Anime Your Unpopular Gaming Opinions

[Ash]

I'm not sure how to describe it, but it just looks so wonky and strange to me. The outer walls and towers look too small, the houses are all mismatched and strange sizes, and the orientation of everything feels very odd, everything at tilted angles which make it all look like a surreal nightmare. It's even more jarring when the player and NPCs are there to mess the scale up even more (and also look visually different to everything else on the screen). This was a constant in BioWare's maps. I can't remember the exact map, possibly the mines in BG1, but one of the indoor dungeon maps made me feel genuinely queasy.

These aren't problems inherent to pre-rendering, but are simply strange/bad design choices.

 

[Lemming42]

Definitely, but they seemed to be common choices in a lot of the games that first come to my mind.

There's also the gameplay side of things - in Desperados and Crusader, going behind a wall was always a pain in the ass because you couldn't see your character or the enemies anymore, for example. A lot of games using pre-rendered also inexplicably went for needlessly huge maps that were sparse on meaningful content (again, BioWare being the main offender), which is probably another thing that's put me off them.

I never minded them so much - visually or gameplay-wise - in non-isometric games. Oddworld and Resident Evil both do pretty well with pre-rendered backgrounds, and I always thought Myst looked nice.

 

[Kabas]

I don't like pre-rendered graphics. Commandos, Desperados, Baldur's Gate, IWD, Final Fantasy VII, all that kind of thing. Something about it really puts me off. Just looking at Candlekeep makes me want to vomit. BioWare's artists in particular did a really bad job, everything in BG1 and BG2 looks so distorted and shitty.

This is one of a few opinions in this thread i would consider to be genuinely unpopular.

Having trouble for sleeping? Feeling stressed?

Just play or watch a gameplay video of Arx Fatalis! You will fall asleep fast !

exploration is fun and cool actually

Tried getting into Arx twice but couldn't.
The graphics, the ambience, the small details, exploring the levels and finding all the neat stuff you can do... I enjoyed everything about it expect actually playing it. Slowness combined with a magic system that i really dislike despite it being somewhat immersive.

 

[Ash]

If it is any consolation, there is a spell later gained that can increase your speed to lightspeed levels. You should have stuck it out. Arx is a masterpiece (though flawed for sure).
Arx Libertatis mod also adds refinement/drawing assistance to the spellcasting, though I am not exactly sure how it does that and would like to know.

 

[Glop_dweller]

Three of the five best RPGs were done on the Infinity Engine; and then there is Fallout 1 & 2.

The five best shooters were all made on the Build Engine.

As gamers, the best days are behind us. We are all like fish in an evaporating pond, making due with the recycled sludge that remains... never again to have new water added.

 

[Lemming42]

The five best shooters were all made on the Build Engine.

Witchaven
Witchaven 2
TekWar
Redneck Rampage
Extreme Paintbrawl

 

[Glop_dweller]

I never got to play TekWar, or Extreme Paintball, or the Seven Paladins for that matter. But I would always include Blood in my top shooter's list.

 

[Machocruz]

Nah Commandos 2 looks great. Doesn't belong in the same company as that other shite.

 

[behold_a_man]

I'm not sure how well this observation generalizes among other people, but I think the atmosphere of a game is determined primarily by its soundtrack rather than by its writing. If I remember how atmospheric some game was, I usually remember its soundtrack (i.e. Desu Ex, Shadowrun: Dragonfall, Heroes of Might & Magic II / IV, or parts of Planescape: Torment) - but I don't necessarily remember the writing (maybe for the better - especially in the case of Dragonfall). On the other hand, I don't remember anything related to 'atmosphere' in games with mediocre soundtracks, like Knights of the Old Republic 2. And, if a game doesn't have any score, I practically ignore the ambiance of the world; for example, I didn't care at all about the world changing from Might & Magic Book One (where humanity was living underground, hiding from dragons and other vicious monsters) to Gates to Another World (where you genocide peaceful goblins, search for Elvis in dungeons, or are casually told meta-information by half the characters).

 

[Butter]

I'm not sure how well this observation generalizes among other people, but I think the atmosphere of a game is determined primarily by its soundtrack rather than by its writing. If I remember how atmospheric some game was, I usually remember its soundtrack (i.e. Desu Ex, Shadowrun: Dragonfall, Heroes of Might & Magic II / IV, or parts of Planescape: Torment) - but I don't necessarily remember the writing (maybe for the better - especially in the case of Dragonfall). On the other hand, I don't remember anything related to 'atmosphere' in games with mediocre soundtracks, like Knights of the Old Republic 2. And, if a game doesn't have any score, I practically ignore the ambiance of the world; for example, I didn't care at all about the world changing from Might & Magic Book One (where humanity was living underground, hiding from dragons and other vicious monsters) to Gates to Another World (where you genocide peaceful goblins, search for Elvis in dungeons, or are casually told meta-information by half the characters).

Games set entirely at night get an instant +10 to atmosphere.

 

[Hagashager]

I thought Kotor 2 had a fantastic soundtrack. I think it sets the mood very well.

 

[behold_a_man]

I thought Kotor 2 had a fantastic soundtrack. I think it sets the mood very well.

It didn't impress me, though I can't stand this Star-Warsy music in general, even with dissonance added. But now that you say it, is there any game that is remembered well for its writing yet has a bad (or non-existent) soundtrack? I can't remember any.

 

[Silverfish]

The five best shooters were all made on the Build Engine.

I don't think Halo 3 was made on the build engine.

 

[Lemming42]

'm not sure how well this observation generalizes among other people, but I think the atmosphere of a game is determined primarily by its soundtrack rather than by its writing.

To expand on this, I think videogame writing is malleable in the player's mind in a way that other mediums aren't. I'm a fan of lots of games where the story actually sucks ass but I just sort of rewrite it or replace it in my mind while I play.

Deus Ex is a decent example - the writing isn't bad at all, but like you I tend to remember the soundtrack before anything else about the game (especially the UNATCO, VersaLife, and chateau themes) and most of my attachment to the world comes from the visuals and audio rather than any of the characters or plot events.

I think videogames work best when they create a playground for the player's imagination, rather than try to tell a very specific story with very specific characters and events. Deus Ex works great because there's a plot to follow and characters to meet but the vast majority of what actually happens within that framework is up to the player, and lots is left to the imagination. It was a big mistake for videogames to adopt movie-style storytelling and heavy dialogue, since gaming is unique in that it can offer an experience that feels very personal to each player in a way that movies and novels can't. But creating that experience requires relatively unintrusive writing and lots of room for the player to make up their own mind about things and act independently of the plot, even in "story-heavy" games.

 

[Darth Roxor]

The five best shooters were all made on the Build Engine.

I don't think Halo 3 was made on the build engine.

I KNEW YOU WERE UP TO NO GOOD ALREADY WHEN I SAW YOU IN THE TIME-WASTING THREAD

 

[Silverfish]

I was talking about the multiplayer. Nice try, Zarflax.

 

[Ash]

You two should kiss and ride off into the sunset with your xboxes already.



The two ultimate consoletards!

Darth Roxor do Fable, Bioshock & Gears of War next. More sellout PC dev shite you are sure to LOVE.

 

[Silverfish]

*Never gets picked for team deathmatch*

"Whatever, this game is dumb anyway."

 

[Beans00]

*Never gets picked for team deathmatch*

"Whatever, this game is dumb anyway."

Do you think ash had any friends to play co op or multiplayer games with?


Ash strikes me as the guy who got bullied, then burned his lips trying to blow up a car.

 

[Ash]

*Never gets picked for team deathmatch*

"Whatever, this game is dumb anyway."

I would be top of the pack on most multiplayer games I played, back when I used to play them. It's not hard to dominate the average gamer lol. Just look at wastrels like Beans00.

Of those three games, only Gears of War had multiplayer. As with Halo, the multiplayer isn't my issue. It's the singleplayer which is straight up whack-a-mole retardation, and in the shadow of the multiplayer. I would respect the game a hell of a lot more if it were multiplayer-only.

Online multiplayer in all forms killed singleplayer gaming.

 

[Butter]

Call of Duty 4 was fun if you only did multiplayer. However it was heavily dependent on getting a good map, and Infinity Ward for some reason didn't include the option to tag which maps you were interested in playing. Maybe they knew nobody would want to play Bloc.

 

[Beans00]

Call of Duty 4 was fun if you only did multiplayer. However it was heavily dependent on getting a good map, and Infinity Ward for some reason didn't include the option to tag which maps you were interested in playing. Maybe they knew nobody would want to play Bloc.

The COD campaigns obviously are what they are. 4 hours of the most mundane hollywood bla bla bla.

That being said call of duty 3 had some really epic multiplayer maps. Easily the best out of the 4 cod games I played(2-3-4-waw) Which is ironic because it's probably the mainline game with the least fanfare in the series since I think it was outsourced or something.

 

[Silverfish]

Online multiplayer in all forms killed singleplayer gaming.

Aren't most of the big time multiplayer games from the last few years free to play, meanwhile Baldur's Gate 3 made bank?

 

[HappyDaddyWow!]

As gamers, the best days are behind us. We are all like fish in an evaporating pond, making due with the recycled sludge that remains... never again to have new water added.

I think this is heavily dependent on what genre of games you're into. I played an indie title called Iron Lung recently and that was easily one of the best horror games I've ever played.

In a general sense though I do agree, outside of RPGs, gaming peaked around the PS2 era.

 

[Iucounu]

As gamers, the best days are behind us. We are all like fish in an evaporating pond, making due with the recycled sludge that remains... never again to have new water added.

I think this is heavily dependent on what genre of games you're into.

It's the same with all kinds of creative arts. This is because creative people by definition always found new genres, instead of just copying what already exists. During a genre's golden years plagiarists will still be busy copying the previous generation's best work; and once the plagiarists finally catch up, creative people have already moved on to make something new.

This means that you should never get stuck in the favorite genres of your formative years. Try to find new good things instead, though these will inevitably be something completely different.