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Or, better yet, combat becomes a significantly less important aspect of Catalyst. I want to run, to fly. But the uncomfortable impression left by this beta's early moments, those within the bland insides of a nameless building, isn't refined into anything more impressive when this city finally reveals itself from a lofty perspective. Low-detail drones buzz in the sky, and futuristic cars bump awkwardly into each other on the roads below. The first vista we're presented with isn't a rush of crisp cobalt; it's a cloud-dotted sunset of oranges and purples, a skybox that looks pretty enough but, equally, is utterly unremarkable. Its more "realistic" design sees Catalyst lose that identity the first game gifted it – this isn't an escape into the unexpected, it's a slog through the suffocation of the already seen, in more routine first-person adventures.Of course, this is all a first-impressions-only take on what Catalyst has to offer, a surface-level assessment, based on a small section of a much bigger game. And the beta is absolutely not the real deal when it comes to kinks that need straightening out. The stuttering I see in cutscenes, the broken bits of scenery that I get stuck on, the way that NPCs flail hilariously against one another when I brush by them – this needs to be fixed before the game goes gold. The traversal, the very base of this experience, needs some fine-tuning, too. That, or my own ineptitude is more concerning that I'd previously considered. Either way, my Faith fell to her doom more frequently than someone of her free-running expertise should. I'm not asking for invisible walls affording protection from fatal falls; but when I "miss" a platform by an inch, no more, it'd be great to see her reach out a hand and at least try to avoid becoming a squashed sack of splintered bones. Especially with these (re)loading times.New on Motherboard: The 'Minecraft' Studio Made a Game That Isn't 'Minecraft'
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