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90If you like lots of guns that feel the business, lots of demons who look the business, lots of tension, lots of suspense, a great plot that keeps you guessing and interested, and buckets and buckets of blood, then you'll probably love this.
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87Everything in Ties That Bind creates a solid experience that still scares the ever-loving crap s*** out of us all in the office.
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85Satisfying survival/horror gameplay with a first/third-person shooter twist. Ties That Bind has one of the most disturbing storylines I have ever seen in a game.
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Simultaneously fun and extremely frustrating, compelling and flawed, mature and foul, engaging and confusing. As a game, it can be aggravating, but as a piece of interactive storytelling, it flirts with brilliance. [Oct 2005, p.123]
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85Feels like more of a continuation, or expansion, for the first Suffering. There's just not enough material that is new or unique, so if you've played the first game, chances are you'll get a sense of déjà vu while playing the second.
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The lack of quality weapons early on may discourage some players, but stick it out, it will get better.
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83It's the kind of sequel that gamers look for, just as if you were to see a great horror film and then anxiously await the next installment to get all the answers.
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81There are more neutral people in the environment, but one of the original's strengths was how we were so isolated within a seemingly inescapable mote of horror. That was an excellent tension. There was also something quite Gothic about it that doesn't carry over into Ties That Bind.
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80The story might be lacking a bit and there are a few irritating objectives, but the whole game feels like it was cleaned up and rethought.
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Hardcore, ultra-bloody, action-survival horror. [Jan 2007, p.106]
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When it comes off slightly undercooked, it's not for lack of strong ingredients. [Nov p.89]
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The control system is responsive and accurate. The graphics still illustrate some spine chilling scenes and disturbing animation of the undead characters. This game is almost guaranteed to give you nightmares.
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It's a game that you'll want to keep playing to find out what happens next, which is always a good sign. [PSW]
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80There are enough things that feel distracting to keep this from becoming a classic game, but a strong enough foundation of gameplay and direction to make it a worthy addition to the console library.
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80Playing the game is like watching an episode of "Oz" while a priest performs an exorcism on your liver. And if you like your gore served up hot and fresh, you've come to the right place.
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80Sure, the action is pretty basic-it's still kill or be killed-but with more open spaces to run around and new foes to fight, Ties is like a weekend with Russell Crowe: disturbing, bloody, and a damn good time.
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80Enough of the original's dark charm has survived to make even Carnate Island vets want to settle a spell in Baltimore. Or die trying.
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80The joy that comes from dual wielding two shotguns cannot be easily replaced.
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It's a great chapter to Torque's story, but some of the restrictions with the combat and linearity make it a good action title instead of a great sequel.
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A satisfying follow-up to those looking for more of the same. But those looking for a significant step ahead for the series will likely be disappointed.
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78The excellent atmosphere might test your baldder control but your thumbs won't be troubled for a second. [GamesMaster]
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Sticks close to the formula used in the first game, but not close enough to make it as good a game as the original.
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75The biggest problem here is that the game is short - though replay value comes from taking the "good or bad" paths - but it's one Hell of a ride while it lasts. [Nov 2005, p.82]
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75Few developers have been able to master the horror aspects of games as well as Surreal has done in the two Suffering games thus far, and with a bit more balancing, this could have been a great current generation sendoff for players looking to move on to the next-generation terror of "F.E.A.R." and "Condemned."
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Almost every room or alley Torque enters has a mental surprise awaiting.
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72Ties That Bind makes few changes to the formula, stretches a thin story to somewhere near the breaking point, and delivers a bloody, curse-filled action game that might still please fans of the first game, though it's more likely that you'll feel like you played the same game last year.
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72A rental at best, pure and simple. There are vastly superior action titles on the market, and everything presented here played better in the first game.
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70They've managed not to mess up any of the things which made the original so enjoyable. The control system is still intuitive, the camera does what it's supposed too, there's a good amount of gory moments and genuine scares and the whole thing has bags of atmosphere.
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70The horror sequel continues the story in a much larger setting. Still retains the dark outlook of the original, but doesn't add much to the gameplay.
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70The whole game comes across as the equivalent of a B-grade horror movie: exciting at times, ultimately unmemorable.
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Offers up more of the same mindless action of the first game, which can be good or bad depending on your preference. [Nov 2005, p.118]
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70Although the game doesn't bring a lot of new experiences to the table, it does do a great job of adding to the experience gamers enjoyed the first time around.
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But take heart, horror-inclined gamers. Any random two minutes of Ties that Bind's blood-soaked gameplay is likely to give your parents, stuffy friends or sensitive authority figures of your choice the dribbling shiznits, and pretty much all the first game's good stuff has remained intact.
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A gory good time. And that's really all that matters.
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60The main problem is that Ties That Bind doesn't live up to the once-promising pedigree of "The Suffering." While we got more of some things--more swearing, more gore, and more story--we actually ended up with less: less ammo, less creativity, and fewer thrills to keep you going.
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Our demon-manifesting rage at the total mediocrity of this series isn't helped by the dodgy jaggy graphics or frequent and annoyingly long loading times, but if you played the original and kept an end of game save, you may want to continue your story.
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After the interesting and confident debut of The Suffering last year, Ties That Bind remains a straightforward action game, and one with a coherent story that feels well paced, if too full of schlocky cliché for some. But that is, ultimately, all it does: remains. [Dec 2005, p.106]
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User score distribution:
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Positive: 4 out of 7
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Mixed: 3 out of 7
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Negative: 0 out of 7
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MikeM.6
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RavenK.10Good Game, perfect of terror
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JasonL.8