The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only.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.
What game am I writing about?
~I bought it on July 6th 2001.
~I have been playing it non-stop for the past six months clocking up over 300+ hours of game time. - So it is obviously a game with depth and longevity.
~Every time I play I discover new strageties and new techniques. - So it is a game with great depth of gameplay.
~Furthermore, the game is always a joy to play - the fun factor has never waned.
It may surprise you when I say that this game of depth and longevity is: Crazy Taxi 2 - a so-called "shallow" game.
I have always found that the games I spend most time on are the ones that usually get labelled "short-lived" by reviewers and the gaming press.
Crazy Taxi 2 is a perfect example of this.
It is what I call a "pure game" - in that it has instant pick-up-and-playability, but which also has an unlimited learning curve.
For instance my early scores on the Big Apple city where around the $15,000 mark; yet over the past six months my best scores have steadily risen as I gain a more indepth knowledge of the city streets, customers and short-cuts.
I am now at the stage where I am touching on scores of $100,000.
All this is coupled with an ever-increasing mastership of the addictive controls.
My point is this: longevity and gameplay depth is due not to 50+ hours game length or a plot with many twists. Not in my experience anyway.
Longevity and gameplay depth comes from two major factors: addictive, intense and intuitive control, and a learning curve which can be steadily mastered the more you play.
And (for me at least) this type of gameplay is found most in addictive 'high score' arcade-style games.
Does anyone out there agree (or disagree)?
~I bought it on July 6th 2001.
~I have been playing it non-stop for the past six months clocking up over 300+ hours of game time. - So it is obviously a game with depth and longevity.
~Every time I play I discover new strageties and new techniques. - So it is a game with great depth of gameplay.
~Furthermore, the game is always a joy to play - the fun factor has never waned.
It may surprise you when I say that this game of depth and longevity is: Crazy Taxi 2 - a so-called "shallow" game.
I have always found that the games I spend most time on are the ones that usually get labelled "short-lived" by reviewers and the gaming press.
Crazy Taxi 2 is a perfect example of this.
It is what I call a "pure game" - in that it has instant pick-up-and-playability, but which also has an unlimited learning curve.
For instance my early scores on the Big Apple city where around the $15,000 mark; yet over the past six months my best scores have steadily risen as I gain a more indepth knowledge of the city streets, customers and short-cuts.
I am now at the stage where I am touching on scores of $100,000.
All this is coupled with an ever-increasing mastership of the addictive controls.
My point is this: longevity and gameplay depth is due not to 50+ hours game length or a plot with many twists. Not in my experience anyway.
Longevity and gameplay depth comes from two major factors: addictive, intense and intuitive control, and a learning curve which can be steadily mastered the more you play.
And (for me at least) this type of gameplay is found most in addictive 'high score' arcade-style games.
Does anyone out there agree (or disagree)?
I (kind of) agree. I can see the point you are making, and I definitely agree that sometimes the simplest ideas can be the best, however, sometimes it is not the case, and long games which take ages to complete are often very compelling, and are equally as hard to put down, not because of arcade style gameplay but because of the 'epic' kind of feel to the game. Any type of game, driving, shooting, RPG, platforming, any gene, can have depth added to it, but it is something which is only done by the best of developers.
Really it does depend on your perception of 'depth'. You could argue that the idea of Crazy Taxi is so simple it must have very little depth, but that is almost like saying a game is only as big as the levels which it is made up of. Just as in a (good) platformer you will uncover new routes through a level, you will discover new techniques, shortcuts, etc. on a driving game. I could argue that football games are shallow, and are just controlling a few people in a set pattern to achieve a goal. But someone else will say that you set various tactics, trade players with different strangths and weaknesses, and pull off different skills, which all give the game a greater depth.
Depth is almost like gameplay in that it is very difficult to define.
Really it does depend on your perception of 'depth'. You could argue that the idea of Crazy Taxi is so simple it must have very little depth, but that is almost like saying a game is only as big as the levels which it is made up of. Just as in a (good) platformer you will uncover new routes through a level, you will discover new techniques, shortcuts, etc. on a driving game. I could argue that football games are shallow, and are just controlling a few people in a set pattern to achieve a goal. But someone else will say that you set various tactics, trade players with different strangths and weaknesses, and pull off different skills, which all give the game a greater depth.
Depth is almost like gameplay in that it is very difficult to define.
What game am I writing about?
~I bought it on July 6th 2001.
~I have been playing it non-stop for the past six months clocking up over 300+ hours of game time. - So it is obviously a game with depth and longevity.
~Every time I play I discover new strageties and new techniques. - So it is a game with great depth of gameplay.
~Furthermore, the game is always a joy to play - the fun factor has never waned.
It may surprise you when I say that this game of depth and longevity is: Crazy Taxi 2 - a so-called "shallow" game.
I have always found that the games I spend most time on are the ones that usually get labelled "short-lived" by reviewers and the gaming press.
Crazy Taxi 2 is a perfect example of this.
It is what I call a "pure game" - in that it has instant pick-up-and-playability, but which also has an unlimited learning curve.
For instance my early scores on the Big Apple city where around the $15,000 mark; yet over the past six months my best scores have steadily risen as I gain a more indepth knowledge of the city streets, customers and short-cuts.
I am now at the stage where I am touching on scores of $100,000.
All this is coupled with an ever-increasing mastership of the addictive controls.
My point is this: longevity and gameplay depth is due not to 50+ hours game length or a plot with many twists. Not in my experience anyway.
Longevity and gameplay depth comes from two major factors: addictive, intense and intuitive control, and a learning curve which can be steadily mastered the more you play.
And (for me at least) this type of gameplay is found most in addictive 'high score' arcade-style games.
Does anyone out there agree (or disagree)?
~I bought it on July 6th 2001.
~I have been playing it non-stop for the past six months clocking up over 300+ hours of game time. - So it is obviously a game with depth and longevity.
~Every time I play I discover new strageties and new techniques. - So it is a game with great depth of gameplay.
~Furthermore, the game is always a joy to play - the fun factor has never waned.
It may surprise you when I say that this game of depth and longevity is: Crazy Taxi 2 - a so-called "shallow" game.
I have always found that the games I spend most time on are the ones that usually get labelled "short-lived" by reviewers and the gaming press.
Crazy Taxi 2 is a perfect example of this.
It is what I call a "pure game" - in that it has instant pick-up-and-playability, but which also has an unlimited learning curve.
For instance my early scores on the Big Apple city where around the $15,000 mark; yet over the past six months my best scores have steadily risen as I gain a more indepth knowledge of the city streets, customers and short-cuts.
I am now at the stage where I am touching on scores of $100,000.
All this is coupled with an ever-increasing mastership of the addictive controls.
My point is this: longevity and gameplay depth is due not to 50+ hours game length or a plot with many twists. Not in my experience anyway.
Longevity and gameplay depth comes from two major factors: addictive, intense and intuitive control, and a learning curve which can be steadily mastered the more you play.
And (for me at least) this type of gameplay is found most in addictive 'high score' arcade-style games.
Does anyone out there agree (or disagree)?