What Are You Currently Playing? 6.65: Neighbor of the Beast

[Foggle]

The mechanics in GTA really are quite bad. It's impossible to go back to any of the previous games once a new one is out - for me, anyway.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Hence why I don't like GTA. Those games are about scope more than good gameplay, IMO. The selling point is a sandbox game where you can do almost anything and go almost anywhere at any time. The drawback is that none of the stuff that you actually end up doing is well designed in the slightest. It can be fun to mess around for a few hours, but actually attempting to complete the story missions feels like a chore. Seriously, try to go back and play some of those older games' actual missions. They are outrageously hard and frustrating in the worst ways possible: from bad controls, bad AI, and really wonky vehicle physics. Yet each of these games were critically acclaimed when they came out.

I was really into the whole GTA craze way back when GTA III and Vice City were still pretty new, but neither of those games have aged well at all, and neither has San Andreas or GTA IV, and I can guarantee you that V will probably seem boring by the time the next GTA game comes out.

[Nel_Annette]

The mechanics in GTA really are quite bad. It's impossible to go back to any of the previous games once a new one is out - for me, anyway.

I think that's about it. I remember after 4 came out, I found the PS2 titles to be absolutely horrible to try and play. GTA4's story is indeed jarring with how you'll have things like the television shows and radio commercials still be the zany, over-the-top satire they always are, but the story and Niko's whole deal is just played completely seriously. It clashes.

GTA5 is still awesome though. Plenty of activities, great characters, fun (if terribly paced) story, a better map, and a pretty fun online mode.

[Foggle]

Hence why I don't like GTA. Those games are about scope more than good gameplay, IMO. The selling point is a sandbox game where you can do almost anything and go almost anywhere at any time. The drawback is that none of the stuff that you actually end up doing is well designed in the slightest. It can be fun to mess around for a few hours, but actually attempting to complete the story missions feels like a chore. Seriously, try to go back and play some of those older games' actual missions. They are outrageously hard and frustrating in the worst ways possible: from bad controls, bad AI, and really wonky vehicle physics. Yet each of these games were critically acclaimed when they came out.

I was really into the whole GTA craze way back when GTA III and Vice City were still pretty new, but neither of those games have aged well at all, and neither has San Andreas or GTA IV, and I can guarantee you that V will probably seem boring by the time the next GTA game comes out.

It's strange how even Saints Row 1 somehow holds up better than any GTA.

I really hate throwing around the term "unplayable," especially as a fan of Yoko Taro and Suda51 games, but I'm not sure how else to describe my experience with Vice City last year. It was the antithesis of fun and good design. The controls were some of the worst I've experienced.

[Spark Of Spirit]

A lot of it at the time was the revolutionary feel of running around a wide open world where you could do whatever you want. I cracked out on GTA III, but by Vice City the magic had worn off and I just saw the game for what it was. Bad shooting, poor driving, and nothing fun to do.

It also doesn't help that the game journalists continually overlook every fault these games have as if they are unquestionable masterpieces. I mean, I can't speak for GTA V, but the rest have LOTS of faults that no other company would ever get away with having in a game.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

That's just it. The critics only look at how much is in each game as opposed to whether any of it actually amounts to a good game. I'll give GTA III credit for being revolutionary for its time and helping to greatly expand the scope of Sandbox games, but every GTA game since then has just been bigger for the sake of being bigger. By the time that I got around to San Andreas, my rose-tinted glasses had come off, and the game just looked ugly, and was accompanied by equally unfun gameplay, and going back to III and Vice City didn't help either.

To be fair, I think that other game developers learned from Rock Star's mistakes, like with Saints Row and Just Cause, where the sandbox gameplay is there but still focused on certain gameplay themes, as opposed to just having a lot of stuff in the game for no other reason than to say that it's big.

And while on the subject, this is also my problem with the first Assassin's Creed and Batman: Arkham City. Critics gushed over both of those games as well, but neither were much fun once you realized that they were one or two-trick ponies in terms of actual gameplay mechanics, and making them take place in much bigger environments only highlighted the tedium of it all, IMO.

[Nel_Annette]

Speaking of which, Just Cause 2 was another one I binge-bought. I remember seeing videos of it looking fun as hell years ago and with the third game coming in December, perhaps I'll just shelve GTA4 for a little bit and hop into that.

I'm just finding myself in a place right now where I'd rather play games I'm familiar with rather than start a new game/franchise, so I'm kind of having to force myself into new territories (which did not go well with Borderlands and really didn't go well with Infamous). My PS4 finally ships tomorrow and I have this massive stack of PS3 games I have bought over the past year and a half. 

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I can certainly relate. There are many times when I just get so addicted to one or two games and don't even want to touch anything else until I'm burned out on the ones that I'm currently obsessed with. This happened with DMC3 and MGRR for me, last year.

[Foggle]

Speaking of which, Just Cause 2 was another one I binge-bought. I remember seeing videos of it looking fun as hell years ago and with the third game coming in December, perhaps I'll just shelve GTA4 for a little bit and hop into that.

Love Just Cause 2. It'd easily be my favorite open world game if not for Saints Row 4. JC3 looks amazing.

I'm just finding myself in a place right now where I'd rather play games I'm familiar with rather than start a new game/franchise, so I'm kind of having to force myself into new territories (which did not go well with Borderlands and really didn't go well with Infamous). My PS4 finally ships tomorrow and I have this massive stack of PS3 games I have bought over the past year and a half. 

I get the same feeling on occasion. I think it's normal to sometimes want to play games for comfort rather than challenge or discovery. It's also why people listen to the same albums and watch the same movies over and over.

Borderlands 1 is a pretty flaccid single-player experience. I mean, I personally like it, but there isn't much story, and the mechanics aren't nearly as refined as in the sequels, so I can see why most don't.

[Nel_Annette]

I never got more than an hour into Borderlands. It's embarrassing, honestly. I'm miserable at first person shooters. I kept missing and running out of bullets. One of the few genres I'd rather use a mouse and keyboard for.

[Foggle]

I never got more than an hour into Borderlands. It's embarrassing, honestly. I'm miserable at first person shooters. I kept missing and running out of bullets. One of the few genres I'd rather use a mouse and keyboard for.

You and me both! I can play third-person shooters with a controller decently well, but for some reason I can only handle FPS if I have a mouse and keyboard. Not really sure why.

That said, the first Borderlands is one of those weird games with a reverse learning curve. Running out of ammo and fighting enemies with way too much health is a common occurrence for the first 5-10 hours, but the rest of it is a breeze. So you were probably doing better than you thought!

[Nel_Annette]

I want to pick it up again someday, if it does get easier like that. It does seem like my kind of humor, but that beginning. Ugh. I'm pretty good with third person shooters myself. With first person games, though, since I can't see the immediate area to the sides and behind my character, then I really need the mouse for quick, precise turning.

If I could make some kind of franken-controller (frankontroller?) with the mouse on one end of the wire and the Wii nunchuck on the other end, that would be godly.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Beat Bowser's Inside Story.

After watching the ending, I think they could find an out to bring Fawful back, but whatever. What matters is the game. The battle system, the writing, and the story are all incredible fun. It still holds up great and it's still my favorite Mario RPG.

I'm definitely hyped for Paper Jam again.

[Nel_Annette]

Amazon finally charged me for the PS4 about an hour ago, and the good news is pay day is tomorrow so my bank account will just go right back to where it was in the morning. Good on me for not buying anything unnecessary of the past few weeks.  :lol

Now I play the waiting game...

(and you can bet your ass GTA4 is going straight to the shelf once that thing arrives.)

[Foggle]

So, from what I'm reading, it sounds like Arkham Knight is basically Arkham City but with a worse story, more DLC, and a bizarre focus on driving the Batmobile.

What I loved about Arkham Asylum was the level design and writing, and I wasn't too big on AC, so I guess I should probably skip AK.