Thank God it isn't a new "RIDE" enabled game. It boggles the mind that the RIDE peripheral ever got out of the concept phase.
For what it's worth, I loved the THPS games, the THUG games, and even American Wasteland. Long after the popularity started to wane, I still was finding some fun in those games. Until "Project 8" anyway. Even a die-hard fan has his limits.
You can replay story missions? (Just beat the game and didn't notice this) I know you can replay side missions
I'm not sure how the mechanics work in The Third, but in SR2 and SR1 you could always replay any mission you wanted. There used to be a bulletin board that had newspaper clippings representing the older missions that you had already completed. Selecting one would allow you to replay said mission. I'm sure The Third has the option as well, though as I said I haven't found it yet (mostly because I haven't looked). It's probably in the phone menu somewhere.
Also, some things in this game have different actions set to the same button. i.e. Holding down a button will pick up a new weapon but tapping will simply reload. You may have been holding when you should have been tapping? That's the only guess I can come up with. For what it's worth, my people chuckin seems to be working fine. :)
I'm with you. Through all the games I've tried to keep a similar character going. In my head it adds to the enjoyment of the game. Of course I've played each one of these games mutliple times (well not 3 yet but you get what I'm saying). So on subsequent playthroughs I may go for something a bit more bonkers.
If you played Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, I think it manages to fix, or at least address, a few of the series trademark issues. Personally, I have never minded having to replay sections of the game while retaining my progress, but i know there are many who don't enjoy tihs. Off the Records fun little work around is the Sandbox mode, which shares progress with the core game. I think for many gamers a system like this would be more ideal. Get some levels playing grabass with all the undead in Sandbox, then around level 10 you start the game proper and don't have to see the opening section of the game 97 times.
For me though, I look at the day one repeats as the learning tool to the time management aspects of the game. But the biggest part of Dead Rising's fun for me has always been perfecting my run through the game. I played the first game until running through it perfectly was almost just muscle memory. Of course there weren't as many games out for the 360 and PS3 at the time, so endlessly playing a game that was unlike anything I'd played before was more appealing than it is in a year that sees new Halo, Skyrim, Saints Row, etc. It's not as easy to put that kind of time into one game when there are so many great franchises out there that you want to be a part of. So who knows, maybe a franchise overhaul is in order.
@whistlebottom: When I was in college art classes, the way I came to understand it the experience of viewing the piece was the art. Without the viewing, without the audience looking and taking note of the piece, it's just supplies on a canvas (or a sculpture or whatever). But the things crafted by the artist plus the audience appreciating it was at the very core of the whole thing. To that end, I'd say games have a special way of immersing us within the art, if you're the type who can appreciate it anyway. And not everyone can. Just like some dont "get" Picasso or Jackson Pollack, some people don't "get" games. Ebert is one of those to be sure. Which is a real shame. I've always held him in high regard and have just a megaton of respect for the man himself. I wish he could come around, but I suppose the generation gap is just too great there.
Anyway, it was good talking with you. Thanks for the thoughtful replies! :)
I don't play games for traditional narrative. I can think of at least two other mediums that do it better, and in general, most video game stories are crap. I skip cutscenes always. If a game is not worth the playing the part, it's not worth buying. If the story is so great, I can just youtube the thing and get the same experience.
So I agree that Skyrim is all about the world, which makes it very exciting.
I'm to the point where I actually like games more than most other media. Good games anyway. What they lack in "traditional narrative", they make up with in atmosphere and the engaging ability that only an interactive medium offers. Books are probably the one exception to that, but it's hard to read a book in my house. There are always a lot of distractions and it's difficult to really let myself slip into my imagination and let the book take me.
Still, I do respect your opinion. It's true that game narrative is often an afterthought. That is sad really. I wish someone would make the video game "Citizen Kane". Of course I don't mean a license of that classic film but rather a difinitive work that truly took advantage of video games unique interactivity to it's best possible form the way Citizen Kane took film to it's greatest possible form all those years ago.
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