Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => Gaming Discussion => Topic started by: Colonol Dekker on January 14, 2010, 03:42:55 am
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Just a random point, after reading the ST:O thread about getting a borg or a shield or a gun or bridge fluffy dice etc depending on how you pre order the thing, and reading up on that commercial for mass effect 2 that offers the terminus armour and blackshark gun thing "exclusively" I thought. Wait a sec. The keen of memory may remember me going to preorder and cancel my existing pre order.
Lo and behold both companies offered the armour and gun.
Silly of one to claim it's exclusive. Also silly of me not to read the blurb when I ordered it first time around.
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This just might be the very worst trend to ever hit gaming, even more so than pay-for-micro-content and game patches for consoles. Thankfully, I've never bought a game close enough to when it was released to have to worry about it. :p
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It's in no small part a reaction by developers to the problem of game rentals - transactions that they don't get a cut of.
They want to incentivize people to buy, not rent.
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i've pre ordered mine from play.com which comes with the "exclusive" terminus armor. didnt pre order it there casu of that, just cause thats normally where i buy my games from these days and so far its the cheapest i've seen it listed.
PLUS i also get the blood dragon armor, or should get it, cause of the little flyer thingy i got in my copy of dragon age. You get to look like a cylon!!! :P
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This just might be the very worst trend to ever hit gaming, even more so than pay-for-micro-content and game patches for consoles
I tend to agree. Really a bad idea all these pre-purchase ideas.
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This just might be the very worst trend to ever hit gaming, even more so than pay-for-micro-content and game patches for consoles
I tend to agree. Really a bad idea all these pre-purchase ideas.
totally agree.
Espicially hate it when the item is unavailable otherwise.
this is coming from someone whom has sworn off pre-orders and generally buying a game until the internet reviews it and finds its faults, then i decide if the faults are worth it.
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The only problem I have with this is the way retailers seem to compete for the best pre-order items. The customer doesn't benefit from that kind of rivalry.
I see nothing wrong with the practice itself. People enthusiastic enough to pre-order are rewarded. If they were getting some basic functionality that others either have to pay extra for or cannot get at all, that would be an issue, but so far they haven't been anything more substantial than trinkets.
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I don't see a problem with the pratice either. I only see a problem if the pre-order extras are worthless, e.g a cloth map of a the game your playing.
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I see nothing wrong with the practice itself. People enthusiastic enough to pre-order are rewarded. If they were getting some basic functionality that others either have to pay extra for or cannot get at all, that would be an issue, but so far they haven't been anything more substantial than trinkets.
But what about those of us with OCD-ish tendencies who feel the urge to unlock everything in a particular game? :p I'm not too thrilled with the idea that there's some piece of content out there I'll never get to see just because I bought the game a year or two after it was released.
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I posted earlier on another thread that I thought the pre-order exclusives were pretty lame. When I buy something, I want the whole thing!
If renting is the reason for why this sort of practice is engaged in, then why does a game have to be so expensive and last for such a little portion of time? For this reason alone, I'm grateful that I've never had a console game. Pretty much every app I've got is either expandable by the user (editors, etc.) or has basically unlimited replay value. And I'm pretty confident in saying that I'll not buy anything which doesn't meet those standards...
Go die and burn in a fire, XBOX... :p
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But what about those of us with OCD-ish tendencies who feel the urge to unlock everything in a particular game? :p I'm not too thrilled with the idea that there's some piece of content out there I'll never get to see just because I bought the game a year or two after it was released.
You'll never get to see the Spaniard's Amulet of the Fox with +2 to Absorbency? Good grief!
In all recent examples of pre-order extras I can think of, the content has either been throwaway or sold later as DLC. In both cases nobody's locked out of anything.
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I posted earlier on another thread that I thought the pre-order exclusives were pretty lame. When I buy something, I want the whole thing!
If renting is the reason for why this sort of practice is engaged in, then why does a game have to be so expensive and last for such a little portion of time? For this reason alone, I'm grateful that I've never had a console game. Pretty much every app I've got is either expandable by the user (editors, etc.) or has basically unlimited replay value. And I'm pretty confident in saying that I'll not buy anything which doesn't meet those standards...
Go die and burn in a fire, XBOX... :p
You come across like a GameFAQs fanboi here.
Probably not the best impression to make.
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All this Pre-Order and bonus content bugs me.
I've been playing DA:O and I'm swamped with overpowered items that you get immediately and there's more coming with each (****ty) DLC.
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Yeah, ironically just as present on the PC version as on the console ones.
I wasn't a big fan of having DLC integrated directly into dialogue.
Did DA:O live up to your expectations, TrashMan? I remember you persuading me it might be pretty good, and it turned out better than I'd thought.
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I posted earlier on another thread that I thought the pre-order exclusives were pretty lame. When I buy something, I want the whole thing!
If renting is the reason for why this sort of practice is engaged in, then why does a game have to be so expensive and last for such a little portion of time? For this reason alone, I'm grateful that I've never had a console game. Pretty much every app I've got is either expandable by the user (editors, etc.) or has basically unlimited replay value. And I'm pretty confident in saying that I'll not buy anything which doesn't meet those standards...
Go die and burn in a fire, XBOX... :p
You come across like a GameFAQs fanboi here.
Probably not the best impression to make.
Seriously. Meaning no disrespect to anyone, but if you've never played a single console-only title, it's my firm belief that you cannot legitimately label yourself a "gamer." There have been at least as many seminal, high-quality titles released over the history of gaming exclusively for various consoles as there have exclusively for the PC...if not even more so, given the greater overall number of titles associated with the former. To completely shut yourself off to half of that equation means that you're missing out on many of the most influential titles in gaming history.
I mean...Mario? Zelda? Metroid? Sonic? Final Fantasy? Metal Gear Solid? At least a dozen other incredibly-noteworthy franchises? None of these? Come on, already. :p
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Honestly. As someone who's played some pretty hardcore PC stuff (Operation Flashpoint, Allied Force, various mods for Homeworld), and who maintains a pretty decent custom-built gaming rig, I've found myself really enjoying a lot of console titles, and easily getting as many hours out of some of them as any PC release.
They both have their strengths and weaknesses and blinding yourself to one or the other just comes across as zealotry.
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Super bomberman 2, Solar Jetman and the hunt for the golden warship, megaman (original, not x)
Master blaster and metal gear, alex kidd,
Zillion 2 the triformation, probotector/contra, streets of rage, golden axe, rampage, cyborg justice, All classics which are probably older than you. And i'd give my boxed reach on preorder to play any on my old consoles again.
And those games are just the pre 1990 ones I can remember. ;)
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Well, I have played consoles before, though I've never owned one.
Zelda: A Link to the Past for the SNES was by far my favorite. This was followed by Star Fox and Jungle Strike. I did have an emulation for those which worked on XP, though I'm not certain it would work on my current OS. The only modern console I've thought was really neat was the Wii, mainly because of the interface. I recall playing Red Steel, which despite any criticisms, amazed me as my arm became rather tired after playing... :p
So perhaps my judgement of consoles is unjust - there's a great deal of games I've enjoyed watching others play. However, I primarily don't care for the majority of those titles. I favor my flight sims and strategy games over those by far... :D
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One of the big advantages of consoles is split-screen multiplayer. Games like Halo, Super Smash Brothers, and Modern Warfare 2 (which include split-screen co-op or competitive modes) are an absolute blast.
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This was the samething that bugged me about the release of Dawn of War 2, almost every store you ordered it from, each had different extras on it which you couldn't get anywhere else and i remember the uproar of anger that caused and they then made the different content aval from relic. I also hear there planning to do the same to Chaos Rising, Its all a scam if you ask me.
As for mass effect2 i have ordered the standard Collectors edition from game.
Consoles are fun as well, esp the Wii, even more so when u and your mates are trying to play it while half gassed :lol:
Darksiders is good on the 360
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One of the big advantages of consoles is split-screen multiplayer. Games like Halo, Super Smash Brothers, and Modern Warfare 2 (which include split-screen co-op or competitive modes) are an absolute blast.
I personally find them a major disappointment. To me, unless it's a party game (ie: Smash Brothers) or similar, split-screen "action" is annoying. I'd prefer multiple display outputs any day. Then again, I've now been corrupted by dual-monitors on my PC.
Oh, and does console-only titles on an emulator count? :P What about later releases? For example, GTA4 was supposed to be console-only and then expanded to PC.
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PC games largely don't support multiple local players even if you've got multiple display outputs, so it's irrelevant.
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Plus, screen-cheating is a time-honored legitimate strategy. :p
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Plus, screen-cheating is a time-honored legitimate strategy. :p
It effing isn't :mad:
It gets me riled up so much I genuinely knocked someones tooth out with a knee to his face after out jumping my scope on perfect dark.
However on dead or alive 2 or killer instinct I absolutely live for the experience of shared screen play.
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PC games largely don't support multiple local players even if you've got multiple display outputs, so it's irrelevant.
It's called a LAN party. The nice thing about PC's is just about everyone has one. A few spaces to sit and everyone can play; a 4+ player game is actually quite easy. Then the other advantage is people can be in other rooms. For example, if I'm playing an information-driven game (ie: Civilization IV), we can all sit in the living room and not be able to clearly see anyone else.
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Right, and how am I supposed to have an impromptu LAN party on the couch, with zero planning, at my house or apartment, with my friends/siblings, without having to perform extensive setup and then spending hours on network troubleshooting?
The problem with PCs is that they're large, difficult to move about, difficult to network, and not everyone has one. Plus you need a crapload of space, time, and tolerance for frustration to hold a LAN party; plus you need the good graces of your apartment/housemates.
You need only one console, it's already set up, and it's guaranteed to work right away if I want to play with my brother or ladyfriend or whatever.
In theory it's a great idea. In practice it only works for the dedicated: the ubernerds. Gaming isn't the exclusive domain of that subculture any more.
And even if you do have a LAN party, you can use consoles instead, and get four times as many players in for the same amount of effort. Consoles take the cake on this front.
EDIT: And I used to LAN heavily, so I'm plenty experienced on that front, but it's just a huge pain in the ass.
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Right, and how am I supposed to have an impromptu LAN party on the couch, with zero planning, at my house or apartment, with my friends/siblings, without having to perform extensive setup and then spending hours on network troubleshooting?
The problem with PCs is that they're large, difficult to move about, difficult to network, and not everyone has one. Plus you need a crapload of space, time, and tolerance for frustration to hold a LAN party; plus you need the good graces of your apartment/housemates.
You need only one console, it's already set up, and it's guaranteed to work right away if I want to play with my brother or ladyfriend or whatever.
In theory it's a great idea. In practice it only works for the dedicated: the ubernerds. Gaming isn't the exclusive domain of that subculture any more.
Consoles take the cake on this front.
Short answer is that it's a fine after-school or in-dorm type of thing. Wireless internet with a simple WPA key will keep out most morons and you can enter it in 3+ computers quickly. I agree it's not for everyone, but the idea works. If you want to lug around a desktop (I've made some pretty nice ones as friends' gaming rigs), then it becomes very tough. If people use laptops, it's a hell of a lot easier.
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I agree, and LAN parties can be fun. But even under best conditions, LANning stuff is slower and more of a time commitment. I can get a four-player Geometry Wars game going in two minutes flat with a console, and we can play it for ten minutes or ten hours as we see fit.
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As someone who games on the PC only, splitscreen is the one thing I like about consoles. That can be a lot of fun but never really took off on the PC. The arcade-style games in the 80s and early 90s often allowed multiple (and simultaneous) players on one machine, but it somehow fell away after games became 3D. I have only seen 3 or 4 PC games after then that supported it.
LANs do require some initial effort to set everything up and are really only feasible with laptops, but after the first time they are quick and easy to get working. I think the effort is well worth it because of the mods available for PC games. Almost everything I have played over LAN has involved mods or other custom content.