Judge Dredd: Dredd Vs. Death Review

By Martin Taylor Published 10 November, 2003

Martin IS the law. As for Judge Dredd...

Version tested: PC

2D, 3D, CG, sprites, voxels, polygons - games may change, but one great big fat constant is that licensed games always stand a good chance of being rubbish. There's just something about the artificiality of the development process, the forced shoehorning of popular properties into the often borrowed framework of a game, that more often than not spawns disaffecting tripe unworthy and unaware of its heritage.

The beginning of the end

'Judge Dredd: Dredd Vs. Death' Screenshot 1

As you've probably guessed, Dredd Vs. Death is a perfect example. This is the first result of UK developer Rebellion's purchase of the 2000AD comic catalogue. There's such a wealth of beautifully realised characters, plot, action, suspense, comedy and drama held within this comic book institution that, given the state of technology and prevalence of freeform city-based titles in 2003, surely nothing much could go wrong. Surely.

From the very outset, Dredd Vs. Death is nothing more than a triumph of asinine shootery and cringeworthy product placement (Red Bull and PlayJam adverts show up regularly in the city, and one mission objective even involves arresting a gang for the illegal smuggling of the energy drink). How did this happen? How did such a strong set of characters get reduced to plodding around dull levels, greeting each other with their breathy action flick voices during cut-scenes, firing pointlessly at wave after wave of marauding undead?

Even the story is incredibly forgettable. The Psi Judges of Mega-City One have predicted that a plague will ravage the city, something that seems to go hand in hand with the sudden outbreak of vampires in the city. Judge Dredd - the rock hard, square-jawed, law-enforcing legend - takes it upon himself to launch an investigation into locating the source of all the vampire action. Cue eleven chapters of watered down Halo on a budget.

Standard

'Judge Dredd: Dredd Vs. Death' Screenshot 2

Actually, no, I can't compare it to Halo. The only parts that really remind me of Halo are the holding-two-guns-at-a-time bit and the recharging shield. The rest is just saddening. You set off as Dredd into the dank streets, issuing the odd warning to common criminals, waiting for them to get on their knees so that you can handcuff them and pass Judgement. Some perps will put up more of a fight than others, but only when you're fired at should deadly force be employed. Assault on an unarmed or unthreatening individual will decrease Dredd's LawMeter, which measures how adept you are at upholding the law and affects your Judge rank at the end of each chapter.

Dredd's deadly force is mostly contained within one weapon - the Lawgiver, a sidearm that contains an entire game's worth of arsenal. With a simple switch of modes it can alter its ammunition from regular bullets to armour-piercing, Hi-Ex (explosives), heat-seeking, bouncing and incendiary rounds. There are of course other weapons, including shotguns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, pistols and gas grenades, but none of these ever come into use quite as much as the Lawgiver's various flavours of assault, all of which come in useful when the vampires arrive.

And once they do, the scene is set for the rest of the entire game. Dredd makes his way through Mega-City One annihilating fast-moving growling things attempting to take chunks out of his face. Whip out the Hi-Ex and a couple of shots send them spiralling into the air and bouncing off the walls. Some seemingly hacked-in ragdoll physics come into play here, with some characters ricocheting all over the place before settling into a resting position.

Nice, er… rain

'Judge Dredd: Dredd Vs. Death' Screenshot 3

Rebellion's Asura engine seems to have the potential to render some genuinely impressive visuals, but its deployment in Dredd Vs. Death varies from the impressive to the downright awful. Firstly, the mixture of comic-style textures on the Judges doesn't sit well with the attempt to portray gritty realism in some areas of the city. The city itself is for the most part well constructed with its grimy exteriors and driving rain, and it conveys a proper sense of scale. Some of the interiors, however, lack the detail required to make the scenery particularly believable; at points it's clear that Rebellion were struggling with exactly how they wanted to present Dredd and his environment.

Still, credit where credit's due. The atmosphere does thicken from time to time, particularly in anticipation of Dredd's confrontation with the Dark Judges in the latter stages of the game. What comes before is an utterly forgettable seven levels of mind-numbing sub-Duke Nukem 3D 'action', with Dredd plodding about each level like he's wading through mud. But towards the end of the game, Rebellion suddenly gained the ability to strike genuine fear in my heart as the battle with Judge Mortis, the disease-spreading deathmonger, approached.

The preceding twenty-minute struggle against hordes of shambling zombies built up to this moment - it couldn't come soon enough. "Mortis is in there Dredd, be careful!" warned a fellow Judge, and as the background drones mixed with the wails and moans of the undead, I felt a chill. I turned the corner and there he was - a pathetic-looking six-foot high model standing in the middle of the room emitting puffs of brown smoke in my general direction. His defeat was as mundane as his visage. Actually confronting him would mean mission over, as Dredd isn't allowed to let Mortis' soul escape, and so what's the grand solution? Release some sanitary gas at the other end of the room, forcing Mortis out of the hospital and allowing him to be captured.

Dying a Death

'Judge Dredd: Dredd Vs. Death' Screenshot 4

After Mortis comes Judge Fire, then Death, then Fear, then... er, Death again. Each battle is more depressingly anti-climactic than the last, with a couple of final confrontations even yanked out from under the player's feet and portrayed in cut-scenes. And don't even get me started on the final boss battle with Judge Death. The game was all over in about six hours, and I was left with the sinking feeling that Rebellion hadn't even scratched the surface of what their own licence has to offer them.

The clumsy plot was delivered with a total lack of finesse; the characters were brought to life with awkward voices and badly animated, angular frames; there was an almost total lack of the strip's characteristic sardonic wit, and I rarely ever cared about what happened to whom. Probably because nothing does happen to anybody until the very last level.

The arcade and multiplayer portions of Dredd Vs. Death seem to be Rebellion's attempt to rescue the effort. Arcade throws players into a free-for-all battle against respawning AI and challenges them to survive against the clock or kill as many enemies as possible within the time limit. Arcade levels are unlocked by gaining a high ranking in the main story mode, and successes in those unlock cheats for use in the single-player game.

Multiplayer mode features an impressive complement of different modes, many of which are variations on already established FPS game types. Blockwar is a King of the Hill mode, with players attempting to inhabit specific areas for as long as possible. Bounty Hunter puts one player in Dredd's shoes with the rest hunting him down, and the player who manages to kill him fills those shoes, the twist being that players are only able to score as Dredd. There's also Informant mode, straight out of Counter-Strike, with one team of players attempting to escort an unarmed player to a safe house, as well as deathmatch, team deathmatch and even more besides. One particular mode which grabbed my attention was Vampire: each player's health steadily decreases on its own, and can only be replenished by hurting or killing other players. It's an interesting twist that increases the tension and frantic action of an otherwise regular deathmatch game.

Drokk

Frankly I wasn't expecting the best from Dredd Vs. Death, but what happened once I set the disc in the drive was more disappointing than I could possibly have anticipated. This is a total waste of a fantastic licence - incredibly anti-climactic, a mere six hours long, full of uninspired levels and identikit enemies, and achingly tedious to play. Once finished I had to quickly uninstall it lest I ever accidentally clicked on that hateful icon again.

The multiplayer modes just about rescue Dredd Vs. Death from a total slating, but really - Dredd deserves better than this. Fans of 2000AD are going to hate this even more than the Stallone movie, and mindless shooter fans aren't going to like it much more than that. When you think what could have been, it's almost painful to think about.

3 / 10

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About Martin Taylor

Read more articles from Martin by visiting the Martin Taylor archive page.

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Comments (108) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Blerk #1 8 years ago

    Ouch. I didn't think it was that bad from the demo, but I certainly didn't get the 'might have to buy the full game' feeling.

  • mouse Verified Graphic designer, Eurogamer Network #2 8 years ago

    Imagine playing the demo and finishing it eleven times, and you'd think it was that bad.

  • Blerk #3 8 years ago

    /thinks

    Ugh! You're right! :-)

  • Shinji #4 8 years ago

    It's completely bloody tragic. I'm a huge 2000AD fan, and I ended up uninstalling this on Saturday afternoon after about five levels for fear that I might ever click on the icon again, even by accident. It would appear that AVP was a fluke; Rebellion really had no clue what to do with this license, or how to make a decent FPS game.

    That said, it's not the worst FPS game I played this week. Just when I was about to award it "most disappointing game ever" in my own head, something much much more terrible turned up. Review on the way...

  • UncleLou #5 8 years ago

    Just when I was about to award it "most disappointing game ever" in my own head, something much much more terrible turned up. Review on the way...

    So, Half-Life 2 does get a 2003 release??

    j/k

    Hm, CS: Condition Zero?

    edit: Not XIII, I hope? Contract Jack?
    Edited by 2 at 10/11/03 @ 10:43

  • Killerbee #6 8 years ago

    I sort of expected this to be poor - but not this poor.

    Ah well, next FPS!

  • Tabasco #7 8 years ago

    Aha...

    Ahahahahahahahaha

    Good lord.....:o)

  • jaa #8 8 years ago

    Martin, I hope you're ready to a 100+ post discussion with CultureShock...

  • Sko #9 8 years ago

    Are you sure you (*giggle*) didn't accidentally review (teheheh) the wrong version? Ahahahaha!

    I can't actually imagine how bad that first unfinished review copy that was supposedly set free must have been. What did it do, come with an adapter to pummel your genitals with a large mallet while you played it?

  • mouse Verified Graphic designer, Eurogamer Network #10 8 years ago

    Well, this was a retail boxed copy, and I've never had my hands on any dodgy versions of the game so... sorry what was the question again?

    Edit: Oh right. I'm not sure what the difference is, if any.
    Edited by 1 at 10/11/03 @ 11:09

  • jaa #11 8 years ago

    As for XIII (please, shinji, answer Uncle Lou's question), the french site jeuxvideo.com gave it 17/20 but stated that the gameplay is a few notches below the looks.

  • mouse Verified Graphic designer, Eurogamer Network #12 8 years ago

    If he answers the question it'll ruin the fun!

  • Blerk #13 8 years ago

    XIII: 6/10 in this month's Games TM. "Mostly enjoyable but annoying and glitchy in places. And rock hard."

  • otto #14 8 years ago

    Christ. What a crying shame. Please God if this game crashes and burns, which seems likely, let that not put the comic itself in jeopardy! And what about all those other Rebellion projects in the pipeline? If they can't deliver the goods with Dredd, what are the chances with Rogue Trooper et al?

    Not a good day for 2000AD fans... :(

  • prettyboytim #15 8 years ago

    I seem to remember there was some asshole a couple of months back who, after referring to Eurogamer as 'EDGE Lite' proceeded to claim that Dredd was going to be the best thing ever with some genuinely innovative and amazing gameplay. What was his name? Where is he? I want to point at him and laugh.

  • nomaad #16 8 years ago

    Hey Shinji, when can we expect the review of this miserably disappointing game? Today?

  • jaa #17 8 years ago

    I'm not a 2000AD fan. I never intended to play this game (don't play PC games). Don't like the bits of the Stallone movie I saw on TV.

    Now that that's clear:

    I tried looking on the bright side for so long.

    That's true, CultureShock. And part of the problem lies there. You defended it in such a way (the word 'arrogant' comes to mind) that there was really no room left for radical change of mind. That's why I suspect prettyboytim is referring to you in the last post before yours and that a lot of people probably feel the same.

    As for my remark, I wasn't so much expecting you to disagree with Martin's opinion that this is not a good game (I was aware of your last posts on the subject) but I was expecting you to comment the review itself, accusing Martin of missing the really important points (something you've done in the past). Plus, a few weeks ago, you asked when would this review get posted, so I assumed you had a lot of comments to make. Guess I was wrong.
    Edited by 1 at 10/11/03 @ 12:41

  • mouse Verified Graphic designer, Eurogamer Network #18 8 years ago

    Don't encourage it jaa, I'm not in the mood.

  • Tiger_Walts #19 8 years ago

    prettyboytim
    10-Nov-03 11:56:54 I seem to remember there was some asshole a couple of months back who, after referring to Eurogamer as 'EDGE Lite' proceeded to claim that Dredd was going to be the best thing ever with some genuinely innovative and amazing gameplay. What was his name? Where is he? I want to point at him and laugh.

    1. I once made an Edge lite reference, but if you had an ounce of common sense in your fibre you'd realise the whole article was very tongue-in-cheek and none of it to be taken seriously.

    2. I never made any such reference about the Dredd game, and if anything I have been sceptical about it from the start.

    But then it could have been someone else you are referring to.

  • Thamuhacha #20 8 years ago

    > Don't encourage it jaa, I'm not in the mood.

    I think this review sums up the argument against the "you just play games all day" crowd. I work in the games industry and when you have been forced to play rubbish / unfinished stuff for a whole day it can put you in a really bad mood.

    Mouse - you are performing a public service. Never forget that. Reviews are practically pro-bono journalism :-)

  • mouse Verified Graphic designer, Eurogamer Network #21 8 years ago

    If you get the chance to tell me where you think I went wrong CS, I'd welcome your personal thoughts. I've never really had the dubious honour of your commentary on any of my articles, and I think you're quite interesting.

    By the way, I never said I was in a bad mood.
    Edited by 1 at 10/11/03 @ 13:13

  • binky #22 8 years ago

    step AWAY from the thread

  • mouse Verified Graphic designer, Eurogamer Network #23 8 years ago

    That doesn't mean I fancy him by the way. Just thought I'd clear that up.

  • sam_spade #24 8 years ago

    oooooh!

    Mouse and CultureShock sitting in a tree:

    d-i-s-c-u-s-s-i-n-g

  • prettyboytim #25 8 years ago

    TigerWatts: But then it could have been someone else you are referring to.

    Yeah, It wasn't you. It was Cultureshock. I just couldn't remember his name at the time.

    CultureShock: How sweet. You remembered.

    I'm not sending you any chocolates, though. Oh, and I suppose I'd better get this over with:

    [points] Ha ha! [/points]


    Edit: tucking fypo.
    Edited by 1 at 10/11/03 @ 14:34

  • krudster #26 8 years ago

    Incidentally, I played the PS2 and Xbox versions of this and the former was so ugly that I insisted we get the PC version so I could check if the graphics really were as bad as the console versions suggested.
    Gameplay wise, I got so angry and disenchanted I gave it to Martin to make sure it really was as bad as I thought.
    Clearly it was.
    I'm genuinely shocked Rebellion has fucked this up, I had a huge amount of misplaced faith that this would be good.

  • Lerxster #27 8 years ago

    Yep I got 'into' 2000AD many moons ago and having played the demo I was a tad upset that this game would be a heap of poop. Drokk!

  • sam_spade #28 8 years ago

    Or we could ditch the Sci-Fi theme and play True Crime.

  • Thamuhacha #29 8 years ago

    > Or we could ditch the Sci-Fi theme and play True Crime.

    Yes, but that would ruin the point. The huge post above is very well thought out. But "Grand Theft Auto 2000AD" would have done as a concept. That is what I was expecting from the Dredd game when I first heard details of it.

    And that would be no bad thing. The point about GTA was that you got to freeform role play as something you canot usually be (a criminal). And that made a great game. When I read comics as a kid (not 2000AD ... sorry) I wanted to be the comic character. Not to follow the story I had just read, but to have my own story.

    That's why licenses should be picked up. Because they provide a recognisable and cool situation with readily defined rules, locations and characters for someone to have an experience in. Not so that you can bolt the look and feel onto a pre-determined type of game.

    Edit - and to then make a BAD implementation of the chosen "pre-determined type of game" is nothing short of criminal.
    Edited by 1 at 10/11/03 @ 17:39

  • Kronos #30 8 years ago

    scojo..I had similar thoughts about a Robocop game. Would fit perfectly into the vice city format..go round to random occurrences..sort shit out..have missions which further the story etc

  • DarkEula #31 8 years ago

    Rebellion should be ashamed of this POS...

  • Thamuhacha #32 8 years ago

    "If that hadn't be so GTA whatever wouldn't have mattered in the slightest. "

    not quite sure what this means ... typo?

    But anyway, I am not saying that GTA is the answer to all gaming design issues. Just that it had the right idea in giving you a world to play with. The rules that govern the individual world for a given game will be different each time, but the point of using a licence is to bring something new to a game. Look at D&D - it is a pen and paper game with so many statto rules that it makes my head hurt. But when you make a computer game out of it and leave all the 8 sided dice to the programming than it is possible to create great stories and worlds with all that brilliant source material.

    I have a funny feeling we are violently agreeing with each other here.

  • Tyronne #33 8 years ago

    So basicly its just very very crap.....

  • L0cky #34 8 years ago

    nuff said.

  • DodgyG #35 8 years ago

    Hi Demis!

  • krudster #36 8 years ago

    I'm sure you're a very clever man, but don't take up that job in PR...
    Maybe people wouldn't troll so much if you actually came clean about who you are.

  • Thamuhacha #37 8 years ago

    > Maybe people wouldn't troll so much if you actually came clean about who you are.

    And maybe not.

    Edit: LOL @ "Hello Demis" ... brilliant
    Edited by 1 at 11/11/03 @ 13:35

  • Shinji #38 8 years ago

    There are less than half a dozen known and publically available facts about what I'm working on and about the same amount scattered among a few individuals not directly associated with the project... blah blah blah read my posting history I AM YOUR GOD MORTALS

    I think "All Talk No Substance" summed you up far more concisely. If you were really working on such a fascinating, astonishing, uber-top-secret project, then I'm pretty sure you wouldn't feel the need to come along and be such a petty egotistical loser on internet forums.

  • Thamuhacha #39 8 years ago

    >This from the company that gets confused with Gay News. LOL.

    Objection - childishness! Ludicrous attempt to name call once found in an indefensible position yer honour.

    Now off you go and employ some shader technology in a doom III style rendering thingy across some useful communications technology to character render your big shiny new game. And we'll let you know what we think when it comes out. Good boy.

  • lost_soul #40 8 years ago

    Hi Demis!

    CultureShock is the guy from Elixir?

  • otto #41 8 years ago

    scojo said:

    Rebellion made a cynical zombie shooter and thought they could get away with it. The original Dredd film was bad enough, but Dredd vs Death has killed off Dredd once and for all. Seeing how poorly Dredd vs Death has done in the charts, it's painfully obvious - no-one gives a flying drokk about Dredd.:( As a lifelong 2000AD fan, it's so very sad to see Dredd wasted yet again. Shame on Rebellion.:(

    This is the point, isn't it? Cynically, and lazily, Rebellion bought 2000AD and thought they'd use its fanbase to boost their videogame sales, when they could and should have used a great game to boost the comic's sales through the roof to an international videogaming audience. So instead of pursuing a sensible group-wide strategy, strengthening both the comic and the videogame brands, instead they've debased both the Rebellion and 2000AD brands, spectacularly failing to sell even to hardcore subscribers and long-time videogamers such as me! Stupid stupid stupid.

    Oh, and scojo, are you the scojo who was booted off the 2000adonline forum? ;) Anyway, nice to see you here mate.

  • bingbong #42 8 years ago

    this has really been quite interesting. I'm sorry most of you do not like the Dredd game. Personally I think it doesn't deserve a 3 but it is only an average game at best. The game was hampered a lot by trying to recreate mega city one and the look and atmosphere of the city, and I think they forgot that you need to have solid gameplay behind this to really make a great game. A basic shoot em up nowa days is something doesn't excite people. There are so many very good titles now that you have to do the basics well to warrant £40 of peoples money.

  • bingbong #43 8 years ago

    so you're not from Elixir then. Coz I've seen quite a bit on Evil Genius and I like what I see. Very good and very funny!

    If you score that hard then you could probably get a job at GAMES TM :)

  • Thamuhacha #44 8 years ago

    /HUGS MANOWAR FOR BEING A SNEAKY GENIUS

  • sam_spade #45 8 years ago

    "We're going on a witch hunt and what do we see
    But a great big tard right in front of me.
    It's so dumb we can't go around it.

    But then, can we go over it? (No)
    Can we go under it? (Uh,Uh)
    Looks like we're gonna have to shoot it."

  • sam_spade #46 8 years ago

    You guys are wrong. I was expressly told by Feersum Boundah that we would rue the day that we discovered who he really was. I was expecting shocks reverberating through the forum and comments.

    No to go "Who?"

  • mouse Verified Graphic designer, Eurogamer Network #47 8 years ago

    Wow. Well that was almost as anti-climactic as the end of DVs.D.

  • Thamuhacha #48 8 years ago

    > Wow. Well that was almost as anti-climactic as the end of DVs.D.

    It's OK ... I was getting RSI rolling the mousewheel up and down to read and reply anyway.

  • mouse Verified Graphic designer, Eurogamer Network #49 8 years ago

    Home and End my good man, Home and End.

  • ssuellid #50 8 years ago

    Even Google responds with 'Who?' ;)

  • Thamuhacha #51 8 years ago

    > Home and End.

    Then I have to roll back through your review each time. And that's what got us into this mess in the first place :-)

  • mouse Verified Graphic designer, Eurogamer Network #52 8 years ago

    Oh, funnily enough he was outed long ago as this thread shows. Never mind then.

  • sam_spade #53 8 years ago

    Well, I just thought Charles E Hardwiggle was a silly name that he'd come up with.

  • Thamuhacha #54 8 years ago

    So CultureShock/Max Diablos/Feersum Boundah/Charles E Hardwidge are all one and the same?

    That's actually hilarious. He keeps coming up with different nicknames and gets banned from all sorts of places through being an utterly arrogant fool with no discernible grounding for his massive ego? (That doesn't mean he's wrong, obviously, its the hideous attitude that makes me seethe).

    I love this industry. I bet he has a beard (ducks)

  • otto #55 8 years ago

    You forgot DistortedReality. :)

  • ssuellid #56 8 years ago

    CS, Are there any games, that you have had some input in, that you can talk about? e.g. released titles that the NDAs no longer apply to.

  • lost_soul #57 8 years ago

    You forgot DistortedReality. :)

    I think there was also a Zaphrod Bumblebee, or something like that, as well.

  • minkyqueen #58 8 years ago

    I love this industry. I bet he has a beard (ducks)

    You'd better duck boy!

  • Thamuhacha #59 8 years ago

    You really are a waste of time aren't you?

    You haven't done anything you can talk about since the 1980s. Well, I am sure NASA have benefited from your expertise on all those top secret projects in the meantime, but I doubt anyone here gives a toss. So take your ridiculous ego somewhere else.

  • otto #60 8 years ago

    Can we please stop talking about CultureShock and start talking about the game and related issues? Chucking personal abuse at CS isn't going to achieve anything.

  • Thamuhacha #61 8 years ago

    otto - you are totally right.

    Done - just realised that "Ignore poster" works for unregistered people.

  • gizmo #62 8 years ago

    LOL, nothing since the 1980's!!!

    'A legend in his own mind'

  • Alastair #63 8 years ago

    'From the response to that little tester I threw at you I doubt you'd be happy with anything I said. '

    Yeah, but you didn't name the game..... It might have been great and earned you lots of respect from us all. Or it might not....

  • gizmo #64 8 years ago

    Don't worry, he would like nothing more than for it to have been something great!

    Its like when you were 3, teasing your sister;

    I know something you dont know, I know something you dont know...

    WHAT?

    Erm.... nothing

    FB simply finds it difficult being a nobody, and if you were to meet him in real life I reckon he'd be pretty creepy.

  • Alastair #65 8 years ago

    Actually, come to think of it, I wrote a pretty awesome adventure on the Dragon 32 back in the 80s.
    It had 5 distinct locations, but only one of them had the treasure. One of the other locations had a bomb and to simulate the explosion I used a series of random cls commands to get the screen flashing.

    Does this qualify me to comment of current game programming?

  • jellyhead #66 8 years ago

    I spent far too long typing in code from magazines only to find the game was poo, can i comment?

    /Thinks... Is that what Rebellion did? hmmm.

  • sam_spade #67 8 years ago

    \o/

  • ssuellid #68 8 years ago

    Bye.

    I'm sure you'll pop back when the offical PS3 specs are published.

  • Alastair #69 8 years ago

    Hey, there's no speculation and inexactitude!
    I really did have 5 locations in my adventure and really did use random cls commands to make the screen flicker.

  • gizmo #70 8 years ago

    Hooray.

    Dick.

  • DodgyG #71 8 years ago

    Bye Demis!

  • UncleLou #72 8 years ago

    Culture Shock, your posts are often interesting, and I wouldn't mind you staying, if only your Ego (whether it's too small or too big is another question) wouldn't stand in the way so often. :-/

    Anyway, if you return, make sure you think about the proverb "In for a penny, in for a pound" for a minute. If you can't or don't want to talk about something, then just don't talk about it at all. Your habit of hinting at things without ever explaining what you are actually on about is pretty annoying.

  • jaa #73 8 years ago

    We never had, right? Why would things suddenly change?

  • UncleLou #74 8 years ago

    I saw that, ssuellid. :-)

    Strange craving for attention there CS, considering what you obviously think about us.

    *shrugs*

  • lost_soul #75 8 years ago

    Heh, funny thread.

    So, CS gets outed and then "retires" the next day. Hmm, coincidence?

  • ssuellid #76 8 years ago

    UncleLou, I posted it and then realised that I couldn't be bothered really.

    CS when's the big move from Bristol to Japan happening?

  • Thamuhacha #77 8 years ago

    > Should've guessed you guys had nothing worth saying.

    AAAARGH! This thread was EXTREMELY worthwhile until your "I am the best but I am not telling you why" routine. I was enjoying it.

    Now do what you promised and go away.

    Everyone else: can the 2000AD license come back from this? Or will there never be another game? Considering how cool an online 2000AD world would be, is that the way to go? (Theoretically ...)

  • jellyhead #78 8 years ago

    I loved 2000ad in my youth, they still have a whole bunch of great Characters and stories to use for games, thats what makes Judge Dredd such a shame, the fact the comic entertained us (me) so much.
    Halo Jones, Strontium Dog, Rogue, Chopper, ABC Warriors, Flesh(?).
    Fort Neuropa using Call of Duty or MOH engine for example.
    I hope they do continue to try and translate them into games, there's just so much potential there.

    /Crosses fingers in hope there's a next one.
    Edited by 1 at 12/11/03 @ 16:14

  • gizmo #79 8 years ago

    "Taxi for one please"

  • Thamuhacha #80 8 years ago

    > I clearly explained this was my last topic participation. When the topic disappears off the front page I'll disappear and use the free time some other way.

    Eurogamer - please do the honours.

  • Thamuhacha #81 8 years ago

    "All I wanted to do before pulling out of public forums was to have a last shout with a few of the guys before leaving on as positive note as I could reasonably make. "

    Kind of like a last beer with all your mates?

    Or not really?

  • Dirtbox #82 8 years ago

    Ah, I knew CS would be outed sooner or later. I also knew who he was - didn't take a genius to work it out tbh.

    Happy birthday, mate.

  • UncleLou #83 8 years ago

    UncleLou,

    You misunderstand. The post you're objecting to was an accident of timing. These things happen.

    Fair enough, sorry then.

    Oh, happy birthday, of course!


    I also knew who he was - didn't take a genius to work it out tbh.

    Does that mean you knew he is Charles Hardwidge, and, even more importantly, that you know who Charles Hardwidge is? *is confused*

    Not much of an outing when you've never heard the name before.

  • Thamuhacha #84 8 years ago

    "Does that mean you knew he is Charles Hardwidge, and, even more importantly, that you know who Charles Hardwidge is?"

    And, even more importantly, do you know anything he has done since the 1980s?

  • Dirtbox #85 8 years ago

    I didn't say thats who I thought he is, I'd not add fuel to that fire; people's anonimity is their right on forums etc.

    I just got fed up being an argument magnet

    I'm sorry, but if I'm not mistaken it's you who starts the arguments with a snide comment here and a direct personal attack there.

  • Whizzo #86 8 years ago

    He's only just be "outed", hmm I distinctly remember a post from July on the forums that did that...

  • ssuellid #87 8 years ago

    Whizzo, mouse posted a link to that earlier up the page

  • ssuellid #88 8 years ago

    CS, why not submit a reader review of JD then? If you think you could do better then why not have a go yourself?

    Happy birthday BTW, doing anything special?

  • UncleLou #89 8 years ago

    If the reviewer had spent more time explaining the world of Dredd in an accessible fashion readers new to the character would've had a better idea about what Rebellion were trying to achieve and why the game didn't quite pull it off.

    Not the job of a game review, if you ask me. A license is of very limited value for me as a gamer - either the game is good, or it's crap, regardless whether there's a license backing it up or not. If it was he same game, but without the JD license, would it be better because it wouldn't have failed to live up to its license? I doubt it, just the subjective disappointment level might have been lower for the JD fans.

  • Whizzo #90 8 years ago

    Whizzo, mouse posted a link to that earlier up the page

    Ah that's what happens when you really don't have either the time nor inclination to fully read a thread that he's posting in...
    Edited by 1 at 13/11/03 @ 13:35

  • Thamuhacha #91 8 years ago

    > I'd never publish under a pseudonym and I don't want my name getting out. (Bet that's confused you.)

    Not really. It's characteristically inconsistent with everything else you have written. You are always writing under pseudonym, and a reader review on EG doesn't really constitute "published" work (no offence EG - it is just a bigger post though).

    And unless you are John Carmack, Warren Spector or some other gaming design legend I am not particularly interested in WHO you are. Everyone has a right to their opinion, it's the "if you knew who I was you would be cowering in awe at my works, brief mortals" tone that offends. If you're opinion is to be taken seriously then we have every right to ask for information on your credibility. Which we have not recieved.
    Edited by 1 at 13/11/03 @ 14:24

  • Thamuhacha #92 8 years ago

    > Nice troll

    Whatever.

    > Why's this an issue? I don't care for status.

    Rubbish! You don't shut up about how great you are. "I was talking about uses of shader technology before they were available on consumer grade hardware" and so on ... every post has a boast ...

    Here's the one from the previous post coming right up:

    > A lot of the thoughts I've written about or kept private have been spookily echoed by John Carmack, Warren Spector, or other "gaming legends" over the past year.

    Spookily eh? Very spooky that they have contributed some of the best games and/or technology in industry history and you last did some work on the BBC Micro.

    > Perhaps the problem lies with their own lack of self worth?

    They don't have a problem! You do.

  • blablabla #93 8 years ago

    Spookily eh? Very spooky that they have contributed some of the best games and/or technology in industry history and you last did some work on the BBC Micro.

    *Funny of the day award* :D

  • Thamuhacha #94 8 years ago

    > Got another big BBC Micro magnum opus in the works?

    Or porting your last one to the Archimedes?

    > Who works in a vacuum? I don't.

    You should :-)

    > What you're missing is I wrote about the given examples before the event. That's right. They weren't boasts.

    Oh wow! You ARE the man. Only we didn't hear you. Because we don't know who you are!

    But enough. The fact that you don't seem to be able to do simple maths is the real clincher:

    (Years of anonymous self-righteous boasting on message boards
    +
    A complete lack of demonstrable track record)
    *Continued hostility displayed towards your opinions
    =
    Self questioning?

    But not in your case. Evidently.
    Edited by 1 at 13/11/03 @ 17:19

  • jaa #95 8 years ago

    Happy Birthday, CS.

    As I stated before, 2000 AD means little to me (in a positive or negative way). So the game has to stand by itself. Now, are you saying that if the developers had managed to polish it in a way that, without being really different, it 'felt' different, this 3/10 game would pull a Max Payne and get better reviews? Maybe that's true but:

    1. in your opinion, Max Payne only deserved a 4. So, this can't be the way you hoped Rebellion followed to make a really great game...

    2. perception is important and hype certainly helps selling stuff but, ultimately, Max Payne was successful because it was fun to play. The 'need to believe' has limits and gamers - the not casual kind - are a cynical bunch. Probably it's not really that innovative or even cinematic (I think it is, in a John Woo way). But, scraping all the hype aside, it was fun to play and it sold largely because of this;

    3. why would the reviewer waste time informing people of what could have been when his job is to inform what is?

  • eviltobz #96 8 years ago

    Ever seen a Transputer mainframe? Weird.

    had one at uni, but i never got to play :(

  • ssuellid #97 8 years ago

    Ever seen a Transputer mainframe? Weird

    Only a 32 processor box. Excellent editor called something like the 'folding' editor - completely different to anything I had seen up to that point - closest thing I've seen to it since has been a 'brainstorming' product. Occam was rather good. The machine was pretty much out of date when I got to use it ST had closed the transputer factory near Newport many years ago.

    IIRC the family of HUDS that the F16 and loads of other jets use has a single transputer on it - really good for use as an embedded processor.

  • prettyboytim #98 8 years ago

    Damn. I can't believe you guys are still bitching. Don't you have anything to do?

  • Thamuhacha #99 8 years ago

    >Rather than get sucked in by your trolling Mr I'm-a-fantastic-games-tester, how about you offer up an original opinion to the pot? I'm doing all the peddling here and it's getting a bit tiring at the front.

    Where did the games tester line come from?

    And there's no such thing as original thought anymore :-)

    >Because the game isn't a good description of Dredds world, the marketing didn't explain Dredd very well, and the comic is unobtainable or creatively inaccessible for a lot of people. That's why I believe Dredd's a special case. Contrast and compare.

    I disagree. It has to stand on its own as a game. If this was the Pee Wee Herman licence it wouldn't matter if the game is as bad as Mouse's review indicates. I appreciate that 2000AD has an emotional context for many people and this makes the failure of the game all the more distressing for them. However, I believe that a game has to be a good game first and the licence brings its own benefits second.

    As I said above "That's why licenses should be picked up. Because they provide a recognisable and cool situation with readily defined rules, locations and characters for someone to have an experience in. Not so that you can bolt the look and feel onto a pre-determined type of game."

    This game tripped on the first hurdle and banged its teeth on the second.

  • Thamuhacha #100 8 years ago

    > I also think you've got game and license piorities the wrong way round. License sets the look and feel of the product and the game mechanics provide the delivery. Design led games is shorterhand for that. I prefer to think of them as a closely coupled entity. One informs the other with the license being the senior partner.

    I suppose that depends on what kind of game you are making. Licences are all too often just a "setting" for another game (A terminator 3 FPS, a Star Wars RTS, a Matrix beat'em up) which is fine if that game is good. Then the licence makes it accessible for people by grounding the scenario in something they know and like (it does this even if the games are cack actually).

    In the case of the 2000AD licence I would argue that the appeal is of a lower value than many others ... so the game had an opportunity to bring what is good about the Judge Dredd scenario to a new audience by being a good game that people want to play. It wasn't. So it didn't.

  • ssuellid #101 8 years ago

    Ahab, I think your pretty much spot on as far as the vague tech statements. The 'I write bug free code' was a classic example - as any programmer will tell you its impossible.

    As for the Dredd license, I think that its simply not big or well known enough to sell the game by itself, so they had to make the game good enough to sell the Dredd concept to non Dredd fans. Obviously all they have done is upset the majority of Dredd fans and probably put off many prospective new fans. Bit silly when you own more than the licence.

  • Thamuhacha #102 8 years ago

    >As for the Dredd license, I think that its simply not big or well known enough to sell the game by itself, so they had to make the game good enough to sell the Dredd concept to non Dredd fans. Obviously all they have done is upset the majority of Dredd fans and probably put off many prospective new fans. Bit silly when you own more than the licence.

    What I was trying to say - in a nutshell.

  • Thamuhacha #103 8 years ago

    "Any programmers loitering around that can iron this one out?

    Interpolation of quaternions by time, dude. "

    Erm ... wrong thread. But, if I understand correctly, that only solves the "lazy developer" issue for animations on the fly (i.e the camera that follows the character). Not for timing issues originating in pre-determined scenes.

    And the word "dude" is NEVER necessary in Europe. Thanks.

  • Midnight_Raven #104 8 years ago

    Unless the topic is none other than The Big Lebowski.

  • holy paladin X #105 8 years ago

    i love this game but its a bit easy for me

  • pjmaybe #106 8 years ago

    Last time I saw something this lame it was being led towards a dog food factory and was affectionally known as "dobbin"

    Peej

  • Mashum #107 7 years ago

    I picked this up for 1.99 the other day - it's not that bad, the choice of colours and textures are pretty mych bang on for the comic strip, the gameplay is a bit boring but on 'easy' it's bearable.

    ...roll on Strontium Dog!

  • jlaakso #108 6 years ago

    I picked this up for 4,90€. It's worth that much. There really isn't anything comparable to being a fascist future cop, sending bystanders away on trumped charges left and right. The actual gameplay ain't much, but merely getting to be Dredd is worth the time spent. I would be very disappointed, though, had I paid full price.