Half the people in my school play it every lunchtime, and whenever else they get the chance. I'm about the only person who hasn't got it, and proud. As if I'd be seen dead playing with people who use grammatically incorrect UNs...
It's the difference between saying 'This thing I made is much better than that thing you made', and 'I reckon this thing I made is more appropriate to the task at hand because of X, Y and Z features that your thing doesn't implement'.
The score is (or should be) given on how much fun a game is to play. If there are bugs which make it less fun to play, it will get a lower score than it would if there weren't.
The numbers are also useful if you want to get a wide range of opinions. I've written a Perl script to compare average review scores on GameFAQs, which is very useful if I want a quick opinion, and I can use it to fully read some of the reviews which gave it scores close to that - as well as some of the highers and lowers. While simply comparing single scores for different games in different magazines can be inaccurate, getting multiple scores isn't nearly so.
Just take a hint from/., and instead of giving each game a discriptive number, give it a word as well - if it works for/. comments, it'll work for anything!
-1, bandwagoniser, for example, or +5, mind-bending.
You're forgetting the 'Cube, which I believe (haven't checked any sources, so don't eat me up if I'm wrong) came out at roughly the same time - certainly not long enough earlier to make any significant difference to sales if it was just a matter of PS2 being there first. The Cube may still be second to the PS2, by quite a distance, but it's been outselling the 'Box since it was released, and not just because of the time delay.
His opinions don't matter more because he's famous, they matter more because he doesn't play sport games. Therefore he has some sense, therefore listening to him might not be such a bad idea after all.:)
'much-needed "mature" games' is an oxymoron. The gaming industry doesn't need mature games, nor does Nintendo. What the gaming industry needs is fun games that sell for things other than boobs and blood. While a fun, mature game isn't a bad thing, an E-rated game (or whatever it is in America) which is just as fun is better.
Aah, y'see, that's because the three members who started FR were the only people with any talent, only now there's a conspiracy to cover up the fact that they've been brutally murdered by the newer members of the company in order to try to find out where they store all their good ideas?
Meh, Rare wasn't going anywhere anyway, just look at SFA. The best thing about it was the quaterstaff twirling.
I'd be inclined to disagree, ED had good gameplay, but its best features were the story and insanity effects (although some would count those under gameplay, I suppose). If it weren't for those, it wouldn't be any more then an average game, whereas Mario games and suchlike would still get good scores without what little plot they have.
Take Nightfire: You have profiles, each one has (IIRC) a single save space. If you unlock something (or beat your previous high score), you get a chance to save, but that's it. When you get the chance to save, it asks if you want to save. Default is yes. Then it says it will overwrite, do you stil want to? Default is no, and it's way too easy to select. You end up not saving, and have to beat another record before you can.
In Everything or Nothing, you can save at any point in the select level menu, but there are so many submenus to go through. Do you want to save, select memory card slot, select save file, choose name, this will overwrite. And the overwrite again has a default of no, so you have to do it AGAIN. Unintuitive or what?
I wouldn't really call that Metagaming (or whatever anybody else wants to call it), because it doesn't make you think the game is self-aware, it just makes you aware of the game. It is very effective, though.
The difference between that and load times is that the latter often does make the player lose their mind, whereas the former merely makes them think so.
It doesn't happen often for me, and when I know it's coming up, I try to shoot the door from a distance, especially if there are enemies in the room. Or you can just kill them first.
Also, somebody up there mentioned copy protection. If it's a pirated copy and it doesn't show the logo, you can tell it's a pirate. If it does show the logo, there's a copyright lawsuit. Something like that anyway, see above.
The game I was most impressed with was Eternal Darkness. It may have poor graphics compared to the GC's potential, but there were no discernable load times at all. They were probably covered up by the sometimes annoyingly long cutscenes, but it's better than a loading screen. Come to think of it, that would have made a good insanity effect.
Wind Waker and Metroid Prime also did well - they load each area individually (in MP when you shoot a door, in WW when you go through one), but in most cases the load times are practically nonexistant (especially in Prime) and the lack of a loading screen covers up for the ones that are there - if you shoot a door leading to a big room in Prime, it can take a few seconds before the room loads and the door opens, but if it had told me to wait I'd have been much more annoyed than I was. Same for WW, where if you go through a door you get a black screen, which is used to load the next area, but the lack of a screen makes the time seem less than it is. I didn't even notice the half second or so it usually takes until my brother pointed it out.
However, the 'Cube does have its share of long load times. The most notable ones are on the Zelda Collectors Edition and Ocarina of Time/Master Quest disks, where it just loads the entire game before you play, but also Spider-man, Jedi Outcast and (I've heard) Resident Evil 0, even if the latter were just lengthened to 'make it more tense' or something. Stupid descision, IMO, but I've never played it, so I shouldn't pass judgement.
And also Banjo-Tooie (and I think, to a lesser extent, Kazooie): they (Banjo and Kazooie) talk about how it can't be the end of the game, because the credits haven't rolled yet, and how the music's changed, indicating a boss fight. Oh, and Grunty's skull makes a reference to Banjo-Threeie.
Prof. Mariati (or was it Moriati?) in Mad Professor M[ao]riati taps the screen if you leave him long enough.
Hitch-hiker's Guide was sort of self-aware, in parts. Mainly in the hints section, where it says things like 'the game's probably annoyed with you because it lost that argument'. I'm not really sure if this would qualify, though.
Slashdot Mirror
Half the people in my school play it every lunchtime, and whenever else they get the chance. I'm about the only person who hasn't got it, and proud. As if I'd be seen dead playing with people who use grammatically incorrect UNs...
Sports games are meant to be played? I thought I had too many coasters...
Well for one thing I was only semi-serious, and for another, arrogancy is still arrogancy whether or not you just want to 'big something up a bit'.
I'm not saying it's inherently a bad thing, I'm just saying it's there.
It's not, boasting about them is.
It's the difference between saying 'This thing I made is much better than that thing you made', and 'I reckon this thing I made is more appropriate to the task at hand because of X, Y and Z features that your thing doesn't implement'.
If I'd have stayed I might have become rich. But I'd have been so arrogant.
[Galleon is an] earth-shatteringly cool game
So, if he'd stayed, there'd be no difference apart form the money? Seems like a good deal to me.
The score is (or should be) given on how much fun a game is to play. If there are bugs which make it less fun to play, it will get a lower score than it would if there weren't.
The numbers are also useful if you want to get a wide range of opinions. I've written a Perl script to compare average review scores on GameFAQs, which is very useful if I want a quick opinion, and I can use it to fully read some of the reviews which gave it scores close to that - as well as some of the highers and lowers. While simply comparing single scores for different games in different magazines can be inaccurate, getting multiple scores isn't nearly so.
Just take a hint from /., and instead of giving each game a discriptive number, give it a word as well - if it works for /. comments, it'll work for anything!
-1, bandwagoniser, for example, or +5, mind-bending.
defines us to them
Excuse me? Us? As a non-american, I ought to take offense.
On the other hand, I'm english.
Nice apostrophes. ;)
You're forgetting the 'Cube, which I believe (haven't checked any sources, so don't eat me up if I'm wrong) came out at roughly the same time - certainly not long enough earlier to make any significant difference to sales if it was just a matter of PS2 being there first. The Cube may still be second to the PS2, by quite a distance, but it's been outselling the 'Box since it was released, and not just because of the time delay.
Before we're using it to play Monopoly or some such, in order to waste time that would otherwise be spent productively.
'Marlybone Avenue, 60 rent.'
'Gimme a sec, this solo rules!'
Not that it needs to be dragged on any longer than it is anyway, of course...
His opinions don't matter more because he's famous, they matter more because he doesn't play sport games. Therefore he has some sense, therefore listening to him might not be such a bad idea after all. :)
'much-needed "mature" games' is an oxymoron. The gaming industry doesn't need mature games, nor does Nintendo. What the gaming industry needs is fun games that sell for things other than boobs and blood. While a fun, mature game isn't a bad thing, an E-rated game (or whatever it is in America) which is just as fun is better.
Aah, y'see, that's because the three members who started FR were the only people with any talent, only now there's a conspiracy to cover up the fact that they've been brutally murdered by the newer members of the company in order to try to find out where they store all their good ideas?
Meh, Rare wasn't going anywhere anyway, just look at SFA. The best thing about it was the quaterstaff twirling.
I'd be inclined to disagree, ED had good gameplay, but its best features were the story and insanity effects (although some would count those under gameplay, I suppose). If it weren't for those, it wouldn't be any more then an average game, whereas Mario games and suchlike would still get good scores without what little plot they have.
In Soviet Russia, the conversation records YOU!
I definately hear you on the saving menus.
Take Nightfire: You have profiles, each one has (IIRC) a single save space. If you unlock something (or beat your previous high score), you get a chance to save, but that's it. When you get the chance to save, it asks if you want to save. Default is yes. Then it says it will overwrite, do you stil want to? Default is no, and it's way too easy to select. You end up not saving, and have to beat another record before you can.
In Everything or Nothing, you can save at any point in the select level menu, but there are so many submenus to go through. Do you want to save, select memory card slot, select save file, choose name, this will overwrite. And the overwrite again has a default of no, so you have to do it AGAIN. Unintuitive or what?
Whoops, wrong topic.
I wouldn't really call that Metagaming (or whatever anybody else wants to call it), because it doesn't make you think the game is self-aware, it just makes you aware of the game. It is very effective, though.
The difference between that and load times is that the latter often does make the player lose their mind, whereas the former merely makes them think so.
It doesn't happen often for me, and when I know it's coming up, I try to shoot the door from a distance, especially if there are enemies in the room. Or you can just kill them first.
Also, somebody up there mentioned copy protection. If it's a pirated copy and it doesn't show the logo, you can tell it's a pirate. If it does show the logo, there's a copyright lawsuit. Something like that anyway, see above.
The game I was most impressed with was Eternal Darkness. It may have poor graphics compared to the GC's potential, but there were no discernable load times at all. They were probably covered up by the sometimes annoyingly long cutscenes, but it's better than a loading screen. Come to think of it, that would have made a good insanity effect.
Wind Waker and Metroid Prime also did well - they load each area individually (in MP when you shoot a door, in WW when you go through one), but in most cases the load times are practically nonexistant (especially in Prime) and the lack of a loading screen covers up for the ones that are there - if you shoot a door leading to a big room in Prime, it can take a few seconds before the room loads and the door opens, but if it had told me to wait I'd have been much more annoyed than I was. Same for WW, where if you go through a door you get a black screen, which is used to load the next area, but the lack of a screen makes the time seem less than it is. I didn't even notice the half second or so it usually takes until my brother pointed it out.
However, the 'Cube does have its share of long load times. The most notable ones are on the Zelda Collectors Edition and Ocarina of Time/Master Quest disks, where it just loads the entire game before you play, but also Spider-man, Jedi Outcast and (I've heard) Resident Evil 0, even if the latter were just lengthened to 'make it more tense' or something. Stupid descision, IMO, but I've never played it, so I shouldn't pass judgement.
Duely cursed.
It's all coming back to me now though... I ought to get around to replaying it. Perhaps even completing it, this time.
Did anybody let the write know? 'Cause I can't be bothered to. Come to think of it, there are probably earlier games anyway.
And also Banjo-Tooie (and I think, to a lesser extent, Kazooie): they (Banjo and Kazooie) talk about how it can't be the end of the game, because the credits haven't rolled yet, and how the music's changed, indicating a boss fight. Oh, and Grunty's skull makes a reference to Banjo-Threeie.
Prof. Mariati (or was it Moriati?) in Mad Professor M[ao]riati taps the screen if you leave him long enough.
Hitch-hiker's Guide was sort of self-aware, in parts. Mainly in the hints section, where it says things like 'the game's probably annoyed with you because it lost that argument'. I'm not really sure if this would qualify, though.