Monday, August 23, 2010

Time over Money, Value and Enjoyment

Reading the essay written by Hello Game's Sean Murray titled "The Long Game," something that immediately jumped out to me was one simple truth: Games geared towards the 18-40 crowd must be made with bursts of play time in mind. For adults, segmented quasi-episodic gaming, or a 4-7 hour campaign, seems to be the way to go, while a title with greater volume of content and length (as games used to be in the PS1 and PS2 era) would be a greater value proposition for children and teens.

Now, of course the essay itself is actually much more thorough and has a plethora of brilliant ideas and revelations, but as far as conventional games and gamers are concerned, and when it comes to being value-minded when shopping for new or used games, content (and quality content, at that) is king.

That's not to say that, as Sean writes, that a game play arc is not warranted, as it really is a desirable trait for any game. Assassin's Creed failed miserably in this particular respect, despite its 10-20 hour play time, compared to Heavenly Sword's brilliant story closure at a 7 hour mark. But its also worth praising games that have both length and a well executed gameplay arc, like Tomb Raider Anniversary.

With this being my first post for my new blog, French Pressed Megalixer, I'll end this post with a few suggestions to all of the readers out there.

As mentioned just prior, Tomb Raider Anniversary, available on PS2, Wii, 360, and PC, is a brilliant game to play. Not only is there a a huge amount of content, but the varied puzzle platforming and exploration will compel you forward. Its a PS1 game's amount of sheer content, met with a brilliant graphical and mechanical upgrade. It was released at a budget price, and is still available for pretty cheap at Amazon and Gamestop. If you're lucky, you might still spot it at any remaining big box electronic shops. Note: The game isn't meant for anyone who might be a member of PETA, if you know what I mean.

Next up is Hotel Dusk: Room 215 for the Nintendo DS. This is an oldie but a goodie, with light noir overtones, a sketchy A-Ha music video look, and full of mystery and intrigue. I'll openly admit that I actually never got too far and got distracted when I originally bought it, but for those mystery novel lovers out there who want something different from the norm, this is a pretty solid title to pick up. Kinda hard to find nowadays, but if you have to pay more than $20, don't bother.

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