DeVuego ES_COR

All I can say is I am incredibly pleased with Blues and Bullets: Shaking The Hive. It delivers on almost all fronts. It still suffers from some technical difficulties that can at times be jarring, but the storytelling and character development is so brilliant and well done that it almost outweighs the one con it has. I hope they can use the luxury of having episodic releases to patch up some of these technical issues, especially if they’re going to take months to release them. Regardless, I can’t wait to see how this epic story unfolds as time goes on. I have nothing but faith and hope in A Crowd of Monsters at this point as they have proven they can tell a masterfully crafted story with nearly flawless execution.

Essentially, Blues and Bullets: Episode Two is just what you’d expect; more of the same. When the focus of the game is on its storytelling however, and it’s just as solid as it was in episode one or maybe even better, that’s absolutely fine.  Running a little longer than the first episode at just less than three hours, the pacing lets it down a little due to the overlong shooting scenes, but it remains an absorbing experience from beginning to end nevertheless. Adding yet more layers to the web of intrigue, episode two of Blues and Bullets offers us few answers to the questions on our lips at the end of the first episode, but it doesn’t leave you dissatisfied; it just leaves you eager for the next chapter of the chilling and mysterious tale that’s unravelling to arrive. For a story-driven experience, surely that’s the highest praise that can be given.

El episodio 2 de Blues and Bullets constituye una continuación interesante, intensa y que no pierde el ritmo del primero, sino que añade algún elemento no visto hasta ahora, y esto resulta de agradecer. Un juego pausado, pero tenso, y una experiencia muy cinematográfica.

Blues and Bullets sigue por el buen camino y nos presenta un nuevo capítulo –de 2 o 3 horas de duración- que sigue haciendo las cosas francamente bien. Su mezcla de géneros nos gusta, su historia nos tiene atrapados y su magnífica puesta en escena audiovisual no hace más que redondear lo buen juego que es. No es un juego perfecto, ni mucho menos. No profundiza en ninguna de los géneros que toca (aventura point and click, tiroteos, etc.) y tampoco los resuelve de forma brillante, pero consigue que el jugador no pueda soltar el mando mientras dura y, lo más importante: que se divierta. Y eso es lo mejor que se puede decir de un videojuego. Nuestra enhorabuena para A Crowd of Monsters por su Blues and Bullets. Ya tenemos ganas del tercero.

Este nuevo episodio de Blues & Bullets posiblemente no nos dejará tan impacientes y sorprendidos como sucedió con el primero. Aún así quieres continuar con la historia para conocer qué va a ocurrir. Eso sí, para eso habrá que tener paciencia y esperemos que esta vez el tiempo entre episodios sea menor que la última vez. A Crowd of Monsters está haciendo un gran trabajo con esta aventura y seguramente lo que resta seguirá siendo así. Una lástima que su duración sea tan corta y su rejabilidad nula. De lo que estamos seguros es que todos los jugadores que disfrutaron de la primera entrega, lo harán con esta. Aquellos que aún no lo han hecho ya están tardando, merece la pena.

So there are noticeable dips in the experience, and the game remains a little jagged in technical terms (Capone still looks like a half-melted waxwork of himself). Ness and the world he inhabits resemble history less than ever here, too; the episode would work just as well with a cast of entirely fictional characters. The story nonetheless remains intriguing, and we’re keen to see how things develop. A Crowd of Monsters’ ferocious determination to set the game apart in terms of style also, again, benefits the experience greatly. The mostly black-and-white presentation still looks cool, and one section that breaks from form for overtones of horror is tense and memorable. The decisions we made in the post-credits sequence were quickly regretted, and we’re eager to see what consequences, if any, follow. Let’s hope it’s not another seven months before we can find out, eh?

So is Blues and Bullet’s Episode 2 worth your time?  The majority of you reading this will have already played Episode 1, in which case you pretty much know what to expect from Episode 2.  The story, having been laid out so well  in the first episode, does start to pick up momentum here, and some of your earlier choices do begin to have an impact, but many of the problems that were apparent in the first episode still remain.  The game does benefit from a few quicker, more action oriented set pieces, which does serve to counteract the games overall pace problems, and as such Episode 2 does improve (slightly) upon what came before.  Hopefully these improvements will continue to be made by the time Episode 3 comes out later in the year.