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BigDo6's forum posts
One could not be blamed for prognosticating a disappointing 2008, with the best year in gaming history still fresh in our memory. But, when you compare the games released
in both years the disparity seems to vanish.
Games of 2007:
Halo 3
Rock Band
Mass effect
Crysis
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Assasin's Creed
Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lion
Super Mario Galaxy
God of War 2
Bioshock
The Orange Box
Uncharted: Drakes Fortune
Games of 2008:
Gears of War 2
Fable 2
Midnight Club: Los Angeles
Call of Duty: World at War
Prince of Persia
Fallout 3
NHL '09
GTA 4
MGS 4
Dead Space
Soul Calibur 4 (sorry Jeff, this game kicked ass)
Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe (but, so did this one)
Little Big Planet
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
Burnout: Paradise
So in retrospect 2008 turned out to be a great year for gaming. But, as the holiday season wears off, the fear is reborn. In forum surfers, podcast wielding critics, and our own creeping sub-conscience we see the dread of months without quality gaming return. Are these fears rational? We will see...
Edited for mistakes: I apologize for those maimed during my posting.
For some reason i find the dialogue placed over this video really cool. It makes it seem like a really awesome multiplayer game. That being said, as soon as I remember that this is a Playstation 3 exclusive, I lose all interest.
First the the PS3's Controller seems specifically designed to irritate anyone attempting to play a fps. (in regards to the general gameplay mechanics, not menu navigation :) For example, I played the grossly overrated Resistance: Fall of Man (just as good as Gears of War...pfft) every menu ever seemed to take 3 times the conscience effort that it would taken on the Xbox 360. The L & R buttons are in a terrible location, most likely due to the fact that the controller hasn't really been redesigned since it was introduced for the PS 1. Just think about it logically, where does a trigger go? On top of the gun? No, Sony wrong answer. Where is the gas pedal? On top of the steering wheel? Nope, wrong again Sony. Additionally, the controller is way too small. This diminished size makes the controller lighter (especially if you have one of the rumble'less ones ;) but, it also makes longer play sessions pain educing. But, it isn't really the controls that make Killzone 2's awesomeness mute.
The PS3 is like like a celibate super model girlfriend. Sure she has all the parts necessarily to fulfill her purpose, but it just isn't going to happen. The PS3 can indeed provide games over the intertubes, but going online and enjoying online are two completely disconnected events. Multiplayer PS3 games are adaptions of one of two types.
1. Wedging a well running Xbox 360 multiplayer game into an archaic, un-unified framework, with poorly maintained servers.
2. Or the Socom: Confrontation method of taking a PS2 online interface and raising the resolution.
Both of which just leave me with a strong unwillingness to play my 499$ PS3 online. This is appropo of another problem in general. The Japanese business culture analyzes decisions in terms of decades, and not quarters. This mindset protects you from over-reacting, but it also severely hampers your ability to react. If everyone in your yard (Japan) plays by the same rules that's fine, but when outsiders show up Microsoft, Bio-ware, Criterion, Bungie, and Blizzard everything starts moving too fast to compete. Nintendo and Sony missed the online boat completely. Recently, Sony has made some valiant attempts at fixing the above problems. But, some of the problems seem a little systemic.
Can this problem be fixed without launching an entirely new console. Does the system hardware allow for a better, quicker, and unified online interface? I personally don't know, it would seem that such a process would be pretty expensive. Since the service is free, coming up with the funding could prove difficult. This coupled with a shift in general attitude from the gaming community favoring the Xbox 360.
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