Whatever happened to just buying just good games?

[HMcCoy]

Re: Whatever happened to just buying just good games?

...I've been thinking about this since Lost Planet released....

If your observation is based on Lost Planet, its a wee bit skewed. LP just came out at a bad time. There are already two awesome shooters that came out recently, both with excellent MP and innovative cover systems. On the heels of those two, Lost Planet loses some buzz...but that doesn't have anything to do with SP vs. MP popularity, or trends in game hype. Alot of SP games have gotten love recently, Viva Pinata, Guitar Hero etc...and if Mass Effect dropped tomorrow, I doubt you'd see many people pass on it just because it doesn't have MP, same for Bioshock.

LP just has big shoes to fill righ now.

[Pete1210]

Re: Whatever happened to just buying just good games?

If a real good live game catches on with my friends I will pick that up right away to catch the wave. Most of them have a good SP too. So I can wait to buy most SP only games until they drop in price.

For you guys complaining about the jerks and experts out there on live I feel the same way. But once I developed a big friends list with older and not so hardcore gamers (like me) that made all the difference.

[spankdatazz22]

Re: Whatever happened to just buying just good games?

If your observation is based on Lost Planet, its a wee bit skewed. LP just came out at a bad time. There are already two awesome shooters that came out recently, both with excellent MP and innovative cover systems. On the heels of those two, Lost Planet loses some buzz...but that doesn't have anything to do with SP vs. MP popularity, or trends in game hype. Alot of SP games have gotten love recently, Viva Pinata, Guitar Hero etc...and if Mass Effect dropped tomorrow, I doubt you'd see many people pass on it just because it doesn't have MP, same for Bioshock.

LP just has big shoes to fill righ now.

Yeah, I agree. LP has suffered a bit from the quality of other releases on the 360, not because of it's multiplayer.

[calcutta]

Re: Whatever happened to just buying just good games?

I still buy games for single player only, and occasionally offline multi. The only game i play on Live is Pro Evo 6.

This past week i just started playing Test Drive Unlimited and the first thing i did was turn off "online interaction", simply so i could get used to the game w/o distractions. 16 hours later, i still have that option set to off cos i'm loving the SP so much.

I think the 360 Achievements system is helping me enjoy SP gaming alot more now too. I enjoyed Tomb Raider Legend's main mode, but i would not have bothered with the time trials if there were no achievements to unlock along the way. Same thing regarding GearsOW - i finished it and enjoyed it on Casual last week, and in the past would not bother with higher difficulties, but now i'm looking forward to unlocking Hardcore difficulty achievements.

It may seem that i'm only playing games for the achievements now, but back on the Xbox i would start so many SP games like Thief DS, Jade Empire, Chaos Theory and get bored quick and give up, so the 360's achievement system had added new life into games IMO by giving me more incentive to finish SP adventures while enjoying them along the way.

[greenegt]

Re: Whatever happened to just buying just good games?

Definitely still like my singleplayer experiences. That's how I spend most of my gaming time. Now-a-days, though, I'll only buy a singleplayer game if it'll be a long experience (at least 20 hours) or if it's a AAA title. Otherwise, I'll rent them. Games with good online MP have a longer shelf life, making them more of a value to me.

[Graphik]

Re: Whatever happened to just buying just good games?

I'm a single player guy myself. The one thing that pisses me off lately is that the SP mode is drastically scaled back due to devs adding MP modes. There are less and less real good SP games coming out lately due to the pressure to make good MP games. Its almost like you cant have one without the other. I understand that MP gaming is the next wave but it totally kills SP only gamers. There are a few that have done both well but you cant help but think that if a MP mode was left out of a game, the game could of been much longer and had more content.

[SoMiss2000]

Re: Whatever happened to just buying just good games?

If your observation is based on Lost Planet, its a wee bit skewed. LP just came out at a bad time. There are already two awesome shooters that came out recently, both with excellent MP and innovative cover systems. On the heels of those two, Lost Planet loses some buzz...but that doesn't have anything to do with SP vs. MP popularity, or trends in game hype. Alot of SP games have gotten love recently, Viva Pinata, Guitar Hero etc...and if Mass Effect dropped tomorrow, I doubt you'd see many people pass on it just because it doesn't have MP, same for Bioshock.

LP just has big shoes to fill righ now.

No, lost planet is just an example. I've seen this theory a lot of times before on the boards. The new trend seems to be that if the game doesn't have a good mp to go along with a solid sp, it's an afterthought.

[Gilateen]

Re: Whatever happened to just buying just good games?

More or less, some want to justify the XBL costs. Why would many pay for singleplayer games and never use what XBL has to offer?

MP games also lets you test your skills amongst the rest of world. No more waiting for friends to come over to beat their butt down in a game. You can beat others around the world just as well. (unless you scared of randoms NBA2k7, R6:V, Madden etc...u know who u are!!!!)

Time also plays a big factor in the choice of SP vs MP games. Many gamers want to jump online (justifying that XBL again) and play with or against live competition.

SP games are just as fun but like others have stated, if its a short game and lacks depth, its basically a waste of money. Even beating the AI on the hardest difficulty isnt enough cuz of the predictability factor.


True gamers want competition.

[Graphik]

Re: Whatever happened to just buying just good games?

True gamers want competition.

I would'nt really say that. Competitive ppl want competition. To tell the truth, the few times I did play online games, it was for mere fun and nothing more. It wasn't like I was playing to increase stats or to have a good online ranking, it was just to have a diffrent experience playing live people. Sometimes it can be fun, sometimes it sucks with cheesers and noob-haters. Not everyone who picked up a next gen system wants to really get online. Heck, alot of ppl slept on last-gen's online capabilities. It just seems as if devs are pretty much shoving online gaming down our throats because the SP experience is becoming extinct.

[Gilateen]

Re: Whatever happened to just buying just good games?

I would'nt really say that. Competitive ppl want competition.

Depends on the game really.

To tell the truth, the few times I did play online games, it was for mere fun and nothing more.

Also depends on what people call 'fun'. Not too many games out that people would lose in and have fun, UNO maybe?

It wasn't like I was playing to increase stats or to have a good online ranking, it was just to have a diffrent experience playing live people.

Depends on the game again.

Sometimes it can be fun, sometimes it sucks with cheesers and noob-haters.

Now this is the most questionable thing around now. Cheese is said when guys exploit AI conditions. Thing is, thats just a bad player who only can do that to win. It isnt like they cant be beat but in some ways cheeze irks people and then theyre not having fun.

Not everyone who picked up a next gen system wants to really get online. Heck, alot of ppl slept on last-gen's online capabilities.

Is it because we had to buy extra additions to go online? PS2 we needed a network adapter. Xbox, we needed a headset and subscription. Both never had the dash and stuff we have that comes standard in a nextgen package. Plus online gaming back then was new. Not too many games had online capabilities anyway. Who knew who was was online at any giving time?

It just seems as if devs are pretty much shoving online gaming down our throats because the SP experience is becoming extinct

Perception...thats all. Many games give you the choice to play online and while online there are different variations to play. Unlike most SP games where you beat it and thats it, most SP games now have extra modes to keep the game fresh.

[Hassan Darkside]

Re: Whatever happened to just buying just good games?

I was never really a big fan of multiplayer online games. Wolfenstein: ET was like the first one I really got into, then Halo a little, then R6: Vegas. I have no problem with going up against AI. Like in games like NBA 2k, there's some people who live to play online but I have no problem just playing through an association.

[jmood88]

Re: Whatever happened to just buying just good games?

I never played online until last year and now I see why it's such a big deal. Single player is fun but it's a lot more fun playing against another person, especially if that person talks a lot of ****.

[Graphik]

Re: Whatever happened to just buying just good games?

[QUOTE=Gilateen;2884134]

Also depends on what people call 'fun'. Not too many games out that people would lose in and have fun, UNO maybe?

Its not whether you win or lose...you know the rest. Speaking for myself, all I want is a good time. There have been plenty of times I've played online and stayed at the bottom position and still left the game completely satisfied. When I used to play the OSers, I was never the best but I always had fun. Even when I play sports games, losing a close game can be just as fun as winning a blowout.

Now this is the most questionable thing around now. Cheese is said when guys exploit AI conditions. Thing is, thats just a bad player who only can do that to win. It isnt like they cant be beat but in some ways cheeze irks people and then theyre not having fun.

Most cheese comes in the form of design flaws. There have been to many games that suffer from this. Ethier the spawn locations are predictable, certain weapons prove to be to powerful, animations can be taken advantage of, money plays, etc. The best online MP games are usually the ones with the less cheese tactics.

Is it because we had to buy extra additions to go online? PS2 we needed a network adapter. Xbox, we needed a headset and subscription. Both never had the dash and stuff we have that comes standard in a nextgen package. Plus online gaming back then was new. Not too many games had online capabilities anyway. Who knew who was was online at any giving time?

For XBOX owners, there were plenty of games in the last few years that offered online MP. When Xbox Live came about, it pretty much started the death of the SP game. You could'nt drop a FPS without MP options. If it did'nt have MP, the devs were seen as lazy. And as most know, the Xbox was pretty much the home of the FPS. PS2 was a diffrent ball of wax. They did'nt offer as many MP games because as I recall, before the next-gen systems were out, Sony was considered seriously lacking in online capabilities. I'm sure many remember the countless debates about how Sony should follow MS in the online market or they would be history.

Perception...thats all. Many games give you the choice to play online and while online there are different variations to play. Unlike most SP games where you beat it and thats it, most SP games now have extra modes to keep the game fresh.

Thats the problem right there. Many games are developed with MP to increase the replay value while if the focus was to make a long-lasting, satisfying SP experience, you wouldn't need a MP mode. Some games seem to have a SP game to compliment the MP game when it should be the other way around. It shouldn't be so difficult for a dev to make a SP game that has depth and replay value. Its been done before so why not more often?

I'm the exact opposite of what SoMiss described in his original post. I'll skip over a game with good MP if the SP is lacking which is happening way to often these days.

[mudman]

Re: Whatever happened to just buying just good games?

Thats the problem right there. Many games are developed with MP to increase the replay value while if the focus was to make a long-lasting, satisfying SP experience, you wouldn't need a MP mode. Some games seem to have a SP game to compliment the MP game when it should be the other way around. It shouldn't be so difficult for a dev to make a SP game that has depth and replay value. Its been done before so why not more often?

I'm the exact opposite of what SoMiss described in his original post. I'll skip over a game with good MP if the SP is lacking which is happening way to often these days.

While it is unfortunate that the SP portion of games are being somewhat neglected, a game w/o multiplayer will never, IMO, be worth full price. Even an amazing 20 hr single player game can be played and exhausted far too quickly. If a game like Starcraft didn't have a good MP mode, I would barely remember the game at all....as it is though, I have spent far too much of my spare time playing that game online.

I think that virtually anybody who plays a particular game months after they buy it does so because of the multiplayer options.

How many games keep people occupied for months at a time because of the singleplayer mode?....it's few and far between.

[Cyros]

Re: Whatever happened to just buying just good games?

While it is unfortunate that the SP portion of games are being somewhat neglected, a game w/o multiplayer will never, IMO, be worth full price. Even an amazing 20 hr single player game can be played and exhausted far too quickly. If a game like Starcraft didn't have a good MP mode, I would barely remember the game at all....as it is though, I have spent far too much of my spare time playing that game online.

I think that virtually anybody who plays a particular game months after they buy it does so because of the multiplayer options.

How many games keep people occupied for months at a time because of the singleplayer mode?....it's few and far between.

So Resident Evil 4 or FFXII would never be worth full price?