Unpopular Gaming Opinions

Captain Chaos

I actually liked and really enjoyed playing all of the Halo games including Halo Wars. Good settings and set piece firefights, music really adds to it more so than any other shooters I can think of.

Same for Killzone Shadow Fall, thought it was a good and solid FPS launch title. Looks good plays well, no flaws that I could see and all the weapons felt nice, chunky and satisfying to fire in that you actually feel like you doing damage to your targets. I take it over any CoD title any day except CoD4.

Mal-Adjusted

Captain Chaos wrote: »

I actually liked and really enjoyed playing all of the Halo games including Halo Wars. Good settings and set piece firefights, music really adds to it more so than any other shooters I can think of.

I think Halo is a fantastic game! especially the first one. (2 and 3 were okay, but i felt the story wasn't as strong and you were a bit overpowered. Halo Wars is a great title and i don't really understand the criticism it sometimes gets.

Captain Chaos wrote: »

Same for Killzone Shadow Fall, thought it was a good and solid FPS launch title. Looks good plays well, no flaws that I could see and all the weapons felt nice, chunky and satisfying to fire in that you actually feel like you doing damage to your targets. I take it over any CoD title any day except CoD4.

I never played Killzone but recently finished Modern Warfare 1 + 2. I liked them but they could be better. I dislike that it's always in first person view and thought the campaign could have been improved with more traditional cutscenes. I haven't gone near multiplayer yet and would only do local anyway but they're well worth it if you can find them cheap.

johnny_ultimate

I'm going to wax lyrical and pretentiously about Ico for a moment, because as far as I'm concerned it's pretty much the finest example of themes, gameplay and narrative working harmoniously in all of gaming. It's about asking yourself what the mechanics and design are communicating to you. You're supposed to feel fragile and weak when fighting off packs of enemies. You're supposed to feel stressed out and scared every time you have to leave Yorda for a couple of minutes, or when she's captured by the shadow creatures. You're supposed to be forging a relationship - one in which you're dependent on each other in a variety of different ways. You need her, and she needs you - and for the most part this is not communicated through cutscenes or exposition.

It's about how the world is designed, almost symmetrically, to emphasise and explore this connection. It's figuring out why entire buttons are dedicated to hand holding and a repeated yelp, and how almost every puzzle is made for two, not one. There's hints and echoes of the deeper history and lore driving everything forward, but they're not explicit, and instead the player is trusted to use their imagination. But the immediate, standard gameplay is amazingly articulate in what it communicates. And it's also so improbably simple - barely any music or dialogue, and a clear goal of crossing that bridge whatever it takes. Man, if only more games had the ability to show actual restraint the way Ico does.

Yes, there's a few rough edges due to the technical limitations of the time - a moment when Yorda gets stuck, or the camera doesn't move how we expect. It feels like a bit of a cheat to say this, but some of the awkwardness actually helps enhance the whole experience - some purposefully, some accidentally. But I replayed the HD version recently and was floored all over again about how smart and nuanced Ico is. I can probably count on the fingers of one hand the games I've played that manage anywhere near that same level of depth. It's a game where you really need to look at what everything means and communicates, because it asks us all to engage with it on a level we've all been almost hardwired not to.

kunst nugget

Pac1Man wrote: »

It has that feeling of Spec Ops gameplay justification; the combat is average because it's supposed to be to give the player a sense of vulnerability etc. etc. That doesn't sit well with me.

I'm playing this at the moment and can't say I have any problem with this. Sure it's irritating when you let yourself die foolishly but I prefer it to being able to sustain 150 gunshots and keep on running no bother. It definitely helps to up the tension when you have a wave of enemies coming at you. It's the loading times after you die that take the piss a bit.

BlitzKrieg

If we are going to talk call of duty then in terms of single player I am going to throw out that they've never done better then the very first title set in world war 2.

Modern warfare 1 is close sort of... but simply on level design call of duty 1 stands above the rest by quite a distance

hardweir

Sony are backing the wrong horse in championing indie games because the people who play cod and fifa have no interest.

Tbh i have no interest in any indie games sony has shown and neither do any of my gaming friends,i think its a fad that will die off in a few years.

Pac1Man

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

I'm going to wax lyrical and pretentiously about Ico for a moment, because as far as I'm concerned it's pretty much the finest example of themes, gameplay and narrative working harmoniously in all of gaming....

Good points, well made.

From reading that, I liken the game to an artist who throws a paintbrush at a canvas and frames it. Some call it a masterpiece while others take it for what it literally is.

I keep coming back to Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and maybe unfairly so. I know it has a decade of improved technology to work with but I just felt that the core mechanics along with the underlying message was fantastically done. There was no need for this fragility that is either intentionally or unintentionally present in Ico.

I will reserve my final opinion until I finish the game. Looking forward to starting SotC though.

Potatoeman

hardweir wrote: »

Sony are backing the wrong horse in championing indie games because the people who play cod and fifa have no interest.

Tbh i have no interest in any indie games sony has shown and neither do any of my gaming friends,i think its a fad that will die off in a few years.

There are some pretty good indie games but steam seems flooded with crap at the moment. It depends what you are into but you will see more of them as they are cheaper to make.

Generic Dreadhead

Potatoeman wrote: »

There are some pretty good indie games but steam seems flooded with crap at the moment. It depends what you are into but you will see more of them as they are cheaper to make.

I was duped into buying the Stanley Parable, **** you Steam and you're piece of **** flowchart walking sim :pac:

Captain Chaos

It's not like Indies are the only thing Sony have. They have 99.9% everything MS has and being Indie friendly on top of that just adds to them really. Sony are just making it easier for Indies to break into and tap into the console market as apposed to MS charging them $1,000 certification fee everytime they want to patch their game while Sony don't charge for that.

Call Me Jimmy

What would be the best way to play Ico these days?

Captain Chaos

Call Me Jimmy wrote: »

What would be the best way to play Ico these days?

Download the twin HD pack from PSN. Well worth it. You might be lucky and find it cheap online somewhere.

It's still pricy for it's age but well worth it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ico-Shadow-Colossus-Collection-PS3/dp/B004T8C19W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401720358&sr=8-1&keywords=ico

gizmo

Captain Chaos wrote: »

Download the twin HD pack from PSN. Well worth it. You might be lucky and find it cheap online somewhere.

It's still pricy for it's age but well worth it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ico-Shadow-Colossus-Collection-PS3/dp/B004T8C19W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401720358&sr=8-1&keywords=ico

Details on the conversion can be found here.

I played both games for the first time around Christmas and they were both utterly fantastic, the port was great too.

johnny_ultimate

Pac1Man wrote: »

I keep coming back to Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and maybe unfairly so. I know it has a decade of improved technology to work with but I just felt that the core mechanics along with the underlying message was fantastically done. There was no need for this fragility that is either intentionally or unintentionally present in Ico.

This is one thing I think games need to explore more. Fragility is actually a very powerful if not the most powerful storytelling tool, but the problem is too many games have made us feel decidedly overpowered over the years. This leads to the whole dissonance (lets avoid using 'ludonarrative' :pac:) problem with so much interactive storytelling - it's hard to communicate drama or danger when your character(s) is basically an invincible superhero in you hands e.g. Nathan Drake, Lara Croft etc... Not only does it effect individual games, but it's a much wider issue, as we're all accustomed to insanely empowering combat systems and anything else can feel pretty weird. It takes a very impressive designer to make the player feel fragile and in danger without making it feel contrived and artificial. Personally, I feel Ico does a great job at it, but certainly that's just my opinion. It's definitely something that I feel more designers will explore, and you could even argue the whole emergence of survival sandbox games is very much an attempt at tackling this territory. Journey is another game that successfully makes the player feel 'small' in a way that feels very natural, ditto Shadow of the Colossus. Shelter - gaming's best badger simulator, although kind of by default - tried with some success, but sadly ended up recycling a lot of ideas even over its very short running time.

As for Brothers, I really liked the game although thought the core mechanics were a little awkward and unnatural at times, mostly in execution as opposed to theory. Still, it does do things that are similar to Ico in the way it explores its themes and central relationship through the game design itself as opposed to cutscenes (IMO Ico flows better, and is less reliant on heavily scripted setpieces). Funnily enough, certain moments felt too derivative (or homaging, arguably) of Ico, especially in some of the settings you visit Still, it's a fascinating and brave game in many ways too, and despite rough edges is definitely a success overall. The sequences where the two brothers are tied together are particularly great, and the ending highlights the game's key themes in a really strong and intelligent way.

C14N

hardweir wrote: »

Sony are backing the wrong horse in championing indie games because the people who play cod and fifa have no interest.

Tbh i have no interest in any indie games sony has shown and neither do any of my gaming friends,i think its a fad that will die off in a few years.

While it's fair enough if you don't like indies, saying they're going nowhere or that they aren't big is just wrong. There have been numerous high-profile indie successes in the last few years and now that they're getting easier and easier to make, you're only going to see more of them.

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

too many games have made us feel decidedly overpowered over the years. This leads to the whole dissonance (lets avoid using 'ludonarrative' :pac:) problem with so much interactive storytelling - it's hard to communicate drama or danger when your character(s) is basically an invincible superhero in you hands e.g. Nathan Drake, Lara Croft etc...

I completely agree. I've been playing Red Dead Redemption a bit lately and it's good, but every cutscene where there's some sort of problem I'm thinking "why can't I just shoot everyone like I do all the time?". It is good to have games that make you feel the opposite way.

CiDeRmAn

I own the HD pack of Ico and SotC but I haven't played them yet.
I finished both in their PS2 incarnations, the first time around.
Waking on a stunners morning and opening the front door to the fresh morning sunshine and the sound of birdsong brings me right back to Ico, it's a game that will stay with you years later.

Shanotheslayer

Battlefield Vietnam is the best in the series. PC gaming is far better than console for FPS/MMO/RPG. Kingdom hearts is one of the greatest PS2 games.

CiDeRmAn

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

Battlefield Vietnam is the best in the series. PC gaming is far better than console for FPS/MMO/RPG. Kingdom hearts is one of the greatest PS2 games.

On the PC being better for FPS and MMO you're probably right but it's the prevailing opinion tbh.
On the RPG question, no, I'd say the consoles have it, delivering superb games like Dragon Quest 8 and 9.
The fact that you feel Kingdom Hearts was the best seals it, being a Square RPG on a console, as are the entire series proper.

Mr Freeze

I loved GTA IV, I felt GTA V was a let down compared to it.

Not technically of course, as GTA V is absolutely amazing to look at, I just enjoyed IV more, story wise and gameplay wise.

Magill

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

On the PC being better for FPS and MMO you're probably right but it's the prevailing opinion tbh.
On the RPG question, no, I'd say the consoles have it, delivering superb games like Dragon Quest 8 and 9.
The fact that you feel Kingdom Hearts was the best seals it, being a Square RPG on a console, as are the entire series proper.

Maybe he meant which do they play better on. For the most part that would be PC (Take Skyrim or Darksouls, much better on PC), but tbh.. i think that's true for almost all multi-platform games. Also, PC has some old gems in the RPG front too in fairness with your Planescapes/Baldur’s Gate. Overall though i'd agree consoles probably have the edge on the RPG exclusives for now.

DoesNotCompute

Half Life 2 was mediocre at best. The graphics were great for it's time, and the design of the Combine soldiers / vehicles looked badass. But it just didn't have the same impact as the first Half Life game. Also the ending felt abrupt and rushed.

gaynorvader

hardweir wrote: »

Sony are backing the wrong horse in championing indie games because the people who play cod and fifa have no interest.

Tbh i have no interest in any indie games sony has shown and neither do any of my gaming friends,i think its a fad that will die off in a few years.

I find most people holding this opinion love Minecraft. The whole point of indie games is for them to be experimental, to test out new ways of playing so that we don't end up with nothing but CoD, Halo, Fifa reboots.

I'm sure that there'll be an indie game that will suit your tastes and I doubt very much indie games are going anywhere as they've been around for as long as gaming has.

Generic Dreadhead

As far as I'm concerned if you haven't played a game by Beamoth (Castle Crushers, BattleBlock Theater), Fez, Super Meat Boy, Dust or most importantly Journey, you should not be allowed comment on Indie Games. If you'd played (well the correct word should be "experienced") Journey with another player you'd see what Indie games do that VERY few other games come close to

CiDeRmAn

DoesNotCompute wrote: »

Half Life 2 was mediocre at best. The graphics were great for it's time, and the design of the Combine soldiers / vehicles looked badass. But it just didn't have the same impact as the first Half Life game. Also the ending felt abrupt and rushed.

Wow, I don't know about that now.
I really, really enjoyed Half Life but it was extremely limited in terms of being a very linear corridor shooter, albeit a fupping fantastic linear corridor shooter.

HL2 seemed to do it all and do it better, although the environments probably didn't lend themselves to spectacle in quite the same way.
But the story and weapons were brilliant, the ending kinda led, from our perspective, right into the Episodes that served as sequels and we can enjoy them as a straight narrative without delay, unlike both the wait after the completion of HL to the release of HL2, some 6 years, and the distance from HL2:Ep2 to the, as yet, unrelease HL3, 7 years and counting

But, I have to say, even playing HL2 now via the Orange Box on the PS3, it is a really really good game.
And the Portal titles serve to expand the universe as well, with two pretty incredible games in their own right.

BobbyPropane

Cormac... wrote: »

As far as I'm concerned if you haven't played a game by Beamoth (Castle Crushers, BattleBlock Theater), Fez, Super Meat Boy, Dust or most importantly Journey, you should not be allowed comment on Indie Games. If you'd played (well the correct word should be "experienced") Journey with another player you'd see what Indie games do that VERY few other games come close to

That is the most ****ing stupid thing I have ever read. You've picked out the triple A titles of indie games and said if you don't play them you don't know **** about indie games?!?!? What the **** hahaha

Generic Dreadhead

BobbyPropane wrote: »

That is the most ****ing stupid thing I have ever read. You've picked out the triple A titles of Indie games and said if you don't play them you don't know **** about Indie games?!?!? What the **** hahaha

Yes, you're right, I should have picked out the less popular ones to recommend to someone who has no interest in indie games :pac:

Because recommending whats generally not seen as "best in show" is a better technique.

My point was that if you've played none, don't comment on them. If you'd played a few of them (being the most popular and generally well received) and want to comment, well fair enough.

Wish people would stop using AAA as a negative term, it means 2 levels better than A+, not necessarily cash-in sell-out soulless crap :P

"Well hello there Man from 1934, shame about you being frozen for 80 years, tell you what, you're gonna need a way to get around town, let me recommend this Fiat Multipla to you, and don't mind when you hear people bang on about Ford or Renault, they only going to suggest the AAA cars"

Elitism within Indie Games

johnny_ultimate

Keep it civil, please.

I really hate to be that guy, but it's a real pet peeve of mine: there's no capitalisation of 'indie'. Unless you're specifically talking about Indie Game: The Movie or something, you're referring to just a standard adjective or occasionally noun. Keep it lowercase! Sorry, it's just a little thing I see a lot and it drives me irrationally crazy

Pac1Man

Cormac... wrote: »

"Well hello there Man from 1934, shame about you being frozen for 80 years, tell you what, you're gonna need a way to get around town, let me recommend this Fiat Multipla to you, and don't mind when you hear people bang on about Ford or Renault, they only going to suggest the AAA cars"

Your metaphor needs adjusting. :pac:

Generic Dreadhead

Pac1Man wrote: »

Your metaphor needs adjusting. :pac:

I believe you are correct, i didn't really think that one out

Anyway, sorry for dragging this off subject

kunst nugget

I just finished Spec Ops: The Line and maybe I built it up too much before playing it but it left me slightly disappointed. I thought the nods to Heart of Darkness were very heavy handed and the end was pretty goofy. It was like Apocalypse Now directed by M Knight Shamalamalinglong. Props for the Hendrix song on the credits though. It was absolutely perfect for it.