Video Games Thread

[bealec]

It may not matter to you but it will to many others.


Consider this. I bet 50% of the people who have purchased Blops 2 won't even look at the campaign for the first month or so of owning the game some wont look at it at all.

No online multiplayer is a big loss for this game.

[ancelotti]

Reading about it, it could have been an incredible game with a decent online multiplayer mode. Why would Ubisoft not take an extra bit of time to make it special?

[harv]

Reading about it, it could have been an incredible game with a decent online multiplayer mode. Why would Ubisoft not take an extra bit of time to make it special?

Because Nintendo requested a Mature/18 rated title from them at launch and they simply haven't had the time. Ubisoft Montpellier have worked wonders getting this ready for launch, the development history is quite interesting.

It started off as 360 alien FPS then got ported to the Wii U as Killer Freaks From Outer Space which was first shown at E3 2011 as a WIP, and then Ubisoft realised that the alien Rabbids mutations were too short and to fast for the controls to work well enough. So they decided to switch from aliens to zombies just 14 months ago

We'll definitely see online multiplayer in the sequel, like I said before they had to outsource the local multiplayer to another Ubisoft studio because they didn't have the time to work on it themselves. Managing the release of a launch title with a single player campaign of 5-6 hours is a nightmare as it is, but a 15-20 hour long single player campaign is going to give QA management nightmares, particularly when every game is different with regards to the location and number of zombies and scares. It's going to make bug regression VERY difficult, I'm expecting it to be quite buggy when it's first released tbh.

[Late]

There simply wasn't time to get online multiplayer sorted, they had to outsource the local multiplayer to another Ubisoft developer.

If your game isn't complete on time you put it's release back a bit - you don't just cut out the most important part. (Most important for the vast majority of people anyway...)

It really is one of the most ridiculous decisions I've heard about in a long time. The fact that they successfully put local multiplayer in but didn't take that relatively small step to put online multiplayer in is just astounding.

Did Ubi just come to the conclusion that you'll never find two friends who'll both buy a U, so there'd be no need for online multiplayer?
The initial assumption is fair enough, but the conclusion is flawed - even if you've got no friends you'll enjoy online multiplayer...

[jman]

Halo 4 came with a 14 day GOLD trial, so put that in before purchasing and played one game of CTF..

..I've still got it    Considering its changed a lot.. still managed to walk away with +15 K/D ratio.. plus the highest amount of kills..   ooooh baby!! 

[harv]

You didn't read that first paragraph. Nintendo requested a Mature/18 rated launch title. Putting the release back wasn't an option.

Like I said, we'll see online multiplayer in the inevitable sequel.

[Late]

You didn't read that first paragraph. Nintendo requested a Mature/18 rated launch title. Putting the release back wasn't an option.
Like I said, we'll see online multiplayer in the inevitable sequel.

To be honest, not only did I not see that paragraph - I didn't see the page. Thought the thread was still on page 72... 

What's more important? Getting the game launched in November so that Nintendo can boast a (buggy and massively flawed) mature title at launch, or taking an extra couple of months to create a game that might actually make people consider buying the console.

As Kenny said, the game could and should have been exceptional. As it is, though, it's got a distinct half-arsed vibe.
Of course there'll be online multiplayer in the sequel. That'll be too late, though. Who's going to buy a U in 2 years' time? The nextbox and ps4 will be out. Nintendo need to shift serious numbers of consoles in the next 12 months, because sales will dry up once we get to within a few months of the next gen machines' launching.

It may not matter to you but it will to many others.
Consider this. I bet 50% of the people who have purchased Blops 2 won't even look at the campaign for the first month or so of owning the game some wont look at it at all.
No online multiplayer is a big loss for this game.

Good call. TBH I usually play the campaign first, then multiplayer (and then zombies or spec ops) but so far I've not looked at the campaign at all. It's all about the multiplayer (though I did have one quick look at zombies last night).

Am liking the game a LOT more than MW3. The majority of the maps seem well designed, some of the new toys are great, I prefer the scorestreak system, and I'm very impressed with the loadout system. Also impressed with Elite, tbh. I appreciate Elite isn't new, but it's new to me and it seems pretty clever. For instance I was changing my loadouts/classes on the tablet whilst watching a film with the family last night.

In my first game I got 13 kills and 5 deaths. The temptation was to take the game out of the machine and never play it again, at that point. My combat record showed a 2.6 K/D ratio, and that ain't ever going to happen again!
To be honest, I got a positive K/D in every game on Tuesday evening. Then turned it off for a few hours, and played again after midnight - and got right royally pwned in every game. I should play more evenings and less around 12am-4am. I'm insomniac and only sleep about 3 hours a night, but that doesn't mean I don't get tired - and I think tiredness accounts for a lot of my deaths.
Suffice to say I've now completely killed my K/D ratio - which is now 0.77

Also just noticed that it shows how much you've played each of the last 3 CODs:
BO1 = 302 hours
MW3 = 6 hours
BO2 = 4 hours
I'm pretty sure WAW and MW2 were each around 300 hours, too.

Damn but I didn't like MW3...

[harv]

Sales won't dry up at all. All Nintendo need to do is release one or two of their first party big guns around the same time that those consoles are launching. Out of the three platform holders Nintendo have the biggest stable of system selling software. That, combined with the system being cheaper than the PS4 and 720, means that it's going to continue selling for years to come.

[Late]

It'll continue to sell some units, but nowhere near as many as it did when it's rivals were last gen. There'll always be a market for kiddie games consoles if the price is right. But you've moved off the point, there.

You're talking about how ZU2 will have multiplayer as though it's relevant - and it isn't. If it's target audience is mature gamers who like to play online and are considering upgrading from their ps3/360 do you really think that demographic is going to be even remotely tempted by the U if the ps4/nextbox are on the market?
Not a chance.

If you want to sell to that group (which is probably the largest section of the gaming market) then you need to give them what they want now - not in a couple of years' time.

[jman]

Also just noticed that it shows how much you've played each of the last 3 CODs:
BO1 = 302 hours
MW3 = 6 hours
BO2 = 4 hours
I'm pretty sure WAW and MW2 were each around 300 hours, too.

Damn but I didn't like MW3...

My K/D ratios..

Halo 2 - 1.03 (2705 games)
Halo 3 - 1.44 (2498 games)
Halo Reach - 1.32 (933 games)
Halo 4 - 2.15 (1 game) 

Sales won't dry up at all. All Nintendo need to do is release one or two of their first party big guns around the same time that those consoles are launching. Out of the three platform holders Nintendo have the biggest stable of system selling software. That, combined with the system being cheaper than the PS4 and 720, means that it's going to continue selling for years to come.

If sales dont dry up, the system wont have a price cut (you do realise the Wii went without a price cut for 3 years ??) so it wont "definitely" be cheaper than the PS4/720 unless you agree that sales will dry up...  The Wii U is expensive at the moment and even Ubisoft have agreed with that... sales will be hot for the first month.. they will totally dry up after christmas.. bet your ass on it!

[Late]

If you've got an 8gb drive you can't install anything. System files, profiles, game updates, and save files will eat through that in no time.
A 32gb drive might last a casual gamer for a couple of months (again, so long as they don't install or download any full games), but to all intents and purposes both are way too small...

Nintendo have now announced that system files and profiles etc. are expected to take up about 5gb of the U's internal memory.
Buyers of the base model are expected to have approximately 3.2gb of accessible storage space. 
Ridiculous. Download the DLC for one game and the drive's full =))




Xbox live is celebrating it's 10th birthday this week. To celebrate they've got a few offers on. I've not had a proper look so no comment as yet...


I hear there's big problems with COD on the ps3. Anyone experienced any?

[harv]

Also just noticed that it shows how much you've played each of the last 3 CODs:
BO1 = 302 hours
MW3 = 6 hours
BO2 = 4 hours
I'm pretty sure WAW and MW2 were each around 300 hours, too.

Damn but I didn't like MW3...

My K/D ratios..

Halo 2 - 1.03 (2705 games)
Halo 3 - 1.44 (2498 games)
Halo Reach - 1.32 (933 games)
Halo 4 - 2.15 (1 game) 

Sales won't dry up at all. All Nintendo need to do is release one or two of their first party big guns around the same time that those consoles are launching. Out of the three platform holders Nintendo have the biggest stable of system selling software. That, combined with the system being cheaper than the PS4 and 720, means that it's going to continue selling for years to come.

If sales dont dry up, the system wont have a price cut (you do realise the Wii went without a price cut for 3 years ??) so it wont "definitely" be cheaper than the PS4/720 unless you agree that sales will dry up...  The Wii U is expensive at the moment and even Ubisoft have agreed with that... sales will be hot for the first month.. they will totally dry up after christmas.. bet your ass on it!

Of course it will definitely be cheaper. The 2-4GB of RAM and GPU pushing 1.8TFLOPS in the PS4 and 6-8GB of RAM and GPU pushing 1.2GFLOPS says so. You'll find the PS4 and 720 being around 100 dollars/pounds more expensive, which in the middle of the worst recession we've seen in donkeys years is quite a big deal.

And comparing the sales of the phenomenon that was the Wii to any other console is unfair, we're not going to see another console sell that well again.

It would be better to compare the sales of the 360 during its first year to the sales of the U after it launches. And as I've already mentioned, Nintendo have the biggest stable of system selling software in the business. A Mario Kart, Wii Sports U, 3D Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Xenoblade Chronicles sequel, F-Zero, Wave Race, Donkey Kong or Retro's new title (assuming it isn't another Metroid title) will boost console sales when needed, and that's before you take into account any more exclusive deals with developers like Bayonetta 2.

Nintendo's year head start is going to put them in the same position as the 360 was this gen, except there isn't going to be a Wii equivalent sales phenomenon to outsell it next gen. They've basically 'won' next gen before it's even started in terms of hardware and software sales, and because of Nintendo's surprising forward thinking with regards to the architecture and GPU it's not going to suffer from the problems that the Wii has had this gen with multiplatform titles.

Like I've said before, if I was a Microsoft shareholder I'd be seriously pissed off that they didn't release a next gen console last year. That advantage they had this gen has now gone to Nintendo next gen.

[Late]

I agree with Harv - the U will definitely be cheaper than the next gen consoles.

Might be comparable once you've bought all your peripherals, mind (HDD, variety of controllers, etc.)...

[harv]

Bloody hell, this Eurogamer review of NSMB U is tempting me to buy it!!!

Has a Metascore of 88 last I saw it, Nintendo Land is also (surprisingly!) sounding great.

Reviews for ZombiU are out on Sunday, that's the one I'm really looking forward to. Should be the Wii U killer app I reckon.

Going to be scary though!!!

[jman]

After about 15 games of Halo 4 last night (slightly intoxicated) my K/D ratio has gone down from 2.15 to 1.69 

Have to say though that on the large, Im mostly disappointed with Halo 4 Matchmaking.. the changes they have made dont make it feel like Halo anymore, its too fast paced and I dont like the idea of not having guns scattered on the playing field, plus they have dropped playlists I loved like Assault.  If I wanted to play COD I'd of bought COD.. its ripped too many game mechanics imo 

I agree with Harv - the U will definitely be cheaper than the next gen consoles.

Well its more expensive than the 360 was at launch... and the nextbox wont have an £100 gamepad to have to deal with    I cant see nintendo sitting on their launch price for too long though.. sales will definitely dry up and it will be slashed within 6 months