Have games declined or have we grown old & boring ?

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beardfreak
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Have games declined or have we grown old & boring ?

Post by beardfreak »

The title says it all really. A question I ask myself when I feel twinges of boredom set in when ploughing through the latest, supposed AAA title.

Zelda is quality (no doubt), but even that I tire of after a session. At one time I could play a game for several hours, enjoying every moment, but lately, I fear the grey hairs are dulling my senses.

Or..... have games really taken a downward turn for the worst?

A fantastic article in Edge recently highlighted how games have become a chore of generic reward seeking ... collect gems, buy a bigger weapon, kill the monster who bettered you before etc etc Structured to represent "work ethics", therefore enforcing a ritualistic routine upon us during the game, that in many ways is a reflection of every day life.

A good thing or a bad thing or a natural thing ?

Now I am confused ............. :?:

Games eh - art / relaxation or simply a mirror of life around us.
Stelf
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Post by Stelf »

Few years back I could play any semi decent game and enjoy and get fun out of it, now its specific game genres that fit that bill, I was really excited about the latest Zelda, but i've now not played it more than just a few hours.

Tend to find myself giving up on some games if I get stuck, like Meteroid i'll load it up die to that stupid plant from little shop of horrors and turn the gamecube off, but Meteroid is a great game and I will get past that bit, but any other game would just go collecting dust.

Been watching that new PS2 game today that uses the camera even was playing it for a bit, its really good imho but just not my kinda game.
Bentley
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Post by Bentley »

Downward turn for the worst. Id rant more but im at my mothers and she wants the net now :? Least ive brought my amiga emu cds with me :)
Chain
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Post by Chain »

I find that some of these games take far too long to get into..

I miss games like Elite where you could play for 10-15 mins.. they were complex but easy and quick to have a *quick* go on..

I suppose a bit like URT when I played it 24/7...

I too have not played Zelda for a fair bit... And even have Metriod sitting in shrink wrap still from my B-Day last month..

:(
beardfreak
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Post by beardfreak »

Life gets in the way of gaming fun as well. If you have external issues to deal with, enthusiasm drops for the BIG titles. At least, in my experience.

As we get older, generally we have a different set of problems to wrestle with and these things take time and energy that at one time we may have spent in gaming.

Another thought for the pot !

Another important area is BIG BUSINESS. Stepping in to every facet of our lives and totally buggering creative productivity in favour of profit making schemes. Games pushed onto the market simply to generate funds. One notable exception to this has always been Nintendo, whose business model incorporates profit making with the love of art. But that probably says something about Japanese culture... respect.
Yam Boy
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Post by Yam Boy »

have you not played the Frozen Throne yet then Simon??

I've been whittling away hours on it....

i've got 2 copies.... and i bought the original on the release date....

i can mail u one of the copies if you want? drop me a mail

the single player campaign is damn good.... they have done a damn good job on the expansion pack and there's a proper insteresting twisted storyline...

online gaming seems to be the interesting thing for me at the mo....

there's loads of different style maps/RPGs tower defence maps....

I just love the satisfaction you get from laying the smack down on some cocky mouthy twat the other side of the world......

I have hardly touched my consoles.... spent about 10-15 hours on the GC since buying it.... tony hawks 3 has been getting an occasional blast and thats it..... THPS4 i never finished once.... dunno why but i didn't like the way they changed the game...

Yam Boy
beardfreak
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Post by beardfreak »

Yeah - thanks for the offer James. I'll keep that in mind. I tend to reserve my PC for work at the moment, but when I go back to "gaming mode" I'll drop you a line :wink:

I understand about the GC, but it is overall my current favourite due to Mario Sunshine & now Zelda which I love.

I have a love affair on & off with my toys. Often I siply can't be arsed to play anything and prefer the company of good friends, a little weed (ahem), and the odd ale. Musical exploration is far more satisfying.

I am looking forward to Unity on GC :shock:
kernal
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Post by kernal »

Gone right off games for the moment. Can't be arsed pulling out any console, and now my PC is now free of any type of game. Getting more into desktop video, and buying the DVD writer has made things much easier for me to archive my video too.
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Post by Chain »

Well Managed to snag a job for 3 months (Contract) so feeling a tad better now..

Picked up Res Evil for the GC for 9.99! Seems Blockbuster are clearing the GC range!.. Back down there again tonight to grab a few more titles too ;)

Been playing a Few games -
Divine Destiny (Far too sloooow),
URT (Revisited the old timer and had great fun)
URT 2003 (Some decent mods appearing so had a good blast)
All on the PC..

With a spare day for playing games (far too hot for me, perhaps Scotland would be a place to move to after all :? ) So the GC is going to get a fair beating :) Might pick up Zelda again, although tempted to open MP and give that a go.. Choices Choices.. Also had a mate round testing out his PS2 with BB Unit.. Seems quiet a laugh and doesn't require that dreaded subscription thingy that Xbox Live! does.. Hmm..

What to play..

Still can't do anything much today as have to burn some Dvds for people ;)
beardfreak
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Post by beardfreak »

Hmmm ... have to pop into BlockBusters and have a sniff around then. £9.99 is a bargain for most games.

I have noticed on Ebay that titles like Mario Sunshine are slipping through for around a tenner. Utter madness. Only a few months ago and I paid 40 quid.

Popped into my local game shop yesterday and their Gamecube range is really small now, compared to PS2 & Xbox which are fighting for shelf space.

It seems as though the GC is being rejected commercially in favour of the other two consoles. That isn't good news for Nintendo. But do they really consider Europe a real source to float their boat?

I still overall (at the moment) favour the key titles on the Cube above the other titles I see for Xbox / PS2. Nintendo still have a charm & magic that goes above & beyond the call of duty.

Although, saying that, when Halo 2 appears, not to mention the US version of Soul Calibur on XBox, I'm sure my attention will be swayed. Quite looking forward to Midtown Madness 3 as well :wink:

Glad to hear you have a little work to bring some dosh in ! Nice one !
Chain
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Post by Chain »

How many titles have you bought for the Xbox?

I know I haven't bought ANY!
Same with the PS2!


Yet I have 13 titles for the GC sitting downstairs..
And... I don't regret buying them at all..
Piracy is not an excuse because I own about 50 DC games..

So its the quality, and the Xbox and PS2 just don't have anything I would consider buying at the moment. And lets face it the only reason I would buy a game now is if it came with FREE online play.. And The Xbox Loses out bigtime there..

PC on the other hand is a strange beast.. I tend to play the copies the nip down the shops and buy the game .. Funny init?

Ahh well.. Zelda it is today then :)
beardfreak
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Post by beardfreak »

Well I only have TimeSplitters 2 original for the box. I don't care to be honest with you, but when a decent game comes along, I may buy it at the right price. I do prefer originals if I am to be honest with you. Infact, what I do occasionally, is wait and pick them up cheap 2nd hand. I like the packaging and also the fact that they work properly 99% of the time and look nice on my shelf. Child that I am !

I like my GC originals. Only have 6 or 7, but that's enough for now. I want specific titles, most of them don't appeal. Wouldn't mind Animal Crossing, but they still want silly prices for it on Ebay. I'd pay, hmmm, 25 quid for it, not 40 or 50 :shock:

Enjoy Zelda ! Just found the wrist thingys yesterday that allow you to lift huge objects. All I will say, is big fat black pig - superb !
Chain
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Post by Chain »

Mike - What software do you use for creating DVD's?

You see I quiet fancey the chance to create different Copyright notices ;)
Or even alter the menus on some of the films..

:)

In fact I would love to add a lot of the stuff I do onto DVD but have never managed to find something that worked reasonably well..

Is Studio 8 any good?

Sad I know but I gave up after much hassle about 8 months ago and haven't looked at it since!

:(
kernal
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Post by kernal »

Chain wrote:Mike - What software do you use for creating DVD's?

You see I quiet fancey the chance to create different Copyright notices ;)
Or even alter the menus on some of the films..

:)

In fact I would love to add a lot of the stuff I do onto DVD but have never managed to find something that worked reasonably well..

Is Studio 8 any good?

Sad I know but I gave up after much hassle about 8 months ago and haven't looked at it since!

:(

If I'm just wanting to slapdash a quick edit together, I use Studio 7 (now Studio 8 thanks to you Chain!). It is reasonably powerful, and will also let you make up basic menus/chapter links etc. Pretty easy to use all-in-one solution. It will let you sample in the DV footage, edit it, add menus/sfx/images etc. and them will burn it to DVD/SVCD/VCD/AVI/VHS

For more precise work I tend to use Premier, though it is very complicated (for me anyway) and have to do some things with the help of a 'how to use premier' PDF book :)

If you want some really advanced menu making facilities, try looking out for Pinnacle's 'Edition Pro', which is a for semi-pro productions.
beardfreak
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Post by beardfreak »

mmmm .... cheesecake :lol:
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