Woah (Beyond Two Souls)

I was actually wrong. David Cage actually got the best of me.

I spoke with someone else who played the game and realized he did things much differently than I did. What's strange, is that I just assumed that the game played out the way it did for everybody. But no. It seems like most of the choices were "invisible" and actually changed the outcomes in dramatic ways. In Heavy Rain, when you made a choice it was obvious and had an immediate effect. Beyond Two Souls? Choices are more subtle… and many have no prompts.

Further, I explored a lot more than he did, and he was absolutely shocked at some of the stuff I'd seen that he hadn't.

If you've played this, play it again but do it in a different way. Actively try to sabotage the flow of events that seem obvious. It's fucking cool, trust me.

If Quantic Dream can take this system of choice, and pair it with an excellent story next time, then we may have the Citizen Kane of video games.

I also got a funny look buying back a game I sold off :-p

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But the story, regardless of how it is played, is trite and completely asinine.

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But the story, regardless of how it is played, is trite and completely asinine.

Just like Bioshock Infinite!

Except Beyond Two Souls is actually making strides for interactive storytelling. It's definitely very far from perfect, but it's one of the biggest leaps I've seen in a while.

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For instance:

In another scene, a homeless Jodie wakes up to find her temporary room in a raging inferno. The fire that burns an abandoned building to the ground and puts her in the coma goes unexplained. Logically, the explanation here is that Jodie's distorted memory can't or won't recall specifics -- after all, if she woke up to a fire and was subsequently knocked out for months, why would she know what started it? Again, Cage commits to the mind's chaotic process as a storytelling device, but does so at the expense of understanding.

This IGN reviewer complains that the fire goes unexplained. Both my friend and I DID discover who started the fire, but by two different ways. He discovered it, because he escaped the building and caught them. I discovered it because I didn't escape the building, but was nice to Stan, so he left me a newspaper article by my hospital bed saying they caught the arsonists.

The arsonists were a group of teenagers who are beating Stan up. They light the building on fire as revenge for you kicking their ass. Which makes me wonder. If I did nothing or DIDN'T kick their asses, would the fire have still been lit? Maybe I'll try that next time.

This guy chose not to explore and press further, so that was closed off to him, just like it would be in real life! But, he just assumed it was crappy writing on the part of David Cage, when in fact, it was his curiosity that was crappy!

Many more examples like this. I think most people bashing the game didn't even realize the narrative was being built by their choices, since it worked so well that they just assumed it was the only path through the game, since it was so seamless. It's not like the walking dead which screams at you: YOU ARE MAKING A CHOICE WITH CONSEQUENCES. In Two Souls, it's completely natural; just how it should be.

Color me Beyond Impressed and proven wrong.

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Too bad I don't have a PS3. This'll have to be one of those games I go back to when I have more money to burn.

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Yeah, it really does sound impressive. The problem with RPG-type choices has always been that they're extremely black-and-white. You either have path A or path B. In some cases they go so far as to have an actual UI set up for the "choices" moments, and sometimes it's clear right at the moment of choice what the outcome will be. It's typically less about letting you have a unique experience with unknown outcomes, and more about giving you chances to tweak your character build toward one alignment or another. I have yet to see a game that really pulls off the sort of natural choice-and-consequence that Cody's describing here.

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This IGN reviewer complains that the fire goes unexplained. Both my friend and I DID discover who started the fire, but by two different ways. He discovered it, because he escaped the building and caught them. I discovered it because I didn't escape the building, but was nice to Stan, so he left me a newspaper article by my hospital bed saying they caught the arsonists.

Whoah. In my playthrough, I saved everyone from the fire and jumped out a window. While regrouping with the gang, the arsonists come into the alley and assault Jodie by beating her in the head with a bat, leading to her coma...

This guy chose not to explore and press further, so that was closed off to him, just like it would be in real life! But, he just assumed it was crappy writing on the part of David Cage, when in fact, it was his curiosity that was crappy!

Yup.

Many more examples like this. I think most people bashing the game didn't even realize the narrative was being built by their choices, since it worked so well that they just assumed it was the only path through the game, since it was so seamless. It's not like the walking dead which screams at you: YOU ARE MAKING A CHOICE WITH CONSEQUENCES. In Two Souls, it's completely natural; just how it should be.

Color me Beyond Impressed and proven wrong.

Also, Ellen Page.

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Thanks for posting. I've been interested in Quantic Dream's games. (I did play Indigo Prophecy). I might pick up a PS3 if I can find one cheap in the next month or so.

Right now I'm wondering if I should repurchase Human Revolution. Are you planning to?

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Beyond Two Souls? Choices are more subtle… and many have no prompts.

I saw a lot of videos with events (and sometimes even characters) that I never saw in my playthrough, and I tried to be thorough. Great game, great plot, Ellen Page; the three elements of perfection.

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