I guess I am done with linear, point A to point B games...

[futurefields]

Been playing Max Payne 3 this weekend, it's just not fun at all.

Very well optimized game though.

 

[motsm]

After seeing that the game got interrupted every few minutes or less, I just wrote it off and haven't really thought about it again until now.

 

[Annisman*]

There are still plenty of fun games that do the point A to point B method. IMO it's not about the design so much as it is: how fun is the game ?

Some that come to mind are SINGULARITY and HARD RESET, and personally MAX PAYNE 3 is a worthy one for me at least.

There are lots of open world games that suck. But when one truly does it right it's a beautiful thing indeed. (STALKER, SKYRIM, WITCHER)

 

[xantub]

I'm quite the contrary, I'm done with 'open world' games. I have too many games in my queue and I can't afford spending 150+ hours just 'exploring' anymore. Give me linear games please!

 

[TheSlamma]

I'm quite the contrary, I'm done with 'open world' games. I have too many games in my queue and I can't afford spending 150+ hours just 'exploring' anymore. Give me linear games please!

This is why I now am more into the short 'Arcade' games

I've had more fun with Bastion, Limbo, defense grid, Child of Light, Mark of the Ninja and Trine 2. I can beat the games in a short time and not a span of 2 or 3 months while other adult life things are going on.

No wonder kids these days sink so many hours into games, it's not like Castlevania 1 where a playthrough was 20 minutes

 

[DigDog]

i also enjoyed both singularity and hard reset very much, even though they were pretty simple on the design.

and if you have played hard reset when it first came out, make sure to get a version with the "patch" - essentially the patch adds 1/3 more game and adds an actuall conclusion to the story.

 

[futurefields]

MP3 is seriously frustrating the heck out of me right now. I am going to finish it though or else it will bother me until the end of time. I never leave a game unfinished. This is just torture though. I mean I play Diablo 3 or Skyrim or something, its so relaxing, level up your character, do easy content or challenging content depending on your mood. But games like MP3 are just choke point after choke point smh...

 

[BSim500]

Depends on the game. There are some open-world games done really well (eg, Skyrim) whilst others feel very fake & contrived (eg, Watch Dogs where you can't talk to anyone and they literally pop into existence 20ft in front of you). Likewise, there are some very atmospheric "narrow" FPS's done well (Bioshock, Metro, etc), whilst others are just tediously "overly-cinematic" with the cutscenes constantly getting in the way and as you say very "fake" feeling "choke-points", invisible walls, etc. If you're not enjoying it don't force yourself. I've had games like that in the past I didn't finish due to that "meh" feeling.

 

[PrincessFrosty]

Point A to B are great for a limited number of highly story driven games which are tailored to spin a very interesting and deep narrative, the stuff that comes out of Quantic Dreams studio is a great example.

IMO it doens't belong in most games, few games target a strong story like that and so extremely linear progression is bad. Seeing A to B navigation in games that ought to have been open world like Thief is an atrocity to gaming.

 

[Blanky]

I guess it depends on the game. I enjoyed MP3, but apparently some others hated it. I hated Dragon Age 2 so much because it was linear, but an RPG on rails is terrible.

I enjoyed MP3 except for the last fight, which was brutal even on normal and I am sad to admit I jacked it down to easy to get through it. It was totally scaled wrong compared to the other fights in the game.

I no longer feel guilty quitting a game, though. Witcher 2, for example, was a thoroughly terrible game and I feel no guilt over quitting 1/3rd of the way through.

 

[Rakehellion]

Witcher 2 was great. You have bad opinions.

 

[moonbogg]

This is why I now am more into the short 'Arcade' games

I've had more fun with Bastion, Limbo, defense grid, Child of Light, Mark of the Ninja and Trine 2. I can beat the games in a short time and not a span of 2 or 3 months while other adult life things are going on.

No wonder kids these days sink so many hours into games, it's not like Castlevania 1 where a playthrough was 20 minutes

LOVED that game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j03DVgCTLQs

Correction. Castlevania 2 was the one I loved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4we8iFk-fY

 

[ImpulsE69]

This is why I now am more into the short 'Arcade' games

I've had more fun with Bastion, Limbo, defense grid, Child of Light, Mark of the Ninja and Trine 2. I can beat the games in a short time and not a span of 2 or 3 months while other adult life things are going on.

No wonder kids these days sink so many hours into games, it's not like Castlevania 1 where a playthrough was 20 minutes

SHow me someone who beat it in even 24 hours back when it came out. Those games were lengthy by sheer newness and hardness. Sure people can speedrun them but that was after spending countless hours dying over and over.

 

[shortylickens]

Linear as fine so long as its well done.

Castlevania 1, 3, and 4 were great because they had fun, interesting levels.
But Castlevania 2 was awesome because theres no timer and you could just enjoy the exploration. And if you look thru the series, the open world Castlevanias are actually a little more popular.


Getting back to PC Gaming, Red Faction 1 was great, but people also seemed to enjoy Guerrilla. Both games were well made and top quality for their genre.

The first few Call of Duty games were very well made and people didnt seem to mind being railroaded. But eventually that crap gets old.

Far Cry 1 was a MUCH better overall experience than 2 or 3. So open world isnt automatically better.

Of course, I love stuff like Fallout and Baldurs Gate that let me do things in any order I like. And Elder Scrolls proves that sometimes just the exploration is enough to make a game enjoyable.

Deus Ex is awesome because it has a linear story but within each map you are free to do things as you please. Come to think of it, I havent seen anything as good as Deus Ex 1.
Maybe the System Shock games.

 

[ThinClient]

dislike one game

blame entire genre of games

 

[ImpulsE69]

I tend to like linear games. Open world games overwhelm me with things to do and I end up not really playing the game. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of big open worlds to explore, I've just learned over time that I suck at them.

 

[TheSlamma]

SHow me someone who beat it in even 24 hours back when it came out. Those games were lengthy by sheer newness and hardness. Sure people can speedrun them but that was after spending countless hours dying over and over.

How can I show you something like that? Weird post.

 

[shortylickens]

How can I show you something like that? Weird post.

Don't worry about showing. Just listen.


Almost nobody could beat those NES games right away. They were incredibly difficult compared to today's titles on top of which many did not have a password or save feature. And I'm not talking about popular stuff designed to be challenging like Battletoads. I'm talking about games which probably had no playtesting, like Karnov.

 

[TheSlamma]

Don't worry about showing. Just listen.


Almost nobody could beat those NES games right away. They were incredibly difficult compared to today's titles on top of which many did not have a password or save feature. And I'm not talking about popular stuff designed to be challenging like Battletoads. I'm talking about games which probably had no playtesting, like Karnov.

lol, you post as if I have no clue about it, I'm pretty sure I've been living on this earth longer than you have, I used to play them and I used to beat plenty of games, CV1-2-3 all included.

 

[TheSlamma]

Witcher 2 was great. You have bad opinions.

I didn't really care for it either, felt the combat controls were slop city. I didn't think it was a bad game no one should life, but def one I could never get into.

 

[ImpulsE69]

lol, you post as if I have no clue about it, I'm pretty sure I've been living on this earth longer than you have, I used to play them and I used to beat plenty of games, CV1-2-3 all included.

But he understood my point. You tried to make it sound like you beat it in 20 minutes, which I really doubt you did then. It's just not comparable.

 

[TheSlamma]

But he understood my point. You tried to make it sound like you beat it in 20 minutes, which I really doubt you did then. It's just not comparable.

No pickles, you made it out like I said that.

Read the post you first replied to, I said 20 minute play through

Look up the definition of PLAY THROUGH, it's nothing of what you are talking about. Now clean this mess up

 

[futurefields]

Just played MP3 for like 90 minutes straight starting to have more fun with it. It is SO linear. It makes a Call of Duty campaign seem like a sandbox. But it's also really well polished and just a joy kind of to play a well optimized Rockstar game on PC. Gives me hope for GTA5.

 

[ImpulsE69]

No pickles, you made it out like I said that.

Read the post you first replied to, I said 20 minute play through

Look up the definition of PLAY THROUGH, it's nothing of what you are talking about. Now clean this mess up

Really doesn't matter, but I guess I have no idea what your point was then. They put way more than 20 minutes into a playthrough. We sat for hours on end replaying the same levels. Just like we do today (if they are hard enough).

 

[MeldarthX]

This is why I now am more into the short 'Arcade' games

I've had more fun with Bastion, Limbo, defense grid, Child of Light, Mark of the Ninja and Trine 2. I can beat the games in a short time and not a span of 2 or 3 months while other adult life things are going on.

No wonder kids these days sink so many hours into games, it's not like Castlevania 1 where a playthrough was 20 minutes

Castlevania 1 playthrough 20 minutes what??? People covered it already; back then you couldn't speed play through it; fastest ever got through CV1 was about 20 hours; I was like 10 at the time. CV2 one of my all time favorites.

I really need to get those games again....