Not Recommended for Children Under 5

[Adamus [deprecated]]

I can't leave a thread I've posted in for a day, can I? All this juicy debate and I've missed out on it! My inner pundit is feeling deprived.

To answer a few points and sort-of questions brought up:

- I agree with Ajar that (and I should have included this in my first reply) yes, a reviewer should refer to how a game is marketed to see if the game does stand up to how it's positioned. But the reviewer should also look beyond that and see what else the game has in store. A game's verdict should thus be based mostly on its own merits, independent of what the marketing brainwashers have tried to shove down our throats.

- I do write game reviews myself, semi-professionally (which means it's not my day job or even a significant part of my income, but I dabble in it occasionally). And as I said in the thread that sparked this one, I too have made the error of not looking at a game's full spectrum of qualities before handing down my verdict.

 

[Ajar]

Thanks for the detailed reply, LordCancer. I think I have a better understanding of your (and Fletcher's?) position, now. You seem to be saying that in order for a game to be good, the components it implements should all be implemented well and executed well. That's less absolutist than I took your stance to be originally. I appreciate the clarification.

Basically, there's a difference between saying "I don't like X" or "I think X isn't very good," and saying "X is bad." The first two are clearly statements of opinion.

As I've already noted, I do agree to an extent with what you're saying. I love games with great stories as much as the next guy -- it warmed my heart to see Planescape: Torment on the Escapists' story-driven games list, and I'm looking forward to both BioShock and Mass Effect. I'm also looking forward to playing Half-Life 2 on the 360, since it never came to the Mac and I don't have a PC.

Just like I enjoy straightforward action movies, I don't mind games with shallow stories. I agree, though, that games with detailed and complex narratives are extremely uncommon and I'd like to see more of them. I'd also like to see more games that do a lot with a little, like Shadow of the Colossus, which I loved.

By the way, I'm 25. You won't catch me calling you (or anyone else around these parts) "kid."

I agree with your follow-up, Adamus.

 

[Meophist]

I don't know much about Gears of War. I'm going to say that up-front and now. That said, I've heard a few things about it, including the original review on this site.

I do follow console gaming, but even then, Gears of War seemed to come out of nowhere. For a while, I thought it was just another FPS, so I didn't really pay too much attention to it. Then I saw some videos. It looked like a well-made TPS, somewhat similar to Kill Switch. It still didn't really seem too much more than typical, but there was so much hype to this, I thought I'd just follow this for a bit to see what it's all about. I saw one of the trailers, and with the gameplay sections I saw, it seemed to have a large focus on single-player, with alot of characterization and story. That appealed to me. The graphics struck me as a little odd, as I knew it was very technically impressive, but I kept on getting the feeling of "so what"? My eyes seemed to ignore much of the visuals even though my brain kept on telling me that "hey, this is top-of-the-line stuff".

I really have no intentions of getting an Xbox360 or PS3 until at least next year, but I was looking towards games I could get once I get one. Considering the hype surrounding it, Gears of War doesn't seem too bad, but, well, as I said earlier, I don't know too much about it.

I don't really care about Epic or their Unreal engines. I'm pretty used to seeing games using their own unique engine, and Unreal engine seems to be a bit… too "high-tech" for me to really enjoy.

In any case, I just read a review of it on IGN just so that I can know more about it, and I left without really knowing much more than I did before. I don't really like online play too much, and the review didn't say anything about its off-line multiplayer features other than that it exists. The "good story and characterisation" impression is entirely gone.

Oddly enough, I was thinking of getting this game should I get a 360 based on hype alone. Reading the IGN review really does show that it was being advertised as being more than it is. It was advertised as have a deep storyline, and an expansive single-player experience. I'm not seeing that in this review. I'm just not interested in the game anymore.

…and I was hoping to find a game to justify buying a 360.

 

[Echolocating]

...and I was hoping to find a game to justify buying a 360.

For me, I might consider getting a 360 for Bioware's Mass Effect. Halo-who? ;-)