AMFP Member Review Thread

[DominusVita]

Alright. Let's talk about a Machine For Pigs.

Amnesia: AMFP has made great strides in some areas, and lacked in sections(though not necessarily just the scare factor) that made the series what it was. While there were slight dissapointments, the game's high points still made it a satisfying playthrough.

Gameplay-Wise, many of the elements are still there, though the inventory has been essentially removed, and the resource management of Tinderboxes-and-Such has also vanished. While I think said resource management could've been toned down in TDD, I'm not sure an outright removal works best for Amnesia - I liked it for a better sense of realism. Losing tt wasn't a dealbreaker, but it'd be very nice to have back.

Some of the level design got some tasty editions. Having the backdoor hallways via secret entrances is always fun - Reminds me of Thief II: The Metal Age in one of the mansion levels.

The terror is pretty light. The 2 in particular that got me were unique to AMFP: "Cigarette Butts", as Fight Club referred to it(a single frame of something scary pops out), and the electro-mecha-pigs. It seems particularly inspired by Thief: Deadly Shadows in the mission "Robbing The Cradle". Those things still give me the willies. Unfortunately, the rest of the monsters in the game have AI very similar to everything else I've seen via both Penumbra and TDD, so I wasn't necessarily taken aback.

The Storyline and Setting are the high points. It has the Art Deco/Steampunk Art Style, but doesn't necessarily feel like a rehash of BioShock or the like(though the inspiration is certainly there). Neat doohickies like the air pressurization was pretty neat. It's (at least from my perspective) a more interesting setting/storyline than TDD. The telephone addition makes the experience a bit less isolated, which also is turning the terror down a bit.

So what else can I say about Amnesia: AMFP? I think Frictional/Chinese Room have the storylining, dialogue, and atmosphere down very well, but I never felt particularly challenged or as engaged as I had been in previous frictional games. It was still fun, I don't feel ripped off or anything, but I think there are gameplay sections that still have room for improvement. Many of the puzzles are a bit easier than I was expecting, generally tossing one inventory item to a different location.

I'd love to see more unique AI and art designs for monsters, puzzles that are a bit more complex than what AMFP was offering.