I laugh at all the seething hate everyone dishes out when a game receives such a low score. You complain when a game doesn't get a 10 when it deserves it and whine even more when an uninspired flop debuts with a 4.0. This is similar to RE6. RE6 strays so far away from what a RE game is I don't even know how it kept the name. No imagination, no survival, and certainly no horror. I played the first Dead Island and I wasn't impressed. That's saying a lot for someone who enjoys a wide array of games; some of which score in the 60s on metacritic. If you derive some type of fun out of it, fine. Just admit that it is an utter flop of a game in terms of creativity, gameplay, and story. The first game, aside from touting pretty descent visuals, had terrible gameplay mechanics and an unbearable story. I agree with what other people are saying in that we need to hold game developers accountable for what they create and not give them leeway when they create an utter disaster of a game. Uninspired, repetitive gameplay with a new name and fancy new box art should not be an acceptable way of advertising a sequel. As for people stating "If you liked the first one, you'll like this one;" that kind of mentality is ludicrous and is precisely why we see the same crap year after year. Well.... I really liked COD 1, so I bet I'll like COD 9,000 and I'll pay $60 for every subsequent title. Get real people, we have the power to invoke change in the type of media that we interact with; if we don't buy crap games, they will disappear from the market. Sorry that was so long.... huff
The bill isn't aimed at abolishing violence in video games, but rather at monitoring who they are distributed to, i.e. minors. Tom's rant about senseless violence in video games is just ludicrous. There is nothing wrong with adult-themed violence. More importantly, the whole thing comes down to decision making. If someone wants to make a violent game, let them, you don't have to buy it. If you don't like it, then don't buy it. In fact, if you hate violence in video games so much, then maybe you should stop playing them because you'd be hard pressed to find many games without blood or gore in them. They do exist, but your library would be infinitesimal.
This is definitely a well-thought out, enlightening article. That being said, I really see nothing wrong with monitoring young ones ability to play games that depict gratuitous violence. Are we condoning that video game stores sell M rated games to minors? I already thought that most states checked identification when purchasing a game; therefore, making it all but impossible to buy a game if you are under 18 and considered a minor. I guess when looking at the proposal objectively, I have to ask the question, what is really wrong with this idea? Do you think a 6 year old should play Gears of War or God of War or even Left 4 Dead? I guess to put things into perspective, it would be the same as a child going into a book store and trying to buy a playboy or a hustler. Do we allow that? No. Then why do we allow them to buy M rated games that contain Grand Theft Auto in the title and portray gangsters and hookers on the box art? Yet, it's entirely okay to let a child watch Spartacus or Game of Thrones and then blame video games for all of the social atrocities that are taking place? Come on! To me, there is no difference between putting those types of media into a child's hands. This argument is a no-brainer if it is specifically being directed towards children and not adults. Now, as far as blaming games for being the root of all evil and being branded the scapegoat for recent violent acts, well that's just nonsense. People need to be more accountable for their own decisions because, after all, someone had to buy these games for their children and there is no excuse to not knowing what is in them. You certainly wouldn't go buy your 6 year old a pack of cigarettes and a colt 45, so why would you buy them Grand Theft Auto? Be accountable and stop making poor, uninformed decisions.
I feel that more power is not necessary at this point. Most higher end titles are extremely close to photo realism, if not already there. I would say that some of the best gaming experiences I have had over the past several years have come from Indie developers. They are more focused on making a game that is unique, creative, and above all, fun. The problem with the "big dog" gaming market is that developers no longer take risks outside of their traditional bogged down and depleted line-up of games because they are afraid they won't sell and are being pressured by their publishers. Indie developers have all the time in the world because most of them are developed and published in-house. I think we will see a huge rise in Indie success in the coming years as more people are made aware of some of the tremendous games that are being made by these developers; and the best part is that most of their games never retail for more than $20.
You know, what ever happened to just enjoying games for their inherent value and social features? I mean, consoles have their place in the market as do high end PCs. Consoles allow you to game with your friends in the same room while at the same time enjoying conversation, beer, pizza, laughs etc. PC gaming may look better, run at a constant 60fps, and play flawlessly, but there are certain social aspects that are lost with this medium. Now, don't get me wrong, I want to quell any notion that the PC is not the premier platform if you are looking for amazing visuals at high framerates. I typically play on my PC (ASUS Crosshair V, FX-6100 @ 4.5Ghz, 2 7950s in CF, and 16Gb RAM) because it offers superior performance and social gaming as well. However, I also play on my PS3 and Xbox 360 from time to time as most of my friends play solely on these platforms. The one argument that I don't understand is the cliche, beaten and bludgeoned to death idea that PC gaming is monumentally more expensive than console gaming and that updates are required every two years... that simply isn't true. What was the price of PS3 or 360 at launch? Some of the larger hard drive models were retailing for $599. Couple that with the price of a fancy HDTV back in 2005 and you've got yourself a price point somewhere around $1600-1700. You can definitely build an amazing PC for less than that and save hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on software that is frequently discounted on Steam. Hell, during the Christmas sale almost every game that was launched in September on through December was at least discounted 50%. Most older games go for $5 or less. So, I just wanted to point out that both consoles and PC gaming have their own niches and can be enjoyed by anyone and that PC gaming is not this magical unicorn that has a price point so high that no one can afford to buy into the market. Steps of soap box.....
What? Slender and Amnesia crap??? Have you even played those games. Those are two of the most well-thought out, atmospheric games ever made. Granted Slenderman is very simplistic in design, Amnesia: The Dark Descent is one of the greatest survival horrors of all time. There are literally times when , as a grown man, the game is almost too difficulty (from a scar prospective) to play. Stop saying ridiculous things.
That is why Steam is the best! Free overlay, demos, Skype quality chat with friends, in-game chat; all already enabled from the get go. I recently canceled my Xbox Live Gold membership because I rarely play my xbox and, as the article points out, I can't use Netflix or Vudu without paying extra. I will say, in Microsoft's favor, their servers do seem to be much better and the in-game chat is much better and is built into the infrastructure. Having said that, Sony's revamped PSN is very promising. You are still able to play games with friends and access various apps for free, which is a big plus. You are also able to pay $50 and gain access to tremendous deals and free content. If I was going to pay for a service, PSN would be it. Microsoft;s archaic system is no longer feasible as competitors flesh out their platforms and PC platforms grow ever stronger.
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