Short on Ammo
Despite the carnal fun that Emergence offers along with the small touches that Ritual has filled the title with, the gameplay that it brings to your screen is still very much a straightforward shooter in the vein of early FPS titles. While this might be a lot of fun for many players that remember SiN, some players may feel that it doesn't offer enough outside of the basics to really stand out especially for the price that it asks. The AI can tend to be a little too lemming like in certain situations, making it very easy to simply wait at a doorway for them to come to you. Some enemies simply stand there, even after you peg them a few times from the safety of cover. And what is with FPS shooters and sewers? Does every trip into a building have to include a trip through the waste facilities?

While the episodic approach to the game isn't so much of bad thing, though, considering that this is just an episode of a much larger arc, some players may want more than a few levels and a few hours of run 'n gun gameplay for the money they spend. Given that there may be other games out there which some players may not have yet had the chance to play for the same price that offer far more bang for the buck, it becomes even harder to justify spending the money. Although the inclusion of the original SiN and its multiplayer may help ease the hit and Ritual has done a great job in creating a unique atmosphere for Emergence, it remains to be seen if there will be similar extras offered in future installments. Ritual has a total of nine episodes planned out for SiN so another question is whether players will also want to spend nearly that much for every chapter depending on what else is offered.

I can see how this approach can help to keep the franchise feel fresh with regular installments instead of asking players to wait years until they get to play something, but other titles that other developers are creating aren't standing still, either. With the number of games that are coming out today as opposed to that which was available several years ago, how the episodic content will continue to prove itself will be something to watch.