![]() ![]() In the developer’s defence, it’s clear they spent their timeĪnd resources bulking up where it mattered the most. Gun – looks stilted and far from cinematic. Transition between animations – say, crouching, shooting and then throwing a ![]() Very stylish and slick, the animation side of things needed more attention. We understand the intention behind this – it’s all in the name of added challenge and consequence – but it also prevents fluidity. You’ve just seen him move three steps to the right, but now he’s hidden, and you can’t fire into fog. This leads to situations where you walk into an ambush you couldn’t predict, or a barely alive enemy who’s retreated into the shadows. For one, the environments are clouded in fog, meaning you can’t see much apart from what’s close by. That’s the theory, at least – it’s actually pretty rare that you pull this off and feel like John Wick. It could take as long as half an hour to set out actions, but when you watch it back you’ll see it as animation formed of split-second decisions, seemingly deployed by a master assassin. You could, for instance, move forward and surprise a goon from behind before suddenly turning to shoot an enemy in the face. Ingeniously, enemies also have ‘focus’ gauges – reducing their supply by punching them in the face is both useful and fun.Ĭharacter movement is handled in a predictable hex-based manner, selecting actions from a list before replaying the results to see if you hit ‘peak Wick’. Actions such as dodging and rolling require ‘focus’, so a steady supply is vital. A ‘focus’ system likewise demands attention. A timeline at the top of the screen tells you how long you and your opponent’s actions take, with each action – and certain weapons – using different timeframes. The game works like past strategy games, except you only have one character. Realising this, the developers behind the multiformat John Wick: Hex have given us a strategy game where you don’t play as John Wick, but rather his choreographer. Every movement feels crafted and rehearsed, making these cinematic blockbusters more akin to dance movies. John Wick doesn’t just take down goons – he does it beautifully. However, the appeal of John Wick lies in the balletic movement and fight choreography. A couple of generations ago, a publisher would have already churned out a series shoddy third-person shooters. Set in a heightened fantasy version of the real world, they involve an assassin coming out of retirement to gun down goons while rival assassins argue out arcane rules and traditions. Funnily enough, the John Wick films seem to be both perfect and impractical video game material.
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