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Originally posted by Our_Benefactors:
Why do you even play videogames if you dislike them seemingly nine out of ten times? It doesn't seem like a hobby worth pursuing if you get that little enjoyment out of it. This isn't meant as a troll question.

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Because it IS worth it. The gems of games I do manage to find, I'll spend hundreds of hours on. For example, I spent over 250 hours on my first playthrough of Morrowind, before I even downloaded extra content. I then spent 75 hours on a second playthrough. I've logged countless hours on RuneScape and WoW despite leaving both games for months at a time then coming back.

My issue, I think, is that game developers seem to have lost focus in recent years. It used to be about making a fun game with solid controls above anything else. They would release a finished product that played well straight out of the gate. With web-connected consoles with online stores, a developer can now release a buggy game and promise patches later, and charge $60 for an incomplete game knowing that rabid fans obsessed with 100% completion in the games they play will buy $30 worth of DLC.

They've also de-emphasized quality gameplay and functional controls in favor of pretty graphics. If you follow the rule that the average person is stupid, you can extrapolate that stupid people are more likely to place undue weight on variables that don't actually matter- namely how good the graphics are (ie OOOH SHINY!). Gameplay suffers when your first priority is making it pretty so the little kids will scream to their friends about how good it looks.

Video games are art, and like the obsessed art critic attempting to find the masterpiece among thousands of pieces of trash, I constantly seek an experience worthy of praise. I've found a few examples on the Wii and 360 in the form of Halo Reach (that beta was amazing...), Wii Fit, and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. But I mostly find enjoyment in playing the classics I've loved since I was in middle school. I'm buying a copy of WWF No Mercy off Amazon (it was the last of a great line of N64 wrestling games with solid controls. After N64, THQ started publishing poor wrestling games with awkward controls, a non-intuitive targeting system, and poor collision detection), and a new Soul Calibur 2 disc for my Gamecube. I still do Ocarina of Time runs and play Mario Party 3 on my N64 with my sister. Last night, I found out an old friend who moved out of state bought Bad Company 2 on 360, so I'll be looking into getting that. I also bought another month of WoW, and downloaded I Wanna Be The Boshy (see my previous post).

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Originally posted by Tranderas:
They would release a finished product that played well straight out of the gate. With web-connected consoles with online stores, a developer can now release a buggy game and promise patches later, and charge $60 for an incomplete game knowing that rabid fans obsessed with 100% completion in the games they play will buy $30 worth of DLC.

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Originally posted by Our_Benefactors:
Just for the record, release now, patch later has been the PC model since the internet became widely available.

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Originally posted by Tranderas:
That doesn't make it a good model!

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Originally posted by Our_Benefactors:
I'm not saying it does, I'm just saying that they haven't "lost focus in recent years" in this way, it's the way its always been.

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*sigh*

Two things.

First, it has only been around for consoles in the current generation of them. I'm not a PC gamer, so I am oblivious to the woes of it as a games platform.

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Originally posted by Tranderas:

Secondly, I don't really know why you're arguing such a trivial point. Regardless of how long the practice has been in place, they need to knock it off and get back to what made gaming fun in the first place.

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I don't mean to argue anything, I'm just trying to point it out.

A lot of games I'm finding are a lot more fun when you have friends who play. That's fine, but "this is fun if..." is a sign of a bad game to me. Essentially, it's hanging out with the friend that is fun; the game just acts to give you some mutual ground to cover.

Some games aren't fun to me because I want to play as a higher level, but can't find people of decent skill to play with. This is true of Bad Company 2 for me. An old friend of mine recently got this game so I will likely try to purchase it.

That is all.

__________________
OGB: If I'm paying $8.00 for a Revised Disk, it better come with a reach around.

~MM

__________________
I am MeddlingMage...YOUR Motl Survivor 11 Champion and 2007 Captain N award winner.

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Originally posted by Bugger:
Pokemon HeartGold is too awesome.

That is all.

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Originally posted by MeddlingMage:
Any new (or old for that matter) good RPG's out there for Wii?
Something like Might and Magic or Champions of Norrath...

~MM

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Originally posted by knightowl:
Ogre Battle and Ogre Battle 64 are on the virtual console and both are solid.

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Wow knightowl
How ya been!

I used to have Ogre Battle waaaay back when, forgot all about that game!

Thanks!!

Any others?

~MM

__________________
I am MeddlingMage...YOUR Motl Survivor 11 Champion and 2007 Captain N award winner.

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Originally posted by knightowl:
Ogre Battle and Ogre Battle 64 are on the virtual console and both are solid.

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I want to play games and run through it one time such as Fallout3, Bioshock, Bad Company 2, etc. but just don't see the point in buying the game on even Amazon and having it sit on my shelf.

__________________
40 Eye of Ugin and 4 foil Eye of Ugin for Black Lotus!?

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Originally posted by ryan2754:
Has anybody tried out gamefly?

I want to play games and run through it one time such as Fallout3, Bioshock, Bad Company 2, etc. but just don't see the point in buying the game on even Amazon and having it sit on my shelf.

Also, has anyone played Blur (not the demo)? Is it worth it?

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GameFly is a lot more valuable if:
A) You have a lot of time on your hands.
B) You live close to one of their distribution centers.
C) There's a lot of games you want to try.

I didn't find it worth it because of B and C. There's only a very few specific games i was even interested in renting, let alone playing for any length of time. Also, waiting 2-3 business days for them to get my games and 2-3 days back felt like a waste.

I definitely recommend Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind or Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion if you like the open, expansive style of gaming. A game critic I've spent a great deal of time watching recently really likes Thief II; while I haven't tried it, I trust this particular critic's judgment.

__________________
40 Eye of Ugin and 4 foil Eye of Ugin for Black Lotus!?

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Originally posted by junichi:
anyone here plays Demon's SOul on Ps3? I can definitely use some help/guidance.

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