What drives you to buy a game?

[tweetintoucan]

Just curious. The video game industry seems to thrive at putting different versions of the same game, so what makes one any better than the other to you?

Growing up on Lucas Arts and Sierra adventure games, it is definitely the story that drives me to buy or not buy a game. Unfortunately for me or anyone like me, it seems to be last on the list of the people who make these games.

Gameplay is a close #2 however, followed by graphics.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: What drives you to buy a game?

1. Story line

2. Game play

For me, being a military vet, I love all military themed games....I can careless about the online part of it. That is why I enjoyed Medal of Honor, Operation Flashpoint Red River.

Not many people bought those 2 games because of how shallow the online part of the game was. I am not a huge online gamer, that mode always bore the hell out of me.

I always love build your empire up and conquer the world type of games too. That is why I enjoyed the Tropico series, civilization series on up to 3, part 4 and 5 are trash. And recently since they added it last week, I have been enjoying Age of Empires Online that I seen on Xbox Marketplace.

I can careless about graphics and online modes.....

Story line and game play mechanics always trump that for me.

[bcruise]

Re: What drives you to buy a game?

Familiarity with developer/series has to be #1 for me. Once I've decided that I like a particular game I remember the developer, and keep a closer eye on any future releases from them. As a recent example, I didn't know who Naughty Dog was until Uncharted (I never got into Crash back in the day) - now anything with the name Uncharted on it is a first day buy for me. Same for SCEA San Diego and The Show, Clap Hanz for Hot Shots Golf, and several others. This is of course dependent on how good the following games are - even my faith in Square-Enix, easily my favorite developer of all-time, was shaken by FFXIII. I'm still looking forward to their upcoming games of course (including the sequel), but I'll probably pay attention to the previews a bit more.

Within a game itself, I am and always have been about gameplay over graphics. I played High Heat Baseball for years after MVP came out (and before the Show), because I felt it had the better gameplay - and MUCH more customizable through use of the tune file - despite its graphics being considered inferior even by 2003's standards.

And, being a huge JRPG nut, story is very important to me in games that use it.

[Blzer]

Re: What drives you to buy a game?

If the game is an adaptation of something else, authenticity is the main seller for me. I have an entire post devoted to that concept when somebody asked me why not having Matt Damon in The Bourne Conspiracy was a game-breaker:

http://www.operationsports.com/forum...post2041562841

Otherwise, a lot has to do with current generation visuals (being able to get that 60 FPS or anti-aliasing is pretty huge for me), story longevity and replay value (even if it's online play), a competitive difficulty level, and just overall gameplay. I need to have fun playing my game, not stress through it.

[tweetintoucan]

Re: What drives you to buy a game?

1. Story line

2. Game play

For me, being a military vet, I love all military themed games....I can careless about the online part of it. That is why I enjoyed Medal of Honor, Operation Flashpoint Red River.

Not many people bought those 2 games because of how shallow the online part of the game was. I am not a huge online gamer, that mode always bore the hell out of me.

I always love build your empire up and conquer the world type of games too. That is why I enjoyed the Tropico series, civilization series on up to 3, part 4 and 5 are trash. And recently since they added it last week, I have been enjoying Age of Empires Online that I seen on Xbox Marketplace.

I can careless about graphics and online modes.....

Story line and game play mechanics always trump that for me.

Tropico is a GREAT franchise! Can't wait for 4 to hit XBOX. I enjoy certain online games if they are not sports related, but for the major titles such as CoD and Battlefield, their reliance on online gameplay really makes the story a simple, shallow practice run before you play online. If I see a FPS style game now that doesn't offer online gameplay, I get a little excited. It usually means that they put all their efforts into the story. Games like Call of Juarez and Singularity were really pleasant surprises because they simply kept you interested in what was going on.

[youvalss]

Re: What drives you to buy a game?

I'm talking about FPS/TPS games here. I like graphics and a lot of action, and as current (real) as it can get - no sci-fi stuff for me. After I confirmed these, I go to youtube to watch gameplay videos and read some reviews...but I pay more attention to the gameplay videos. If it looks solid and I can find it at a decent price (I buy mostly older games) - I would buy it.

I also need a decent single player mode. It doesn't have to have a great story, but it has to be long, since I'm not into multiplayer.

[goh]

Re: What drives you to buy a game?

If it has heart,style,creativity/originality,story/characters are intresting,sometimes the view matters and as long as the gameplay looks at least decent. Dead Island for example seems to have nice style and creativity but the characters,first person view and gameplay all look terrible for it. Saints Row 3 on the other hand appears to have all the above and then some.

[LingeringRegime]

Re: What drives you to buy a game?

1. Competitive Multi-player (for games that apply)
1a. Compelling Story
1b. Randomness
1c. Many Options
1d. Last but not least, sound gameplay

*Any of the above will usually get me to buy.

[canes21]

Re: What drives you to buy a game?

Mostly brand name. Since hardly anything innovative comes out anymore I just stick with what I know I like and avoid what I know I wouldn't.

Most games I buy are sports games and then GTA, Battlefield, Saints Row, etc. that I know I will love. Then I rent games that interest me, but I might not want to buy. Those are like Singularity, Metro 2033, both of which were amazing. I also have games I rent that I am glad I only rented.

[tweetintoucan]

Re: What drives you to buy a game?

If it has heart,style,creativity/originality,story/characters are intresting,sometimes the view matters and as long as the gameplay looks at least decent. Dead Island for example seems to have nice style and creativity but the characters,first person view and gameplay all look terrible for it. Saints Row 3 on the other hand appears to have all the above and then some.

Yeah, and Dead Island is a zombie game...really pushing the boundries there. I agree with you on originality, I'm a total stickler when it comes to it.

[untrugby]

Re: What drives you to buy a game?

gameplay and replayability are what i look for

graphics after that, then sounds / soundtrack

storyline is very last on the list for me, a lot of games i dont even pay attention to it.

[clipperfan811]

Re: What drives you to buy a game?

Money burning a hole in my pocket and absolute compulsion

[goh]

Re: What drives you to buy a game?

Yeah, and Dead Island is a zombie game...really pushing the boundries there. I agree with you on originality, I'm a total stickler when it comes to it.

Sure it's a zombie game but setting/story are different for a game. Though again the first person view,characters and actual gameplay look terrible but otherwise the whole free-roam island setting seems pretty great.

[willIam9387]

Re: What drives you to buy a game?

Sometimes it's hype or my curiosity in a new type of game i.e. L.A. Noire, but most of the time I buy games like RPGs or sports game which my interest normally lies. I have to say about RPGs though, it's normally hit or miss for me. Mass effect 2 and Oblivion have been my most played RPGs with Fallout coming in a distant third. But most of the time I'll purchase a sports game after only a couple skims of preview articles or videos, while I put a lot of research into an RPG or a game from another genre before making a decision.

[RedPhazon8]

Re: What drives you to buy a game?

I'll only buy something right away if it passes my "test". If I can't play the game for free at any point, I wait for a price drop...