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Denver, 6:05 AM
Tue Dec 1
64 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/27/09
I also like games that drop the fascade and basically just present the game straight up, but then assume that you know the mechanics well and apply the mechanics at a higher level. My current obsession is the Touhou Project series - and in the Windows games, you can pretty much bet that:
- There are at least 2 core hero characters you can play as. Sometimes there are guests from other games in the series or "team" options to mix it up further.
- Most or all levels have at least a token midboss. All levels have a boss.
- Level 1-3 is for warmup
- Level 4 is where it gets serious
- Level 5 is HARD
- Level 6 is a ton of ambushes and cheap attacks to kill you off quickly because the boss is at the end of level 6.
- You can unlock an EX stage by beating the game, but if you can't beat the game, this stage will tear you apart in seconds. Don't even try fighting the bosses there if you ever somehow meet them.
You play mostly by doding millions of small colored bullets, but there are easily recognized classes of bullets, in different size ranges, usually highlighted in primary or secondary colors for visibility - they're not trying to sneak past you - the challenge is seeing AND avoiding them (except game 10 that has red bullets on red backdrop, or game 12 that hides a thousand bullets behind ten thousand redundant powerups and point items while egging you on to play a metagame at your own peril.)
Anyway, that was farther off on tangent than I'd planned - ultimately I think that until games are truly seamless, we are going to naturally analyze the seams and break the illusion in order to interact with the games on their own level, and sometimes that will spoil them for us as we see clearly which tropes the games are playing into. It only gets worse as the cost of developing big games increases, and to play it safer and safer, the studios begin making sure their game follows all the tropes athat are expected of them in order to not disappoint anyone.
11/27/09
11/27/09
That game sucked. Sure was pretty though.
11/27/09
There's been a few examples of plot twists that have legitimately surprised me (the end of inFAMOUS, for example), but by and large, being a fiction writer and someone who's played thousands of games, I just know it all too well.
Unfortunately, another harbinger of this "foresight" problem is Trophies and Achievements. A lot of games have individual trophies or achievements for progressing through certain parts of the story; often times you can tell how far through you are in a game just by looking at the achievement list and seeing how many single player-related achievements you've picked up.
So I have to say I fully agree with you, Totilo. Tricking is good. I went into Batman: Arkham Asylum with no pre-existing knowledge of the game and it was that much better for me.
11/27/09
From that point, it deviates between "play" and "test." While you were looking for surprises, I was looking for weakness.
For my enjoyment, I seek a different kind of "trickery." I don't really care about the scope of a game as much as the novelty of it. That's why I'm always hesitant towards sequels. There's always an ain't-broke-don't-fix mentality with sequels, so it rarely piques my interest.
11/27/09
Bayonetta is a good example of a game that has recently surprised me.
Starting the game up I went straight to the Trophy page for the game to see just how many chapters there were. Some were hidden with the '????' mark but it wasn't too hard to figure out there was between 14 and 17 chapters. I played the first and it was done in minutes, 'Well great, I'll be done with this by tonight.' How wrong I was.
The first 'chapter' was just a taste of what was to come. Some chapters took me an hour to beat (what with dying over and over.) Then over were just a single boss fight, that was it. I had absolutely no clue what to expect next.
The story felt like it had been written by Grant Morrison, I couldn't follow it at times and felt stupid for it. But once pieces fell together and the game came close to ending, I couldn't have been happier.
#speakout
11/27/09
11/27/09
I read Final Crisis and would turn a page and think I'd missed three. Morrison's style is unlike anything I've seen before (maybe I need to read more?) And I love, and hate, him for it. He's a genius and I know it, thus when I read his work I just get frustrated and mad at times. "Why am I so dumb!" Yet he seems to pull things together rather nicely at times.
Although, prose (are comics prose? I guess so) wise, I say Gaiman is king. Having read all of Sandman this year (and going through some wild dreams during) I must say, he is a master of his art.
Back to the topic of games and their ability, or lack of, to surprise. You're terribly right about how few games "surprise" these days. Often I'll do the very thing you mentioned about checking the percentage of my completion rate to be sorely disappointed I'm at 12.9% after only a level or two, 'Aw, really? I didn't think it was that short.
Games are a lot like books in that regard I think. There have been some many book that I loved and dreaded turning another page knowing it only lead me to the end that much sooner. Ah art, you're so bitter and so sweet at times.
Before Bayonetta the last game that surprised me was the X-Men Origins: Wolverine game. It was fun. I was amazed.
11/27/09
However, I have to say that other than the clever sense of scale, Wolfenstein was one of the most disappointing games that I have played in ages. Mediocre, lacking in imagination, rushed, shoddy. Even the basics like shoddy inverted details textures are more something that you'd associate with Eastern European bedroom developers than a known developement house.
On the other hand, foregoing Fallout 3 until the GOTY edition with all the addons went on sale paid off in spades. No having to touch the wretchedness of GFWL, and a charming and gigantic game which genuinely rewards obsessive exploration. Wonderful stuff- it's almost as big as you want it to be. The impatient can barrel through the plot apace, the curious can roam the blasted wilderness in search of new and exciting subcultures to incinerate. Best £25 I've spent in ages.
11/27/09
I find it difficult to agree that a supernatural nazi shooter is lacking in imagination. There was lots of cool stuff in there.. from the powers, to the types of enemies, and the interesting level designs... the crazy weapons.
The combination of interesting ideas and great weapon feel made this a really nice shooter to play through.
11/27/09
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11/26/09
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11/27/09
11/26/09
However, I think Wolfenstein had some major flaws. The hub town was very bland and the re-spawning enemies killed any desire I had to explore it. Add that to a load screen separating the two halves, and I mostly just tried to get through it as fast as possible.
I thought the boss fights were pretty bad as well. I didn't finish the game, but the three or so I fought felt very cliche.
11/26/09
Also, I'm not sure what your feelings on JRPGs are, Totilo, but Ar Tonelico (PS2) is a game that completely threw me off, several times for the length. I remember at least 2 or 3 times in the game thinking that it was over (the credits even rolled for one of them!) and yet the game just kept going. Good humor, an interesting battle system, and a decent narrative (IMO) and a story that just keeps surprising you with its added layers.
Note: I found out later after finally completing the game (for real that time), that some of your choices can cause the game to end early (hence the multiple showings of the credits).
My all time favorite pleasant surprise is definitely Final Fantasy 6, though.
11/26/09
11/27/09
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11/26/09
Not only could a campaign mission's "map" not be completely used, thus making the scale of a mission completely unpredictable, but the map would sometimes -expand- to twice or even three times its original size to reveal new enemies and tasks.
The sense of unpredictability was also why I adored Tales of Symphonia. Not only was it a downright FABULOUS RPG with quite an impressive musical score, but the story had twists and turns around every corner. [SPOILER ALERT HERE. PLEASE STOP READING IF YOU DO NOT WANT THE END OF THE GAME REVEALED] Not only did you find out that you were actually destroying an alternate world in order to save your own, but you gained access to that alternate world, with its own history and people.
11/26/09
11/27/09
11/26/09
There was the whole hub mechanic, but you'd walk into a room and think you had a lay of the land when you'd find some activity or access to another area tucked in a corner of the room.
Great game. Too bad the presentation makes it seem like a game for little kids.
11/26/09
11/26/09
Thing is, a game like Wolfenstein could really push my buttons. If I want to squish in some game time between two things, it's good to know how long I'll spend playing. If I have half an hour and I can estimate a level would take me around 20 minutes, that's great. If it turns out said level is twice longer, I'd get a little disapointed for having to interrupt the level.