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The quote comes from the journal of R.F. Scott. It was what Captain Lawrence Oates (1880-1912) was reputed to have said before leaving the tent and vanishing into the blizzard on the ill-fated Antarctic expedidion (1910-12).
Strangely enough, it's also what I usually think to myself everytime I pop a game into my console and fire it up. Because games today are HUGE. Take my Dreamcast as an example.
Pop Skies of Arcadia into it, and you're in for a marathon of 30 or so hours to complete it if you want to do it all in one sitting. It's a good thing that you can save when you want at most areas of the game, but some of those dungeons are going to have you enraptured for an hour or more.
Metropolis Street Racer you could never complete in one sitting; with 10 races per Chapter and 25 Chapters, each race getting longer and divided into more stages, to get through the first Chapter alone would take an hour or so of hard driving.
Grandia II is another example. It's a huge RPG, and even after 40 hours of gameplay and thinking it's nearly all over, a whole new storyline opens up, and you realise that your previous fortnight of gaming is only the first leg of completing this mammoth title.
Most games nowadays are like this, and if you work out how much you spent buying the game and divide it by the number of hours you can end up playing it, you'll find that it's great value for money.
Even the games that you can complete in a matter of hours, like Shenmue, Metal Gear Solid, Tomb Raider, Resident Evil; they ALL offer more at the end, like extra hi-scores to achieve within the game, new weapons and features, unlimited ammo and so forth, meaning that once the game is completed the first time, you have a whole new game ahead of you with new variation in the gameplay, which in some instances completely transforms the game.
For gamers like myself, who are quite happy to sit and play for hours on end, this is great stuff, because you can mark a day in your diary for gaming and know full well that with just a few games in your collection you are going to fill that day completely.
This week, for example, I'm concentrating on developing my character in Phantasy Star Online from scratch, building up his strength and armour and weaponry. It's going to take literally weeks to get him up to the stage where he can hold his own in an online arena, and of course playing online opens up a whole new avenue of gameplay which is lined with extra weapons, missions, protective armour, secrets and so forth, not to mention the team element of gameplay that is then introduced, and the cooperative plays that you can then engage in.
Games have come a long way since 'Mickey Mouse Castle of Illusion' or 'Final Fantasy 5' where, once the game was finished that was it. Now they seem to offer you more once the game is completed. It's something that we expect from our games today, and long may it continue.
I'm off to play Phantasy Star Online now.
And may be some time...
Strangely enough, it's also what I usually think to myself everytime I pop a game into my console and fire it up. Because games today are HUGE. Take my Dreamcast as an example.
Pop Skies of Arcadia into it, and you're in for a marathon of 30 or so hours to complete it if you want to do it all in one sitting. It's a good thing that you can save when you want at most areas of the game, but some of those dungeons are going to have you enraptured for an hour or more.
Metropolis Street Racer you could never complete in one sitting; with 10 races per Chapter and 25 Chapters, each race getting longer and divided into more stages, to get through the first Chapter alone would take an hour or so of hard driving.
Grandia II is another example. It's a huge RPG, and even after 40 hours of gameplay and thinking it's nearly all over, a whole new storyline opens up, and you realise that your previous fortnight of gaming is only the first leg of completing this mammoth title.
Most games nowadays are like this, and if you work out how much you spent buying the game and divide it by the number of hours you can end up playing it, you'll find that it's great value for money.
Even the games that you can complete in a matter of hours, like Shenmue, Metal Gear Solid, Tomb Raider, Resident Evil; they ALL offer more at the end, like extra hi-scores to achieve within the game, new weapons and features, unlimited ammo and so forth, meaning that once the game is completed the first time, you have a whole new game ahead of you with new variation in the gameplay, which in some instances completely transforms the game.
For gamers like myself, who are quite happy to sit and play for hours on end, this is great stuff, because you can mark a day in your diary for gaming and know full well that with just a few games in your collection you are going to fill that day completely.
This week, for example, I'm concentrating on developing my character in Phantasy Star Online from scratch, building up his strength and armour and weaponry. It's going to take literally weeks to get him up to the stage where he can hold his own in an online arena, and of course playing online opens up a whole new avenue of gameplay which is lined with extra weapons, missions, protective armour, secrets and so forth, not to mention the team element of gameplay that is then introduced, and the cooperative plays that you can then engage in.
Games have come a long way since 'Mickey Mouse Castle of Illusion' or 'Final Fantasy 5' where, once the game was finished that was it. Now they seem to offer you more once the game is completed. It's something that we expect from our games today, and long may it continue.
I'm off to play Phantasy Star Online now.
And may be some time...
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PSO is good, but I couldn't play it all day.
After a while it gets boring, you keep having to go through the same landscapes on all the different missions, it's a bit of a shame really as apart from that it's a good game.
I haven't played it for ages :-(
After a while it gets boring, you keep having to go through the same landscapes on all the different missions, it's a bit of a shame really as apart from that it's a good game.
I haven't played it for ages :-(
Three minutes???
You guys have no idea how long my friend bugged me to get PSO.
FM, there's no way the first chapter in M:SR should take an hour! It can be done in about 30-35 minutes!
Anyway, I know what you mean. But I can't play PSO for hours on end. I can't play any game for hours on end. I don't know why, even the best games I bored/frustrated after a couple of hours and have to have a break.
Maybe thats just me though....
Anyway, I know what you mean. But I can't play PSO for hours on end. I can't play any game for hours on end. I don't know why, even the best games I bored/frustrated after a couple of hours and have to have a break.
Maybe thats just me though....
I was going to play Phantasy Star Online, but I sold my Dreamcast last week to a happy buyer. Oh well, only £70 more for the GC and game I'm waiting for, then. providing I don't spend anymore on GBA games.
Let us know how you are getting along with your quest to raise your stats.
Have fun FM.
My sis has cstle of illusion for the Game gear but we've never finished it haha, Games are getting bigger,better and harder all the time like retro games are just 2 minute goes then snes games take a fair while to complete but nothing like tody's games like metal gear solid which takes roughly 12 hoursish or sommin. Being rewarded at the end of games is great like extra weapons, secrets and that but there is a limit like in Res 3 nemises you have to complete the game how many times to get the epiloges then finally get Jill's Diary.
I was dissapointed with nemesis actually I didn't have a memory card at the time at on my second go I completed it without saving once with a time of what 2 hours ha but you do get rewarded with one of the best sub games. I think games shoud give you a small bonus just the once when you finish the games instead of having to run through the game about 12 times to get everything.
I was dissapointed with nemesis actually I didn't have a memory card at the time at on my second go I completed it without saving once with a time of what 2 hours ha but you do get rewarded with one of the best sub games. I think games shoud give you a small bonus just the once when you finish the games instead of having to run through the game about 12 times to get everything.
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