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"Let them entertain you."

We all know the argument about which is better, arcade games or realism games, but can we really say that one is better than the other? Both sets of genre set out to entertain us and depending on your opinion, one entertains you more than the other, and they go about this in very different ways.

More often than not, arcade games are based on sports games such as racing or other usually extreme sports. Games like SSX and Tony Hawks have done very well in this genre, as has the Fifa franchise. All these are know for there great easy to pick and play method, you can just pick it up and instantly get into the game, but they are hard to master. Where most arcade games take off is the addictiveness which is brought about by top game play that everyone can enjoy. Also these games don’t rely on plots and cut scenes to get through the game, they just play and that’s what they are made for. However, although they are very addictive when you first get them, soon they can become boring and repetitive, this has happened with the likes of Tony Hawks, Crazy Taxi and so on. After a while doing the same thing over and over is just no longer all that appealing. These games are also known for there shortness, games like Crazy Taxi and SSX don’t take very long to finish, either as there are few missions or just that there are not many levels to play through. Some games try to combat this by putting many characters to use, and to finish the game to 100% you have to do it with all of them, but that’s just not appealing to many as well, in affect you are only doing the same as before only with a different skin and costume on, and this really does not work well.

But these games are not designed to last for long, there main aim is to offer great fun with mates playing too, trying to beat each others scores and so on. Arcade games are based more for the type of player who plays with friends as you can all compete against each other. But perhaps arcade games are more popular than sims because of this fact. Lots of people come home with there mates and rather than watch TV they would rather have fun on a game. With arcade games being so easy to just pick up and play there is no messing about with controls and so you can get straight in on the action, no messing. Great for those after pub hours!

Games that go for realism take a totally different route to entertain us though. These types of games main aim is to become as real to the activity as possible and this really works when coming to entertain us. You see, as consoles improve so do there graphical capabilities and games start to look more like the real thing than ever before. Because of this games can now start to deliver a more realistic experience and offer players a chance to for fill dreams on a virtual level that they may never have been able to in there life. Take Pro Evo for example, its most lads dream to play for England when they are older, but sadly this does not happen all that often, so games like Pro Evo can step in. Being based to mimic real football so well means that it plays just like the real thing, and you can truly have a real game of football on your TV whenever you feel. With the graphics looking so well too it makes the experience even more real. And that’s what the game is therefore, and why so many people enjoy sim games as it gives you the chance to be doing something you would never dream of. Take F1 racing as another example, with the graphics and game play becoming so real it may as well be the real thing, gaming these days offer us so many different possibilities.

But these examples are only sport games, what about the likes of Silent Hill. The stories maybe fictional, but they too are very much real, and the emotions you feel are things that you feel in everyday life, fear, curiosity, at time even laughter. But the main thing that SH aims to do is scare you to a point you think what’s happening is real. The atmosphere within the game actually does this to you too, with strange noises happening all the time you start to feel nervous, and even jump when a monster attacks you. This is on an emotional level though, games like MGS are games that put you in a more real situation, and being based on real life like physics this actually works.

But for me, the most realistic game that I ever played was Operation Flashpoint. For me this is the one game that actually pulled off the feeling of being there, in battle with your squad, all trying to keep alive and finish the mission. The game drew me in so much, I started to really try and look out for my squad, if I saw them in danger I would not only shout the commands with the keys, but also actually shout to them ‘get down’. This game really gave me an insight of what it must be like in the army, of course not on a greater scale as the real thing, but a glimpse of life for them, at times I was ducking and diving in my chair, trying to look around the bush that I was crouched down in, and devising plans in my head how to get out of a sticky situation. This game is damn scary!

As you can see though, both sets of game ‘genre’, arcade and realism both set out to entertain us in different ways, and some games from both genres work better than others, it all depends how the developer goes around doing things that determines whether it works. But which type do you prefer, do you get more enjoyment out of ssx say than pro evo? My self, I like a mixture of both, at times I want a quick pick up and play game and other times I want to spend some amount of time at a game, and progress through a story.

So discuss, which do you prefer?

You really think you'll beat Chelsea again ?

There is always the F.A. Cup. :)

Some consolation then !!

nh wrote:
>ps Na†ßu© - shame about the result yesterday !!!


i know :( Dam pain if you ask me......oh well at least i cheered up when i realised i had joined Pro Evo on the GAD winners list :)

I agree - Sometimes it just takes too long looking through every post to find the proper discussions. maybe SR will do something soon..

nh wrote:
> Just seen it - well done another worthy winner.

Thats why i think we really need this PS2 forum split, its so hard to see which are the serious posts and which is the chat without going into every topic.

Just seen it - well done another worthy winner.

Personally I find the Arcade stlye games just dont last long enough, Crazy Taxi was great the first 5 - 10 goes buth then it just gets boring doing the same, Fifa's arcady style makes the game far too easy. Who wants to win the Premiership by winning everygame 5-0,6-0 and 7-0, the realism side of Pro Evo is much better as you have to actually try a lot harder for the win and it feels more satisfying because of it.

I think realism can go to far in games though - the classic FPS games like Doom and Duke Nukem were great fun to play and I dont think that the bodies just disapearing after they were killed detracted from the gameplay at all - the current vogue where you can walk up to a body and shoot a leg off for the fun of it is pointless and certainly does not add anything to the fun element of a game.

ps Na†ßu© - shame about the result yesterday !!!

Good to see my post turned yellow. :D

Sim games last way longer because.....they do. Well basically because their is a longer lerning curve and offer more challenge.

True, i have played through it many times when having got the special items which made the game so different afterwards.

But sometimes these types of games dont have replay values, and are very short.