S.T.A.L.K.E.R has gone gold

[NYHoustonman]

Well, I was waiting on reviews before I committed to buying this; I just preordered it, as it sounds good from what I've read .

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: PingSpike

Originally posted by: Sniper82

Originally posted by: BD2003
So far I'm unimpressed. The game runs like total dogsh*t.

Running a 2.8ghz c2d and a 7600gt at 1280x1024 w/ no AA shouldnt net 20fps with the way it looks. Oblivion looks twice as good and runs twice as fast on the same hardware, and changing the graphics settings do very little for performance.

It seems like they have the right idea, but the execution is way off. I do these silly little side missions that get me artifacts, and equipping them jacks up the radiation so I'm dead within 30 seconds. Doesnt make any sense. Ammo is limited, but the guns are woefully inaccurate, so it's becoming a situation of quicksaving, and reloading if I don't get enough hits to down them, otherwise I have to run a mile back across town to pick up more ammo. I'd probably be better off getting much closer to the enemies, but with the shoddy framerate any sort of evasive moves become near impossible, not to mention the slightest bit of movement raises the already terrible accuracy to impossible levels.

The PDA system is also far too complicated for it's own good.

And as of right now, the story is *entirely* incomprehensible. Any comparison to masterpieces such as system shock 2 or deus ex is absurd.

According to a review I seen a 256mb 6800 series card outperforms a 7600GT in this game. Not sure why. My only guess would be the 128bit memory.

Yeah, that bittech review I think had a pretty good performance comparison across different hardware levels.

Perhaps I'll give it a try without HDR, but I dont remember seeing an option for it...

 

[marmasatt]

I've not quite given up on it yet, but at this point, I kinda want my money back. It feels unfinished, and is completely lacking polish.

Thanks for the honest assesment. Let us know if it picks up at all. Are you an FPS guy? That's all I play....

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: marmasatt

I've not quite given up on it yet, but at this point, I kinda want my money back. It feels unfinished, and is completely lacking polish.

Thanks for the honest assesment. Let us know if it picks up at all. Are you an FPS guy? That's all I play....

I'm definitely an FPS guy. I've probably played every single on of them, so I have very high standards. Now that I've played it for a few more hours:

By changing it to static lighting, the game runs at a solid 60fps. The only problem is it's basically dx7 at that point. Still looks good, but no bump mapping or anything advanced. HL2 looked better.

So now that performance wasnt a problem, I got down and dirty with the game.

The story is still incomprehensible. I have no idea what I'm doing. By now I've run across the 4th or 5th random person thats asked me for help, and I dont even know who I'm killing or why I'm doing it. The text is so bleh that I've stopped talking to random people. Playing oblivion made me want to talk to everyone, because it was interesting. This is the opposite.

Every place looks the same. I finally made my way down into some sort of sewer (how original), and I'm still killing people and I dont know why.

I hate to say it, but the core gameplay is just completely lacking. Every firefight degenerates into a "we both duck and shoot each other and hope it hits" scenario. The AI is either very smart, or very stupid...I can't tell. People just pop up out over hills, next thing you know youre shooting at someone from far out of both of your ranges. Of course he'll chase you, so you'll have to kill him, and by now youve got 500 pistol rounds and just enough smg ammo to down him. His body will have just enough smg ammo to down the next guy. And the pistol is USELESS. If you turn a corner into a room full of enemies, prepare to die.

But since thats the only way through, the game has degenerated into a less than entertaining quicksave scenario. I whip around, get murdered, and find out where they are so I at least have a fighting chance next time around. Literally quicksave every 5 seconds. Youll run around, and bump into some nearly invisible radiation. Then you will slowly die unless you use on of your valuable anti-rads.

And now to mention the single most aggravating mechanic ever introduced into an FPS game: your companions will push you around. You're sitting behind a bunch of boxes, fighting god knows who with god knows who else at your side. Your friend thinks he needs to get a better angle on him, and wants to use the side of the box youre both hiding behind. So he pushes you right out into the open, and you cant push back. I've died several times because of this, and it makes me want to punch the developers in the face.

The inventory management is also pointless. Its far more unwieldy than it needs to be.

At this point I'm just playing it because I have it. I am getting very little joy out of doing so, and if it hasnt picked up by now, I doubt it's going to anytime soon. Everything just feels wrong about it. The shooting feels wrong, the storyline is pointless, the rpg elements and inventory feel wrong, its just a lot of great ideas put together without any thought and it just comes out a mess. It has no personality or originality anywhere in it.

The only enjoyable aspect to the game is the audio, which is quite impressive. Gunshots sound perfect. Too bad all the fighting voiceovers are in russian.

Unless you have a burning desire to play every FPS game that has ever come out for the sake of it, don't waste your money. :thumbsdown:

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: marmasatt
Mark, you're actually buying a game that costs more than $ 10 bucks? I figure this one ought to be worth the day one release as well. I'm not waiting for the bargain bin or FS/FT either. Stopped by EB Games today while I was in the mall and they indicated they *may* be getting it later today/tommorrow as today is their release day listed. Weird. I'm also a little scared that the game is *only* getting an 85 or 8.5 on most sites. That's decent but not great. I mean Prey got 90/92ish, on average, didn't it? That was a decent game - but not great. You kind of want to be blown away when you're looking forward to a game like this one. Hopefully just not alot of hype.

not anymore

not picking it up Thursday, if that's what you mean

and from reading the reviews and opinions, i bet it will be bargain bin within 6 months
... sadly ... they obviously needed to *polish* it more.

so ... unless i read *glowing* and honest reviews i trust ... nope ... forget saving a few bucks now
... i have new games to play right now

Shimmering Isles and RE4 are coming soon from a game trade and i have just started to really enjoy Extraction Point ... about 2 or 3 hours in. My system is finally beefy enough to run it really well at 14x9 with no weirdness or slow-downs ... i just upgraded the old 2.80c to P43.4EE@3.74Ghz so it makes my x1950p-512M run a lot better unbottle-necked.

and i still haven't finished Fable LC as Bad ... he got the Horns, now
:evil:
--looks beautiful in WS with everything maxed and AA/AF forced ... very different than the first time thru.



i also bet that i will end up trading a friend for it after he is done with it

*i can wait*

 

[pontifex]

now i'm really debating on getting it or not.

the official reviews made me want it so bad but now the player reviews make me think its crap...

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: pontifex
now i'm really debating on getting it or not.

the official reviews made me want it so bad but now the player reviews make me think its crap...

i *will* play it

i have waited for it -- for YEARS ... and gave up waiting

so

why must i have it "now"


games ALWAYS get better after they are patched ... and it *appears* it needs one

your money

i am saving mine for now

IF i had no new games to play, i might feel very differently

 

[marmasatt]

My sentiments exactly.

now i'm really debating on getting it or not.

the official reviews made me want it so bad but now the player reviews make me think its crap...

 

[BD2003]

You know what would be a fun game? Lets give the player *barely* enough ammo, and weapons that make a paintball gun look like a sniper rifle. Then lets give him zero armor. Then let give ALL his enemies full body armor, with only their heads exposed. Then let the enemies either A) attack you from far, far away, or B) wait along with 5 of their buddies on the other side of the doorway, and NEVER come out, even though they outnumber and outequip you. And lets give the player *artifacts* which do as much harm as good, to even it out. Then to top it all off, lets give the player one slot for a non-pistol weapon, and force the player into the inventory screen to change, and make him use a mouse to do it. And just to be funny, lets make sure the action still goes on while in said inventory screen, and we'll make the AI so "smart" that they'll know when to jump you when you're trying your best just to switch to your other weapon with 5 bullets to hopefully kill the next guy.

The poor bastard will have to quicksave every time he kills someone.

Sounds like fun right? Best part of all? Horrendous load times. Because nothing spells fun like spending half the game staring at the load screen while waiting for your next try at hitting adamantium armored enemies in their inexplicably unhelmeted heads. Twice. The first shot straight through their brain with an 7.62mm AK47 round only knocks the wind out of them.

Either I'm losing my mind, or I'm starting to question whether every site that has reviewed this game has actually played it.

 

[Nightmare225]

Originally posted by: BD2003
You know what would be a fun game? Lets give the player *barely* enough ammo, and weapons that make a paintball gun look like a sniper rifle. Then lets give him zero armor. Then let give ALL his enemies full body armor, with only their heads exposed. Then let the enemies either A) attack you from far, far away, or B) wait along with 5 of their buddies on the other side of the doorway, and NEVER come out, even though they outnumber and outequip you. And lets give the player *artifacts* which do as much harm as good, to even it out. Then to top it all off, lets give the player one slot for a non-pistol weapon, and force the player into the inventory screen to change, and make him use a mouse to do it. And just to be funny, lets make sure the action still goes on while in said inventory screen, and we'll make the AI so "smart" that they'll know when to jump you when you're trying your best just to switch to your other weapon with 5 bullets to hopefully kill the next guy.

The poor bastard will have to quicksave and reload every time he kills someone.

Sounds like fun right? Best part of all? Horrendous load times. Because nothing spells fun like spending half the game staring at the load screen while waiting for your next try at hitting adamantium armored enemies in their inexplicably unhelmeted heads. Twice. The first headshot only staggers them.

Either I'm losing my mind, or I'm starting to question whether every site that has reviewed this game has actually played it.

My sentiments exactly. Performance is also horrid to boot... :|

A GTX cant, I repeat, can't run this game at 60 FPS maxed out. Which is pathetic considering it looks a bit better than HL2...

 

[BD2003]

To anyone who is still considering this game, seriously...wait for a demo. If they never release one, it should be fairly obvious why.

This game doesnt need a patch, it needs a lobotomy.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: BD2003
You know what would be a fun game? Lets give the player *barely* enough ammo, and weapons that make a paintball gun look like a sniper rifle. Then lets give him zero armor. Then let give ALL his enemies full body armor, with only their heads exposed. Then let the enemies either A) attack you from far, far away, or B) wait along with 5 of their buddies on the other side of the doorway, and NEVER come out, even though they outnumber and outequip you. And lets give the player *artifacts* which do as much harm as good, to even it out. Then to top it all off, lets give the player one slot for a non-pistol weapon, and force the player into the inventory screen to change, and make him use a mouse to do it. And just to be funny, lets make sure the action still goes on while in said inventory screen, and we'll make the AI so "smart" that they'll know when to jump you when you're trying your best just to switch to your other weapon with 5 bullets to hopefully kill the next guy.

The poor bastard will have to quicksave every time he kills someone.

Sounds like fun right? Best part of all? Horrendous load times. Because nothing spells fun like spending half the game staring at the load screen while waiting for your next try at hitting adamantium armored enemies in their inexplicably unhelmeted heads. Twice. The first shot straight through their brain with an 7.62mm AK47 round only knocks the wind out of them.

Either I'm losing my mind, or I'm starting to question whether every site that has reviewed this game has actually played it.

who is the publisher?

they *do* pay off gaming review sites ... it's "strange" that it is also 'on sale' ... for the first 3 days of release at a major chain

what is your rig like?

and i am *not* getting it ... soon .... patches can do amazing things

 

[Dethfrumbelo]

My impression from the reviews goes like this: "We give you bonus points for trying to do something original with the FPS genre... open non-linear world, realism, RPG elements, etc., it's just that the ideas didn't come together properly and you end up with an incomprehensible jumble of a game."

Oh well, Bioshock anyone? At least it looks great.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: BD2003
You know what would be a fun game? Lets give the player *barely* enough ammo, and weapons that make a paintball gun look like a sniper rifle. Then lets give him zero armor. Then let give ALL his enemies full body armor, with only their heads exposed. Then let the enemies either A) attack you from far, far away, or B) wait along with 5 of their buddies on the other side of the doorway, and NEVER come out, even though they outnumber and outequip you. And lets give the player *artifacts* which do as much harm as good, to even it out. Then to top it all off, lets give the player one slot for a non-pistol weapon, and force the player into the inventory screen to change, and make him use a mouse to do it. And just to be funny, lets make sure the action still goes on while in said inventory screen, and we'll make the AI so "smart" that they'll know when to jump you when you're trying your best just to switch to your other weapon with 5 bullets to hopefully kill the next guy.

The poor bastard will have to quicksave every time he kills someone.

Sounds like fun right? Best part of all? Horrendous load times. Because nothing spells fun like spending half the game staring at the load screen while waiting for your next try at hitting adamantium armored enemies in their inexplicably unhelmeted heads. Twice. The first shot straight through their brain with an 7.62mm AK47 round only knocks the wind out of them.

Either I'm losing my mind, or I'm starting to question whether every site that has reviewed this game has actually played it.

who is the publisher?

they *do* pay off gaming review sites ... it's "strange" that it is also 'on sale' ... for the first 3 days of release at a major chain

what is your rig like?

and i am *not* getting it ... soon .... patches can do amazing things

THQ published it. I'm running it on 2.8 C2D and 7600gt. In DX8 mode, because I just cant play an FPS game at 15 fps. (Yes, I measured.) It runs like a champ in DX8, I'll give it that.

A patch can balance it out perhaps, but it can't address cardboard characters and story and a complete lack of playability.

I so wanted to like this game too.

Supreme Commander's assiness made me shed a single tear, and this one is just crushing. I'm starting to worry that Quake wars, spore, crysis and UT07 are all going to end up garbage now too.

 

[Nightmare225]

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: BD2003
You know what would be a fun game? Lets give the player *barely* enough ammo, and weapons that make a paintball gun look like a sniper rifle. Then lets give him zero armor. Then let give ALL his enemies full body armor, with only their heads exposed. Then let the enemies either A) attack you from far, far away, or B) wait along with 5 of their buddies on the other side of the doorway, and NEVER come out, even though they outnumber and outequip you. And lets give the player *artifacts* which do as much harm as good, to even it out. Then to top it all off, lets give the player one slot for a non-pistol weapon, and force the player into the inventory screen to change, and make him use a mouse to do it. And just to be funny, lets make sure the action still goes on while in said inventory screen, and we'll make the AI so "smart" that they'll know when to jump you when you're trying your best just to switch to your other weapon with 5 bullets to hopefully kill the next guy.

The poor bastard will have to quicksave every time he kills someone.

Sounds like fun right? Best part of all? Horrendous load times. Because nothing spells fun like spending half the game staring at the load screen while waiting for your next try at hitting adamantium armored enemies in their inexplicably unhelmeted heads. Twice. The first shot straight through their brain with an 7.62mm AK47 round only knocks the wind out of them.

Either I'm losing my mind, or I'm starting to question whether every site that has reviewed this game has actually played it.

who is the publisher?

they *do* pay off gaming review sites ... it's "strange" that it is also 'on sale' ... for the first 3 days of release at a major chain

what is your rig like?

and i am *not* getting it ... soon .... patches can do amazing things

THQ published it. I'm running it on 2.8 C2D and 7600gt. In DX8 mode, because I just cant play an FPS game at 15 fps. (Yes, I measured.) It runs like a champ in DX8, I'll give it that.

A patch can balance it out perhaps, but it can't address cardboard characters and story and a complete lack of playability.

I so wanted to like this game too.

Supreme Commander's assiness made me shed a single tear, and this one is just crushing. I'm starting to worry that Quake wars, spore, crysis and UT07 are all going to end up garbage now too.

Meh, I actually think those games will turn out well, considering their developers' excellent past track records.

 

[MBrown]

Originally posted by: BD2003
You know what would be a fun game? Lets give the player *barely* enough ammo, and weapons that make a paintball gun look like a sniper rifle. Then lets give him zero armor. Then let give ALL his enemies full body armor, with only their heads exposed. Then let the enemies either A) attack you from far, far away, or B) wait along with 5 of their buddies on the other side of the doorway, and NEVER come out, even though they outnumber and outequip you. And lets give the player *artifacts* which do as much harm as good, to even it out. Then to top it all off, lets give the player one slot for a non-pistol weapon, and force the player into the inventory screen to change, and make him use a mouse to do it. And just to be funny, lets make sure the action still goes on while in said inventory screen, and we'll make the AI so "smart" that they'll know when to jump you when you're trying your best just to switch to your other weapon with 5 bullets to hopefully kill the next guy.

The poor bastard will have to quicksave every time he kills someone.

Sounds like fun right? Best part of all? Horrendous load times. Because nothing spells fun like spending half the game staring at the load screen while waiting for your next try at hitting adamantium armored enemies in their inexplicably unhelmeted heads. Twice. The first shot straight through their brain with an 7.62mm AK47 round only knocks the wind out of them.

Either I'm losing my mind, or I'm starting to question whether every site that has reviewed this game has actually played it.

ROFL!!!

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: pontifex
now i'm really debating on getting it or not.

the official reviews made me want it so bad but now the player reviews make me think its crap...

i *will* play it

i have waited for it -- for YEARS ... and gave up waiting

so

why must i have it "now"


games ALWAYS get better after they are patched ... and it *appears* it needs one

your money

i am saving mine for now

IF i had no new games to play, i might feel very differently

well, i don't have any new ones until C&C3

 

[Alienwho]

Originally posted by: BD2003
You know what would be a fun game? Lets give the player *barely* enough ammo, and weapons that make a paintball gun look like a sniper rifle. Then lets give him zero armor. Then let give ALL his enemies full body armor, with only their heads exposed. Then let the enemies either A) attack you from far, far away, or B) wait along with 5 of their buddies on the other side of the doorway, and NEVER come out, even though they outnumber and outequip you. And lets give the player *artifacts* which do as much harm as good, to even it out. Then to top it all off, lets give the player one slot for a non-pistol weapon, and force the player into the inventory screen to change, and make him use a mouse to do it. And just to be funny, lets make sure the action still goes on while in said inventory screen, and we'll make the AI so "smart" that they'll know when to jump you when you're trying your best just to switch to your other weapon with 5 bullets to hopefully kill the next guy.

The poor bastard will have to quicksave every time he kills someone.

Sounds like fun right? Best part of all? Horrendous load times. Because nothing spells fun like spending half the game staring at the load screen while waiting for your next try at hitting adamantium armored enemies in their inexplicably unhelmeted heads. Twice. The first shot straight through their brain with an 7.62mm AK47 round only knocks the wind out of them.

Either I'm losing my mind, or I'm starting to question whether every site that has reviewed this game has actually played it.

I've played the game for about an hour, and this guy pretty much mentioned everything i feel.

 

[Regs]

I wonder if I can get my 5 dollar deposit back from EB Games and cast sail arrh mighty.

And no I don't know too many games out now that are worth the money.

 

[MaverikV]

Did I miss a radiation suit or something? Or am I supposed to have to down an anti radiation pill every 3 and a half seconds?

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: BD2003

And now to mention the single most aggravating mechanic ever introduced into an FPS game: your companions will push you around. You're sitting behind a bunch of boxes, fighting god knows who with god knows who else at your side. Your friend thinks he needs to get a better angle on him, and wants to use the side of the box youre both hiding behind. So he pushes you right out into the open, and you cant push back. I've died several times because of this, and it makes me want to punch the developers in the face.

I was LMAO at this, how unbelievably frustrating that would be.

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: BD2003

And now to mention the single most aggravating mechanic ever introduced into an FPS game: your companions will push you around. You're sitting behind a bunch of boxes, fighting god knows who with god knows who else at your side. Your friend thinks he needs to get a better angle on him, and wants to use the side of the box youre both hiding behind. So he pushes you right out into the open, and you cant push back. I've died several times because of this, and it makes me want to punch the developers in the face.

I was LMAO at this, how unbelievably frustrating that would be.

Yeah, lmao. I thank BD a lot for the most amusing and descriptive critique of the game.

I haven't picked up Serious Sam 2 yet. Any recommendations?

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: MaverikV
Did I miss a radiation suit or something? Or am I supposed to have to down an anti radiation pill every 3 and a half seconds?

Well, when you run out of anti-rad, you can always swig an entire litre of vodka. (Yes, seriously). Who would have thought that alcohol poisoning can directly counterbalance the effects of radiation poisoning?

You know something is wrong with the brains of the developers when they were so determined to put vodka into the game that they decided it would best play its part as the cure for nuclear fallout. Thats so brilliant...I wonder why no one else has thought of that before.

I was LMAO at this, how unbelievably frustrating that would be.

Its more annoying that words can truly describe. The expletives that came out of my mouth directed at the screen were worthy of the finest tirade of a 12 year old on xbox live who's mom is refusing to get him some chocolate milk.

Once in the town, I was in the PDA, trying to figure out how the hell to use the blasted thing. I noticed the corners of the screen moving as if I was moving backwards. After I figured out which button deactivated it, P, which is quite usefully placed as far as possible from ASDF, I came back to chernobyl only to find that the man casually strolling down the street directly in front of me had managed to push me along with my rifle pressed against his chest a good 20 feet without even slowing down, or I dunno...noticing?

Now *THATS* what I call AI.


And contrary to popular belief, no, you can not S.T.A.L.K. someone in this game. Perhaps if the planets align and your enemies lose the ability to see through the back of their heads, you might be able to shoot someone in the back of the head. But you'd better use a rocket, because apparently everyone in chernobyl has evolved to form impenetrable skulls.

And in case anyone is somehow fooled into buying this game, I'll save you the time of trying to figure out how to quickload/save because its not an entry in the controls screen. It's f6 and f7. But remember, the game is really atmospheric, so you'll probably want to play it in the dark. Just be sure to fight the urge to smash your keyboard into your monitor because they put the damn keys adjacent to each other, and you're just one finger slip away from starting the last level all over again. Which happens to be 45 minutes ago, because it took you 50 tries to nail everyone in the first room twice in the head.

 

[MaverikV]

so this radiation pill crap NEVER ends? Damn. There are at least parts where the radiation is low enough not to drain your health right?

Also, when you're in the sewer after the train station part, after you kill a bunch of those military guys is there an action lull? I keep dying right at the end and if there's not a lull after this i'm considering quitting for a while. One of the great things about HL2 was the pacing- kill kill frantic kill lull

Can I expect this here?

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: MaverikV
so this radiation pill crap NEVER ends? Damn. There are at least parts where the radiation is low enough not to drain your health right?

The thing about the radiation is that once you get irradiated, you better have some vodka. Otherwise it will slowly drain your health until you find some. You can usually see it (I didnt know radiation looked like sideways drops of water in thin air, go figure), so try to avoid it when you can.

Also, don't equip ANY artifacts until you find some that dont irradiate you. The first few give you like +2 bulletproof for -5 radiation, in a little while you'll find one that gives you +10 radiation for -10 bulletproof. If you equip two of the first, and one of the second, you'll even out the radiation, but youll be granted -6 bulletproof. See, aren't they so useful?

Also, when you're in the sewer after the train station part, after you kill a bunch of those military guys is there an action lull? I keep dying right at the end and if there's not a lull after this i'm considering quitting for a while. One of the great things about HL2 was the pacing- kill kill frantic kill lull

Can I expect this here?

Oh, theres an action lull alright. After you manage to clear that hallway of the nuclear ubersoldiers, you'll have to find the "stash". I'll save you the frustration of solving that brilliant puzzle and just tell you that it's behind one of the things up against the wall, or else you might spend the next 20 minutes trying to figure out why the hell the PDA says it's in this room when its obviously not.

So anyway, after you get the stash, you'll be told you have to "find a way out of the underground". So I explored a bit, and found a room with little sparkly things. Although they might look like useful items that you can pick up, they're actually self contained balls of lighting that will explode in your face and instantaneously kill you. (I hope you quicksaved!)

You might find the other ladder, that leads to a partially blocked manhole. Despite the fact that you can carry 17 guns, 10 bottles of vodka, 25 bandages and 1000 rounds of pistol ammo at the same time, all whilst sprinting at no less than 30mph, you will be unable to budge this manhole cover which is already half open.

Then you will obviously think to go back the way you came. You will meet no opposition, other than the strange globs of ironically non-radioactive bubbling green goo. And clearly by any sane person's definition, you will believe you have faithfully satisfied the objective of "finding your way out of the underground". But alas, you have not done it the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. way. You will find your quest has yet to be fufilled, and the PDA directs you towards the sewers you just came from (which are quite under ground, trust me) as the "way out of the underground". Upon your arrival back underground in order to find the way out of the underground, the magic arrow which points to your next objective no longer exists, and you will be faced with the decision of either A) spending the next 20 minutes trying to find the exit they want you to find without stumbling into rooms that can kill you or B) turning the game off in absolute disgust.

And if you're anything like me, you'll have chosen B without a second of contemplation.

So if by lull, you mean "I'm never going to want to touch this game ever again", there is most certainly a lull.

Unless you considering uninstalling 7 gigabytes action. Which is certainly more satisfying than the actual game, and will probably take less time to do so than loading a quicksave.

In fact, wiping your ass with $50 sounds quite satisfying, which I guarantee is a far more entertaining use of your money.