Games I will and will not be buying
Mar. 29th, 2006 11:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cmdr_zoomSo Kingdom Hearts II is out, and someday soon I'm probably going to go down and buy it, despite some of the disappointing things I've heard about it. Then again, "too easy" suits this aging gamer just fine; like the old graphic adventures by Sierra and Lucasarts, I'm mostly in it for the story and visuals, not so much the challenge. I still remember how frustrated I was to be completely blocked in KH 1.5 ("Chain of Memories" for GBA) by an impossibly hard boss fight. Likewise, I haven't really been back to Viewtiful Joe since another boss kicked my ass at "normal" difficulty.
I will not, however, be getting in on NCsoft's new MMO, Auto Assault, after being part of the free beta earlier this month. While the auto-combat portion of the game was a lot of fun (bringing back fond memories of Interstate '76, but with much improved graphics even on my relatively anemic rig), the out-of-car portion felt almost like an afterthought (shades of I'82). Character customization was limited and animations were clunky. Nor was I much impressed by the look or layout of the towns, especially compared to the striking post-apocalyptic exterior landscapes.
But what really killed it for me was crafting and the grind. Playing AA was a painful reminder why I don't play "real" MMOGs, just weird ones like CoX and Puzzle Pirates. This game wants to be World of Autocraft so bad it hurts. (Though I can't really blame them, considering how much money Blizzard's making.) Every third mission sent me out to collect kill trophies and return them to my contact. My inventory rapidly filled up with crafting-material drops and broken items that I could use/fix if I first practiced my crafting skill up for a real-time hour or two. (Having no patience for the Skinner-box crafting model, I deleted most of them instead.)
Throw in other little things like almost no roleplaying (then again, it was "just" beta), rampant kill-stealing and general idiocy, and weird immersion-breaking artifacts of the genre's roots (equipment that grants stat bonuses has names like "Machine Gun of Hammering" and "Aged Nanocopper Armor of Expertise"), and the overall experience was a tedious and unappealing glimpse of what the rest of the industry considers to be normal gameplay. I'll pass.
At least the driving around and blowing stuff up was fun. And the Poser chick in the opening movie was kinda hot.
I will not, however, be getting in on NCsoft's new MMO, Auto Assault, after being part of the free beta earlier this month. While the auto-combat portion of the game was a lot of fun (bringing back fond memories of Interstate '76, but with much improved graphics even on my relatively anemic rig), the out-of-car portion felt almost like an afterthought (shades of I'82). Character customization was limited and animations were clunky. Nor was I much impressed by the look or layout of the towns, especially compared to the striking post-apocalyptic exterior landscapes.
But what really killed it for me was crafting and the grind. Playing AA was a painful reminder why I don't play "real" MMOGs, just weird ones like CoX and Puzzle Pirates. This game wants to be World of Autocraft so bad it hurts. (Though I can't really blame them, considering how much money Blizzard's making.) Every third mission sent me out to collect kill trophies and return them to my contact. My inventory rapidly filled up with crafting-material drops and broken items that I could use/fix if I first practiced my crafting skill up for a real-time hour or two. (Having no patience for the Skinner-box crafting model, I deleted most of them instead.)
Throw in other little things like almost no roleplaying (then again, it was "just" beta), rampant kill-stealing and general idiocy, and weird immersion-breaking artifacts of the genre's roots (equipment that grants stat bonuses has names like "Machine Gun of Hammering" and "Aged Nanocopper Armor of Expertise"), and the overall experience was a tedious and unappealing glimpse of what the rest of the industry considers to be normal gameplay. I'll pass.
At least the driving around and blowing stuff up was fun. And the Poser chick in the opening movie was kinda hot.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2006-03-30 03:37 am (UTC)and they finally got it up and running for me, late, late Tuesday.
I told them that if this was any indication of actual gameplay, I'd be spending my money elsewhere.
I have considered getting CoV, but I don't know...
(no subject)
Date: 2006-03-30 09:52 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-03-30 02:59 pm (UTC)Playing is the mighty big if. When I finally got somewhat comfortable with the game, I wound up starting over, and back in the Hollows.
That broke me.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-03-30 06:30 pm (UTC)You go see Wincott and then go back to doing stuff for your other contacts. Some of them may randomly send you to do missions in the Hollows - that can't really be helped, but if you have friends they should be able to help you out with the getting there and back.
why buy when you can win it?
Date: 2006-04-03 11:25 pm (UTC)http://www.theapocalypseiscoming.com
Re: why buy when you can win it?
Date: 2006-04-04 05:55 am (UTC)