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Aug. 30th, 2009 01:17 amPicking on almost-dead Space Pirates seems wrong, somehow.
Really, I'm getting seriously mixed messages as I explore the ruins of Frigate Orpheon. I mean, I'm here because I received a distress beacon, and the first thing I found were dead Space Pirates, and the second thing I found were parasites. The game does a really good job being atmospheric with all the scanning, and it very thoroughly drills into your head the fact that the Pirates where overwhemled and mostly wiped out by the parasites and you're just slogging through what's left after the massacre. Especially with all the creative descriptions of Pirate deaths from the scanning--"Space Pirate. Status: death caused by blunt cranial trauma." "Death caused by severe lacerations to abdomen." "Death caused by acid burns." The list goes on, including my personal favorite so far, "Death caused by removal of internal organs."
I realize that Space Pirates aren't exactly the nicest things in the universe, and even the parasites that killed most of them on this very ship are mostly their damn fault for the Phazon experiments and such, but I still don't know if I'm comfortable with "finish off any Pirates that weren't already dead when you got there" being part of the mission. For one thing, Space Pirates are cute, and for another, surely any species capable of space travel, scientific experimentation, and freaking data encryption is smart enough to negotiate. It's almost like a less survival-horror-y Dead Space in here with the "something wiped out the crew, have fun examining all the bodies while fighting the creatures that killed them" theme, only I paradoxically also have to fight all the surviving Pirates, too, including the injured ones. It was quite a surprise the first time I saw one sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall pitifully, only for him to take out a blaster and start shooting at me after I scanned him. "This one has both his legs broken. That's pretty messed up, but it doesn't actually say he's de--ow!! Hey, why is--ow!! Wait, do I seriously have to kill the--ow!! Fine, then! ^O.O^;;" One had a brain hemmorhage, which just meant that he stumbled around like he was drunk and had really terrible aim before I shot him in the face, and now I feel bad.
Really, I'm getting seriously mixed messages as I explore the ruins of Frigate Orpheon. I mean, I'm here because I received a distress beacon, and the first thing I found were dead Space Pirates, and the second thing I found were parasites. The game does a really good job being atmospheric with all the scanning, and it very thoroughly drills into your head the fact that the Pirates where overwhemled and mostly wiped out by the parasites and you're just slogging through what's left after the massacre. Especially with all the creative descriptions of Pirate deaths from the scanning--"Space Pirate. Status: death caused by blunt cranial trauma." "Death caused by severe lacerations to abdomen." "Death caused by acid burns." The list goes on, including my personal favorite so far, "Death caused by removal of internal organs."
I realize that Space Pirates aren't exactly the nicest things in the universe, and even the parasites that killed most of them on this very ship are mostly their damn fault for the Phazon experiments and such, but I still don't know if I'm comfortable with "finish off any Pirates that weren't already dead when you got there" being part of the mission. For one thing, Space Pirates are cute, and for another, surely any species capable of space travel, scientific experimentation, and freaking data encryption is smart enough to negotiate. It's almost like a less survival-horror-y Dead Space in here with the "something wiped out the crew, have fun examining all the bodies while fighting the creatures that killed them" theme, only I paradoxically also have to fight all the surviving Pirates, too, including the injured ones. It was quite a surprise the first time I saw one sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall pitifully, only for him to take out a blaster and start shooting at me after I scanned him. "This one has both his legs broken. That's pretty messed up, but it doesn't actually say he's de--ow!! Hey, why is--ow!! Wait, do I seriously have to kill the--ow!! Fine, then! ^O.O^;;" One had a brain hemmorhage, which just meant that he stumbled around like he was drunk and had really terrible aim before I shot him in the face, and now I feel bad.
