PC versus Consoles Part 1

I switched my gaming platform from PC to game consoles a few years ago and I'm happy I did. I still do play some older games occasionally. But I just don't have the time or the money to constantly upgrade my machines so they can run the latest games smoothly. I also like to be able to play while I'm lying on my bed and relaxing. With PC you have to be hunched over right in front of the computer. Well all right I guess you can hook up your computer to a TV and get a wireless keyboard and mouse and somehow try to manage with that. But that's too much work.

Also installing games became such a chore to do. And it's not uncommon for something to go wrong and then you may or may not have to manually uninstall the parts already installed and then try again. It seems like a lot of trouble for trying to do something fun. Things were better when computers weren't very developed so most of the hardware were compatible and most games ran smoothly on any configuration unlike today. And installing was just copying the game from a floppy disk or just typing the start command and play the game from the floppy.

Installing (and the pricing and the game catalog obviously) is the reason why I haven't bought a PS3 yet, and I'm not likely to do so in the near future either. The mandatory installs are really the most fucking dumbest thing the winner of the last console generation could do. And still they did it. I guess it's because PS3 is a fucking blurayplayer-dishwasher-refrigerator-vacuumcleaner before it's a GAME CONSOLE. So good luck with that. And while on the subject, why the fuck did they drop the support of PS2 games? I have a ps2 game library of about 120 titles so no fucking way I'm going to have a PS2, Xbox 360 and a PS3 next to my TV.

And another thing that really fucked the game industry up is internet. No not the old piracy-blaa-blaa-blaa but because it enabled developers to publish unfinished products because "hey you can always update them later and maybe make them even work!". Sadly this seems to be a trend with modern consoles too. But in my books it's really unacceptable to publish half-finished products and maybe fix them later. I mean let's take Far Cry 2 for Xbox 360. The version on the DVD has some serious save game issues. So the saved games can become corrupt and you won't be able to continue. That's amazing. So now I can play the game fine because they published a patch that fixes the problem. But what the fuck am I supposed to do in 10 years when I wanna do a little bit of retro gaming and the current Xbox live system is dead and buried? So I just can't play the game then can I? What a piece of shit. Thanks Ubisoft. I'm pretty sure the name means you-be-soft in French. And boy are they soft...

Devil May Cry 4

I just finished playing through Devil May Cry 4. The game had been lying around for a couple of months and I finally had the time to play it. The game took about 10 hours to complete. It was an ok experience but nothing special.

One of the biggest complaints I have with this game is the fact that you have to play most of the levels twice. First you beat them with Nero and then you beat them with Dante in the reverse order. This is just boring because you've seen it all before and there's nothing new. It's just lazy level design or maybe the developer ran out of time. But anyways it's just not cool. It didn't bother me that much because I played the game through only once but imagine playing the game like 6 times with different difficulty settings and you would have seen everything 12 times! Luckily there's no way I'm gonna play this again in a few years.

The game and animation looks good except when your character is running on stairs. It doesn't look anything like climbing stairs. It's more like the guy's hovering above the stairs and running up and down a slope. Wasn't I supposed to notice that?! I mean come on! Also there are way too few different enemies. So the fighting becomes just a chore to do. You know how every one of the enemies act and what tactics you should use with them so there really isn't any challenge.

There are also these "special missions" peppered aroung the levels. At first I tried to finish them but they are just not fun. Every one of them has some strict time-limit and they are just stupid. Eventually I stopped even trying because they sucked. Also what's great about them is that if you died while on a "special mission" you died in the actual game too. So you had to go back to your previous checkpoint. What the fuck is with that? There were some other checkpoint issues with the game too. And some seriously annoying respawning enemies but enough about that.

The plot and the cut scenes are just ridiculous and the game knows it too. It's like nothing's even meant to be taken seriously. There are some cool maneuvers in the cut scenes but other than that they aren't very interesting. One thing that I did miss was Japanese audio track. I bet it would have been so much better than the English version. I just can't help but to wonder why in the fuck didn't they include the original audio.

This is just another basic ok game. Nothing special and really no reason to play again but I'd give it an 8 out of 10. Actually no... it's more like a 7.

Assassin's Creed

This is once again a game with huge potential that somehow manages to fuck it up. All the gameplay videos and trailers before the launch showed a sandbox game set in medieval middle-east. But what we really got was a monotonous and repetitive action game.

The whole DNA-memory shit basically ruins the whole medieval vibe. Why is it mandatory for the fucking numbers and other computer shit to be seen everywhere in the ancient world? It just ruins the immersion. I guess the game is trying to tell you that you are a guy who goes through his ancestors memories rather than that you are playing as the actual ancestor. But the point is I really don't give a fuck about this modern bartender who gets kidnapped and who walks slower than a turtle. I want to be the medieval assassin for fucks sake!!! How about renaming the game "Bartender's Problems" and I would have known to avoid it.

I have no complaints about the very streamlined and simplified jump and running system. It works for me and it's fun to just run around the rooftops without constantly falling down. Fight mechanics work quite well allthough it could have used some of variation. One major issue with this game is the story structure and how they use it to justify the development of the characters abilities. In the beginning he can us all of the abilities. Then he makes a mistake and is lowered in rank so he loses most of his abilities. And I can understand this with weapons for example. You can't use throwing knives or the hidden blade because they are taken away from you. But how the fuck can you make a soldier lose his ability to counter attack?!?! I mean really this is supposed to be the result of years of training and suddenly he just willingly doesn't want to counter attack untill his master gives permission for it. Are the cities filled with assassin spies who will report the big man if our character would counter attack someone? It's just fuckin insane!!!

This is a game that also brilliantly utilizes the environment twist. The end of the game is just killing dozens of enemies and there is nowhere to climb or hide. You just have to kill every one on the screen and then move a little bit further and do it again and again and again. Great way to really ruin the mood of the stealthy assassin you were supposed to be until this point. The boss fight is really stupid and not suitable for the game in any way.

I think the design went something like this. At first they had a great and innovative game concept and they managed to choose an awesome theme aswell. Then they started to hype the game. Reception was amazing obviously but then they realized there's no way they can finish the game in time. So they simplified the structure of the game and threw in a really fucking mess of an ending. And everybody's happy right? At least that's what metacritic says. The average score is 81. This game is barely worthy of 70 points let alone 100! It's nice to play the game through once but there's really no reason to every play it again. At first the game feels really good but soon it's limitations and repetitiveness kick in and you just have to force yourself to play if you actually want to finish it.

So the sequel is coming out this November. I really don't expect much from it because of the lesson learned with the first one. It's likely to be over-hyped and generally an ok game but I don't think it will blow my mind. Actually this is kind of a test for the series. The second one actually has to earn its place in my game collection because its older brother work it's way up there by cheating.