the character creation has been downgraded, and I mean badly.
you are forced to have broad shoulders no matter what.
Most faces always look more or less the same due to the sims 3 style of the main characters.
you can no longer layer clothing like in sr 1 and 2, thus killing 90% of originality when making outfits.
if you want to check it out first look at the imitation station, because if customizing your character is important to you, you won't be buying this game.
Oh and that initiation station retains 80% of the cloths you will get in the full game, so don't hope that it's only limited for the editor.
the character creation has been downgraded, and I mean badly.
I just downloaded the Initiation Station and found that you are right that they've neutered character customization. The only choice you get in a dude's body type is to make him a hulking body-builder, a smaller body-builder (think thick professional baseball player) or a fatass. If you happen to be normal-sized or slight like 98% of the men in the world, then you won't be able to make a character that looks like you.
This sucks because I've seen normal-sized humans as bystanders in the game. Why do all the playable characters have to use steroids? They look retarded.
As far as number of costumes and outfits, I don't mind. The last game had a bunch and this game has a ton too. I'm just annoyed that I'll have to create a girl if I want my playable character to look like a normal human. My slim Brittish gangster from Saint's Row 2 had to go, and that sucks.
This isn't necessarily a deal-breaker, but it means I'll rent it at launch instead of buying it. Then I'll get it for less later on. Game designers should learn that deciding to make a character customization aim at hulking steroid-dudes sells fewer copies - not more.
the character creation has been downgraded, and I mean badly.
I missed being able to choose a walk and a facial expression, although you can mold an expression with the face sliders.
There also didn't seem to be a lot of hairstyles to choose from. And couldn't tattoos be moved in the last game? I wanted to put a tattoo on the back of a character's shoulder, but the only way a tattoo goes on the back of the shoulder if it's pre-programmed to go there.
And as mentioned, the body shaping tools are limited. Just a little while ago I was trying to make a fat guy, but no matter how I tried I just ended up with a bulky dude that still had muscle definition even though the "fat" level was somewhere in the 90 range.
Not being able to save a character is really annoying though, especially since it's hard to connect to the official site from within the editor and upload the character. I've made four characters, but so far have only been able to upload one. Then again, it is a demo so they may have just disabled that feature.
I don't hate the character editor (I've spent several hours playing with it and had a good time), but the SR 2 character creation tools set the benchmark for this generation and I was expecting something that was at least as good or better.
Hell I enjoyed my insane british crackhead who had bad taste in hats from SR2 but it was not an integral part of the experience.
I'm not going to avoid SR3 over it. . . I'm just annoyed at the trend. I like male characters that look real. . . also, it is sort of a bellwether on whether or not a game will have good story and characterization.
Try to think of a game that has huge, hulky dudes for the protagonist that wasn't drivel? Now think about the games that have had the best stories and you'll think about games with either small or normal-sized protagonists: Half-Life, Shadow of the Colossus, Uncharted, Grand Theft Auto 3 & 4 and San Andreas, etc. Those are the first that came to mind, but I've thought on this a great deal more to test it and because I think it's interesting (Zelda, Jedi Knight, Persona, Halo, Fatal Frame, System Shock 2, Bioshock, Metal Gear, God of War. . . I really can go on). There isn't a single game out there that has plus-sized roid-ragers that is known for it's excellent story or characterization.
Maybe SR3 will be the exception that proves the rule.
Okay, maybe I can forgive the neutered character customization. . . because (like so many other things in this game - THAT LOOKS AWESOME!)
Btw, I could give a shit about layering and having a right foot vs. left foot option if they'd just give us enough body options to build guys who aren't steroid junkies.
I wasn't aware until this morning the amount of DLC/$DLC that THQ had planned for SR3. Not liking that at all. Granted, every article I could find in regards to the DLC/$DLC states beforehand that we would be getting a full game on release. Also stated that most of the after game content would probably be in the form of clothing and accessories. I never finished SR2 and have the SR double pack ordered and will be giving it a spin up tomorrow night when it gets here. Hopefully putting some more time into it will tip me over the fence to grabbing SR3.
happy gaming
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