The Callisto Protocol comes to a conclusion with the new The Final Transmission DLC and with it brings closure to an ambitious game.
With the creator of the original Dead Space behind it, the costly game looked to be a new chapter in Survival Horror but failed to reach the mass audience the developers had hoped for as gamers cited displeasure with bugs, combat mechanics, and other issues with the game.
I found the game to be enjoyable but at times frustratingly hard in places but enjoyed the challenge and looked forward to seeing how the storyline would conclude.
Picking up after the events of the main game, Jacob (Josh Duhamel) finds himself looking for a way out of Black Iron prison, but with memory issues that are compounded by hallucinations.
Urged on by Dr. Mahler (Louise Barnes), who insists that a way out is near and asks Jacob to hurry. Having to push on and fight his way through the usual onslaught of enemies, Jacob has his assortment of upgradeable weapons as well as his kinetic abilities which allows him to grasp and throw enemies into dangerous machines and such to dispatch them.
This time around new puzzles come into play and Jacob will have to line up a series of moving lock segments within a given time to open areas necessary to advance. One is on such a fast timer that I was forced to take on two of the new Biomech enemies with bullets as I was not able to unlock the Kinetic Hammer in time.
Once I dispatched the enemies and obtained the hammer, I was able to make short work of the enemies I encountered as it was a real game-changer and one I wish that I had during the main game as it was far more effective than the Baton.
I enjoyed the extra content but there were some bugs including a crash that affected my Smart TV apps, and one instance where enemies just left after I opted to hide and do a hit-and-run tactic versus fighting them at once.
Another very odd thing happened during the final boss battle where after getting taken out about five times, I was able to get about six good licks on the boss and was retreating to a defensive area to plan my next attack. After my flurry of attacks and while the boss still showed health, the final cutscene started and took me to the end of the game.
The ending of the game as well as the post-credits scene has not been popular with gamers and many believe the DLC which can be completed in two-three hours is not long enough considering the cost of the Season Pass and wait. I took advantage of a sale that knocked the price in half but I do understand the argument and issues players have.
While it does bring a form of closure there are still ways to continue the story and it will be interesting to see what happens as while the game was apparently a financial disappointment, the studio does believe that there are other opportunities within the game universe to explore.
For now, it is a form of closure, just not the one fans wanted.
3 stars out of 5
