I hate to be part of the onslaught of lists that arise on the web this time of year: lists that, especially for games and movies, are comprised of the same games and movies because…well a good game is a good game.
So instead, here is my list of The Most Annoying (and disappointing) Things in the 2008 Gaming Scene.
#10. PS3
I used to be a Playstation fan: I traded in my defunct old black Xbox for a PS2 and never looked back . My introduction to Guitar Hero was on PS2. But since day one of when I was working on a PS3 launch title and we found out about the ‘motion controller’ via a press release along with millions of others, to the price point, to the contract-killer like tactics to rub out HD DVD, to the ridiculousness of Home, to the little oversights on it’s online positioning, Sony has just screwed everything up. I figured, loosely mind you, that 2008 would be it for Sony, but no. Microsoft grabbed it’s balls and put one stamp on those dreams. PS3, even with my gaming background and career, is still a console that I have no wish to shell out cash for: the games are weak, few and far between, and it would end up in the same rattan basket that my psp sits in. When a new exclusive game only comes out every 6 months or so, I’d rather be playing on my Xbox, getting achievements and saving my money.
#9. Weak Story
Come on….hasn’t BioWare been doing this long enough? Hasn’t Rockstar showed how a story can be great, but not epic or complex? Why do we still have such weak stories in such mega-blockbuster hits? Why do we see such a lack of desire to hire real writers as full-time employees to ensure that this happens? No, not every game needs it (I could care less what the story is in Geometry Wars 3)…but if you’re shelling out ANY kind of story, then you need to do the Hokey Pokey with both feet in the circle. That’s what it’s all about.
#8. Sequels that drop the ball
Sadly I’m looking at EA Blackbox here. (if you’re an employee or friend, kindly look away). Underground could have been great. And there are moments, fleeting, when it is (that Miami Vice opening is killer). But you dropped the ball. I have a feeling it had to do with development cycle and producer pressures but…you really have given nobody any reason to play this over Most Wanted…or really Hot Pursuit 2 on the PS2. Rock Band 2: sadly, while there is much praise for this game, I think that it is nothing more than a ‘Title Update’ (read patch) with, admittedly, a killer lineup of songs. But I’m loathe to pay the full price for that. Yes. I’m a cheap old man. But that comment leads me to point #7
#7. Short Games that are the same Price
Can I even begin to relate my fury when my daughter finished Dora and the Snow Princess in 15 minutes? $39.99 for this? That is unforgiveable CRAP. I love that mature games are getting shorter because it means a more refined experience…in most cases (Mirror’s Edge excepted), but should I pay $69.99 for Fallout 3 which I have been playing for 60 hours, and pay that same amount for Gears of War 2, which is significantly less? While it could be said that the cost to make these two games are the same so the hours played can’t be considered in the pricing, I see us going down a slippery slope. This isn’t about a half hour difference between a children’s movie and a 3 hour epic. This is the difference between me getting two nights of gaming versus several months. If we don’t start to price our games accordingly, especially during the beginning of an economic depression, we’re going to see the shorter (and probably more polished) games lose out on the dollar: people would rather play Fallout 3 for 3 months, than Mirror’s Edge for a weekend.
#6. Weak supporting Downloadable Content
Developers need to start thinking about strong DLC for their shorter games. A skin for your character doesn’t cut it: it does not provide incentive for replaying a game. Games need to be designed, from the beginning stages, with DLC in mind. Consider Oblivion and Fallout 3: Bethesda has done fantastic jobs and providing content that encourages players to revisit their games, providing even more incentive to shell out cash for their games. Imagine if Dead Space, a fantastic but albeit short game, were to provide a whole new extension to their story, rather than the armour skins that they released.
While there are developers out there who have really nailed supportive downloadable content, nobody has figured out how to market it. While someone like me, or you if you’re reading this blog, stays on top of gaming news via RSS or websites, consider those who don’t: how do they know about this content? NXE, Xbox’s new interface, has helped with this: advertising slots on the interface greet the player as soon as they log into Xbox Live. But what about at purchase point? If someone has Dead Space and Gears of War 2 in their hands, how does EA ensure that that person is going to pick up their game, when they both look very similar in style, gameplay and content? DLC could help here. Knowing what your downloadable content is before you’ve released to manufacturer can help and could be listed as a bullet list item; Point of Purchase advertisements, and TV advertisements, can help as well.
Finally, on this note, let’s consider some of weak attempts to get the consumer dollar: being able to BUY advancement in Need for Speed Underground, or the special Edition content is a ludicrous attempt at milking consumers. It is, at it’s root, also establishing a class-based gaming culture where the people with money and advance through a game and create a stronger online presence.
Let’s all follow Criterion’s example and give people the type of content they want to extend their experience on a game.
Coming tomorrow will be my final top 5 annoyances of 2008.
