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Shortness in games. Are they still worth your money?


Guest Ray Falling

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Guest Ray Falling

I recently bought a copy of Ultimate Spiderman, i checked it out in a store first and it was looking mighty fine. I got it several days ago and started playing.

Good fun all in all but of course at some point you'll want to stop playing and do something else or just save some for later.

 

I stopped playing at a point were I had to fight a boss.

 

Then 2 or 3 days later I picked it up again and played that very level again where I last quit. I beat the boss and watched the scene...

Ow crap guess what? That was the end! T_T

 

So this means I could have finished the game on day 1. In about 5-7 hours.

Thats right 5-7 hours.

 

Now I'm asking you. Is 5 hours of fun really worth that kinda cash? Is it really worth spending 56 Euros on 5 hours of silly entertainment?

I'm starting to wonder.

 

Cause I remember the times when games could keep you entertained for at least a week..sometimes even months. Take ToS or Baten kaitos for example...they kept me busy for a looong time. And I can even enjoy a good game of F-zero GX and many a snes game lasted longer than 5 hours...heck even Fire Emblem GBA managed to entertain me for more than 3 days.

 

T_T I'm not sure if its just Spiderman, or other 3rd party games but, that sucks dontya think?

I wonder if its like this on other platforms too. Or does Sony or Microsoft actually have alot of games that last long?

Now of course theres plenty of good games out there. Most rpgs last alot longer.

 

But I'm seriously begin to wonder if its all worth the money now. Developers should spend more tiem on creating a nice lengthy game. A game that asks you to come back and play it. A game that demands you to spend more than a day or 3 to finish it.

 

Cause man, if this keeps up...all I'll buy is the good rpgs (which are rare on Cube anyway) and the first party stuff...

 

Please people. its 5th or 6th generation of games now...do they think were idiots? I guess they do...and I guess we are...

Cant trade the game now...T_T just a waste of money.

 

Dont get me wrong Spiderman is a good game, can totally recommend it. But I dunno. From now on, I'm either not buying these short games at all. Or just play no longer than 2 hours a day T_T.

 

Thats about it.

 

--Ray

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I agree there, I loved Beyond Good and Evil to death, I was just getting into it and then...it ended, no side-quests, no real incentive for a second playthough, I wasn't satisfyed at all.

 

I just completed Final Fantasy X after 60 hours of journying, then I found there was ANOTHER 60 hours of gamplay left for sidequests alone, it was a much more satisfying game and therefore superiour in my opinion solely on length.

 

Decent Length is a must for most games I buy now (Killer 7 is an exception)

 

But as graphics get flashier most games are going to get even shorter I'm afraid...

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Its just the way the market is changing. Even Nintendo stated that people dont have time to sit a play 70 odd hour games. To me though I agree with Ray.

 

Im a big fan of RPGs and have recently started playing Baten Kaitos thanks to the persuasions of Stocka and Ray. Now its a great game with an awesome story. I paid £30 for this game and i have clocked around 30 hours on it already and i have a fair bit left to do on it. In my eyes that it well worth it.

 

If a game is going to be short then surely it should be released at some form of budget price. Now I know people will compare gaming to say Movies and that you wouldnt pay less for a film that is shorter than another one. That is true but it is a completely different form of entertainment and the fact that a cinema ticket is only a fiver makes a big difference.

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Seems like more of the developer's time and money is being spent on graphical and physics engine improvements rather than the level design and gameplay.

 

This is probably why MMORPG's are becoming increasingly popular - because they'll never end until someone switches all the servers off!

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It is true that online games have an everlasting appeal. I mean i was addicted to Monster Hunter on the PS2. I have played non-stop since its release and have just started to cool off it now. The same goes for Halo 2. I may stop playing them as much but I enjoyed playing them when I did and they will always be there if I want to have a quick blast providing the servers stay on.

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The answer, multiplayer.

I love a good single player as much as the next man (maybe more), but as development cost spiral ever upward it's unrealistic to expect every game to last you 20+ hours, unless of course you're willing to pay the extra.

It's a case of economics, they can only bring so much gameplay for a certain price these days, and to make a game with more and to try and charge a higher price just isn't realistic.

Multiplayer is the future of gaming, online moreso.

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Well over the last year or so I've started to drift away from epic games, and that's including RPG's which used to be my most favourite genre.

 

TOS for example, I've just got upto the end of disc one, and spent nearly 50hrs playing it. Now that for me isn't fun................it becomes a chore, just like Gran Turismo does.

 

I've still got both Final Fantasy 10 & X2 waiting to be played through (yeah, I know I said I would do it over the summer), but I just can't bring myself to play through these games or any other sort of game like that.

 

Now games like Burnout, Meteos, WarioWare, Pro Evo can bring me back time and time again, but they don't require ultimate dedication and loss of my social life.

 

I'm now 20 years old, and I just don't have the time to sit infront of the box for 5-8hrs a day playing videogames...................maybe 5-6 years ago I may of during secondary school.

 

The DS for me has been a blessing. I can just quickly pick up and play whenever I want, and I'm not tied down to dedicating 2hrs or so at a time.

 

Now you moan about not getting your moneys worth, but take a look at the DVD market. Brand new DVD's typically go for £14.99 or so for 2hrs max of entertainment, now put that in perspective with the games we are all buying at £29.99 a pop and it all doesn't seem too sad.

 

If it's still a problem, then nowdays PS2 platinum titles go for £14.99, and these titles usually go down to that price shortly after a year from the titles original release. There's some bargains to be had there.

 

....and good topic by the way! :smile:

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Well, I agree that online play adds so much to games value for money, Mario Kart DS/SSBR are both guaranteed hundreds of hours from me. I love a big RPG though, like ToS,Baten Kaitos or Skies of Arcadia, as despite having barely any play if any once you beat them, you'll feel that the money was worth it for the epicness of the game. And also, you're bound to keep the memory :hehe:

Games like Another Code though, as good as it is, why oh why is it £30?

ffs.

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Guest Ray Falling
Seems like more of the developer's time and money is being spent on graphical and physics engine improvements rather than the level design and gameplay.

 

This is probably why MMORPG's are becoming increasingly popular - because they'll never end until someone switches all the servers off!

 

totally agree. And other people said good stuff too.

 

Multiplayer games and mmorpgs are the future then. But I'm guessing I wont see any of that on Cube so heres to hoping Rev will get some or I'll be forced to switch teams or quit gaming...

 

EDIT:

 

Also, I can imagine that not everyone has time to sit around a game so long cause of schoola nd whatnot. But there are also people who love to come home after long days of work school and just play a long game (like me) cause like... If you can come home to a game and finish it in one evening...what are ya gonna do the next days?

 

I'd rather have a really long game then and like play for 3 hours a day.

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I agree there, I loved Beyond Good and Evil to death, I was just getting into it and then...it ended, no side-quests, no real incentive for a second playthough, I wasn't satisfyed at all.

 

I disagree, but I took my sweet time over around a month completing it. The Pearls in the Domz factories hidden around the pedestrian district were semi side, as well as the camera angle. I'm considering playing it again so I can catch them all.

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I disagree, but I took my sweet time over around a month completing it. The Pearls in the Domz factories hidden around the pedestrian district were semi side, as well as the camera angle. I'm considering playing it again so I can catch them all.

 

A month!! How did you manage that!? You musn't have a lot of free time.

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Multiplayer games and mmorpgs are the future then. But I'm guessing I wont see any of that on Cube so heres to hoping Rev will get some or I'll be forced to switch teams or quit gaming...

 

No need to switch teams, nothing wrong with playing for more than one.

Revolution should have some decent online games, but no harm in picking yourself up a 360 or PS3 aswell.

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Okay, this may seem like an odd example to some, but Golden Sun......it was an amazing game and it did last some time, but all through the game i was lead to believe that i would be going through 4 towers, battling and having fun. The story kept saying that i'd battle through 4 towers, then suddenly after the second tower the story ended - man, i was disappointed.

 

I agree that i want my value for money from my games, games where i get good replay value (such as puzzle games, multiplayer or games like nintendogs) or games that have a lengthy storyline.

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I don't mind short games, I spent 2 weeks playing Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. If they are overly good, I can't stop playing them and I finish them way to quickly. For example, I completed 150 star in Mario 64DS in a week while it took me 3 weeks to complete FtM on the first 2 difficulties. So the length of the game doesn't effect how long it takes for me to complete it.

 

RPG's take me AGES. I play for 2 hours max on them, so if I play a 60 hour RPG it takes me over a month if I play it alot, so they seem overly long to me and not so fun, but I keep buying 'em.

 

Multiplayer is the real answer. Not only can you play for hours and hours, but it is extremely good fun!

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Guest Ray Falling

I guess alot depends on the player and indeed game. Some games (short ones) can keep you entertained for along time. But like I said, its usually the first party Nintendo stuff that has that power. Most 3rd party games i.m.o dont.

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If I want short games I'll play my retro ones - these days I only want to buy games that'll entertain me for long periods. Therefore, I tend to only buy RPGs now.

 

Having said that, me and my bro had a 2P co-op on Pop 'n Twinbee on Saturday. It was fantastic fun, and crying for a GBA or DS port. I'd buy it three times over.

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Hmmmm, I can dig out my SNES and happily play Super Probotector (Super Contra) again and again.

 

It can be finished in less than 1 hour quite easily!

 

Doesn't stop it from being a blast!

 

Yeah, I totally agree. There are alot of of short games that are a total blast (Super Smash TV, Xenon 2, Viewtiful Joe, Ikaruga etc), and I'd rather play a short game where I enjoy every second of it, then a long one where I enjoy every second minute.

 

But sure, it can depends on which game it is. An epic RPG should normally be longer then a few hours, a shoot em up doesn't have to.

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