Archived Post
12-15-2009, 09:33 AM
Well, it's not terrible - it's mostly passable, just not very standout. The best part of the audio is the ambient sounds, which I think are pretty good mostly.
A lot of the sound fx still feel like placeholders. Often I will hear some random scrunching noise and think "wtf is THAT supposed to be?" Just some random scrunching noise representing ... goodness knows what. Compare and contrast with CoX: there were very few "duds" in that game, I felt. Almost every sound you heard, such as NPC death groans, power fx sounds, etc., etc., were such that you could kind of recognise what the sound was supposed to be just by hearing it. Sadly, I can't say the same for CO. There are some great ones, of course, but it's like the proportion of good to mediocre is the other way round from CoX.
Music-wise, well, it's certainly fitting to the theme, most of it. As with the sound fx, there are some great tracks, but sadly, on the whole, it's like somebody's doshed something down with a sequencer and a sample library. It all sounds like it's been rushed, not enough attention - or perhaps not enough co-ordination between the audio people and the rest of the game people. It's like, the music roughly fits the theme, but it doesn't feel like the music/audio people have really had a chance to immerse themselves in the game and feel what it's like from the inside, so that they can hit the sweet spot wrt the music. Again, compared with CoX - ok, the CoX music is sample library stuff too, but it has more heart and soul in it somehow, more actual beauty.
The voice acting is mostly done with gusto and energy, which is nice, but it's just not of a very high standard. A great actor can do "camp" and you believe it. The actors for this game (again, mostly - there are a few good ones) seem to be just phoning in for the paycheck and doing "camp comix acting" from what they vaguely know of the Batman tv series - it's not like they've been solidly briefed on what's wanted, it doesn't feel like someone's sat down with them, explained what's needed, and tried to draw the best out of them, get them to challenge themselves.
That's how it comes across to me anyway - as a musician myself. I don't think it's lack of talent (because SOME of the tunes, sounds, voiceovers, etc. ARE good, as I said, so that proves they COULD BE all good). It's more like lack of co-ordination, lack of attention to fine detail, and a bit of a rush job feel.
A lot of the sound fx still feel like placeholders. Often I will hear some random scrunching noise and think "wtf is THAT supposed to be?" Just some random scrunching noise representing ... goodness knows what. Compare and contrast with CoX: there were very few "duds" in that game, I felt. Almost every sound you heard, such as NPC death groans, power fx sounds, etc., etc., were such that you could kind of recognise what the sound was supposed to be just by hearing it. Sadly, I can't say the same for CO. There are some great ones, of course, but it's like the proportion of good to mediocre is the other way round from CoX.
Music-wise, well, it's certainly fitting to the theme, most of it. As with the sound fx, there are some great tracks, but sadly, on the whole, it's like somebody's doshed something down with a sequencer and a sample library. It all sounds like it's been rushed, not enough attention - or perhaps not enough co-ordination between the audio people and the rest of the game people. It's like, the music roughly fits the theme, but it doesn't feel like the music/audio people have really had a chance to immerse themselves in the game and feel what it's like from the inside, so that they can hit the sweet spot wrt the music. Again, compared with CoX - ok, the CoX music is sample library stuff too, but it has more heart and soul in it somehow, more actual beauty.
The voice acting is mostly done with gusto and energy, which is nice, but it's just not of a very high standard. A great actor can do "camp" and you believe it. The actors for this game (again, mostly - there are a few good ones) seem to be just phoning in for the paycheck and doing "camp comix acting" from what they vaguely know of the Batman tv series - it's not like they've been solidly briefed on what's wanted, it doesn't feel like someone's sat down with them, explained what's needed, and tried to draw the best out of them, get them to challenge themselves.
That's how it comes across to me anyway - as a musician myself. I don't think it's lack of talent (because SOME of the tunes, sounds, voiceovers, etc. ARE good, as I said, so that proves they COULD BE all good). It's more like lack of co-ordination, lack of attention to fine detail, and a bit of a rush job feel.