Video Games?

[CoeburnCane]

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No offense, but from what I've heard the new Final Fight game is supposed to be a steaming pile of crap.

It's a shame to not stay up to the standards of the old Final Fight games, because those were absolutely addictive, but in today's gaming industry, that's not much of a surprise.

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Different strokes for different folks Chubz my good pal. I rather enjoyed it. The main thing I liked about it is that you still have the crazy suplexes and piledrivers that the original game had, a lot of the same characters--but in a more mature story setting. This isn't your kiddie Capcom "Street Fighter-esque" game anymore. It's kind of like Def Jam Vendetta did a story game with the Final Fight characters...which I think is cool. And note, you said "from what I've heard"...which I'm assuming means you haven't played it. Why not give it a shot yourself before you dismiss it as "a steaming pile of crap"?

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Anyhow, I promise you that I'm not trying to be a jerk about this new Final Fight game. I'm being 100% honest. In fact, I just Googled up some reviews and here's what I've come up with:

Gamespot: 3.3/10
IGN: 3.5/10
Game Informer: 4/10
Team XBOX: 4.5/10
Gamespy: 1.5/5

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Sometimes reviews are accurate, sometimes not. If you're playing games based solely on reviews then you're probably missing out on some pretty good ones. I mean, there's some games that I've taken a flyer on that I played one time and never picked back up--this one though was one with a name that I was well acquainted with, and with a storyline that made the characters from the game I played when I was younger all grown up and trying to take the streets...I dug that twist on it. I'll admit, the gameplay kind of sucks at times, but for the most part, the story's worth it to try to keep advancing. Plus...there's been few Capcom games I've not liked (for instance, Mega Man and all of it's bastardizations I've found some way to enjoy even if it's not the original).

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STAY AWAY FROM THIS GAME! DON'T RUIN WHAT THE OLDER CLASSICS USED TO BE LIKE!

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I disagree. Why not play this game? You remember what the classic was, and it was great, no doubt...this just shows the characters in a less cartoon-esque setting and in a more realistic light. I mean, the guys in the classic were relatively affluent street fighters trying to save Cody's g/f...in this one they're true pit fighters and trying to take over the neighborhood and the city while trying to stem a mounting drug distribution problem. I think it's cool how it evolved and really grew up.

I don't think this "ruins" the classic at all...it's still out there for our enjoyment. If your opinion is to stay away from it...that's cool--stay away. But I think lots of other people should play it for themselves and come with their own conclusion. If they don't like it--then they'll turn it off within a couple of hours and pop in something else. If they like it, they may enjoy it as it was meant to be enjoyed.

[SWVA-Football]

Point taken... it's just that I've been an avid gamer for many years and most of the time if the majority of major gaming sites give the game any score below 5 or 6, most of the time that means it's not worth your money, nor your time.

I do respect your opinion and I'm not saying that you're wrong when you say that it's a pretty cool game. I'm just going by what I've heard and seen about it, because I've learned from experience that most of the time it's best to study what others say about the game before even giving it a chance. The gaming industry today is cramped and without any creativity or innovation, and I guess that's why I'm so cautious anymore about what I try.

At the same time, however, there are games out there that are simply horrible and not enjoyable for anyone to play.

These games can be impossible to enjoy due to several factors:
Control
Camera
Storyline
Gameplay depth
.. and even graphics.

And when I look at the Gamespot review, and the "cons" of the game that they listed at the top of the article:

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The Bad: Ugly graphics; horrible speech; lame gameplay; needless cursing makes the whole script sound hokey; camera is usually pretty bad.

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Here's my breakdown of what I take from that:

Ugly graphics -- As long as the gameplay is good, I'm fine with bad graphics. Want proof? The GTA series (from 3 to San Andreas) have very average (or even below average) graphics, yet they still stack up as some of the most popular, influential (and controversial!) video games ever developed.

Horrible Speech -- Not that much of a problem. It does denote a pretty low budget in the creation of the game, however, since better voice actors obviously couldn't be hired.

Lame Gameplay -- Lame Gameplay = No fun. This isn't good to see at all, since a game with bad graphics AND "lame" gameplay obviously can't be all that great.

"Needless cursing makes the whole script sound hokey" -- Definitely a problem if you're wanting to pay attention to the storyline. I'm sure nobody wants to hear the F-bomb dropped about 5 times every time dialogue commences. I learned this from The Suffering, and it annoyed the living hell out of me.

Camera is usually pretty bad -- This is actually a major concern in video games, and one that people usually forget about when reviewing them. A sloppy camera system can pretty much ruin an entire game if it's bad enough. Want an example? Ninja Gaiden for XBOX. Yes, I know, it's a great game... BUT, I could hardly stand to play it with its camera. I mean, for Christ's sake, you're struggling more with the control system throughout the game than you are with the bad guys trying to annihilate you! And when you take in the fact that this is one of the most difficult games ever on the XBOX (still talking about Ninja Gaiden here), that is a VERY major concern.

Anyhow, with these reasons given by Gamespot, other extremely low scores coming from reliable gaming sites, and low scores coming from users who've rated the game, I'm pretty sure this game has "AVOID" written all over it.

[CoeburnCane]

Chubz...that's what I'm saying man. It's a publication's opinion of the game. You may get in there and play it and say that the gameplay's not so bad, the graphics aren't as horrid as made out to be, the camera's just fine, the cursing's not too much (well, okay, you won't say that b/c it does curse...A LOT)...but my point remains that you can't JUST go off of reviews to say a game sucks. You're talking about taking a chance on it...which I assume you mean buying it. Why not rent it? You rent it you're out 5 bucks & maybe 1-2 hours of gameplay if you don't like it...big whoop. For every 2 or 3 games you play that you take a chance on and they end up being horrible, you may find 1 or 2 that overachieved yours (and these publications') expectations. I respect your opinion as well on this...but I'm just pointing out that not everything you read or hear about something is totally unbiased or truthful.

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Point taken... it's just that I've been an avid gamer for many years and most of the time if the majority of major gaming sites give the game any score below 5 or 6, most of the time that means it's not worth your money, nor your time.

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You're making yourself sound like you've been playing since the inception of video games. I'm 24 now, and I've played Atari since I was like 2 or 3...and I'm still playing. I've got a lil more service time in that you do. While you're playing Atari, Coleco, Sega Genesis, and NES games via emulators--I played most of them when they first came out! [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] And in that time, I've learned that reviews are opinions, and everyone's tastes are different--and most importantly that you should decide for yourself.

I'm just saying, why rely on someone else's opinion when you can form your own by actually playing the game and giving it a shot, especially when it's something with the pedigree of Final Fight, which you've already said you'd played & enjoyed. I'm not saying "try it, you'll like it", but you never know until you do try.