How much do you learn about a game before its release?

[Leemaster777]

So, Bioshock Infinite is coming out tomorrow. My hype boner is positively RAGING right now.

However... I know almost nothing about the game. I have purposefully kept myself in the dark about most of the game. All I know is that there's a female main character named Elizabeth, the game takes place on a flying city, it takes place before Bioshock 1, and there's some reason why every character (including some giant raven robot thing) are all after Elizabeth. Aside from all but the earliest trailers, I haven't watched any media regarding it aside from recent commercials.

I wanted to go into Infinite with as much of a clean slate as possible. I feel like one of the reasons that Bioshock 2 was something of a disappointment to me was because I followed the news pre-release too closely.

How about the rest of you? When you learn about a game that you're excited to see released, do you follow news about it closely, or purposefully keep your distance to keep yourself surprised?

 

[tippy2k2]

It depends on the game.

Sequels or games from companies I trust; I look at a handful reviews to see what kind of a game it is (RPG, Shooter, etc.) and if it's getting good stars. Generally, I will not read the review itself if I'm confident that I will like the game (see Bioshock: Infinite or "the game that I would punch a baby to get right now", The Last of Us).

Original IPs: I will actually read the reviews to see what kind of a game it is and specifics on what is good about the game and what is bad about the game. Games that try something new but stumble a bit (see Mirror's Edge or Alpha Protocol) will usually get a chance. Games that don't try something new but stumble a bit (see Medal of Honor) generally get passed.

I also subscribe to two physical game magazines so I end up reading a lot of previews. Generally, they'll give you a feel for what you can expect from the game without spoiling anything since you're getting a small piece of the pie.

 

[Full]

(Edited) If it's pre-release stuff, then I'm actively looking for it and wanting to know more, due to desperate hypegasms. Hype is fun sometimes, if experienced correctly.

If it's post release and I'm kinda looking at a game I'm interested in, I prefer to not see much, but ending spoilers or myriads of gameplay footage always seem to come rolling my way. Due to this, I have become numb to these things, and now it usually doesn't matter as long as it's not specific story spoilers. But even then, as long as it's not specific and the "how" is not revealed, then I'm fine.

However, I seem to like games more if I buy them just arbitrarily or randomly and dive head first without knowing anything.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I really depends on the game. For something that's story driven I like to go in as fresh as possible, and know absolutely nothing about the game before I start playing. For something that's more multiplayer focused, or more about the mechanics of the game, I try to learn as much as possible about it to decide whether I would actually have fun playing it or not.

 

[Agente L]

If I know and trust the game developer, or it's from a series that are known for it's high quality, I try not to look to deep into it. I've spoiler myself way to many times.

If it's new franchise, or from a company I don't completely trust? Demos, trailers, gameplay videos, reviews, community opinion and my friends opinion are some of the many things I search for, to make sure it's a quality game.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Depends from game to game, but generally I try to avoid as much hype as possible.

I might look at review scores, and read a couple of reviews, but that's it, for the most part anyway.

 

[piinyouri]

It depends on just how crazy excited I am for it.
I knew so much about Skyrim before it's release.
I literally followed and dug for any little nugget I could find in the internet sandbox.

The only game I'm kind of doing this with right now is Starbound.
It's just too damn cool looking to be able to put out of my mind.

 

[Jedi-Hunter4]

I normally follow 2 golden rules when buying a game at ful rrp.

1. If there are no pre-game reviews, I never pre-order it as it's either awful or doesn't live up to the hype.
2. Watch some game play vids on you tube on release date an get a rough idea for myself if it's any good.

It's how I avoided buying colonial marines, how (even though I suspected it might not be great) I resisted the fan boy urge to buy the new "the walking dead game". Silly to buy a new game these days without knowing what your getting, so, so expensive for new games an I wouldn't really say there are any pubs/devs incapable of releasing a poor game. The last game I pre-ordered in good faith was Battlefield 3. The next I probably will is new GTA (if I have the new console).

Can't remember what reviewer said it an I took it an ran with it, but the no pre-release reviews, DON'T pre-order as it's normally because the pub know's its awful, is my golden rule, never been wrong.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

I see/hear a trailer or advertisement for a game that I find interesting, I will generally keep my eye on it as it continues to develop and ultimately being released. I don't make it a habit to know everything about the game before it is released, but knowing whether this game will still seem entertaining to me is what I usually pay attention to.

 

[Auron]

I dislike getting hyped on stuff unless I'm beta testing I don't usually know much until the week before release so I can decide if I'll buy on release, pre-order or whatever.

 

[Sir Pootis]

If it's a game I really want to play spoiler free, then I limit myself to PAX demos and the like, as well as maybe an opening trailer. If a demo gets released, I'll probably download it and play it over and over again to satisfy myself until I buy the full game.

 

[Bad Jim]

I generally ignore it until it's been out at least a few months and the community has already decided whether it's good or not, at least to the extent that that's possible.

 

[Mangod]

I generally ignore it until it's been out at least a few months and the community has already decided whether it's good or not, at least to the extent that that's possible.

This, with the added caveat that I read its TV Trope page, and preferably seeing if TotalBiscuit has done a first impression of it as well.

 

[mokes310]

I always try to learn as much as humanly possible about a game before I buy it simply because my gaming time is so finite. If there's anything that could be questionable, I'll just avoid the game. I've gotta be 100% on board before I'll plop my money on the counter.

 

[LongAndShort]

Depends really. Trusted IP's and Developers get my money straight away. For example I seem to be one of the few people left on this site who trust Bioware implicitly and preorder their games as soon as is humanly possible. But other than that I like to get an idea of the quality of the game first, listen to a few reviews, go from there.

 

[Loop Stricken]

How much do you learn about a game before its release?

Generally, enough to know it's going to be worth purchase, and nothing else if I can help it.
Unless the game has a character customisation feature, in which case I want to know about it in-depth. I want to take it out to dinner, meet its family, give them heartfelt gifts, marry it, love it tenderly, cut it open and wear its skin, die with it in my arms as I burn the house down rather than let the police separate us.

Character customisation is a big deal for me.

 

[Therumancer]

So, Bioshock Infinite is coming out tomorrow. My hype boner is positively RAGING right now.

However... I know almost nothing about the game. I have purposefully kept myself in the dark about most of the game. All I know is that there's a female main character named Elizabeth, the game takes place on a flying city, it takes place before Bioshock 1, and there's some reason why every character (including some giant raven robot thing) are all after Elizabeth. Aside from all but the earliest trailers, I haven't watched any media regarding it aside from recent commercials.

I wanted to go into Infinite with as much of a clean slate as possible. I feel like one of the reasons that Bioshock 2 was something of a disappointment to me was because I followed the news pre-release too closely.

How about the rest of you? When you learn about a game that you're excited to see released, do you follow news about it closely, or purposefully keep your distance to keep yourself surprised?

Bioshock Infinite is one of those games I chose not to pre-order to see how it looked once it was released. I had mixed vibes from it when I realized they planned to pretty much stick you with an AI partner (Elizabeth) through the entire thing, and of course while I didn't get it there was the whole "Colonial Marines" fiasco, and of course the whole "Mass Effect 3" ending Fiasco. I figure in a week or so if the general consensus is still good I'll wind up picking it up. Otherwise... well, I'll have dodged a bullet.

I guess this is an unusual position regarding this game, but I've become more cautious recently, due to awesome looking games (like this one) that ultimatly failed to deliver an awesome experience for one reason or another. Right now there is no need for anyone to send me information about it, I'll be going by general consensus and a few trusted sources when the time comes.

 

[putowtin]

As little as possible, I used to religiously find out as much about a game as possible, but over the last few years I've found that if I'd read everything about the game before its release Id be disappointed by the end product.

So now I hear about the game, maybe read something here about it, and leave it at that.
My only exception to this at the moment is InFamous: Second Son
[sub]being it's wiki?s bureaucrat I kinda need to know to keep the site running![/sub]

 

[King Aragorn]

As little as possible. I may read VERY early written stuff, see a screen shot or two, then watch the reveal gameplay demo. If it sold me on it there? good. If it didn't? oh well.

 

[King of Asgaard]

I tend to avoid the bulk of marketing and hype for games because I've been disappointed in the past.
All I look at is reviews; as many as possible to get a good feel for the good bits and the bad bits.
Beyond that, maybe the occasional trailer to get a feel for what's to be expected of it.