving aside the fact that the physics of this specific movement has not been implemented (you release the button and the Predator "flies" without any animations), the move often does not activate and, above all, does not bind to other animations, castrating many possible ideas in terms of action.
I'll explain. One of the main skills of the alien is the so-called "Pre-smoke”, A nice play on words between Predator and parkour (ha ha…). The hunter can in fact climb trees and run on the branches using the vegetation to hide and attack by surprise. This at least in theory, because in practice the character often gets stuck between the branches, does not jump correctly between one and the other, falls when it shouldn't and doesn't go down when it should, thanks to the absence of the specific animation (again, yes "Flies" to the ground).
Technical limitations heavily affect any aspect of the gameNow, while turning a blind eye to what could be fixable bugs, what is unlikely to change is the problem I mentioned of not being able to chain of actions. Just to give you an example, it is not possible to jump with R1 towards a log and climb or jump off the ground onto a branch. No, because the only way to climb a tree is to press X on the ground near it and hope that the animation starts, which is not at all obvious. It goes without saying that this is not a precise choice of gameplay, but rather a overdrive at the level of technical implementation. By the way, it is impossible to climb any ledge, both with the Predator and with soldiers. Embarrassing.
David against Goliath
To give the coup de grace to the already precarious situation, a balance intervenes far from having found the square of the circle. After a few games it becomes sadly clear that getting the better of a well-coordinated team is virtually impossible. Part of the blame is due to the mere numerical statistics of damage inflicted and suffered, but on this front the developers are already at work and a calibrative patch is ready for download just as we write to you. It is also true that the situation improves once the high-level gear is unlocked, but for many of you it may be too late.
The balance of experience is still a long way from finding the square of the circleOther problems are more structural. Again, the woodiness of the animations makes it unnaturally difficult to approach the clashes with the sword, the cumbersome descent from the trees compromises the surprise effect, the impossibility of equipping the melee weapon already on the branches makes you lose precious seconds of engagement and go on like this.
On an even more macroscopic level, bad game design choices finally emerge that compromise the Predator experience. We refer in particular to the structure of the missions that ensures that the Fireteam always moves compactly towards the objectives. The Yautja therefore only has to engage from distance, with all the problems of the case (inaccurate fire system, low frame rate, etc ...) or load head down among the four soldiers, risking being reduced to a sieve in an instant. . Much more interesting and adrenaline would have been to have situations in which the team is required to separate, so as to increase the chances of victory for the Predator.
Little but good?
Even on the content front, Predator Hunting Grounds certainly does not excel, to put it mildly. The game indeed features the disheartening number of three, I emphasize three, maps, all set in the jungle and all very similar to each other. Yet there was certainly no lack of ideas from the original material, including urban scenarios, xenomorphic bases and the like. Even a simple night variant where you could play with the flames and the thermal viewer would have been interesting, just like in the first film. But even in this case we acknowledge that, perhaps, it was asking too much.
At the design level, some choices are totally foolishAmong other things about the iconic thermal viewer I can't help but open a parenthesis. The implementation of the latter was sacrosanct, of course, and would also work more or less properly, allowing to identify the heat sources thanks to the classic contrast Red Blue. Doing one thing right in its entirety, however, apparently was not in the plans of the developers and therefore off to the creative genius. What else to color red when the thermal viewer is active? Of course, the branches! You got it right: the branches on which predkour can be done are highlighted in red. Now, tell me what the heck that would be ratio behind such a choice? The branches are not hot and red as a source of heat is not justified. If, as I believe, the reason is instead to be found in wanting to help the user identify the path, I wonder: was there perhaps a more sensible color to use? Maybe not really the red that masks the prey, what do you think? Help me, you give me an answer because really, this thing drives me out of my mind.
At the level of progression the game raises the head slightly and is almost unassailable. The management of equipment and skills closely resembles any Call of Duty and it works. Less valid the classes, which differentiate the characters by amount of health, speed and weight they can carry. Often the penalties exceed the bonuses and the choice falls forcibly on one, maximum two choices. The unlocking of the arsenal runs fast, a choice that we approve, yet the useful options of the Predator are relegated too far to the bottom of the list. It is legitimate that as you progress you become a little stronger, but unlocking a certain class or weapon shouldn't be the only one. discriminating between victory and defeat.
Faithful and in love
A saying goes that no matter how you start, the important thing is to finish with a flourish. Precisely for this reason I decided to give Illfonic a gift and reserve the best for the conclusion. Because yes, sincere applause must be given for the incredible fidelity towards the progenitor film of the saga, the iconic Predator del 1987 with testosteronic Schwarzenegger and the machissimo Weathers, aka Apollo Creed.
The love for the original material is palpable and the gameplay translation of some details of the film deserves a note of meritFrom the landing of the soldiers, to the music of Alan Silvestri, passing through the facial camouflage, everything is designed to bring players back to that terrible jungle of Central America. The translation in terms of gameplay of some elements seen in the film is also positively surprising. Just like Dutch, for example, it is possible to get dirty with mud to become invisible to the thermal scanner. The water sizzles with electricity the invisibility of the Yautja and the minigame linked to theself destruction, with the exact same glyphs seen in the film's finale, it's a fantastic gimmick.
At the same time, fidelity to the source material provides an excuse to get even more nervous about the game. The variety that is lacking in the latter could have been bridged by drawing more from the various films of the saga. For the settings in the first place, but also for gameplay elements, such as traps by humans or eliminations from above for the Predator. Such a pity.
USEFUL INFOWe played Predator Hunting Grounds on PlayStation 4 Standard thanks to three codes provided by Sony Italy.
Duration- About 30 hours to reach the maximum level. What you do more (or less) is up to you.
- 1 mode, 3 maps: fine.
- Hundreds of absolutely negligible cosmetic items.
- Some recordings to be collected in the field and heard in the extras (buggy).
- Game Name: Predator: Hunting Grounds
- Release date: April 24 2020
- Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4
- Dubbing language: Italian
- Texts language: Italian
The curse of asymmetrical multiplayer
Predator Hunting Grounds is the perfect example of one license with great potential totally wasted. The problems are many, too many, impossible to overlook. The lack of contents, il technical sector unpresentable and the various other flaws described irreparably compromise even the happy intuitions that could have imposed the game as a new yardstick for the genre.
The paucity of content and the technical sector also affect the flashes in terms of gameplay: rejectedThat said, diehard aficionados who still dream of Arnold's gigantic bicep slapping the Yautja, as well as aficionados of the four-on-one, might find Predator a few hours of fun. Because in the end the crux of the matter is also this. Is the game fun? On the spot I would say no, alone it's just frustrating and repetitive, but yes, if played in company. It is true, however, that with the right company even a game of bowls can turn into the most exciting experience in life.
At present, ultimately, I would like to say that Predator offers too little, both in quantitative and qualitative terms, for the price it costs. If however the post launch support it will prove to be up to par, capable of solving problems and expanding the offer, then who knows, one day it might even be worth it. In the meantime, solving the dilemma is up to you alone: bowls or Predator?
Review by Giacomo Bornino
Graphics
The worst implementation of the Unreal Engine in the last 10 years. On PlayStation 4 Standard the game is unpresentable and the technical sector compromises the overall experience. Better on PRO, but still far from sufficiency, in 2020.
30
SOUNDTRACK AND DOUBLE ROOM
Alan Silvestri's iconic score is as beautiful today as it was 33 years ago. The sound effects of the Predator are also good, taken from the film saga. Flat all the rest.
60
GAMEPLAY
Some ideas would also be very valid in the 4 vs 1 multiplayer landscape, but placed in this heartbreaking context they are undermined in toto. Too many problems, too many inaccuracies, too much naivety. The license of the Predator would have deserved much more treatment.
