I have got something on my mind for a long time now and as the title indicates I've been thinking of a weapon gallery. This may have been in some games that I have not played or I simply have not heard about it.
What do I mean by weapon gallery? I'm going to pick Modern Warfare 2 as an example. It does not matter what you think of the game, it's simply to illustrate an example, and MW2 is rich on weapon customization. Imagine a white room whit a white table in the middle of it. In this room you would be able to manage all you weapons and gadgets. You would be able hand up weapons on walls and customize this as you please. You can pick down any weapon of your choice and you would be able to pick apart the weapon and attach attachment to it. When I say pick apart the weapon I mean in great detail, as in you are cleaning a weapon. You wouldn't get all the weapons at once, but unlocking them through either single or multiplayer.
And maybe after you have played around with your weapons, dis-ambled them and such you could try them out in the shooting range.
I'm not sure if you are able to picture this as I picture it. I'm going to give another example. If you have seen the recent movie "Kick Ass" you know that Big Daddy got a room full of weapons. This should give you a more clear idea about what I'm talking about.
And with the newly released Playstation Move and the upcoming Microsoft Kinect I think those two products would greatly enhance a such experience.
This is a geek idea I'm hoping some developer will realize one day. Hope you got the idea and let me know your thoughts, and let's have a discussion in the comment section.
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Showing posts with label aetion games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aetion games. Show all posts
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Saturday, October 15, 2011
My problem with Open World/Sandbox games.
Within each generation of consoles there has always been that recurring trend. We gamers are constantly being told by developers that their game will have us immersed. As technology improved, one of the biggest ways that this was displayed was by giving us an open world/sandbox game; and with good reason.
Open World games gave players a nonlinear way of approaching missions. They gave players a sense of freedom and diversity. In this current generation however, I am starting to get a little burned out from these games due to a number of problems that kinda haven't been solved yet. RPG games are excluded in this discussion due to the level of complexity and interaction.
Problem #1: Repetitiveness
At some point during the game you just get tired of seeing the same things within the environment or when you just feel like you are doing that same thing over and over again. That's because you ARE doing the same thing over and over again! That deja vu factor becomes REALLY annoying after a while.
Notable examples include Assassins Creed, Red Faction Guerilla
Problem #2: The world and environments are boring
I understand the desire for us gamers to have our breath taken away by certain structures in video games. That shock and awe when we are brought into these creative worlds. However, if we have a beautiful world being brought upon us then there needs to be something to do right?
My most recent example of this is L.A. Noire. Don't get me wrong this game did some groundbreaking things in technology with the facial expressions. I never really seen any game like L.A. Noire mainly because of the genre. Unfortunately, the recreation of 1947 Los Angeles isn't too exciting. Yes there are landmarks and film reels to see and cars to collect. However, the world just gets boring after a while. After the first 2 hours I just decided to let my partner drive to the next area for the rest of the game.
Problem #3 Balance
All open world games have some kind of theme to go along with it. It may be a game mechanic or setting that defines that theme. Sometimes developers focus too much on one area to the point where they ignore other important aspects of the game. After a while, these problems can stand out just as much the main thing the developers were focusing on to make the game addicting.
Notable Example: I have to say Prototype. The ONLY thing fun about this game were the powers you were given and the way I could move around the city. Running up buildings and gliding never gets old. But, that's where my fun stops. The visuals and graphics aren't really appealing and the scenery in general is dull and never changes. I also felt like the challenges were a chore so I would never do them. Some of the missions were pretty cool but given Prototypes concept; I think it wouldve been a better game if it were linear.
Problem #4 Tedious sidequest or collectibles
This is mainly for trophy and achievement whores. I don't really qualify in that department but there are some games where things seemed fun to the point where I would try to finish a certain number of sidequest/challenges or even complete them all. But sometimes it feels like it just drags on to the point where you just give up and don't even bother for a while with those sidequest/challenges. You simply burn out.
Notable Examples: Assassins Creed series, Infamous 1 sidemissions, Any game that throws in racing missions as a challenge or side mission.
Now here are some games in this current gen that I think addresses the problems above quite well.
Infamous 2: This game improves on all aspects of the first one by giving us more powers, giving us more variety in missions, and constantly rewarding the players with new powers as they progress through the game.
Red Dead Redemption: Not only the world of Red Dead Redemption was huge; There was also alot to do in the midst of this old western story. There were bounties, poker, and other activities that made sense within the theme of this game and supported the main story to a certain extent.
Just Cause 2: This is personally my favorite sandbox game. This game is HUGE and delivers us an island with scenery such as snow capped mountains, a desert, a dense populated financial city, district, beaches, and a floating gentlemans club. It also helps that there are alot of weapons and vehicles to keep the players perception fresh and interested throughout the entire game.
Now I simply think developers can solve this problem. It could be budgeting issues or even laziness. But I do know for a fact that these problems can and will be solved eventually. What do you guys think?
Open World games gave players a nonlinear way of approaching missions. They gave players a sense of freedom and diversity. In this current generation however, I am starting to get a little burned out from these games due to a number of problems that kinda haven't been solved yet. RPG games are excluded in this discussion due to the level of complexity and interaction.
Problem #1: Repetitiveness
At some point during the game you just get tired of seeing the same things within the environment or when you just feel like you are doing that same thing over and over again. That's because you ARE doing the same thing over and over again! That deja vu factor becomes REALLY annoying after a while.
Notable examples include Assassins Creed, Red Faction Guerilla
Problem #2: The world and environments are boring
I understand the desire for us gamers to have our breath taken away by certain structures in video games. That shock and awe when we are brought into these creative worlds. However, if we have a beautiful world being brought upon us then there needs to be something to do right?
My most recent example of this is L.A. Noire. Don't get me wrong this game did some groundbreaking things in technology with the facial expressions. I never really seen any game like L.A. Noire mainly because of the genre. Unfortunately, the recreation of 1947 Los Angeles isn't too exciting. Yes there are landmarks and film reels to see and cars to collect. However, the world just gets boring after a while. After the first 2 hours I just decided to let my partner drive to the next area for the rest of the game.
Problem #3 Balance
All open world games have some kind of theme to go along with it. It may be a game mechanic or setting that defines that theme. Sometimes developers focus too much on one area to the point where they ignore other important aspects of the game. After a while, these problems can stand out just as much the main thing the developers were focusing on to make the game addicting.
Notable Example: I have to say Prototype. The ONLY thing fun about this game were the powers you were given and the way I could move around the city. Running up buildings and gliding never gets old. But, that's where my fun stops. The visuals and graphics aren't really appealing and the scenery in general is dull and never changes. I also felt like the challenges were a chore so I would never do them. Some of the missions were pretty cool but given Prototypes concept; I think it wouldve been a better game if it were linear.
Problem #4 Tedious sidequest or collectibles
This is mainly for trophy and achievement whores. I don't really qualify in that department but there are some games where things seemed fun to the point where I would try to finish a certain number of sidequest/challenges or even complete them all. But sometimes it feels like it just drags on to the point where you just give up and don't even bother for a while with those sidequest/challenges. You simply burn out.
Notable Examples: Assassins Creed series, Infamous 1 sidemissions, Any game that throws in racing missions as a challenge or side mission.
Now here are some games in this current gen that I think addresses the problems above quite well.
Infamous 2: This game improves on all aspects of the first one by giving us more powers, giving us more variety in missions, and constantly rewarding the players with new powers as they progress through the game.
Red Dead Redemption: Not only the world of Red Dead Redemption was huge; There was also alot to do in the midst of this old western story. There were bounties, poker, and other activities that made sense within the theme of this game and supported the main story to a certain extent.
Just Cause 2: This is personally my favorite sandbox game. This game is HUGE and delivers us an island with scenery such as snow capped mountains, a desert, a dense populated financial city, district, beaches, and a floating gentlemans club. It also helps that there are alot of weapons and vehicles to keep the players perception fresh and interested throughout the entire game.
Now I simply think developers can solve this problem. It could be budgeting issues or even laziness. But I do know for a fact that these problems can and will be solved eventually. What do you guys think?
Looking back in history (Ridge Racer Type 4)
RIIIIIIIIIIIIDGE RACER EVERYBODY!
Hell yeah Riiiiidge Racer!
When you were a 10 or 11 year old kid and put your disc in your beautiful PSone, you only wanted a few things: Fun, a challenge, some nice sounds and good GFX.
Ridge Racer Type 4 for me was this experience.
It is amazing how in its time a game with 32mb or something around that much of GFX Ram felt like the most realistic game. For a kid it had the best graphics ever. Before playing this game again after so many years, my first thought was this is the wrong game. The game I remembered looked way better, but I knew this is the same game. The colors were exiting, the sounds were cool, and the graphics were phenomenal. Yeah, for a kid they were like that. Still to this day when I compare it to its time it feels the same way. I was playing the game and noticed the greatness of the Ridge Racer series in less than a minute. I in fact can totally understand Kaz's famous quote. If I was there I would get up and cheer the hell out of that quote. Ridge Racer, at least back in the day, did what it was supposed to do. BE FUN. I could sit down and play the game all day long and never get tired. Soundtracks were fabulous and unforgettable (Just like Bayonetta).
Nowadays you don't find many fun games anymore, maybe we as gamers have way too high expectations, but this is how it is now. I just wish we could get back to roots and make more games like Bayonetta, LBP, castle crashers, etc….Everything is so serious this generation that I barely ever go back to my games, not even MGS4 (I played MGS3 5 times and PO 3 times).
Looking back sometimes is sad, I could never imagine disliking a Final Fantasy game so much like XIII. We have lost something in between the 6th and 7th generation and I believe Jack and Dexter are also one reason for the whole thing. I mean come on; R&C has nothing on Jack and Dexter. What happened to Call Of Duty? I loved that game. What happened?
But for now, to celebrate the good old times, I'm playing Ridge Racer Type 4. I recommend you do too if you are one of the few gamers who haven't played this jewel. Go and buy it. You can still find it lying around somewhere waiting to be discovered by somebody who will love it.
Hell yeah Riiiiidge Racer!
When you were a 10 or 11 year old kid and put your disc in your beautiful PSone, you only wanted a few things: Fun, a challenge, some nice sounds and good GFX.
Ridge Racer Type 4 for me was this experience.
It is amazing how in its time a game with 32mb or something around that much of GFX Ram felt like the most realistic game. For a kid it had the best graphics ever. Before playing this game again after so many years, my first thought was this is the wrong game. The game I remembered looked way better, but I knew this is the same game. The colors were exiting, the sounds were cool, and the graphics were phenomenal. Yeah, for a kid they were like that. Still to this day when I compare it to its time it feels the same way. I was playing the game and noticed the greatness of the Ridge Racer series in less than a minute. I in fact can totally understand Kaz's famous quote. If I was there I would get up and cheer the hell out of that quote. Ridge Racer, at least back in the day, did what it was supposed to do. BE FUN. I could sit down and play the game all day long and never get tired. Soundtracks were fabulous and unforgettable (Just like Bayonetta).
Nowadays you don't find many fun games anymore, maybe we as gamers have way too high expectations, but this is how it is now. I just wish we could get back to roots and make more games like Bayonetta, LBP, castle crashers, etc….Everything is so serious this generation that I barely ever go back to my games, not even MGS4 (I played MGS3 5 times and PO 3 times).
Looking back sometimes is sad, I could never imagine disliking a Final Fantasy game so much like XIII. We have lost something in between the 6th and 7th generation and I believe Jack and Dexter are also one reason for the whole thing. I mean come on; R&C has nothing on Jack and Dexter. What happened to Call Of Duty? I loved that game. What happened?
But for now, to celebrate the good old times, I'm playing Ridge Racer Type 4. I recommend you do too if you are one of the few gamers who haven't played this jewel. Go and buy it. You can still find it lying around somewhere waiting to be discovered by somebody who will love it.
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