One of the best games experience on the PS3!

An old proverb says: The Bucket List !. After nearly seven years of PlayStation 3, the time of Sony's still current game console draws to a close. Many are eagerly awaiting the soon starting new console generation and expect the PS4. Yet so far offered the Games in 2013 some really qualitative and catchy titles like The Last of Us or Grand Theft Auto V. Quantic Dream, the creators of Fahrenheit and Heavy Rain, register now impressive comeback. With Heavy Rain in 2010 succeeded the French development team a milestone today's video games. Heavy Rain was not only an excellent fusion of film and game, but showed players, trade press and critics of video games that this new medium can offer fun and action not only, but also has the opportunity to address unusual topics, the player on a journey full pensive moments to send what the fear, despair, hopelessness and limits the protagonist shows and can even have part, by you have to make serious decisions. Beyond: Two Souls breaks again from the typical definition of a video game and makes again for enthusiasm when you're getting into it.

How otherwise to expect from Quantic Dream, are employed in Beyond re-focus on the story and the characters. To avoid giving too much away, the essentials quickly. Beyond puts players in the role of Jodie Holmes. Jodie is connected to a supernatural existence since her childhood, named Aiden. Aiden is an invisible and silent figure which Jodie accompanied throughout their lives, help in difficult moments and protect them, but also its own soul has (hence the subtitle of the game, Two Souls (Two Souls)) and sometimes against Jodie's will is , Playing time is around 10 hours and shows 15 years from Jodie's life, beginning as an infant up as a young adult woman. Here you can experience it in hopeless as well as hopeful, in sad as well as happy moments. The story is not organized chronologically. This fact can cause confusion and will not delight everyone, however, is revealed as the game progresses as a very interesting narrative, especially as this time jumps have a reason. Thus, it comes little by little to the resolution of smaller stories. As a framework for action life of Jodie and their connection is addressed to Aiden, in childhood by the DPA (Department of Paranormal Activity) is examined by scientists Nathan Dawkins and attracted the attention of the CIA. Beyond is unlike Heavy Rain is not a pure thriller, but rather a mix of the paranormal, thriller, action and drama.

GAMEPLAY and control

In Beyond: Two Souls, the player takes control of Jodie and Aiden. With Jodie moving through mostly clearly held levels and leads with the right analog stick in the game world marked white dots movements to pick up items, examine or talk to people. A new feature is the system in combat. The gameplay will temporarily switch into slow motion and you have to analyze Jodie's movements quickly and move the stick in the movement, where it is going straight or strikes or shake the controller via Sixaxis. A QTE system in other ways. Players with high claims like gameplay in this simplified system tired smile. However, you tried to find a compromise between cinematic staging and enough playability.

Aiden is almost at all times controlled in pressure on the triangle button from the first-person view. He can throw around a lot of objects or destroy, penetrate the thoughts of deceased persons and so Jodie, what they saw and even affect people. So it is possible to strangle enemies or to slip into their roles. On request Beyond is playable even with a smart phone or tablet PC, either for two people. Therefore one must be only for iOS / Android device, the app Beyond Touch download. 2 Dual Shock 3 controllers are also possible.

As in other games of Quantic Dream can affect the outcome of chapters. Discussions and situations can be tackled differently, run entire chapters by the failure of the player differently or even die others. As in Heavy Rain but you should not expect complete freedom. Beyond directs the player repeatedly in some tracks. Nevertheless, you have a degree of freedom of choice here too. Beyond it creates so repeatedly, the player to surprise with new conflicts and decisions. It is also gratifying time is that there is no game over screen, but continues to run the story, but just with a changed output. A total of over 22 different endings can be unlocked. Overall Beyond offers a bit more gameplay proportion than even Heavy Rain.

PRESENTATION AND HISTORY

If something Quantic Dream super can, then it is to tell a fascinating story. This Beyond is no exception. Proud 2000 pages thick (normal movie has 300-400 pages) is the screenplay. As it is now often the case, the characters are represented by real actors. In this case, Jodie are (from her life as a teenager) and the scientist Nathan Dawkins, which plays an important role in Jodie's life, from the Oscar-nominated starring Ellen Page (Juno, Inception) and Willem Dafoe (Platoon, Spider-Man) played. Among them are joined by a number of suitable actors for the supporting characters. In particular, the two main actors are the ones who raise their outstanding performances, the characters to life. The slightest emotion it can be seen whether the character or fear and hopelessness is happy or sad feel. I grew the characters very quickly to the heart and is pleased or suffers accordingly with. Directorial inspire great camera shots and successful dialogues. To get the movie in more detail, Beyond uses a 21: 9 format. In addition to The Last of Us Beyond the cineastischste experience, which can be found on the PS3.

The graphics of the game is consistently superb. The innovative Performance Capture the characters move on a remarkably high level. Were the faces in Heavy Rain is already at a high level, so Beyond the tops again. Sharp face textures everywhere you look like, realistic skin shader, detailed character models, animations and clean lifelike facial expressions. Partial saw Jodie Nathan and its real actors very similar. Balked even at around Quantic Dream no effort or cost. Thanks to the newly developed engine the levels could be bigger and be used for NextGen consoles-planned techniques such as Physically Based Shading (different materials provide different reflections and reflections). For PS3-level sharp textures, excellent lighting and great Artdesign ensure open mouths while gambling, because we are talking here of an eight year old games console. In my eyes Beyond the graphic reference on PS3, which relative to the beginning will not last much by a level at night. The play of light and the love of detail locations even let a sense of PS4 arise. The image quality is convincing. No tearing, almost always stable 30 frames / second and rarely noticeable jagged edges. Edge flares could not be completely avoided, however, is the hardware owed and the only weak point of the graph.

Technically sound may be delighted with the success of German dubbing, which lip-sync and believable characters lend their voice. In the case of Willem Dafoe, the original voice of Reiner Schöne was committed. Ellen Page has been in Germany six different voice actors gutters, including Manja Doering. She lends her voice Jodie. The original voices are, as well as subtitles in several languages, on the Blu-ray. Grandiose is also the background music, created by the composers Lorne Balfe and Hollywood-size Hans Zimmer, who have been involved not only in films but also in video games such as Crysis 2 and Assassin's Creed III. From quiet and unnerving to epic pieces and more.

CONTRA:

Beyond making things right and is unique in its own way. Room for criticism there yet. The loading times are just when the game starts quite long (about 60 seconds) and take between the chapters in part up to 30 seconds. The camera work is often fixed and affords partly short dropouts. So you walk with Jodie in a corner where you do not want or can not see a point of interaction. Disturbing this is fortunately rare.
Some players might also feel the gameplay unchallenged. Beyond is more an interactive movie than a traditional game. One can love or not love, but for the next game to Quantic Dream should specifically abschauen in controlling with Jodie in action sequences some of the competition.

CONCLUSION:

Beyond: Two Souls splits not only the community of players, but also the trade press. By votes of 25% up to 100% and more. In my view, one should evaluate Beyond than what it wanted to be. An emotional journey through the life of Jodie Holmes and her companions to have after turning off the console feel to miss them and other characters. In my eyes, Quantic Dream and lead developer David Cage is fully managed. Beyond this gaming experience, as they unfortunately all too rarely gets. Where you do not already know what will happen the next moment. Where is triggered when players feelings not confined to joy and adrenaline or frustration, but also solidarity, anxiety, hopelessness, depression and a sense of responsibility. When you stand on new game ideas, beautifully told stories and the fusion of film and video game, Beyond has earned in any event an opportunity. Quantic Dream has shown once again that they belong to the forefront of today's development teams. For David Cage and Quantic Dream get my respect and Sony a thank you that they promote as the last great publisher risky new game projects. Beyond is different from Heavy Rain. It is in its own way, however, unique and beautiful, is, as already Heavy Rain, across platforms to my favorite game. I am looking forward already huge on the first PS4 game from Quantic Dream!

ADJUSTMENTS FOR EUROPEAN VERSION

A lot of discussion there was two weeks before the publication of the possible cuts of game content for Europe, affecting about 5 to 10 seconds of the game. Here I can give the all clear. Neither is missing playing time still be a actionable things or gameplay withheld. The changes are subtle, so they do not attract attention. Who wants to know more, I can censor the thread USK version? the associated product forum only recommend. All versions of Europe are affected. An import version is not worthwhile in my opinion.

Other information: 2.5GB installation, Resolution: 1280 * 720p, 1-2 players offline