The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
Have you ever bought a game purely because of the designers behind it? Have you ever walked into a games store with your wallet bulging and picked a game straight off the shelf and put it on the counter without thinking anymore of it? This is hardly the way you shop for all your games, if you buy it online you always check out the reviews, you may even find the time to look through a magazine with a related review or preview. But whatever you choose to do it is most probably from information youíve picked up somewhere along the way.
If used cleverly this will be to the advantage of the designers. First time designers will be able to construct something so perfect that even if itís the only piece of work they ever do they will still be known for it. Itís not just for games this applies to, think about it. What if Steven Spielberg only ever made one film, and letís says for arguments sake that film was Jaws. The critics loved it, the audience loved it and therefore everyone was happy, then he goes into hibernation for the next 20 years only to reappear with Jurassic Park. From reputation youíd be driven to see it. Even if you see bad reviews of the film, itís not enough to determine you away from the cinema.
The same applies to sequels I suppose, because of the success of the original it brings you forward to go to the next stage, to experience something new that thrilled you the first time and now you ëknowí itís gonna do the same next time. A sequel is never far from the original game, maybe itís a bit faster, a few more options, but itís usually just an extra mission pack, so you know what to expect, and itís because of those reasons that you buy the game.
The press coverage surrounding the game already gives you the impressions of what Santa Claus and his little Elves will be bringing you for Christmas, the first impression is something that you only get once so they show you all the decent bits then leave out the rest. But more on the subject, as you go to buy this game youíve been waiting for all that time for, you suddenly come across something
something new, something the gaming industry has never seen before. This game looks like to smash records and sell in the millions, but there is a slight bit of trouble, at the same time Half Life 2 is being released, a games designer company with a reputation for themselves and a game that had a reputation as well.
In this world it would be my opinion that no matter what the other games looked like Half Life 2 would just wipe the floor and leave them all cowering in the corner wishing they hadnít been created. That wonít happen though, for some strange reason, weíve all been allowed our Own opinions, and that means we can choose the games for ourselves, game designers know that, whatever they make there will ALWAYS be a load of people waiting at 6am on Friday mornings for the game. Thatís not a bad thing though, if it wasnít for everyone wanting different games, weíd never have the reviews about them in the first place, except for the all singing, all dancing reviews and previews that the game producers write themselves saying. ìYour console wonít be the same without it, and if you donít have this game, your friends will think youíre sadî.
Game designers seem to make relatively similar games, e.g. FPS or RPGs they donít usually get distracted from the genre, so you can usually instantly expect whats going to be made next, e.g. Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. Perfect Dark wasnít a sequel, and although it used the same graphics engine, and had the similar ëSecret Agentí story line to it, they are the only things that were kept the same, and only because they sold the game, and anything else wouldnít have been as good, but did many of you know the gameís options and details inside out before you plugged it into your console? Or was your face beaming with surprise from the time the game started rolling to the time your fell asleep?
My prediction is that most of you did. You will have been told some of the details by your friends, and accidentally stumbled apon the official website, with information oozing out of every article. Itís everything you hear and see that attracts you into purchasing this item. From reading the simple review, screen shots to the snippets of the story line, all this information is valuable to you, when selecting a game. The designers will all have the effect, and the effect is your opinion. Just think about this, if your told itís brilliant constantly by different groups of people whether it be friends or just the gaming press then youíve already got in your mind that you love this game. So when you get it, chances are youíll still love it and will think highly of it. You might even go to your friendís house and watch or play the game for a while to get a basic idea of it. A good review from a friend is worth more than 100 reviews online, if your friend likes it, starts reminiscing about their favourite parts, the game is sold to you, and the only thing on your mind is, ëHow quickly can I get this game?í
Thanks for taken the time to read
Mr Nice Guy
If used cleverly this will be to the advantage of the designers. First time designers will be able to construct something so perfect that even if itís the only piece of work they ever do they will still be known for it. Itís not just for games this applies to, think about it. What if Steven Spielberg only ever made one film, and letís says for arguments sake that film was Jaws. The critics loved it, the audience loved it and therefore everyone was happy, then he goes into hibernation for the next 20 years only to reappear with Jurassic Park. From reputation youíd be driven to see it. Even if you see bad reviews of the film, itís not enough to determine you away from the cinema.
The same applies to sequels I suppose, because of the success of the original it brings you forward to go to the next stage, to experience something new that thrilled you the first time and now you ëknowí itís gonna do the same next time. A sequel is never far from the original game, maybe itís a bit faster, a few more options, but itís usually just an extra mission pack, so you know what to expect, and itís because of those reasons that you buy the game.
The press coverage surrounding the game already gives you the impressions of what Santa Claus and his little Elves will be bringing you for Christmas, the first impression is something that you only get once so they show you all the decent bits then leave out the rest. But more on the subject, as you go to buy this game youíve been waiting for all that time for, you suddenly come across something
something new, something the gaming industry has never seen before. This game looks like to smash records and sell in the millions, but there is a slight bit of trouble, at the same time Half Life 2 is being released, a games designer company with a reputation for themselves and a game that had a reputation as well.
In this world it would be my opinion that no matter what the other games looked like Half Life 2 would just wipe the floor and leave them all cowering in the corner wishing they hadnít been created. That wonít happen though, for some strange reason, weíve all been allowed our Own opinions, and that means we can choose the games for ourselves, game designers know that, whatever they make there will ALWAYS be a load of people waiting at 6am on Friday mornings for the game. Thatís not a bad thing though, if it wasnít for everyone wanting different games, weíd never have the reviews about them in the first place, except for the all singing, all dancing reviews and previews that the game producers write themselves saying. ìYour console wonít be the same without it, and if you donít have this game, your friends will think youíre sadî.
Game designers seem to make relatively similar games, e.g. FPS or RPGs they donít usually get distracted from the genre, so you can usually instantly expect whats going to be made next, e.g. Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. Perfect Dark wasnít a sequel, and although it used the same graphics engine, and had the similar ëSecret Agentí story line to it, they are the only things that were kept the same, and only because they sold the game, and anything else wouldnít have been as good, but did many of you know the gameís options and details inside out before you plugged it into your console? Or was your face beaming with surprise from the time the game started rolling to the time your fell asleep?
My prediction is that most of you did. You will have been told some of the details by your friends, and accidentally stumbled apon the official website, with information oozing out of every article. Itís everything you hear and see that attracts you into purchasing this item. From reading the simple review, screen shots to the snippets of the story line, all this information is valuable to you, when selecting a game. The designers will all have the effect, and the effect is your opinion. Just think about this, if your told itís brilliant constantly by different groups of people whether it be friends or just the gaming press then youíve already got in your mind that you love this game. So when you get it, chances are youíll still love it and will think highly of it. You might even go to your friendís house and watch or play the game for a while to get a basic idea of it. A good review from a friend is worth more than 100 reviews online, if your friend likes it, starts reminiscing about their favourite parts, the game is sold to you, and the only thing on your mind is, ëHow quickly can I get this game?í
Thanks for taken the time to read
Mr Nice Guy
Page:
I have bought mainly rare and nintendo games over the past few years, but that doesn't mean I think "ooh a new rare/nintendo game I must buy it as soon as possible" I always caefully consider my gaming purchases, but even so buying zelda majoras mask was a no-brainer as was perfect dark so on some level I do buy games on reputation, but I haven't been disapointed yet.
I have bought games purely based on reputations before, but usually from developers I know I can trust, like Sonic Team. However, even they produce the odd bad game, and in this case, it was Nights for the Saturn. I know some people may disagree entirely, but I hated it.
Like you said, this is a bad way to buy games, as you may miss out on gems by unknown developers, especially if they don't get a big publishing company behind them. Sometimes, this can be the difference between a game selling well and one selling badly. If Taito did not get a big publisher for Bust-a-move, I would not have thought to buy Dead or Alive 2.
Unfortunately, the casual gamer doesn't buy gaming magazines or visit games websites, and so buy games based purely on the fact that the the developers may have a good reputation(or so they believe). This can be could, such as in the case of Rare, or bad, such as in the case of 3DO and their Army Men travesties.
This can lead to many good yet small developers going out of business, and large bad developers alive, while they throw out gaming garbage for the casual gamer to lap up. So, reputations are almost unfairly important when it comes to a game selling or not.
Like you said, this is a bad way to buy games, as you may miss out on gems by unknown developers, especially if they don't get a big publishing company behind them. Sometimes, this can be the difference between a game selling well and one selling badly. If Taito did not get a big publisher for Bust-a-move, I would not have thought to buy Dead or Alive 2.
Unfortunately, the casual gamer doesn't buy gaming magazines or visit games websites, and so buy games based purely on the fact that the the developers may have a good reputation(or so they believe). This can be could, such as in the case of Rare, or bad, such as in the case of 3DO and their Army Men travesties.
This can lead to many good yet small developers going out of business, and large bad developers alive, while they throw out gaming garbage for the casual gamer to lap up. So, reputations are almost unfairly important when it comes to a game selling or not.
A cheap POP for you Tom.
Heh, true.
I stand more chance of winning the national lottery then winning twice in two days. I did that Arlington Road review in a matter of minutes for Your Honour to read but this took ages. DOH!!!! But then it's not all about winning, it's about trying. Have you ever heard such crap? Winning isn't everything, whoever said that was a loser.
Tough luck! You still might win though.
Damn, I won FAD, I hate to be you know like rude and greedy and all but because of this that means this post will never win now. Damn you SR, : - )
Fogmaster wrote:
> That silence must mean that he feels writting a reply to you would be a complete
> waste of time :)
Nope, it means my Mum dragged my away from my PC :)
I meant that Sony consoles can have very good FPSs too you know, with tactics. TimeSplitters is another one.
> That silence must mean that he feels writting a reply to you would be a complete
> waste of time :)
Nope, it means my Mum dragged my away from my PC :)
I meant that Sony consoles can have very good FPSs too you know, with tactics. TimeSplitters is another one.
That silence must mean that he feels writting a reply to you would be a complete waste of time :)
Turbonutter? What did that have to do with the topic?
*Thinks about it really hard*
Still I don't have a clue what you are trying to say. Quake 3 is one of those games though that does have a reputations and got a huge 97% for the PSX, Red Fraction on the other hand didn't get such high reviews for the PC, I'm not sure about the PS2 cos I don't have one and therefore don't take much intrest.
*Expects a load of grief from Turbonutter about why to get a PS2*
*Thinks about it really hard*
Still I don't have a clue what you are trying to say. Quake 3 is one of those games though that does have a reputations and got a huge 97% for the PSX, Red Fraction on the other hand didn't get such high reviews for the PC, I'm not sure about the PS2 cos I don't have one and therefore don't take much intrest.
*Expects a load of grief from Turbonutter about why to get a PS2*
Page: