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I'll just post an email beteen myself and my brother (works in the games industry)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
that has been making me seeth for about 2 months now.
its everything thats wrong with the games industry today, and is THE BEST demonstration of the different between east vs West.
East - Ico.
beautiful environments, innocent characters, different, original style, excellent atmosphere , unstereotypical female icon. excellent game. didnt sell too well.
West - PoP.
beautiful environments,charming characters, different, original style, excellent atmosphere, unstereotypical female icon, excellent game. didnt sell to well.
and the sequels:
East - Ico 2.
a completely different game (wanda and collosus), in the same style of world. different characters, startlingly original (a platform game where you climb up 200 ft monsters. they ARE the level you have to traverse. Female IS lead character.
West- PoP2
transplanting the original game into THE most unoriginal setting possible. teen-agsty surly unshaven hero, nu-metal soundtrack, brown graphics, half naked women, more focus on combat.
its sickening when you look at the difference really. and the thing that p!sses me off the most? it will probably sell more than the 1st, which will only reinforce the notion to publishers, that targeting teenagers with sh!tty 'mature' themes is a good thing.
this sums it up best for me. 'I smolder with generic rage'
http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2004-12-03&res=l
if you havent played ICO yet, i beseech thee.. borrow a ps2 and find a copy.. its marvellous.
and the follow up looks bloody wierd... :O
> From: xxxxx
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: Warrior within
> Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2004 16:17:05 +0000
>
> Not impressed.
>
> All the charm of POP: sands of time has gone. A nu-metal soundtrack replaces the plinky plonky middle eastern flavour of Sands and the maps might as well be out of Sands. You would have though this would be a good thing, but it's a strangely sterile experience. you know exactly what to do, and it's almost pedestrian.
>
> Bah.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
that has been making me seeth for about 2 months now.
its everything thats wrong with the games industry today, and is THE BEST demonstration of the different between east vs West.
East - Ico.
beautiful environments, innocent characters, different, original style, excellent atmosphere , unstereotypical female icon. excellent game. didnt sell too well.
West - PoP.
beautiful environments,charming characters, different, original style, excellent atmosphere, unstereotypical female icon, excellent game. didnt sell to well.
and the sequels:
East - Ico 2.
a completely different game (wanda and collosus), in the same style of world. different characters, startlingly original (a platform game where you climb up 200 ft monsters. they ARE the level you have to traverse. Female IS lead character.
West- PoP2
transplanting the original game into THE most unoriginal setting possible. teen-agsty surly unshaven hero, nu-metal soundtrack, brown graphics, half naked women, more focus on combat.
its sickening when you look at the difference really. and the thing that p!sses me off the most? it will probably sell more than the 1st, which will only reinforce the notion to publishers, that targeting teenagers with sh!tty 'mature' themes is a good thing.
this sums it up best for me. 'I smolder with generic rage'
http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2004-12-03&res=l
if you havent played ICO yet, i beseech thee.. borrow a ps2 and find a copy.. its marvellous.
and the follow up looks bloody wierd... :O
> From: xxxxx
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: Warrior within
> Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2004 16:17:05 +0000
>
> Not impressed.
>
> All the charm of POP: sands of time has gone. A nu-metal soundtrack replaces the plinky plonky middle eastern flavour of Sands and the maps might as well be out of Sands. You would have though this would be a good thing, but it's a strangely sterile experience. you know exactly what to do, and it's almost pedestrian.
>
> Bah.
Page:
cipro wrote:
> eye'Aoe wrote:
> What the hell does this have to do with PC gaming :S
>
> Does it matter? it beats the usual line up of "Hardware
> Problems" / "Need Cheats For..." threads that clog
> this forum up. Besides, Prince of Persia 2 is also a PC game.
But for consoles as well. And Ico is only on the PS2...
> eye'Aoe wrote:
> What the hell does this have to do with PC gaming :S
>
> Does it matter? it beats the usual line up of "Hardware
> Problems" / "Need Cheats For..." threads that clog
> this forum up. Besides, Prince of Persia 2 is also a PC game.
But for consoles as well. And Ico is only on the PS2...
eye'Aoe wrote:
> What the hell does this have to do with PC gaming :S
Does it matter? it beats the usual line up of "Hardware Problems" / "Need Cheats For..." threads that clog this forum up. Besides, Prince of Persia 2 is also a PC game.
> What the hell does this have to do with PC gaming :S
Does it matter? it beats the usual line up of "Hardware Problems" / "Need Cheats For..." threads that clog this forum up. Besides, Prince of Persia 2 is also a PC game.
What the hell does this have to do with PC gaming :S
I think the problem with these changes in direction is us, the gamer. We are far too fussy, and unappreciative of the work that goes into games. Take No One Lives Forever, great game, critics loved it yet it bombed big time with stories that some gamers took the game back simply because they didn’t want to play as a female character. The sequel was the same, good game, critically loved, lousy sales.
In an attempt to appeal to a wider (duller) audience, the developers (monolith) released an expansion pack. It stripped away everything that was good about the first two games, upped the violence and put you in a male lead role. It was a disaster, reviewers hated it, fans loathed it and above all, it did nothing to add to the popularity of the series.
From reviews I’ve read, it seemed as though what love Monolith had for the No One Lives Forever games just wasn’t their for the expansion, it was merely an attempt to increase sales for a game that should never have been ignored in the first place. But there’s the unfortunate thing, originality doesn’t sell as well as generic, it seems most people would rather settle for the “Recycled” pap that developers like EA shovel out on almost a daily basis than something that feels and plays like something new and fascinating.
I liked Prince of Persia, even though I hate platform games. It was original, challenging and fun with a decent story and a main character who, for a change, was actually quite charming. The sequel has done nothing for me, darker, moodier, the character turning into gothic dullard, and above all a heavier emphasis on combat. Why? Because violent games sell more than those that are more puzzle based. Sad really, we ask for originality in games, then when it comes, we ignore it for something we’re already familiar with.
In an attempt to appeal to a wider (duller) audience, the developers (monolith) released an expansion pack. It stripped away everything that was good about the first two games, upped the violence and put you in a male lead role. It was a disaster, reviewers hated it, fans loathed it and above all, it did nothing to add to the popularity of the series.
From reviews I’ve read, it seemed as though what love Monolith had for the No One Lives Forever games just wasn’t their for the expansion, it was merely an attempt to increase sales for a game that should never have been ignored in the first place. But there’s the unfortunate thing, originality doesn’t sell as well as generic, it seems most people would rather settle for the “Recycled” pap that developers like EA shovel out on almost a daily basis than something that feels and plays like something new and fascinating.
I liked Prince of Persia, even though I hate platform games. It was original, challenging and fun with a decent story and a main character who, for a change, was actually quite charming. The sequel has done nothing for me, darker, moodier, the character turning into gothic dullard, and above all a heavier emphasis on combat. Why? Because violent games sell more than those that are more puzzle based. Sad really, we ask for originality in games, then when it comes, we ignore it for something we’re already familiar with.
He tells no lie.
I'll just post an email beteen myself and my brother (works in the games industry)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
that has been making me seeth for about 2 months now.
its everything thats wrong with the games industry today, and is THE BEST demonstration of the different between east vs West.
East - Ico.
beautiful environments, innocent characters, different, original style, excellent atmosphere , unstereotypical female icon. excellent game. didnt sell too well.
West - PoP.
beautiful environments,charming characters, different, original style, excellent atmosphere, unstereotypical female icon, excellent game. didnt sell to well.
and the sequels:
East - Ico 2.
a completely different game (wanda and collosus), in the same style of world. different characters, startlingly original (a platform game where you climb up 200 ft monsters. they ARE the level you have to traverse. Female IS lead character.
West- PoP2
transplanting the original game into THE most unoriginal setting possible. teen-agsty surly unshaven hero, nu-metal soundtrack, brown graphics, half naked women, more focus on combat.
its sickening when you look at the difference really. and the thing that p!sses me off the most? it will probably sell more than the 1st, which will only reinforce the notion to publishers, that targeting teenagers with sh!tty 'mature' themes is a good thing.
this sums it up best for me. 'I smolder with generic rage'
http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2004-12-03&res=l
if you havent played ICO yet, i beseech thee.. borrow a ps2 and find a copy.. its marvellous.
and the follow up looks bloody wierd... :O
> From: xxxxx
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: Warrior within
> Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2004 16:17:05 +0000
>
> Not impressed.
>
> All the charm of POP: sands of time has gone. A nu-metal soundtrack replaces the plinky plonky middle eastern flavour of Sands and the maps might as well be out of Sands. You would have though this would be a good thing, but it's a strangely sterile experience. you know exactly what to do, and it's almost pedestrian.
>
> Bah.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
that has been making me seeth for about 2 months now.
its everything thats wrong with the games industry today, and is THE BEST demonstration of the different between east vs West.
East - Ico.
beautiful environments, innocent characters, different, original style, excellent atmosphere , unstereotypical female icon. excellent game. didnt sell too well.
West - PoP.
beautiful environments,charming characters, different, original style, excellent atmosphere, unstereotypical female icon, excellent game. didnt sell to well.
and the sequels:
East - Ico 2.
a completely different game (wanda and collosus), in the same style of world. different characters, startlingly original (a platform game where you climb up 200 ft monsters. they ARE the level you have to traverse. Female IS lead character.
West- PoP2
transplanting the original game into THE most unoriginal setting possible. teen-agsty surly unshaven hero, nu-metal soundtrack, brown graphics, half naked women, more focus on combat.
its sickening when you look at the difference really. and the thing that p!sses me off the most? it will probably sell more than the 1st, which will only reinforce the notion to publishers, that targeting teenagers with sh!tty 'mature' themes is a good thing.
this sums it up best for me. 'I smolder with generic rage'
http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2004-12-03&res=l
if you havent played ICO yet, i beseech thee.. borrow a ps2 and find a copy.. its marvellous.
and the follow up looks bloody wierd... :O
> From: xxxxx
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: Warrior within
> Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2004 16:17:05 +0000
>
> Not impressed.
>
> All the charm of POP: sands of time has gone. A nu-metal soundtrack replaces the plinky plonky middle eastern flavour of Sands and the maps might as well be out of Sands. You would have though this would be a good thing, but it's a strangely sterile experience. you know exactly what to do, and it's almost pedestrian.
>
> Bah.
Page: