The man eats the pig and the pig is eaten by the machine and the man is eaten by the machine, this is as it ever will be.
We're all pigs. God is a pig, for he has made all these other pigs and we damn him, for he is the biggest of them all. Christ is a pig, the son of the biggest hog. And we are all pigs. The whores, the orphans, and the beggars. There is not a single nice one about us. We are all pigs, and we all belong in a machine. . . What Is This Game?Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs is the latest release from Frictional Games, whom are known for their release on the three-game Penumbra series as well as Amnesia: The Dark Descent, which has grown the most popular out of currently existing games by them, likely due to let's-players and the endless possibilities of custom stories provided there, however take note that these are not available in A Machine For Pigs, which, as I so rudely forgot to mention, was also co-created by The Chinese Room.
Originally, the game was meant to be a short sort of thing; meant for Halloween 2012 (of course we are far beyond that though, almost a year!). However The Chinese Room had a different thing in mind, and the entire game grew into a much, much bigger project. If you're used to the original The Dark Descent, the plot does not nearly follow after Alexander (hell, he isn't even mentioned!). If you are very plot-induced by games and what to know more about just playing, well, information can be found below~! Plot, If You Will?{Hidden under spoiler because there are, indeed, spoilers}[spoiler]
The plot of the entire game revolves around Mandus, the protagonist of Frictional Game's work of art. Around the beginning he is in search of his two children, both boys. At first the story takes place in a terribly large mansion, perhaps a castle. If you have a keen of an eye as I, you might be able to notice certain similarities that certain parts hold when compared to Brandenburg castle, however as this takes place in London, it is most definitely not the previously mentioned castle.
Eventually, he descend towards a machine he himself built. Before this you may notice voices speaking from rather random locations; this is the machine, of whom sounds very much like himself. One could assume it is his mind, of course, however it is most definitely the machine that is speaking to Mandus. He begins his descent downwards eventually, and during this time inside the machine you meet. . well, pigs. Of course they are not nearly as terrifying as the monsters appearing in the original Amnesia, but they can be quite frightening. While you are down here, the machine gives Mandus hints of where his children are; promising him that they were there, their faces turning blue as the flood waters swept forward, rising, rising but not quite to their throats. Of course Mandus killed his children earlier (for reasons later to be explained), however upon not being able to find them, he blames the machine.
Upon arriving above-ground once more, the machine has wrung havoc; freeing the pigmen-like species out for all, slaughtering as he put in this order, 'the orphans, the whores, and the beggars', hints of this rather memorable line are up in the beginning of this post before this was all explained, of course. London is on fire, and of course blood fills the streets. During this Mandus decides to depart back downwards, to travel to the heart of the machine in order to stop this quite literally, bloody nonsense.
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Personal Game ReviewWhile I imagine you barely care for some sort of stupid game review from me of all people, I'm going to put it up here anyway.
3.5 STARS
While I very much did enjoy A Machine For Pig's, it is not nearly five stars, nor has it made it to four. Keep in mind that I pay close attention to the storyline and plot rather than the models used in it, of course. Nevertheless A Machine For Pigs textures are, as ever, strikely-disctinctive. As well as a collection of many different buildings, house objects, and simply fantastic creation of scenery, considering the fact that Frictional Games and The Chinese House are both independent in their creations, it is quite well. As far as lag goes, it is a bit laggy; of course it depends on your computer and your video card, as well as what you have your settings on. Over-all though, for such detailed scenery, it was surprisingly enough, not nearly as laggy as one might expect it to be. The only thing I would like to complain about is how poor London Burning, London Burning! actual burning was portrayed, as well as the non-existence inventory. Some conveniences might be lamps, the fact that is it unnecessary to collect tinderboxes or oil for your lantern, and a bit more you can find out yourself. However jumpscares were used more often then I personally though should've been, not to mention it was quite easy to outrun your enemies; thus, Amnesia: The Dark Descent remains superior in most matters.
As far as the Storyline goes, perhaps I could've thought it up myself, however the manner in which is was portrayed and the script written was simply absolutely fantastic. The voice choices were some of my personal favourites, and the sounds used within the game were very realistic, Frictional and Chinese House picked the right submissions, surely! One of the most noticable and under-rated things in most games, however, would have to be the soundtrack. Keep in mind that Frictional as well as Chinese House are both independent; they run by themselves, and aren't a dreadfully big. Practically every piece presented within the game, though it was not constantly shown, was simply. . . awesome! A personal favourite would have to be Mandus, as in a song from the game.
More-ever, in length of gameplay A Machine for Pigs was surprisingly. . easy and quick to finish. If you adore puzzles, half of what was presented was quite elementary; requiring little to no thought, not to mention I finished the game under ten hours. The Dark Descent prooves far more challenging in gameplay, and much longer in length. The plot as well was much more well-thought out and fretted over.
Sooooo~ who all here has played Frictional and Chinese Room's new creation~? Since Amnesia: The Dark Descent is so popular, and this game has been out for a month or two ago, I kinda wanna see the numbers~!
