Comments on: Quick opinions of some games I’ve been playing

By: The Ludologist » Blog Archive » It is Alright to Blame the Game

The Ludologist » Blog Archive » It is Alright to Blame the Game — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:13:09 +0000

[...] Mass Effect, where I instantly got lost in the first mission. I mean, be serious: Spawn the player in the first level and then point him in the wrong direction? Do you know how much trouble I went through to rotate the camera just so at the start of some of the Manhunt 2 levels I worked on? Maybe this was a glitch - I can’t believe this was left in the game. [...]

By: Jurie

Jurie — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 07:55:51 +0000

Heh. I also finally got a Wii a few weeks ago. Get Super Mario Galaxy!

By: 'O'

'O' — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 20:54:04 +0000

Has anyone tried any of the more robust games for the Wii? Specifically, Metroid Prime and the like? Wii’s hardware limitations aside, I wonder if there will ever be a killer AC-type game for it that takes advantage of the interface.

I say this only because I just FINALLY got a Wii, and I’m wondering how long Wii Sports will do it for me.

By: Jurie

Jurie — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:06:26 +0000

Chris: I meant figuring out where I need to go and what I can interact with, not reading text per se. And sadly my TV only does component or HDMI. But I had my TV in a mode where it pretties up the color and contrast, and that makes things harder to play. I will give ME another try.

By: Chris Wells

Chris Wells — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 08:57:37 +0000

Note on the ME storyline. There are some twists later on that really help make the story. This is really one of those games you must finish before reviewing properly.

By: Chris Wells

Chris Wells — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 08:54:57 +0000

AC: The pickpocketing things also gave me a problem a dozen or so times after my first successful attempt. Turned out I was forgetting to “lock-on” to who I was trying to pickpocket.

ME: I finished the game with 95% of side quests in just over 40 hours (not continuously). The story definitely improves as you get into the “meat” of the game around hour 30. The controls and AI throughout the game are rather odd at times, but they become better as you get used to it. The only real gripe I had with it was by the time you have leveled up quite far and have some decent weapons the game is over.

Overall a nice game. I am sure it will kick off a franchise and I can see ME2 improving on a lot of aspects that didn’t appeal to the gaming community.

Not sure about your unreadability. If you are using component cables for your TV, you really should think about switching to VGA as the scaler is infinitely better for text and AA.

By: Jurie

Jurie — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 08:00:12 +0000

@Mark: Yeah, if you fail a challenge like that in AC, the game does sorta kinda react properly, but you still have to do that one single thing to continue. So for all of its groundbreaking simulation and its setting that explains a certain amount of gaminess, it quickly drops into a kind of social uncanny valley.

@Stitched: Welllll… there is a pretty long history of using mini-games for lock-picking in RPGs and such. Not that I liked Oblivion.

And yeah, I should try Puzzle Quest.

By: Stitched

Stitched — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 22:10:58 +0000

Found this on Bioware’s own site. Front page.

“One of The Most Epic RPGs Ever”
[Jan 23] The Game Critics have voted Mass Effect as #7 on its 2007 Game of the Year list, praising its “compelling storyline, stunning cinematic presentation, masterful voice acting, and fully-realized universe.”

Too bad there is no mention of that old chestnut, “gameplay”. You know, the thing that makes you WANT to play the game. I guess you can get by with “compelling storyline, masterful voice acting, and a fully-realized universe.” After all, Hollywood has been doing it for years now.

By: Stitched

Stitched — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 22:06:45 +0000

“Also: all Assassin’s Creed FAQs say ‘just pickpocket the guy’. Thanks. Thanks so much.”

What does that say about the game design?

I own both Peggle and Zuma and my girlfriend and I enjoy them both; as well as the obiquitous Bejewelled.

Puzzle Quest, which I have heard as “Bejewelled with Mana”, is good, but wears thin after a while.

“Haven’t played AC but I’ve seen the ads and the whole vibe reminded me of another maddening game: Thief. Not that there weren’t moments of interest in that game, but it seems to me that the idea of threading the narrative moment through the perfectly-time-input needle has been tried plenty.”

Yes. Tried plenty and FAILED! Look at the gratuitous lockpicking in Oblivion. Ridiculous to have even included it in the first place but maybe they added it because of the release to console, where rhythmitis has taken a vice-like hold. Don’t know too many, if at all, PC games that included that kind of mechanic that were not ports of console titles.

“The kids LOOOOOVE rhythm games. Let’s just through it in and see if it sticks!”

By: Mark Barrett

Mark Barrett — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 21:57:16 +0000

Haven’t played AC but I’ve seen the ads and the whole vibe reminded me of another maddening game: Thief. Not that there weren’t moments of interest in that game, but it seems to me that the idea of threading the narrative moment through the perfectly-time-input needle has been tried plenty.

Interesting, too, that a non-narrative game which involves tricky inputs (whether keyboard or controller) doesn’t seem to carry this kind of penalty. I wonder why that might be?*

* Rhetorical bait