halo

[youvebeenthunderstruck]

halo is a fantastic game, don't get me wrong. but why did they have to make turning the ships and land vehicles so clumsy?? they crash into everything

[R00t]

I honestly, don't like Halo's game play.

Now, I've had my fair share of games I've liked. Even shooting games, such as CounterStrike, DOOM, Half Life, Deus Ex, Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, Quake, Operation Flashpoint, Joint Ops, Far Cry, etc.

I've played them, and I've loved them.

I just don't get that from Halo.

Halo seems so... Cheap.

Like it's a carbon copy game. The controls have no depth to them, the game play isn't really dynamic, and it gets repetitive. The choice of weapon seems monotonous. Either assault rifle, or a sniper rifle. Nothing in between. Maybe if you feel like trying it out, you'll use a few, but it really doesn't change much. The storyline is the typical, "Aliens invade Earth. Humans fight back. Aliens fight harder. Humans fight harder. Something mystical happens to the main character", etc.

It's just boring.

[Demonic Pyro]

I know what your saying thunder.
It sucks...
I got used to it a while ago tho... So it doesn't bother me much

[habla]

i've never played halo in my life....

[Abandoning Ship]

Counter Strike Source is Better.

[Dark Soul X]

Toucanman Wrote:Counter Strike Source is Better.

*Some random guy gets shot and killed*
Man down.

[Abandoning Ship]

No, CSS is fucking awesome. I mean, for example, cs_office. You go in, then you hang around the halls. A guy comes round BOOM HEADSHOT! You spay him with bullets, BOOM HEADSHOT. AWPERS! FUCK! BOOM! BOOM!
FLASHBANG! RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN​G~~!!!! CAMPERS UP THERE! SNIP{ER!
Comes round the corner, BOOM! RAATATATATATATATATATAT!! P90s! RATATATATAT!!


And then you die.

[Dark Soul X]

Toucanman Wrote:No, CSS is fucking awesome. I mean, for example, cs_office. You go in, then you hang around the halls. A guy comes round BOOM HEADSHOT! You spay him with bullets, BOOM HEADSHOT. AWPERS! FUCK! BOOM! BOOM!
FLASHBANG! RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN​G~~!!!! CAMPERS UP THERE! SNIP{ER!
Comes round the corner, BOOM! RAATATATATATATATATATAT!! P90s! RATATATATAT!!


And then you die.

Just like in every damn shooter out there.

[Abandoning Ship]

Ooooh, no. Not CSS. All other games seem to go in slow motion afteer you play for about an hour or so. You fucking SCRATCH YOUR NOSE, and you are DEAD! you need fucking superhuman reflexes! You need to IKILL! You need a FAST mouse, FAST connection, and FAST hardware!

It is like cocaine.

[Guest]

I have been thinking about video games and why they are enjoyed. My conclusion is that enjoyment is based on only a few components. These components are: gameplay, graphics, and plot.

By gameplay I mean methods of controls, the type and quality of AI, and interactions with the game environment. Most games of the same genre have similar gameplay. For example: Doom (original) and Half-Life 2 are both FPSs and they have the same basic interactions with the environment but they do have obvious differences in gameplay. Half-Life 2 has interactive cut scenes which gives greater depth and immersion. HF2 also has the gravity gun which gives the player new and different way of doing things.

Gameplay determines enjoyment because it is the active, tactile part of a game; without good gameplay, PlayStation 3 games will look realistic but be unplayable. Good gameplay results from the complementary combination of multiple elements. Tetris is a very simple game but many people have been nearly addicted to it. That is because of the combination of levels of increasing difficulty, a sense of urgency, the challenge of fitting the blocks together. Just putting blocks together is pretty boring but with the addition of unstoppable falling and having the game become harder makes Tetris very enjoyable, but only to some people. There is differences in people so what gameplay people like is also different. Though there are many types of enjoyable gameplay, they all share one characteristic; a good game is a challenge but not unbeatable.

The second main component, graphics, is a part of gameplay but has a large enough impact to deserve higher respect. Graphics is simply how a game looks. The impact in enjoyment can be seen most in immersion. Although people marveled at the detail of A Link to the Past, nobody ever looks at ALttP like people do in games like TES: Oblivion. In Oblivion you can just sit and watch the world. You can see the clouds pass by and trees dance in the wind. You can see the sun rise and set and see the two moons. Of games with similar gameplay but different graphics, the game with better graphics will be more enjoyable. This is the case in many shooters and fighting games.

When I say "better graphics" I do not mean more realistic graphics. I believe that Wind Waker has better graphics than many other games. This is because it suits the rest of the game. Wind Waker is not meant to be a dark, gritty game. Twilight Princess is more serious and darker, which is why it is more realistic and has darker colours. Graphics are entwined with gameplay because they need to match each other. It doesn't matter if you can hide in shadows if you can't even see them.

What interests me most about video games is actually the plot. My favourite type of plot creates immersion and a sense of history. I felt a chill go down my spine when I found the Master Sword in the Sacred Grove in Twilight Princess. The same place is in A Link to the Past. The difference is that the Sacred Grove of Twilight Princess is found in the decaying ruins of the Temple of Time. Going up to what remains of the entrance to the Temple of Time, I saw the door. I entered the door and I was warped into the past. I heard the first chanting note of the Prelude of Light and had a "... holy shit" moment. I was in the Temple of Time of Ocarina of Time. Twilight Princess is the connection between ALttP and OoT. The backstory to ALttP, the sealing of Ganondorf in the Sacred Realm, was explained and played out in OoT. All of these explain the actions of Ganondorf in Zelda I, II, and Wind Waker. It all connects into one story, one plot. Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross are very related but you have to dig deep to find all of the connections. I do not have a stereotypical nerdgasm talking about computers and technology. But I do love my plot and story.

(As you can see, I like plot ... back to saying stuff...)

For me, plot is the meat of a game. I like the story as much as (actually more than) gameplay. But for all games that need plot, the story is what drives people to play the game. People don't care what the story of Counter Strike is because all it is about is shooting each other. People care what the story of Oblivion is because it is a role playing game. Giving a plot to games like Tetris would probably make the game less enjoyable.

Games can be art, but they are not static paintings. They need change and interaction. A good games has complementary gameplay, graphics, and plot. These parts should be fully developed and balanced.

[youvebeenthunderstruck]

Toucanman Wrote:It is like cocaine.

does the game come with cocaine??????

[Dark Soul X]

Toucanman Wrote:Ooooh, no. Not CSS. All other games seem to go in slow motion afteer you play for about an hour or so. You fucking SCRATCH YOUR NOSE, and you are DEAD! you need fucking superhuman reflexes! You need to IKILL! You need a FAST mouse, FAST connection, and FAST hardware!

It is like cocaine.

Just like in Doom: Nightmare mode.

[Demonic Pyro]

I like plot too Kirby.

Halo has a HUGE plot.
(soon to be) 3 games, 5 books, many random articles on special dvds you get with the game, and even a tie to Dead Or Alive (a spartan is unlockable)

Lol... I remember to much.

[Abandoning Ship]

Quote:People don't care what the story of Counter Strike is because all it is about is shooting each other

Well, yeah, theres no main story, but there are smaller, 5-second stories. Like you barging in and killing everyone, or getting massacred. Or in Battlefield 2, there are so many "Holy shit man, remwember that?" moments, it makes up for, and sometimes even surpasses, a story.

By the way, if you like stories in games...never play Prey. That games sucks, but the story is enough to make you wanna play just to get to the ending. It sucks you innn...

[R00t]

I've never met too many good shooters with storylines.

Good shooters that is.

But a major exception that sticks out is Half Life.

[Abandoning Ship]

What about Freedom fighters?

[Guest]

Toucanman Wrote:Well, yeah, theres no main story, but there are smaller, 5-second stories. Like you barging in and killing everyone, or getting massacred. Or in Battlefield 2, there are so many "Holy shit man, remwember that?" moments, it makes up for, and sometimes even surpasses, a story.

I completely agree about the user generated stories. Counter Strike and other good online games have a successful combination of gameplay and plot. Playing a good online game can generate plot. The easiest example of that would be the formation of clans and guilds. A large guild gets woven into the world of an online game because their members would be powerful and famous and the guild would have many exploits to its name.

Also on a note about stories and plots of games, I found the influence of Redwall MUCK very interesting. I'm sure you've heard of the Redwall series of books. I was addicted to them and like many people I was part of the dieing days of MSUH role playing in the late 90s. Back then, MUSHs, MUDs, and MUCKs were played daily by thousands of people, possibly a hundred at all times on Redwall MUCK. On Redwall MUCK there is an organization called Dibbuns (children) Against Bedtime. It's aim is self explanatory. A while ago, Brian Jacques found out about this organization and he wrote it into one of his books as a homage to his online fan community. That's cooler than the free drawing Kamitora randomly made for 7898chan.

[Abandoning Ship]

Kirby Wrote:

Toucanman Wrote:Well, yeah, theres no main story, but there are smaller, 5-second stories. Like you barging in and killing everyone, or getting massacred. Or in Battlefield 2, there are so many "Holy shit man, remwember that?" moments, it makes up for, and sometimes even surpasses, a story.

I completely agree about the user generated stories. Counter Strike and other good online games have a successful combination of gameplay and plot. Playing a good online game can generate plot. The easiest example of that would be the formation of clans and guilds. A large guild gets woven into the world of an online game because their members would be powerful and famous and the guild would have many exploits to its name.

Yeah, I mean, in SWG (Star Wars Galaxies, the very definition of a sad downfall of a game), I was in a guild, and we had hundreds of great crusades. Hell, before that, I was exploring the planet, sometimes I met up with people who had set up little camps and we chatted and compared our adventures. Then you leave, and never see them again, which is oddly satifying.

[R00t]

Freedom Fighters never really had a plot.
It was essentially, "Guy fights Russia. Russia gets ass kicked", with a few twists like, "Guy blows up building."