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Author Topic: Games these days (Soapbox rant)  (Read 4887 times)

Frajic

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Re: Games these days (Soapbox rant)
« Reply #15 on: March 06, 2011, 04:53:14 pm »

I imagine Nintendo will be first out. I feel that the Wii is just fading away from the market, while the XBox and PS3 still have a firm grip.

I wonder if they'll go with gamepads or motion controllers.
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Heron TSG

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Re: Games these days (Soapbox rant)
« Reply #16 on: March 06, 2011, 05:29:40 pm »

I think it's undeniable that high piracy rates for the PC platform are certainly making the consoles look more attractive to developers in terms of profit returns and how many people they can get a sale from.
I'm not sure what you mean here. It's entirely possible for a PC to emulate a ROM of a console game. For example, Dolphin for the Gamecube and Wii. If anything, they're easier to pirate because they don't have as much built-in protection.

I imagine Nintendo will be first out. I feel that the Wii is just fading away from the market, while the XBox and PS3 still have a firm grip.

I wonder if they'll go with gamepads or motion controllers.
Considering the Playstation Move and Microsoft's Kinect, I'd guess motion control. The Wii is still going fairly strong, but I have heard rumors of a new console. The 3DS, which is supposed to be coming out soon, is supposed to have the processing power of the Wii, but in console form. I don't know where the main console lines will go, though. The Wii has party games and such hands-down, but there's not much difference between the three for other games' quality.
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LordNagash

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Re: Games these days (Soapbox rant)
« Reply #17 on: March 06, 2011, 06:35:56 pm »

The Wii is still going fairly strong, but I have heard rumors of a new console. The 3DS, which is supposed to be coming out soon, is supposed to have the processing power of the Wii, but in console form.

That's probably not that difficult, given how woefully underpowered the Wii is. I honestly think that's the one big misstep Nintendo make with the Wii - sure, it let them get it out way cheaper than everyone else but it's dating far faster than the 360 or the PS3.

As for the next generation of consoles, I think we're still a faiiir way off on that. Microsoft and Sony had to eat some pretty big losses on selling their consoles early on due to high cost of making them, so I think they'll stretch as much life out of them as they possibly can.

Couple that with the fact that there isn't really a pressing need in the form of the consoles lagging behind in processing power and graphics, and I think it will be quite a while before we see the Playstation 4 or the Xbox 1080. May see the Wii 2, though.

Edit: Oh, in reply to the actual post at the start of this thread:

In a nutshell, I think you're completely wrong. Fallout:New Vegas is one of my favourite games of all time now, and it's one I have got a lot of playtime out of. Does it equal my playtime on Baldurs Gate 2 yet? I don't think so, but that's because when that came out I had way more free time to play video games. I think the mainstream industry may have become a little bit more 'safe' to protect the massive investments involved, but the sheer expansion in artistic quality of games now(with full voice acting, excellent stories and fantastic graphics) kind of makes up for it.

Not to mention that indie games are really pushing the boundaries of games, now that they have vectors to easily get out to people with digital distribution. All in all I think it's an exciting time for gaming.
« Last Edit: March 06, 2011, 06:42:37 pm by LordNagash »
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Cthulhu

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Re: Games these days (Soapbox rant)
« Reply #18 on: March 06, 2011, 07:06:49 pm »

4 hours later I'm returning the damn thing because it makes no sense and has a gratuitous amount of shit that doesn't lend itself to the damn game! (That's right dragon age, I'm talking to YOU.)

I'd like to know what exactly you're talking about here.
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fqllve

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Re: Games these days (Soapbox rant)
« Reply #19 on: March 06, 2011, 08:49:35 pm »

4 hours later I'm returning the damn thing because it makes no sense and has a gratuitous amount of shit that doesn't lend itself to the damn game! (That's right dragon age, I'm talking to YOU.)
I'd like to know what exactly you're talking about here.
Me too. I didn't expect to like Dragon Age, but I'm in the middle of playing it and it's actually very good.
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Nopkar

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Re: Games these days (Soapbox rant)
« Reply #20 on: March 07, 2011, 02:09:47 am »

4 hours later I'm returning the damn thing because it makes no sense and has a gratuitous amount of shit that doesn't lend itself to the damn game! (That's right dragon age, I'm talking to YOU.)
I'd like to know what exactly you're talking about here.
Me too. I didn't expect to like Dragon Age, but I'm in the middle of playing it and it's actually very good.

after several of the same pointless quests that don't progress the very linear story progression...I kinda hate it. and where other RPG's filter out the random junk you get in lieu of high level enemies, Dragon Age does not. I expect an endgame darkspawn has the same gear all the time, but not wildly different, lower tiered gear consistently when they are CLEARLY more dangerous than their loot allows.

don't get me wrong, I love looting junk to sell, but Dragon Age does it in a way that just really rubbed me the wrong way. oh, and that random fetch mission? what do I get for it? oh, junk? awesome, not doing it...glad you wasted your time on it developers.
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Willfor

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Re: Games these days (Soapbox rant)
« Reply #21 on: March 07, 2011, 02:42:28 am »

I play Dragon Age for the characters, man. I don't know about anyone else.

Except I think I am only half way through it at the moment, but that will change soon.
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fqllve

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Re: Games these days (Soapbox rant)
« Reply #22 on: March 07, 2011, 03:16:16 am »

after several of the same pointless quests that don't progress the very linear story progression...I kinda hate it.
That's pretty much standard for RPGs, especially Bioware RPGs. I don't think Dragon Age is any worse about it than KOTOR was.

Quote
and where other RPG's filter out the random junk you get in lieu of high level enemies, Dragon Age does not. I expect an endgame darkspawn has the same gear all the time, but not wildly different, lower tiered gear consistently when they are CLEARLY more dangerous than their loot allows.

don't get me wrong, I love looting junk to sell, but Dragon Age does it in a way that just really rubbed me the wrong way. oh, and that random fetch mission? what do I get for it? oh, junk? awesome, not doing it...glad you wasted your time on it developers.
I've only just entered the midgame so I dunno about this, but I haven't gotten too much vendor trash, certainly not unusual amounts. The only game I can think of that had so much vendor trash that I almost quit playing it was Mass Effect, and I can't imagine Dragon Age is gonna be anywhere near as bad about it.

And beyond that, the game has that really nice junking items feature which might be the best thing to happen to inventory management in a long time.
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optimumtact

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Re: Games these days (Soapbox rant)
« Reply #23 on: March 08, 2011, 06:43:16 pm »

I think nintendo's strategy with the Wii was both effective and strategically well timed, they offered something that the other two consoles didn't and they made a heck of a lot of money off it. I don't know if anyone here has read some of Sean Malstroms stuff but if you haven't then I would strongly urge you to do so. It's an interesting take on what Nintendo's strategy could or should be. His blog is here

http://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/


but it appears his main site is down so the articles are not available :(

With regards to piracy I was mainly talking about the most modern consoles, which have not been emulated and require root key's to function, although the PS3 is no longer secure in that respect.
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Sowelu

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Re: Games these days (Soapbox rant)
« Reply #24 on: March 08, 2011, 06:51:57 pm »

All gamers hit a period where they become spoiled brats.

When you're new to gaming, everything is shiny and new, and you find the good in even mediocre games.  Then after a while you realize that, wow, you had been terribly mistaken when you enjoyed that game!  It's actually very bad; what were you thinking!

People get so goddamn picky as they play more and more games.  Every time you find a new one you like, you raise your bar until nothing gets over it any more.  So sorry you can't have caviar every day.

Most games are like macaroni and cheese.  They don't bring anything new to the table, and it doesn't take great masterminds to create them, but you know, they are great as comfort games.  Not everything has to be memorable forever as long as you just let yourself enjoy it in the moment.  If it takes too much personal effort to do that, maybe you need to take a break from gaming for a while, because the problem isn't the game industry, it's the way you've oversaturated yourself.
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Nopkar

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Re: Games these days (Soapbox rant)
« Reply #25 on: March 08, 2011, 09:34:12 pm »

I still play daggerfall...as a matter of fact I just got done with a 3 hour session. Hell, I've been logging several hours a week into Rome total war for the past month! I love classic games, but when I look at the upcoming releases I tend to cringe. There just isn't as much soul in the games coming out. The next halo? yeah, if it's awesome, awesome! but until then it's a soul-less shell that EA is milking despite the developers moving on. THAT makes me sad.

I know when to retract my judgement. Treyarch? after World at War I passed them off as a 3rd rate company. Black ops changed that tract of thinking very fast.

I hate it most when a company takes a legitimately GOOD idea and warp it to where it's unrecognizable. Dead Rising? yeah...Capcom dropped the ball on BOTH of them. The second was a "tad" bit better, but still failed horribly. how do you fuck up a zombie game? Capcom somehow did.
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fqllve

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Re: Games these days (Soapbox rant)
« Reply #26 on: March 08, 2011, 09:43:53 pm »

how do you fuck up a zombie game?
That must be why there are so many zombie games out right now.

So basically you expect the upcoming releases to compete with the last ten years of gaming? You do realize, at the very least, the new Team Ico game is set to release this year, right? There aren't that many really good games a year, and you're lucky if there are one or two amazing ones. And really, it's not safe to judge the state of the industry by a bunch of games that haven't even dropped yet.
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Sowelu

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Re: Games these days (Soapbox rant)
« Reply #27 on: March 08, 2011, 10:00:25 pm »

how do you fuck up a zombie game?

Zombie Driver?  Burn Zombie Burn?  Fort Zombie?  Like half of the Resident Evil games ever made?  Killing Floor?  The bad ones way outnumber the good ones.
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Argembarger

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Re: Games these days (Soapbox rant)
« Reply #28 on: March 08, 2011, 10:04:28 pm »

I think OP should watch the Extra Credits series at escapistmagazine.com

Those videos are reassuringly optimistic about the future of gaming.

link
« Last Edit: March 08, 2011, 10:06:43 pm by Argembarger »
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Re: Games these days (Soapbox rant)
« Reply #29 on: March 08, 2011, 10:37:44 pm »

So basically you expect the upcoming releases to compete with the last ten years of gaming? You do realize, at the very least, the new Team Ico game is set to release this year, right? There aren't that many really good games a year, and you're lucky if there are one or two amazing ones. And really, it's not safe to judge the state of the industry by a bunch of games that haven't even dropped yet.

Exactly. 2010's PC market had plenty of good games. And these are merely one's I've played I would consider worthy of praise for one or more aspects.

Just Cause 2, an over the top sandbox shooter whose movement mechanics are so enjoyable I've played it as recently as yesterday, got a completion of 99%, sunk well over 100 hours into it, and play it sometimes just to screw around and fly from rooftop to rooftop like freeking Spiderman. I've driven over 1000 miles ingame; most of it simply because the vehicles are so incredibly fun to drive rather than any actual transportation goal (since you can insta-travel pretty much everywhere).

Minecraft, an indie game which has managed to sell something like 1 million copies now w/o any advertising aside from word of mouth. The game itself featuring survival-lite combined with sandbox terrain modification.

Starcraft 2, the spectator sport of gaming. I can honestly say I have watched as many hours of shoutcasted games as I have actually played.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent, scariest game evar.

And Mass Effect 2, another epic from BioWare. As usual, their games aren't particularly replayable, but are a hell of an experience to play through, especially if done in one or two long unbroken periods of time. Say what you will about gameplay preferences, but BioWare does what they do exceptionally well. And what they do is make RPG storylines which are immersive and engaging.

Recettear, another indie game, this time ported over from the Japanese version of the (also) indie game. Very successful and may be a portent of things to come. The game itself was something seldom seen, a mix of humorous revelry in all things RPG while managing to pull off solid gameplay in the process.

Were there bad ones? Heck yeah. But like always, they will be lost in the bins of time. Were the big studios a bit lax as far as innovative releases? Perhaps. However, much of that can be attributed to the economy which remained poor through most of last year, with the major companies seeing for the first time some major layoffs. They aren't going to be launching new IPs or ideas when they have old ones which are proven to keep them in the black.
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