PC to console "dumbing down" AKA "Holy crap, what were they thinking?"

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Just to add a hallelujah for Woodsey and Res Plus for making the same point as I did. Crysis 2 was to 1 as Diet Caffeine-free Coke is to Coke. You'd drink it, but you won't really enjoy it and spend the whole time wishing you had the original.

I actually regret buying it at full price (before the EA/Steam/Origin debacle).

 

[Antari]

You say "Dumb downed," I say "Streamlined because over-complicating everything doesn't make a game good."

Depth and detail don't have to be complicated at all. Removing options to streamline compatability with a single system standard is laziness, nothing more. So in that sense yes it gets dumbed down.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

There are so many compromises made for games to work on consoles, not the least of which is the control scheme, that cosnole ports to PC rarely make the transition well. BioWare I will give credit for being one of few companies who really do it well. KotOR and Jade Empire for example are actually better on PC than on console, not just in terms of looks or performance.

Some games didn't work quite so well however. Borderlands on the PC is good, but not great. The menus are chores to navigate, the game-matching just short of disastrous and the frequent loading screens are a pain. RE4 was a genre-defining game on the Gamecube, but the PC port was so bad I didn't even leave the first village. Things appear and disappear out of and into thin air since the draw distance is further and the fog reduced. The controls and menus are practically unplayable, even if they had entirely removed the button-mashing sequences. I mean seriously, QTEs and button mashing on a PC?

The sad reality is that more copies of console games are sold than the PC games, perhaps piracy, perhaps just popularity and ease of access. And companies go where the money is. I hate the console-dominance, the dumbed down CoD clones with every other game now coming with ranked/perked multiplayer shit, but I'm no longer among the majority. "Dishonored" and any CD Projekt title seem to be about all that's left to cater to me

 

[OniaPL]

I'd still say that the problem is not that consoles are inferior or that all ports are shoddy (but I admit many are), the problem is that the console market is different from the PC market. That's why series like Crysis and Dragon Age suffered. For example, Bioware wanted a bigger piece of the moneycake, so they made Dragon Age 2 abosulute, utter shit by "streamlining" it to the point where the thought it would sell.

Developers shouls just focus on filling a certain niche instead of going for the big CoD console money.

 

[chimeracreator]

Yeah... I played Ghost Master on the PC and I still think the level design was garbage. In the level you mention on the PC you forgot that unless you brought at least one ghost capable of freezing the environment the mission is impossible, but you don't know that until you start the mission and need to freeze the river so the students can cross it.

 

[WaysideMaze]

Your PS3 can't play modern games, it can play games of the same quality and scope as those of 6 years ago when it was released.

Not entirely true. Games tend to get more complex as time goes on and the developers get more comfortable with the hardware.

One example that comes to mind would be the GTA series in the PS2 era. By your reckoning, San Andreas should look exactly the same as Vice City, and be no bigger. And yet when San Andreas was released we saw marked improvements in graphics, and the gameworld was absolutely massive. Even if we decide to discount the pointless countryside between the cities, the combined size of the cities was much larger than what we saw in the previous game.

If you're wondering why I haven't picked a more recent series, I've been playing the GTA series after recently getting them in a Steam sale, and have been more focused on PC gaming this last year than on my PS3.

 

[RicoADF]

*snip*

Hmm, I've got the game on GoG but haven't had a chance to play it yet (seriously between GoG and Steam the list of "to play" games is growing), however thanks to your 'review' I've moved it to the top. Sounds like fun
btw, never played the game before, on PC or PS2.

 

[GoaThief]

And bye again because it's not a shooter.

It has a portal gun. You shoot portals from it. It's played from a first person perspective. Yes, it's heavily puzzle-focused but it's still a shooter - just quite a different flavour from the likes of CoD.

Doesn't make the actual game any better.

Doesn't make it any worse either. It was pretty solid, especially if you like old school FPS. Hard Reset is decent and oldschool too, forgot that one.

Yay! One semi-decent shooter. That borders on pay2win at times. Yeah, this genre is way better than I'm giving it credit for.

You're either ignorant or lying, there's no element of pay2win at all in Tribes: Ascend. You're not a fan of the genre and prefer spending your time not trolling MOBAs, we get it - but it doesn't mean the shooter genre is bad at all. Hell, even Killzone 3 is supposed to be quite decent (I haven't played it so cannot confirm), and as you're broadening it to those not in first person we can even expand to the likes of Gears of War 3.

You're going to have to try much harder than that if you wish to validate your claims.

 

[saintdane05]

GRRG CONSOLES SUCK WE SHOULD ALL BE ON PC HER DUR RAAGEE!!! GARGLE HARGLE!

 

[natster43]

Change is bound to happen with pc to console ports. You have a larger setup to do stuff with on a keyboard and mouse than you do with a controller.

 

[Pink Gregory]

GRRG CONSOLES SUCK WE SHOULD ALL BE ON PC HER DUR RAAGEE!!! GARGLE HARGLE!

Seriously, does it offend PC-only gamers that we might perhaps have our preferences?

 

[Chaosut]

Its only rare that I ever came across this "dumbing down" syndrome

People say it happened to Crysis 2; I however did not see a single sign of that happening. Yes there were only 2 abilities, big deal. It allowed the game to flow at its own pace much better suited for urban warfare IMO.

Play the first game on PC. Then play the second. The difference is not only apparent, but frightening. 2 was a tedious CoD-rip off with linear maps, military jargon up the whatsit, stupid AI and made to be easy. 1 was very, very challenging with huge, open maps allowing uncountable approaches, allowed saves, looked stunning at release and played wonderfully. Further, it also has an actual *gasp* interesting story (by FPS standards).

If you cannot tell the compromises that have to be made in all games made now so they work on a PS3's absolutely pathetic 256MB of video RAM then chances are you've missed out on some of the greatest shooters ever made.

I've played a lot of shooters on the PC (and console), however I enjoyed Crysis 2 just as much as the original. I can't deny that there were numerous compromises made for the sake of reaching a wider market. The original Crysis clearly has more freedom (though it could be seen that Crysis 1 is more linear than Far Cry, with the exception of the indoor sections) and was considerably more challenging. But Crysis 2 felt less like a tech demo, more focused and well rounded experience. I'd hardly say that the writing was exceptional for either game really, and both have pretty flat endings. I don't think that Crysis 2 having more linear levels and military Jargon makes it a COD rip-off, because I can't think of a single COD campaign that resembles it. Battlefield 3 is an example of a campaign that shamelessly (and ironically ends up being even more restrictive than COD) ripping off Call of Duty. And yes, A lot of the combat sections in Crysis 1 could be skipped by simply going around them.

I'd still say that the problem is not that consoles are inferior or that all ports are shoddy (but I admit many are), the problem is that the console market is different from the PC market. That's why series like Crysis and Dragon Age suffered. For example, Bioware wanted a bigger piece of the moneycake, so they made Dragon Age 2 abosulute, utter shit by "streamlining" it to the point where the thought it would sell.

Developers shouls just focus on filling a certain niche instead of going for the big CoD console money.

I agree. Despite countless dodgy pc ports and games like Thief 3 and Deus Ex: Invisible War being gimped due to the hardware limitations of consoles, currently it seems to be mostly a matter of expanding the market. Lowest common denominator, and to be honest I can't blame developers. Games obviously require huge expenses to make, so why take the higher risk by trying to appeal to niche markets when you can just target casuals who make up the majority of the market.

 

[TehCookie]

A lot of console to PC ports have absolute terrible saving systems. Like how Assassins Creed you were unable to save manually so you couldn't make a second save before your favorite part. Or another petty one that annoys me is how in Skyrim they don't let you name your saves. I got so many I completely forgot which ones I had which mods installed.

 

[nomzy]

Games that have a this "AWESOME BUTTON" THAT DOES FUCKING EVERYTHING.
NO GOD DAMNIT I WANT MY SPRINT AND COVER KEYS SEPARATE. I FUCKING KNOW WHICH ONE I WANT TO DO STOP TRYING TO TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK I WANT BECAUSE YOUR WRONG.
That makes me more mad than anything.
example: Spec ops the line. The controls in that game almost made me stop playing (I'm glad I kept playing though)
The way to move in and out of cover and from cover to cover just sucks. I wish they'd just taken the one from Rainbow Six Vegas 2

Captcha: moot point. I swear this thing is sentient.

 

[evilneko]

usually I'm pretty tolerant to dumbing down....buuuut

in Saints row 2....its hard to aim

WITH A MOUSE

its physically hard to aim

WITH A MOUSE

Dual uzis with infinite ammo. Who the fuck needs aim. XD

Not that I really had much problem. WITH A TRACKBALL.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Mechwarrior 2 on the PS1 comes to mind. It was still a great game, but it was heavily dumbed down from the PC version. If I remember correctly, it was even advertised as a "special arcade edition" or something to that effect. I actually have both the PS1 version and the PC version now, haven't played either in ages. Maybe I'll play some of the PS1 version tomorrow -- my PC copy is the Titanium edition, and since that's a Windows native version instead of DOS native, it's a pain in the ass to get running on modern computers.

 

[The_Lost_King]

A lot of console to PC ports have absolute terrible saving systems. Like how Assassins Creed you were unable to save manually so you couldn't make a second save before your favorite part. Or another petty one that annoys me is how in Skyrim they don't let you name your saves. I got so many I completely forgot which ones I had which mods installed.

You just have to press the button to the left of the 1 key, usually ~, It will bring up the console and just type in save [save name here](remember to put in the space oh and no spaces in the name.

 

[The_Lost_King]

woops I pressed quote instead of edit. Sorry.