Random Gaming Thoughts (Read OP Before Posting)

[MiTT3NZ]

So if you wait for a GOTY edition, then why are you arsed? Isn't it essentially the same as saying "I'm not buying Sonic 1, 2 or 3 because they'll eventually release a "Sonic Trilogy" game? Why pay so much to watch a film at the pictures when you can buy the DVD? Why buy the DVD when you can buy the Blu-Ray with extra features? Why buy that when they'll eventually release a remastered edition or a director's cut?

[AnimeGamer183]

Most of the games I am interested in dont have the luxury of getting special releases like that. It also has to do with price drops and just the general prices for all that extra stuff. I never had to do anything like that before last gen, and most of the games I am interested in dont have extra dlc content or scenerios, in addition I become uninterested in DLC and micro-transaction games, so even if I did have some interest before and I find out its heavy with dlc and that other stuff, then my interest drops significantly. Its the format in which has become standard that bothers me, and im a bit bitter with some of the gamers that supported this, and I have a feeling its was the younger crowd that made it successful.

[Thief]

I like physical media just as much as the next guy but I'm not going to wait however many months/years to buy some DLC compilation disc for some game that's relevant to my interests now.

^Mittz and his Theatre/DVD analogy is perfect. You don't physically own the movie you saw at the theatre because you went there for the experience -- there will always be time to buy stuff later if the collector inside you begins to boil, but don't let it inhibit your ability to have some fun.

[AnimeGamer183]

haha, thats totally different. Are you kidding me? Movie theatre experience and your own television screen in your home are 2 totally different things. You go to the theatre as a social thing, for the big screen big sound you may not have at your house, i'll let iMax viewings speak for themselves. Where as playing a game is majority in home experience and you play on your setup either way. Video games dont get theatre distribution before home versions are released, therefore that way of thinking is a bit flawed. Mittz is dumbing down and generalizing the conversation, trying to presume theatre experiences are some how comparable to any part of gaming or the way/format games are released, which its just too different to make such a comparison. Wish we could play certain games on screens that big, I really do, its not a bad idea actually.

[Henry Spencer]

Eh. Really, all that console games did was imitate the PC game market - PC games have always had expansion packs that add additional content to the base game. I remember back in the day plenty of games especially loads of the RTS games and FPS games having these expansion packs that would either add in extra mutiplayer maps or new single player missions. The only difference nowadays really is the distribution part (henceforth "DLC") - it's digital now rather than physical, though in some cases, a GOTY edition of some kind comes out with it all there. It doesn't offend me really, as long as they don't lock out important parts to a game such as the real ending or as with the case of certain fighting games, lock out too many characters that were on the disc to begin with...

I agree with the sentiment that early access and free2play are shite though. Those processes just unnecessarily complicate matters - I just want to play a complete game.

[Axm]

I'll be the first to say I always prefer to have the game content I buy on actual physical media. I do indeed avoid digital content if I can.
But it's also totally a preference thing. Some people prefer less clutter, so digital media is a plus. Some people don't give two shits about resale value, so physical media is pointless.
And in regards to this whole idea of us only getting 3/4 of a game and having to buy the rest as digital content: it's very rare. The grand, grand majority of DLC is pointless extra stuff that's just there for if the player wants an extra giggle (weapon packs, costume packs, that kind of stuff), and its exclusion from the retail product doesn't take away from the experience whatsoever.
There are cases like Asura's Wrath, however, where the actual end of the story was literally left out so as to make extra scratch on digital sales. And yes, I bought into it that particular time, because the game was just such a blast. But cases like that are a lot rarer than some would lead you to believe. I can't honestly think of any others, except maybe Assassin's Creed 2. But then, the DLC was still truly extra stuff; the story was still completely competent and intact without it, so the DLC really was just there for a bit of extra fun.
I'm not a fan of the move to the digitization of everything, but I'm also not going to campaign against it. Some people dig it, and they have their reasons. It's not always a bad thing.

[Axm]

I can see the arguement on both sides. Take for example Watch Dogs. Theirs an example where all this console exclusive content, preorder only content (all different from 3 seperate retail stores) and and at launch DLC was just way too offensive for me to purchase the game right away. They also have more DLC for it on the way. So knowing this and knowing how probably all that preorder content and DLC will most likely come out in a "Gold Edtion" or something to that effect, I will most certainly wait for it. Watch Dogs looks like a fun game but im not that desperate.

An example of GOOD DLC though was with The Last of Us. Multiplayer maps that came out way later and the Left Behind side story was like a good 6 months after release because legitimately they worked on it after launch. Left Behind was a prequel and by itself makes sense as including it in the main story wouldnt have helped continuity of the story telling.

So its all very case by case. Its just way more noticable these days because the market has blown up so huge.

[Jokatech19]

I was just watching MarkIplier playing a game called "Off." I really want to find a copy of that game. It's like a deeper and better Earthbound.

[Raithos]

I noticed a shift after Nintendo's E3 Tree-house events, while reading through various articles. Now after the Fatal Frame reveal I bet it will be even more obvious, especially if it gets localized. Give it a years time, and most of the Wii-U haters will pretend they were day one supporters lol. Just like the Gamecube all over again.

I do NOT mean anyone here, but the internet in general. One of the best things about this place is the fact people tend to stick by their opinions.

[OL]

I'm generally not big on Nintendo systems as it is, mainly because the library of available games that are worth a damn is almost always really small. I love certain games on N64, Gamecube, and the Wii, but I don't think I'll ever come around to thinking much of the systems themselves. I imagine Wii-U will end up the same, with a few really great titles, but overall being a bit of a lump anyway.
In terms of handhelds, however, they're untouchable. The GBA and DS were both fucking amazing, and the 3DS is still growing nicely (though I don't personally think it'll ultimately be as great as the previous two).
Console-wise though, I don't know if they'll ever hit the greatness of the NES and SNES again.

[Raithos]

Yeah I think the SNES was their peak, mainly because of the third party support they had back then. If I made a list of my favorite games from the NES/SNES 90% of them would have Square, Capcom, Enix or Konami attached to them. I've owned all their systems, but starting with the N64 I bought them for Nintendo developed or published titles for the most part. All the developers/series I liked then jumped ship to Sony and its been that way ever since.
I agree the DS is on a whole other level when it comes to handhelds. Well Nintendo in general like you said, but for me the DS in particular forever raised the bar for portable games.

[Henry Spencer]

It's weird, since their third party support for their handhelds has always been stellar. Strange how that hasn't carried across to their home consoles as much anymore.

[Axm]

Installing the Destiny Beta..

Really looking forward to this one. Hype levels rising!

[Axm]

Weird... I think Assassin's Creed Unity is the first one in years that I'm really just not hyped at all for.
I thought I would be. At first the setting sounded intriguing. But then I really started to think about it, and somehow the French Revolution just seems unappealing to me.
No, not because it's French.
It's because the whole way I picture that particular revolution is just... distasteful. I picture mobs of peasants storming the homes of the rich and indiscriminately murdering them, just because they're rich. The fact that the Assassins are apparently siding with these bloodthirsty mobs just feels like something I don't want to take part in. I mean, sure, the series has always been about "murder," but it wasn't being committed just because the victims are of a certain social caste; it was being done because the targets are part of an oppressive, power-hungry organization. There's a huge difference. And sure, I know the game will make excuses and say these aristocrats are Templars or whatever, but it still leaves the player contributing to kind of a disgusting point in history, where people joyfully paraded others' heads around on pikes out of a very base sense of... well, jealousy.

And I'm not even just singling out AC; I've been bothered by things like this in other games before. As much as I love The Saboteur, for example, there was one single, solitary mission that I really hated, because it revolved around assassinating a French woman because she's been sleeping with a Nazi. All you have is the word of some resistance fighter to go on, but apparently what she's done is terrible enough that she deserves to be killed. You never hear anything from her, or see any proof that she's bad. I remember working on the mission for a long time, seeing if there was some way to just knock her out or something, but no, you have to murder the woman. That didn't sit right with me.
I believe there was also a mission in Saint's Row 2, where you're trying to get back at some monster truck-loving gang leader, so you have to kidnap his girlfriend and stick her in the trunk of a car that the gang leader is set to crush with his monster truck. You force this guy to kill his own girlfriend, when she had nothing to do with anything. That's not fun. That's just fucked.

Weirdly enough, it only seems to be open-world games that I get this problem with. I mean, I actually really like the Kane & Lynch games, for example, but the experience is totally different. Their games are totally linear and level based, so in an odd way, it's almost more like I'm just watching their stories, rather than taking on their actual roles in everything. They're some of the most deplorable protagonists in gaming, but I'm not bothered by playing as them because it's closer to a movie experience.
With open-world games, however, there's a greater sense that you're actually stepping into the shoes of these characters, so the shit they have to do feels a little more bothersome. It's kind of a weird distinction to make, but it's something I've only just realized.

So anyway, AC Unity... just not feeling it so far.
And why the fuck does the main character have an English accent? They managed to give Ezio an Italian accent, so why does a French guy sound like he should be in a Shakespeare play?

[Axm]

I can see how the French revolution will look very romantic in the game, but ya its not the best from a justice stand point.
Besides that though this may finally look like the game to break some of the mold.
I like the series so I hope it doesnt dissapoint.