You clever lot at home may well remember that, in a previous article, I gave mention to an interesting little title called remember me. To the enthusiastic eye, it struck several chords: Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect and Mirror's Edge, to name a few. So, naturally, I was so excited for this diamond in the rough. Sadly, after digging into this new title, it feels more like a polished stone than an uncut diamond. But it isn't all bad news, I swear, so let's have a look-see.
The trailer for this game was slightly mis-informative, I must admit. It seemed, well, not free-roaming but certainly not linear. If there is one thing I cannot in my 'deep' games, it is linearity. I regret to inform you that a more linear game, I have never played. Seriously. The Call of Duty games have more exploration elements than this. Sure, you can find data packs that expand your health and background information on the in-game universe but you don't really want to. There is no motive, and nor does it try to motivate you. It's a very 'take it or leave it' attitude and it was rather disheartening.
This is possibly, in part, due to the lazy combat system. Little strategy is required in breaking out your combos, or the ridiculously titled 'Pressens', with the ability to use them to charge your 'Special Pressens', regain health or deal extra damage. But honestly? I just button bashed heavy attacks the whole way through, occasionally flipping out of the way. Some would argue with me that the point is to become fluid, but that's rubbish. Fluid combat should evolve as the game goes on, and should not be an active learning process. We were promised swift, fluid battles. What we got was button-bashing and silly flips. Bad move, Capcom.
Next up is game glitches, which doesn't often get a mention in my reviews but Good God were there bugs. Whether it was a floating character model, falling through scenery or baddies fusing together into a scrotum-wrinkling monstrosity, Remember Me bugged out at least twenty freaking times during gameplay. That is just unacceptable, whichever way you cut it. There is a think called Beta testing, guys, please check it out. Bugs have broken two of my games, Assassin's Creed 3 being the other, and it kills me. This just isn't good enough for the modern market.
The light of truth is blinding, even for this fine woman.
I promised you redeeming factors though, so here they are. First off the bat is the story and the setting in which it takes place. The tale has so much promise: One company has all of Mankind's memories under their control and you, a rogue agent, want to bring them down and 'free' humanity. Oh, and they also wiped your memories too. So you're going to want those back. It's all very Jason Bourne, but in a dystopian future. The city of Neo-Paris looks suitably scummy, if slightly boring. It is the city's richer districts, however, that make the grime shine. You truly feel the contrast between the rich and poor, and I love that dynamic. Sadly, they do not work as hard on that as I would have liked. But still a solid attempt.
One last point before I hold my tongue. You experience memory remixing in the game, a feature introduced only a handful of times. In these sequences, you delve into the memories of others and alter their memories for your benefit. You actively rewind, twist facts, alter outcomes until the conditions are just right for you to gin what you need, whether that be information of a foe-turned-ally. These segments were absolute gold, and I would love to see more of the same in the future. This is the one, true salvageable part of this game.
So, Remember Me let me down. Greatly. I expected too much from the title, perhaps, but what they delivered was simply flat out mediocrity. If they had taken more time, and had greater funds, this could have been one of the 21st Century greats. Instead, it will sit untouched on my shelf forever more. I shan't be returning, and I doubt I will remember it in years to come.
