Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sun 23rd Aug 2009 19:17 UTC
PC gamers vs. console gamers. There's this assumption that PC gamers are capable of playing more complex games than console gamers. The games industry itself has picked up on this assumption and generally dumbs down games for the consoles because they assume us poor console gamers are not capable enough, and as the consoles have increasingly become the focal point of the industry, PC games also started suffering from the dumbing down effect. That's why the developers behind Sacred 2 deserve all the more praise for not assuming all gamers on consoles are 13-year-old Halo-addicted kids by releasing a traditional top-down hack and slash game with an incredibly detailed world and intricate character development.
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RE[3]: "assumption"? hard facts of life
by jjmckay on Mon 24th Aug 2009 05:09
in reply to "RE[2]: "assumption"? hard facts of life"
Member since:2005-11-11
it's just not in the same class as games like Neverwinter Nights, Alternate Reality, Ultima 4-7(maybe 9), Wizardry, Might and Magic, Elder Scrolls, Fallout / Wasteland, Bard's Tale, etc.
Nice list.. Alternate Reality rocks for its depth but I think the actual UI could be ported to a modern console without too much difficulty. Developers are intentionally dumbing down games for both PC and console but the latter gets much more.
You fail to list one game that might be better than the ones you mention: Dungeon Master. If you haven't played it, go get "Chaos Strikes Back for Windows (and Linux, MacOS X, Pocket PC)" (play the DM dungeon first, before the CSB expansion). It's free.
Also Ultima 3:Exodus is a great game too. Not as deep as IV but still great fun.
RE[3]: "assumption"? hard facts of life
by Soulbender on Mon 24th Aug 2009 09:07
in reply to "RE[2]: "assumption"? hard facts of life"
Member since:2005-08-18
One thing Consoles will NEVER be as good as is the role-playing games.
Personally I never saw the point in computer RPG's and find the majority of them dull to the extreme. Another day, another underground dungeon. Oh look, some dwarfs and an elf.
Also, this is your opinion. Some people would say console RPG's are superior.
Not to mention that 99% of all the console role-playing games are Final Fantasy clones
Just like how 99% of PC FPS games are dull DOOM/Quake/HL clones?
Neverwinter Nights, Alternate Reality, Ultima 4-7(maybe 9), Wizardry, Might and Magic, Elder Scrolls, Fallout / Wasteland, Bard's Tale, etc.
I dont see why, for example, Fallout couldnt be run on a console. It doesnt really require any keyboard input or a mouse.
really FPS games for that matter
Yes, FPS with a pad sucks. On the other hand, I'm not much of a fan of FPS anyway.
you just don't want to go back to the keyboard.
Which would, uh, make consoles better since they usually have an analog pad these days. Most PC's do not come with a steering wheel or an analog joystick.
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Member since:
2006-01-10
One nice piece of logic that proves that consoles suck are the prices. I'm not talking about the prices for the consoles themselves, but the games.
Sacred 2 being a perfect example of this. Pretty much everywhere you look, the price of Sacred 2 has dropped recently to 15-20 dollars for the PC. For the Xbox360 and Playstation 3, it is still in the 40-50 dollars.
One thing Consoles will NEVER be as good as is the role-playing games. It's not because they can't handle the graphics or the game play, but it's because they simply don't have the complexity one can attain from having a keyboard.
Not to mention that 99% of all the console role-playing games are Final Fantasy clones. Of course a big part of that is due to most of them being influenced by Ultima 1 and Anime.
Sacred 2 may very well be an 'RPGish' game, but walking around and hacking up monsters and clicking through dialog for quests is not a true role-playing game, and is basically just Nethack with a pretty interface (not that this is necessarily a bad thing!), it's just not in the same class as games like Neverwinter Nights, Alternate Reality, Ultima 4-7(maybe 9), Wizardry, Might and Magic, Elder Scrolls, Fallout / Wasteland, Bard's Tale, etc.
Even running emulators on an original Xbox is painful if it requires the keyboard at all. Gamepads have their place, as do keyboards, flight sticks, mice, touch screens, etc. But they're not very good at playing games that require a lot of variable input, or really FPS games for that matter. A lot will argue with that last statement, but whenever I read a game forum where they talk about the possibility of letting Xbox360/PS3 players connect with PC players, they always say it wouldn't be fair, 'cause the PC players would slaughter them with a keyboard / mouse.
Of course playing a racing game with a keyboard is almost OK, but once you've used a steering wheel, or even a analog game pad, you just don't want to go back to the keyboard.
Oh, and I don't think the Xbox360 or PS3 version of Sacred received the Physx upgrade either.
Consoles have one advantage over PCs. Single development platform. Though in more recent years that hasn't helped, games seem to be more buggy, since they are more complex. It's the same reason why Apple computers are more stable than your typical run of the mill beige box (although on a side note, no one calls them that anymore, since most cases are black or silver or pretty much any color BUT beige.)