This is the problem, you may have your own large screen, but it's not the same without the presence of someone else around you.. You almost feel like you're playing a singleplayer game when you are it COD or Halo 3 matchmaking and most, if not all, of the other players have no mic or don't talk... I usually play singleplayer games such as oblivion if no friends want to play multiplayer with me... Even being in a party is more boring than actually getting a custom game or matchmaking lobby going... This is the reason I've accumulated 2409 custom games in halo compared to my 1031 matchmade games... I'd rather have fun with friends than rank up.... After all, having the most fun as possible is the sole purpose of gaming anyways is it not? Many people today get addicted to a "fun" game, then stop having fun, and just grind as if it's necessary to be a general in halo, or level 55 or 65 in either of the two active COD's. I know when I get addicted to COD every once in a while I can't stop playing SnD until I rank up a few times, Truthfully I'd rather play custom games but it almost feels necessary to get the newest prestige symbol, guns, and challenges. I also think the limitations in some private match systems should be removed, in private match for every game you should be able to customize just about everything(halo did a great job with this, except there are fixed percentages in certain aspects that are mostly 5% 10% 50% 100% 110% 150% 200% and so on... You should be able to pinpoint the percentage desired to exactitude. That right there would almost eliminate the problem in itself, customization is adored by players, the more armor, guns, gametypes, grenades, symbols, private match options, etc; the better.
you do know you don't have to play matchmaking to rank up right? you can have fun with your friends in matchmaking instead of custom games. I do it all the time. anyway on topic, no I don't think games are a letdown right now. ODST was an expansion and thats basically it. Something to keep people playing until reach. I can guarantee modern warfare 2 will be great. Your standards are just to high. add that to the fact that developers don't have forever to make games and that will mean most games suck to you.
I also agree mw2 will be a great game, but it's nothing revolutionary, just a few new features, guns, graphics, and missions... I am not mad at ODST, but a little bit disappointed and the full 60 buck price tag... You cannot tell me you'd rather play matchmaking for fun online with friends than play with 6 or 7 people over at your house, it's just more enjoyable and interactive, something online gaming can't take advantage of yet... games try to make up for lack of this by half-assed features(third person mode?) I'm not saying it isn't fun to play matchmaking with friends, in fact thats what's most fun about online gaming. But it lacks the experience and feels more like a single player game with friends talking to you than it does when you have a LAN party with COD or Halo. It just seems developers are trying to cut out some of the experience, remember how one level of some games could take 2 hours? now most games are beatable in 3 to 4 hours, easily. All around, the gaming industry is becoming very cheap(not for us though). They aren't as dedicated to making a badass absolutely awesome perfect game that makes a ton, but maybe we don't get as much profit, as they now seem to want to make a fairly decent game (for the first few weeks anyways) that isn't that hard to make, has some cool features and makes a nice amount of cash, mostly profit... They want as much money as possible, sure the best game ever would be cool but not if we can't make as much money... That seems to be the idea most developers have these days.
What, you do have to play Matchmaking to level up! Most people don't talk to all of their friends and there are so many games that I doubt all of your friends actually play the same games. You might have them but there are so many you all like different ones. :lol: ODST was 60$... :irritated: It's really foolish and silly to claim it was an expansion pack. There was so much effort put into it and it's such a new environment that it is not an expansion pack. Regardless of what people call it. A good reference would be CoD4 and Cod5... :joker: Standards are high because game developers brag about the standards being high. It's a formula that leads towards destruction. "Game Developers emphasize how there are going to be more maps, more guns, more ways to kill! Game comes out there are two new guns, three maps and one more way to kill." That might have been an exaggeration but that is what game developers are doing. :lol:
Exactly, semi-false advertising will be the death of gaming, and if not, at least most of hardcore gaming... Casual people who get on cod for maybe 20 minutes a day and play two matches will most likely always be there because it's something to do when bored... For must of us 'Hubbers and other hardcore gamers it's the opposite, it's almost like a lifestyle(kind of sad, ino >_<). We game more often than some, and we enjoy it and think about it quite often(at least twice a day amirite?). The whole reason for this thread was to see if I was the only one who sees that they aren't delivering what they say... Some say I have too high of standards, but how could I? They state it will have this many new features, this many cool things, and this many maps, characters, and stuff, but it's usually not true.. Most games have anywhere from 5 to 20 storyline missions(mainly fps' rts' etc, not rpgs, their freakin' endless!) around 15 to 25(maybe 30 if we're lucky) multiplayer maps, and very limited private match options... Not necessarily living up to the standards of "OMG ALL WE THINK BOUT IN TEH STUDIO IS CUSTOMIZATION N' OPTIONS!!!!11!!!1!!!!one!!!" The developers and publishers(mainly publishers)try to get as much hype up as possible and usually let us down a bit... Now, this(like everything) does not go without counter examples... A pc game called killing floor is made by a small developer known as tripwire interactive, they didn't give or get much hype going, and they still don't for their free dlc packs. But when the game came out, anyone who got it was amazed, they told their friends, they were also amazed... The game is totally the opposite of most games... Teamwork is key and is constantly in use, and kindness is really big(people constantly donate money and guns to the newest player who joins the server). The DLC is always jaw dropping, and tripwire doesn't say its all that great... They usually announce it a month or maybe a few weeks before release, it's usually like this. "new dlc, has some new guns, perks, and a few new maps" The last dlc had one amazing new perk, increased the level cap on all perks, and added around 7 new weapons, and a new enemy... The three new maps were all amazing... If only most developers would do this then they'd succeed community-wise.
You said custom games. THat implies that you mean playing online in a custom games lobby. If you meant that, you should have said LAN. Of course I would rather do that and thats why me, Wood Wonk, and 6 of our other friends usually do a LAN once every two weeks. I was a bit mad at the 60 dollar price tag but thats microsoft, not bungie. ALso in reality, you are getting 4 map packs which are 10 bucks plus firefight, plus a new campaign which does even to about 60 bucks. @radiant rain social you don't really rank up, or at least before the update you truly didn't. He made it out like you play matchmaking to rank up but thats not always the case. Sometimes you play just to mess around with friends. I claim it to be an expansion because it included firefight and a different campaign, thats it. everything else was the same. I guess we have different views on what an expansion is so no point in arguing this further.
Ok let me clear a few things up... I'm not angry, I wanted the games listed(and have gotten or will be getting them). I am just stating that gaming isn't like it used to be, it's not as interactive with people, xbox live, psn, and things like steam really split you and your friends apart even farther from each other, even though you may game "together" more. I do play matchmaking for fun sometimes, in fact, mostly now.. but it's not near as enjoyable as private matches, sniper lobbies, etc... Gaming is great, but the hunger for money is starting to take its toll now that developers and publishers(mostly these bastards) have a million dollar industry under their control.
Okay, since everyone seems to be giving their reason as to why they think gaming now sucks or whatever, I'll add my real two cents. Gaming really sucks now for a lot of reasons. Each has their own little minor part in it, by themselves they wouldn't do anything but together... The first major problem is that developers are being asked to do way too much. Developers try to put absolutely everything to make a good game. Games try to add a good story, good gameplay, a gimmick or cool new gameplay mechanic, graphics, good multiplayer and a good campaign. Out of all of those, only one is needed. The good gameplay. everything will build up naturaly after that. Blizzard does this perfectly. Take a look at the development of Starcraft 2. They built up the armies, then they worked on the story, then the graphics. Maybe Blizzard isn't a very good example so how about Mario? No story, okay graphics, great gameplay. The fans asking for story are a huge problem. Seriously, they need to shut up. Forever. Games are not a very good, or even decent, medium for story telling. Why? Ultimately, what does story add? Games are great for presenting moral choices to a player. Bioshock showed this rather well. Story, however, just doesn't really work. For the price of a game nowadays, a game should not put much effort into story. At 70€ a game, a game focused on story can not compete with other games that have multiplayer. Before you shout to me and say that X had a brilliant story, those are exceptions to the rule. So far, I've only come across 4 games that have decent to brilliant stories without moral choices. Another is a weird sort of taboo on games without any campaign. This is seen more on consoles rather then on PC. It's one I don't understand but it just seems to happen. Shadowrun was pretty good shooter, if you ignore any Counter-Strike or actual Shadowrun fanboyism you have inside you, it was actually better then what was out at the time, for the 360 at least. However, it got mediocre reviews and a lot of people just kinda' ignored it. There is still a nice small population of players there but still... Will finish in a while...
I think we are trying to argue a point we both sort of agree with. I believe that LAN is the best way to play games (I mean everyones right next to you, it makes custom games or matchmaking fun as hell) and developers are going away from it.
I'm pretty sure the Wii has more sales than the 360 and ps3. Thats what i've seen, read, and heard at least.
The did have more sales, but it's not hardcore gamers or even actual gamers... its little kids and adults... anyways, I do agree that developers have a lot of pressure, and they try to do a title in as little as two and a half years, this is waaaay to short. An animated film takes 7(yes 7!) or so years to complete, and I imagine a game is much more complex, so why not lengthen the development period... maybe 3 to 4 years instead of two or one? I have a feeling this takes a toll on the game in the end.
You cannot talk about MW2, unless you have the game. The amount of guns shouldn't let you down, this game has about 20 more than the last. And there are so many assault rifles because that's the type of gun that varies the most. If there were 7 snipers, at least two of them would be either the same or use less. Same goes for LMGs and SMGs. Also, they can add more playlists in a snap. I can see them adding back things like HCHQ and Team Tac, because people are demanding them.
The gaming industry usually slows down through Halloween. Weeks before Christmas though, BAM BAM BAM! It's normal. I haven't bought a game since Farcry in December. I played that twice and sold it. I believe I also bought cod 5 on the same day. Zombies got old between the time the second map pack released and the third map pack released, because I've only played on the 3rd map pack once or twice. On top of that, non-zombie multiplayer got old after the second map pack. I've been pretty content with halo 3. Usually play it 5 times a week. It never gets old. It's kind of like playing a sport to me. You don't one day say "yeah, baseball is getting old, I think I'm going to try a new upcoming game".
yeah its the same for me. Halo 3 is just totally constant for me. Ive played it forever and it just comes so naturally and i love testing my skills with it. It never ever gets old.
ODST was a bit of a letdown, I hoped I could play some more Firefight. I think I'm done with Halo 3 in general. Oh well...
So we all have our own ups and downs in gaming, mine is this "yeah this game is cool and all, but nothings totally new or far out" Farcry 3, I loved because not many games have the realism of pulling bullets out of your skin, guns jamming, etc... and the map editor, HOLY ****. Halo, I love it, great story, great campaign(s), great multiplayer, decent map editor... However sometimes it bores me(you know the feeling of being in a cliche'd infection gametype, that bores the hell out of me)... MW bored me with it's repetitiveness, most of the exact same things would happen, hopefully MW2 is different(which now, on second thought it looks as though it will be different) But zander had a good point, gaming loses its spark until around christmas or so...
In my opinion, they're spending too much time on the graphics, leaving the gameplay in the dust. Another theory I have is that they don't need to make games that are 'great' if they will sell for 'average.' Because the newer games are constantly being marketed to newer generations of gamers, you shouldn't have to 'reach out' to other gaming veterans if you know they will already buy it. The older gamers will be dissapointed, trying to compare gameplay to that of the games back in the good days, and the newer games will be astounded by 'amazing graphics' backed by a whole lot of bland gameplay.