304: Where to Begin?

[Zom-B]

Our popular game magazines and websites focus mostly on reviews and previews, but less so on retrospectives or critiques.

I agree with you that this is a real shame; it often seems like, in the games industry, the only game that matters is the next one. People are rarely interested in talking about games that are even only a couple of years old, and this is a serious problem, in my opinion, for the growth of the medium, because its past is not preserved. Every other medium makes the effort to preserve its past: books get reprinted, films get released on Blu-ray, etc. The games industry doesn't do this.

While point taken, I'd have to disagree with this. And while they maybe aren't doing it with enough games, fast enough, Sony, MS and Nintendo have all made older generation games available for digital download.

Personally, I think one of the biggest hurdles to having more old games playable and available is almost gone. Now with cheap memory the need for large amounts of physical storage space for cartridges and discs has been eliminated. The next one, publishers releasing their back catalogues, is slowly crumbling as they realize that people will pay for a digital copy of an older game and if the publisher doesn't make it available legally, people will use ROMs.

I gotta say. Its hard enough to find new games these days that don't require me to go back several generations of consoles and play other games. For example, Yakuza started on PS2. To understand it completely, you have to play the first 2 on ps2. Thats annoying.

That's not entirely true. I've only played Yakuza 3, but the game provides fairly in depth synopses for both Yakuza 1 & 2 so that you don't have to go back and play them, if you don't want to.

 

[Zom-B]

whoops

 

[Gindil]

Just redoing HL1 will still make HL2 look dated though... Sadly it is an endless cycle.
My main reason to not get into HL is because Valve can't release their episodes in a timely manner, and I don't see a reason to get into the game at this moment.

Maybe if they do a God of War and release the whole shebang with updated graphics I could consider it

Uhm... [http://www.blackmesasource.com/] I understand, but if the IP is released and people are allowed to rework it, there can be rewards in letting third parties work on your software for free.

Yes, I'm getting Black Mesa when it's officially released, for free. It should be a great upgrade to the current port of HL1.

So is Black Mesa automatically updated into any Steam version of HL1 I might have?
or do I have to install it myself?

Still I don't know its an what 10 year old IP? sort of not that interested in starting it... but it could be fun.

Consider it like Alien Swarm. You'll have to download it through Steam since it uses the Source Engine but other than that, it seems like a fun take on the first game that started it all.

So long as it beats the god-awful port that Valve let Gearbox do, it should be much better to the eyes with all of the enhancements of the Source Engine. Now if only they would release it before the end of the century...

Yes, they still run on Valve Time and they're not Valve!

 

[Sixcess]

I laughed when I saw Half Life illustrating this article, since I'm currently inflicting the original HL on myself prior to playing HL2. Good god, 90s FPSs were so much harder than the current generation...

Still, only 2 levels to go. Just killed the Gonad Gonarch so the end is in sight.

Good article though. MGS has to be the ultimate example of impenetrable back story, but then at this point I think Kojima is making these things for himself and anyone who's managed to keep up throughout the history of the series. Somehow, making MGS accessible to newcomers at this point would take away the unique feel of the series.

 

[Ytmh]

Reminds me of this recent article:

http://www.wired.com/beyond_the_beyond/2011/04/dead-media-beat-federico-giordano-almost-the-same-game/

The main issue here is that people (and the article) is talking about the games industry, which is something that necessarily only exists for the next sell.

As for anyone who really cares about the medium, they already have all the emulators/abandonwares/hacked consoles in the world to be able to experience as much of the medium as possible.

 

[ThisNewGuy]

But...Metal Gear Solid 3 was a prequel...

You don't need to play any other MGS to get that game. Unless of course you like to have those "tee hee I know a guy who will bang your daughter in the future" moment.

Thank you for pointing that out. After all, MGS3, like DMC3, was the first of the series I played, and I could understand everything perfectly because they were both prequels. Hell, until 4, most of the Metal Gears Solids were this way (possibly not 2, but I can't really tell, though I'd say the tangled plot was entirely it's own problem, not because it was a sequel).

ahaha. I agree. I wonder if Kojima understand the entire plot completely.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Ahem, Bioshock 2 is not a good sequel. You see, Bioshock was originally intended to be a complete story. And then some unrelated to the game people created a sequel because 2K wanted more money. Duh...
You see, some games end with a cliffhanger(s), which allows you to create a sequel. For example, Quake 2, Jericho, Bloodrayne 2, Painkiller BooH are all games that ends with a cliffhanger, so it is reasonable to expect a sequel. But sometimes you have a game, that is a complete experience and a work of art...
You know, I have 2 copies of Bioshock - for PC and PS3. Naturally, I got PS3 one much later and when after the credits it showed that teaser for a sequel.. Something died inside me.

Quake 2 had a story?

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

"Beyond Good & Evil 2" that's the only thing that got stuck in my head out of this article !!! bouhouhouh!

 

[Avatar Roku]

But...Metal Gear Solid 3 was a prequel...

You don't need to play any other MGS to get that game. Unless of course you like to have those "tee hee I know a guy who will bang your daughter in the future" moment.

I was thinking the same thing. Sure, there are some references that will go over your head if you haven't played the previous games (like Snake and SIGINT's conversation after hearing the preposterous idea of a "walking tank"), but it's really almost all entirely self contained. I mean, it has more significance if you know that it is Big Boss's Start of Darkness, but you can enjoy it without knowing what that means.

 

[NoDamnNames]

Video games are more of a schizophrenic amnesia patient who's doctor is experimenting with incrementally more powerful/dangerous medications.

case in point: Nintendo

 

[Wuggy]

Bioshock 2 wasn't a good sequel. It was just more of the same in terms of gameplay, which is not what a good sequel is supposed to be. They ripped the story right out of their asses, it lacked the same impact as the first one did and didn't really have a sense a continuity as Bioshock wasn't meant to have a sequel.

 

[FoolKiller]

That's not entirely true. I've only played Yakuza 3, but the game provides fairly in depth synopses for both Yakuza 1 & 2 so that you don't have to go back and play them, if you don't want to.

Yep. And boy was I happy when I saw that. It caught you up to the story with a relevant reel of events from the first two in about 20 minutes.

On a similar note, I don't know why more companies don't do it. When I beat the eighth installment of the Harry Potter games I was treated to a video montage encompassing all of the previous games. Instead of this, it would have been nice to have a 20 minute video with the important highlights filling me in... or at least allow me to read it.

I think the problem is not only that of technology but because of the legal issues with IPs moving around between companies. I remember when there was an easter egg in a Ninja Turtles game allowing you to play the original arcade game (this was before the 360). It didn't have the music from the game because it had a separate license and so it sucked.

And yes, the OP is correct. There is a huge buy-in in some cases trying to figure out what is going on. This is what has actually done in the soap opera. No one really wants to try to figure out what is going on anymore because trying to understand what happens is mind-boggling to say the least.

This problem has similarly affected the comic book industry. This is why retcons and the whole reboot thing is becoming really popular recently. No one wanted to buy them since the investment in trying to learn the history is too daunting.

 

[DioWallachia]

So this is why Legacy of Kain failed?? People are too lazy to have the Playstation 1 and 2 or even a PC to play all the series?? Or was it the fact that Soul Reaver 1 looks too blocky even if has the best 3D platform with dual world puzzles of the era of Playstation?? Or was it Blood omen, a munch older game that looked like a Zelda 2D game mixed with the fun of killing everyone in the most cruel ways with a superior voice acting compared to other games of the same era like....i dont know....THIS??:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtTfptkUgj0

When you could have this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_11r1yE3FI

But no, people just forgot about it and applaud games like Mass Effect: When in reality, the developers will jump on the next console as soon it is available to make the next Mass Effect and again and again the circle will keep going because the graphics of the 2 Mass Effect games will look "dated" by then. In the great scale of things, ME will become a victim of the game industry and there is nothing that the OP and us, the gamers, could do to stop it because nobody gives a crap about our opinions.

Maybe if we make something like the Dark Souls petition with signatures to the producers that tells they will get x numbers of guaranteed consumers if they stick to THAT console/PC/etc or something?? Is that the future?? Having to pay for a game that wasnt even made yet to make sure they stick to the series??

 

[Blachman201_v1legacy]

-nevermind-

 

[Seracen]

Respectfully, I am one of the gamers that would disagree with some of this article. In terms of episodic content, I often wait for an entire "season" to be finished before picking up the final product.

Much like I watch TV series, I want to consume a completed product, which I proceed to binge until it is over. To be sure, this binging takes place over the course of weeks, but it is the main source of entertainment until I have exhausted it. Similarly, I much rather enjoy long, sweeping affairs (20+ hour games), but I demand a compelling storyline in conjunction with that length.

With that in mind, I understand why my particular niche is now rarely filled in the games industry. It is so much easier to put out quick FPS clones, or release an episode to feel out the demand for a game.

Take Telltales new game, "Wolf Among Us." I fully intend to play that game, as it seems right down my alley. However, I will not be picking up the title until it is complete. Nor will I be purchasing the "Season Pass" until right before the product is complete (for a myriad of reasons).

Again, I realize that my particular penchants represent a bit of an aberration in their marketing. I mean, I don't care for MP in ANYTHING! Not saying I don't play MP modes, but they are never selling points to me (thus no Titanfall, no Battlefield, etc).