So, yeah. I got Playstation 4. It's great, I'm real happy with it, but that's not what we're here to talk about. We're talking about the game that I got with the system. From the Executive Producer of such classics as Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon comes Knack, a game that Mark Cerny describes as Crash Bandicoot combined with God of War combined with Katamari Damacy, and he's pretty much on the money about that.
Now, before I say anything, let's address the elephant in the room about this game; It's got some pretty dang mixed reviews. Gamespot apparently thinks it rates a 4/10, which is .4 points lower than what they rated Sonic 06. And they're not the only ones who said it sucks. Of course, there's other publications giving positive reviews, but wow, it's quite a mixed reception. Let me say one thing; These scathing reviews are entirely uncalled for. I really like Knack, and I'm glad that it's my first PS4 title. I got exactly what I wanted out of it. A game where you run around punching shit, collecting upgrades and getting bigger and smaller. And on top of that, I got some really nice visuals and a charming cast of characters.
The story is that there's humans and there's goblins. Humans good. Goblins bad. Everything in this world runs on relics from an ancient civilization, and that's what the two races fight over. Goblins have primitive weapons like bows and arrows and swords...until suddenly they have access to tanks and airships. Humans find this out first hand when one of their settlements gets decimated. To put a stop to the goblin threat, a billionaire industrialist and obvious villain named Viktor and his assistant Katrina gear up an army of robots. However, an well-known inventor simply known as the Doctor (And I think that Doctor might just be his name), accompanied by his young assistant Lucas and Lucas' explorer uncle Ryder, make an addition to the team. Knack, a living and thinking being made out of the relics that power everything. Who sounds like a badass black dude. Aw yeah.
The gameplay really is Crash + GoW + Katamari. Much like Crash, the player must run through the level, mainly consisting of linear corridors with some more open areas and platforms, defeating enemies with a simple attack (In Crash's case spinning, in Knack's case punching). Like God of War, you'll have multiple types of enemies coming at your or shooting at you at the same time, and you'll have to find ways to dispatch them without dying, by punching and using the right stick to dodge. And like Katamari, there's a focus on growing. Knack has the ability to add relics to his body, and he'll get bigger and bigger, going from about 3 feet tall to 3000 feet tall.
One thing that surprised me was the visuals. I know it's on a next-gen system, but I really wasn't expecting Knack to look like anything that couldn't be done on PS3. But it is really pretty, and I don't think it could be done on PS3. At least Knack himself couldn't be (without causing major framerate issues), since every little piece of him is super detailed. It's cartoony in design, so it's harder to judge how next-gen it looks, but I think they nailed it.
So the question is why do game critics have such sticks up their asses about this game? The main complaints I always heard were that the game is repetitive, it's too easy, and it doesn't look next-gen. Well, as much as graphics don't matter, I've already said that the visuals are impressive. Maybe I just had a better TV than the reviewers? I dunno, it looked better on my TV than the one at Gamestop. As for difficulty, there are indeed easy, medium, and hard difficulty settings (With very hard being unlockable). I played on hard the first time through, and the game is genuinely challenging on hard. Sometimes too challenging even. I must have died at least 25 times on the final boss. And about the game being repetitive, it sort of is because Knack isn't able to do anything besides jump, punch, divebomb, dash, and unleash three different varieties of super moves, but there were enough enemy varieties to keep me entertained. Goblins, soldiers, and robots with many varieties of weapons, in different shapes and sizes that all handle a bit differently from each other, plus dangerous animals whenever you're little Knack. Maybe they're judging it based on it being a $60 launch title, and yeah, I don't think that Knack is worth buying a PS4 over, nor is Knack really worth the $60 price tag. It strikes me more as something that Sony would release for $40-$50, like Puppeteer. But hey, still doesn't mean it's not fun.
Anyway, I know we on this site don't normally listen to the likes of Gamespot or IGN when we want to know what a game is like, but still, don't listen to them. Knack is not the 4 or 5 out of 10 that they say. I say it's an 8/10, a fun little romp with loads of punching, dodging, growing, nice visuals and a neat little story. A nice launch title for a new console.
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Watch this little robot Crash Bandicoot guy...
Become this massive Mecha-Ganondorf looking monster! And that's not even his final form...
Now, before I say anything, let's address the elephant in the room about this game; It's got some pretty dang mixed reviews. Gamespot apparently thinks it rates a 4/10, which is .4 points lower than what they rated Sonic 06. And they're not the only ones who said it sucks. Of course, there's other publications giving positive reviews, but wow, it's quite a mixed reception. Let me say one thing; These scathing reviews are entirely uncalled for. I really like Knack, and I'm glad that it's my first PS4 title. I got exactly what I wanted out of it. A game where you run around punching shit, collecting upgrades and getting bigger and smaller. And on top of that, I got some really nice visuals and a charming cast of characters.
The story is that there's humans and there's goblins. Humans good. Goblins bad. Everything in this world runs on relics from an ancient civilization, and that's what the two races fight over. Goblins have primitive weapons like bows and arrows and swords...until suddenly they have access to tanks and airships. Humans find this out first hand when one of their settlements gets decimated. To put a stop to the goblin threat, a billionaire industrialist and obvious villain named Viktor and his assistant Katrina gear up an army of robots. However, an well-known inventor simply known as the Doctor (And I think that Doctor might just be his name), accompanied by his young assistant Lucas and Lucas' explorer uncle Ryder, make an addition to the team. Knack, a living and thinking being made out of the relics that power everything. Who sounds like a badass black dude. Aw yeah.
The gameplay really is Crash + GoW + Katamari. Much like Crash, the player must run through the level, mainly consisting of linear corridors with some more open areas and platforms, defeating enemies with a simple attack (In Crash's case spinning, in Knack's case punching). Like God of War, you'll have multiple types of enemies coming at your or shooting at you at the same time, and you'll have to find ways to dispatch them without dying, by punching and using the right stick to dodge. And like Katamari, there's a focus on growing. Knack has the ability to add relics to his body, and he'll get bigger and bigger, going from about 3 feet tall to 3000 feet tall.
One thing that surprised me was the visuals. I know it's on a next-gen system, but I really wasn't expecting Knack to look like anything that couldn't be done on PS3. But it is really pretty, and I don't think it could be done on PS3. At least Knack himself couldn't be (without causing major framerate issues), since every little piece of him is super detailed. It's cartoony in design, so it's harder to judge how next-gen it looks, but I think they nailed it.
So the question is why do game critics have such sticks up their asses about this game? The main complaints I always heard were that the game is repetitive, it's too easy, and it doesn't look next-gen. Well, as much as graphics don't matter, I've already said that the visuals are impressive. Maybe I just had a better TV than the reviewers? I dunno, it looked better on my TV than the one at Gamestop. As for difficulty, there are indeed easy, medium, and hard difficulty settings (With very hard being unlockable). I played on hard the first time through, and the game is genuinely challenging on hard. Sometimes too challenging even. I must have died at least 25 times on the final boss. And about the game being repetitive, it sort of is because Knack isn't able to do anything besides jump, punch, divebomb, dash, and unleash three different varieties of super moves, but there were enough enemy varieties to keep me entertained. Goblins, soldiers, and robots with many varieties of weapons, in different shapes and sizes that all handle a bit differently from each other, plus dangerous animals whenever you're little Knack. Maybe they're judging it based on it being a $60 launch title, and yeah, I don't think that Knack is worth buying a PS4 over, nor is Knack really worth the $60 price tag. It strikes me more as something that Sony would release for $40-$50, like Puppeteer. But hey, still doesn't mean it's not fun.
Anyway, I know we on this site don't normally listen to the likes of Gamespot or IGN when we want to know what a game is like, but still, don't listen to them. Knack is not the 4 or 5 out of 10 that they say. I say it's an 8/10, a fun little romp with loads of punching, dodging, growing, nice visuals and a neat little story. A nice launch title for a new console.
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