Pidesco on 26/5/2009 at 22:25
The best thing about this thread is how so many people replied seriously to an obviously satirical post.
fett on 26/5/2009 at 22:46
Quote Posted by Pidesco
The best thing about this thread is how so many people replied seriously to an obviously satirical post.
Only partly. :)
I don't feel nearly as strongly as I stated in the OP (most days), but honestly, I can't see the appeal over the PC. This is an age old debate and I don't claim to be 100% correct. I'm just saying for me, nothing about the experience appeals to me. To elaborate on my points:
1) I'm clueless about composite cables, etc. I'm playing through an HD, but the Lego Batman thing is true. I couldn't afford a PS3 and I realize they look better, but the PS2 has been preferred by folks over the PC for 9 years. There are 'far away' places on the screen where the characters must interact with objects in very specific ways and I swear to god the objects look like big colored blobs. The same it true for the Splinter Cell series - all three of them. My family/house situation prevents me from moving the TV, which is my own fault, but I also hate the very "public" feeling of playing games in a big room instead of the enjoying the relative privacy of my PC screen. Again, personal preference.
2) I bought (used) the Metal Gear Solid series, Splinter Cell, a few of the Lego games for the kids, and a few Star Wars games (Republic Commando I think?). With the exception of MGS, I've played most of these on the PC and the controls just feel absolutely clunky. I thought I would get used to it but it's been a few weeks and I just fucking HATE the controllers. I know people here worship MGS but I spent about 45 minutes getting sniped by off screen AI - the POV was abysmal in all 4 games - the camera rotation sucked IMO. This is a fault of the game, not the PS2, but matched with the blurriness it was less fun than a colonoscopy. I'm not sure "better games" are going to fix the fact that a console controller simply cannot match the precision of a mouse/key setup. I know I suck at the controller, but I play piano like a son of a bitch and I've never walked so many poor game characters off the edges of roofs and into buildings in my life. My dexterity is good - the controller feels like playing through a bowl of stew to me. If it doesn't to you, I'm happy for you. :)
3) My statement about the save system stands. It sucks. You know it sucks. It could be fixed but it's not. Why? What retard came up with the concept of save points on a machine that is capable of so much more?
My other comments about tutorials, etc. come mainly from frustration over the games that are supposedly for 5-8 year olds. The controls seem even clunkier, the instructions fly by so fast that you can't read them or comprehend them, and tutorials are virtually non-existent. The learning curves are hellish as well - with the exception of most of the racing games.
Then again, I'm the guy who got frustrated at Stalker, so maybe I really am just getting too old for this shit. :erg: And yes I know, the PS2 is "old" but compared equally to "old" games on the PC, I still can't see the appeal in terms of graphics or controls.
Taffer36 on 26/5/2009 at 23:04
Quote:
3) There's not enough buttons. There are no tutorials. The save systems suck. I have to play in the living room where the light of a thousand suns glare on the screen even if I close the blinds. Games for kids are ridiculously hard, games for adults are annoyingly simple. I HAVE TO TELL IT I WANT TO QUIT ON 5 DIFFERENT MENU SCREENS. I'M LATE, LET ME QUIT THE FUCKING GAME.
Why the fuck are you quiting?
IT'S A CONSOLE. PRESS THE OFF BUTTON.
And I've turned against the concept of quicksaving even though so many of you love it. Checkpoints ARE better in every way. Otherwise far too many people spam the hell out of quicksave/quickload, and all necessary suspense is lost. It's like from a while back when people were talking about playing Doom 3 with godmode on. WHY?!?! THE GAME IS WORTHLESS WHEN YOU DO THAT! Same basic concept with quicksaves.
Edit: NOOOOOOOO! I've been had!
ZylonBane on 26/5/2009 at 23:28
Quote Posted by Taffer36
Checkpoints ARE better in every way.
You have to be seriously smegging dumb to say this with a straight face.
Bjossi on 26/5/2009 at 23:33
Quote Posted by Taffer36
And I've turned against the concept of quicksaving even though so many of you love it. Checkpoints ARE better in every way. Otherwise far too many people spam the hell out of quicksave/quickload, and all necessary suspense is lost.
I like it better to have a CHOICE how often to save my progress. I fucking hate checkpoint-based saving; any difficult segments of such games will consist of repeating them over and over and over again until you finally get them "right", which builds up more temper than suspense, plus you won't be able to keep a stash of savegames to fall back to to a) Recover from gameplay bugs that you might encounter, b) If you get yourself into a situation that makes it nearly impossible to continue, and c) Enjoy your favorite parts of a game once you finish it. Manual saving, whether quick or not, is the way to go in my opinion, it can appeal to all players.
The seemingly growing trend of checkpoint-based saving in new games does not make me happy, obviously. Examples I can think off the top of my head are FEAR 2, CoR: Assault on Dark Athena and Dead Space (this one's not quite as forced as the former two though).
dj_ivocha on 26/5/2009 at 23:59
Quote Posted by Taffer36
Otherwise far too many people spam the hell out of quicksave/quickload, and all necessary suspense is lost.
What does other people spamming the hell out of quicksave/load have to do with YOUR feeling of suspense while playing the game? :confused:
fett on 27/5/2009 at 00:00
For those of us with an actual life, there are also situations where you have to leave to go somewhere or do something and are not convienently sitting near a checkpoint, despite having invested the last 45 minutes to get to your current position. Splinter Cell is the best I've played for breaking those up because they autosave immediately after you've completed a scene or set of rooms. Of course it also kills the suspense because it falls into a pattern of bad guys>confrontation/sneak>save, rinse repeat.
Toxicfluff on 27/5/2009 at 00:01
Quote Posted by Bjossi
And who the fuck cares how other players like their experience? I for one like it better to have a CHOICE how often to save my progress, rather than being forced to repeat every difficult section of checkpoint-based games over and over and over again. With quicksaving the player can adjust the rate of saving to his/her personal preference.
Well, I do actually prefer checkpoints -- precisely because otherwise I tap F6 so often without realising that it
does deflate suspense for me. That said, I think it's an inherently flawed chore of a system.
//edit: and that developers who put it in should be paid only at milestone completions of the offending project
Enchantermon on 27/5/2009 at 00:04
Quote Posted by Taffer36
And I've turned against the concept of quicksaving even though so many of you love it. Checkpoints ARE better in every way. Otherwise far too many people spam the hell out of quicksave/quickload, and all necessary suspense is lost.
Personally, though I would advise against abusing saves in this way, I think people should be free to have the choice, especially if removing this choice inconveniences the rest of us who will use the saving ability properly. You want to ruin your enjoyment of the game? Go ahead. I'm hungry and want to go eat something
now as opposed to having to play another half an hour just so I can save my progress.
Bjossi on 27/5/2009 at 00:09
Quote Posted by Toxicfluff
Well, I do actually prefer checkpoints -- precisely because otherwise I tap F6 so often without realising that it
does deflate suspense for me. That said, I think it's an inherently flawed chore of a system.
You being unable to control the F6 tapping isn't the game's fault. I don't use quick saves very often myself, I often take the time to visit the save menu and manage my savegames from there.
I made some changes to my post by the way.
