I've experienced this more than a few times, but the really good horror games are the ones that stand out in my mind.
Resident Evil 2
I remember running through the Police station, near the beginning of the game, having to run from zombies because I didn't have enough bullets to kill them (and there was no way in hell I was going to take them on with the Knife). I got to a room - there was a window right next to the door that lead to the next room. Right as I walked up to that door, I saw something vaguely human-shaped crawl past the window really briefly. Right then, I knew that I would have to face it in the next room, and it took me a minute to muster up the courage to go on.
Eternal Darkness
The only game I know of with a "sanity meter". It started off mild, by tilting the camera slightly, progressed to your main character 'hearing voices' and loud noises (the sudden, loud knocking sound with no apparent source really messed with my head), and finally, total hallucination. I remember walking into a room and running around for maybe 20 seconds with no problems... then my arm fell off. Then my other arm. The twisted minds behind this game still gave me enough control to run around for a bit before my legs and head fell off.
Its been said before and I'll say it again, first person shooters are best left on the PC. They just aren't "right" on the consoles.
That's a legitimate point, as the analog sticks on console controllers often lack the same precision as a mouse when it comes to aiming. Your comparison falls apart when you take a deeper look at the game and realize that there are also platforming elements involved - and in that respect, consoles have always been the way to go for platforming games.
The multiplayer, which IMO is the true draw of the 2nd and 3rd games, illustrates this point quite nicely. I have yet to try the PC version, mind you, but I can't quite see how (outside of using a controller) one can get the same degree of control over the Spy (i.e. Sam Fisher) side of the game using the traditional keyboard-mouse setup.
I think that one of the main reasons the mainstream, multiplayer FPS games haven't changed too much, business aspects aside, is the learning curve involved. Granted, there are some differences in your movement, aiming, and of course weapon-effects from game to game (e.g. compare Counterstrike to Unreal Tournament 2004 or Quake 3), but once you've played one, it is relatively easy to pick up others.
This shallow learning curve is also what prevents some of the more innovative FPS-style games from becoming more popular. Natural Selection (a free Half-Life mod, for those not in the know) is mentioned elsewhere in this thread, and makes an excellent example - the two sides (aliens and marines) play significantly differently, and there's a steeper learning curve just to familiarize yourself with the game on the whole.
The more innovative games, such as Natural Selection, Splinter Cell, and the like, are generally a lot less accessible to the average 'mainstream' gamer, and many don't have the patience to get their asses kicked at a new game while they learn the ropes. This also goes a long way towards explaining the wild success and popularity of Halo 2, which is an otherwise mediocre FPS, IMO, though not without its charm.
When you've been playing games since the Doom 2 era, then of course Halo 2 is going to seem like nothing special. We seem to keep forgetting that we are no longer the mainstream, and, at the risk of sounding a bit elitist, I'll say that it will probably take a while for said mainstream to tire of the current state of FPS games as most of the posters here have.
Fear not - once the mainstream catches on to the genre-mixing that seems to be going on with the more innovative FPS games, the business types will adapt and churn out loads of them, I'm sure.
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Joe Sixpack will watch this movie! With his kids!
Whether Lucas intended to make this satirical point or not, does anyone actually think that Joe Sixpack, much less his kids, will pick up on this?
I don't, but that could just be the cynicism talking...
I've experienced this more than a few times, but the really good horror games are the ones that stand out in my mind.
Resident Evil 2
I remember running through the Police station, near the beginning of the game, having to run from zombies because I didn't have enough bullets to kill them (and there was no way in hell I was going to take them on with the Knife). I got to a room - there was a window right next to the door that lead to the next room. Right as I walked up to that door, I saw something vaguely human-shaped crawl past the window really briefly. Right then, I knew that I would have to face it in the next room, and it took me a minute to muster up the courage to go on.
Eternal Darkness
The only game I know of with a "sanity meter". It started off mild, by tilting the camera slightly, progressed to your main character 'hearing voices' and loud noises (the sudden, loud knocking sound with no apparent source really messed with my head), and finally, total hallucination. I remember walking into a room and running around for maybe 20 seconds with no problems... then my arm fell off. Then my other arm. The twisted minds behind this game still gave me enough control to run around for a bit before my legs and head fell off.
Its been said before and I'll say it again, first person shooters are best left on the PC. They just aren't "right" on the consoles.
That's a legitimate point, as the analog sticks on console controllers often lack the same precision as a mouse when it comes to aiming. Your comparison falls apart when you take a deeper look at the game and realize that there are also platforming elements involved - and in that respect, consoles have always been the way to go for platforming games.
The multiplayer, which IMO is the true draw of the 2nd and 3rd games, illustrates this point quite nicely. I have yet to try the PC version, mind you, but I can't quite see how (outside of using a controller) one can get the same degree of control over the Spy (i.e. Sam Fisher) side of the game using the traditional keyboard-mouse setup.
I think that one of the main reasons the mainstream, multiplayer FPS games haven't changed too much, business aspects aside, is the learning curve involved. Granted, there are some differences in your movement, aiming, and of course weapon-effects from game to game (e.g. compare Counterstrike to Unreal Tournament 2004 or Quake 3), but once you've played one, it is relatively easy to pick up others.
This shallow learning curve is also what prevents some of the more innovative FPS-style games from becoming more popular. Natural Selection (a free Half-Life mod, for those not in the know) is mentioned elsewhere in this thread, and makes an excellent example - the two sides (aliens and marines) play significantly differently, and there's a steeper learning curve just to familiarize yourself with the game on the whole. The more innovative games, such as Natural Selection, Splinter Cell, and the like, are generally a lot less accessible to the average 'mainstream' gamer, and many don't have the patience to get their asses kicked at a new game while they learn the ropes. This also goes a long way towards explaining the wild success and popularity of Halo 2, which is an otherwise mediocre FPS, IMO, though not without its charm.
When you've been playing games since the Doom 2 era, then of course Halo 2 is going to seem like nothing special. We seem to keep forgetting that we are no longer the mainstream, and, at the risk of sounding a bit elitist, I'll say that it will probably take a while for said mainstream to tire of the current state of FPS games as most of the posters here have. Fear not - once the mainstream catches on to the genre-mixing that seems to be going on with the more innovative FPS games, the business types will adapt and churn out loads of them, I'm sure.
I noticed this too, and dumped the text into google.
= 12031312
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=143527&cid
Word for word duplicate.
Pertinent, yes, but definitely rehashed.