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DraugenCP

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#1 DraugenCP
Member since 2006 • 8486 Posts

Not what I'd consider the greatest of all time, it's definitely a great game that was somehow denounced as a 'tech demo' on account of its graphics. It also holds up really well, so I'll eventually go back to it.

Didn't like what they did to the second one, though.

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DraugenCP

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#2  Edited By DraugenCP
Member since 2006 • 8486 Posts

Andromeda was the biggest shock given the reputation of the series it was a part of and the haphazard, confused game design it eventually offered. I didn't think it was a bad game in the sense that it wasn't enjoyable, but it was a deeply flawed experience that might've been acceptable had it been a new IP by a medium-sized studio. But it was the long-awaited sequel to one of the most acclaimed trilogies in modern gaming by a studio that definitely had a reputation to live up to.

That it'll be the first Mass Effect game to not receive any additional single player content should tell you all about what EA set out to do by rushing this game to release.

Star Wars Battlefront 2 is just EA being EA; I don't know how anyone expected anything else from this game.

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DraugenCP

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#3 DraugenCP
Member since 2006 • 8486 Posts

Loot crates. I used to think paying for overpriced content was bad, but not even knowing what you're paying for makes it even worse. It's a form of gambling, plain and simple.

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#4 DraugenCP
Member since 2006 • 8486 Posts

Carmageddon 64. It was a port of an already bad game (Carmageddon 2 I believe), but botched so bad that is was quite literally unplayable. Nothing kills a car game harder than physics that don't make sense and controls that give you anything but control.

Streets of Moscow is another obscure racing game that was horrid for much of the same reasons.

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DraugenCP

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#5  Edited By DraugenCP
Member since 2006 • 8486 Posts

Game stories should mostly stick to providing a context that gives the action/gameplay meaning. When games try to portray an epic narrative it often falls flat on its face. I think 'intellectually dishonest' was a good way to put it in the OP. Another prime example of that is Niko Bellic in GTA IV. On a way to a mission he'll blurt out all tons of emo crap about his life during the war and just wanting a better life, and upon arrival he'll kill literally dozens of people. And we're supposed to connect with him on an emotional level? Please. I think Trevor in GTA V is a sign they realised that, as he's the biggest maniac in the series since Tommy Vercetti, and it matches the gameplay of the series much better.

Then there is the problem of interactivity and how much storytelling can get in the way of actually playing the game. Not a lot of games do that right, and I think I only managed to immerse myself in the Mass Effect trilogy and Cryostasis in that sense.

But games also have some advantages in regard to story, namely that there is much more space to elaborate upon certain ideas or plot lines than in a 90-minute movie. Elder Scrolls has always had bad storytelling, but the lore that surrounds the franchise still makes it a fascinating game world to walk around in. An additional advantage is that you are (mostly) free to ignore things you aren't interested in and focus on those that you do care about (which is an advantage it has over other media with bigger scopes, like books and television series).

In the end I don't see it as a real problem as long as developers remember why we play video games and don't go all Heavy Rain on us in a desperate attempt to not let the player interfere with their 'amazing' story. I'll read a book for that, thanks.

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#6 DraugenCP
Member since 2006 • 8486 Posts

Western, speficially Eastern European. Metro 2033, Cryostasis: sign me up.

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#7 DraugenCP
Member since 2006 • 8486 Posts

GTA V obviously, but it's near-impossible to compare all games relative to the era in which they appeared. San Andreas, for instance, was a huge deal back then and I sank hundreds of hours into the game across 3 platforms, but going back to it now is a huge disillusion. Particularly in terms of mission structure and gameplay, Rockstar took some huge steps with GTA IV and V.

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#8  Edited By DraugenCP
Member since 2006 • 8486 Posts

I've played the 360 and PC versions, and needless to say the PC version is a different beast altogether. I paid full price for both and I don't regret it.

I don't know nor particularly care how the PC and PS4 versions compare, but I do know that I love me some M+K controls for all the gunfights.

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#9 DraugenCP
Member since 2006 • 8486 Posts

It's a great game. SSB and Mario Kart 8 are both amazing continuations of their respective series. Especially SSBU is both a great game and a major leap forward for the series. The latter is a great achievement, since SSB is one of the best-rated series out there, and I didn't think there was a lot of ground to gain for the series after Brawl apart from better graphics of course. But Nintendo proved me wrong again. Some great new fighters and 8-player smash make this game a true blast.

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#10 DraugenCP
Member since 2006 • 8486 Posts

@Cireon said:
@DraugenCP said:

The fact that the moment a game starts being an interactive story is often the moment where it stops being a game should tell you enough about the current limitations of the medium.

Are these really limitations of the medium, or have just not found the right way of telling the stories yet? Some games seem to hit the right spot when telling the stories. They touch me. Movies and novels rarely do so, games have had more impact on me for some reason. Is this merely the skill of the writers? Do I happen to bump into the pearls within the game medium more often than the other media? Or maybe... maybe there is a promise of something bigger below there.

I am very curious to know if a movie or book would have had a bigger emotional impact on me than the game. Playing the game seems to be more immersive, thus making the player more open to an emotional reaction. Whether this makes story telling better, depends on your definition of "better".

(note: some links on the page I originally posted in the initial post are now fixed)

They are mostly limitations of the medium. A video game is inherently more technical in its very nature than a book, an album or even a film. First and foremost, it has to work on a technical plain before a developer can even start thinking about a story to dress it up with. Sure, there have been exceptions, but as I said, the more focus a game has on story, the less it is a video game.

I've played games that have had touching stories, sure, but when you look at the bigger picture, there is absolutely no video game that can even begin to compete with the best novels and films in terms of artistic and/or cultural significance.