100°

Games need to stop telling us where to go

While in-game navigation can be helpful, it can also strip away a player's need to explore a title's world.

pixelsword4231d ago

I agree.

I also agree that showing what buttons to push is a little weak; sure there's more buttons, but give us more time to master them in the game (which makes the game a bigger game instead of a 5hr crash-course for the multiplayer) and you can kill two birds (short games, button entropy) with one stone.

CrimsonessCross4231d ago (Edited 4231d ago )

A game should opt for their GPS honestly, something you can toggle if you get really frustrated on what to do, of course. That way it works both ways.

1) If you get stuck you get a hint or even just toggle it on if you get stumped. And for those people who just want to play a game through from start to finish without having to find a needle in a haystack (depending on the game).

2) the people who really want that type of blind-forward game-play could play the way they wanted.

Just a thought. :)

nihonlight4231d ago

I HATE when games hold my hand and tell me where to go.
I HATE when games are 3min of gameplay and then a cutscene.
Really a map and a compass or navigation should be optional.

smashcrashbash4231d ago (Edited 4231d ago )

I don't mind a little nudge or slight push in the right direction but the blatant arrows and flashing signals are too much. However sometimes a little indication in certain circumstances is very helpful. I have played enough PS1 and PS2 games to know how hard it is when you don't have clue what to do and the solution is so out there virtually no one would know what to do unless they found out by mistake. I am playing Alundra right now and the solutions to the puzzles are ludicrous. And sometime a map would help me to know where I am going instead of having to memorize every landmark and tree to remember where to go.

CrimsonessCross4231d ago (Edited 4231d ago )

And then the games you would (quite) literally (and most likely) keep a journal on so you know what you HAVE done and don't screw yourself up or even lose track of where you currently are or have been (of course) >.<

smashcrashbash4231d ago

I know. that's how i did it too. But games have to move forward and evolve in some way. I totally agree with the ending of the hand holding and the big flashing arrows but the vague and directionless way had it's problems back then too.

I played Alundra and I was in the desert and found the item I was supposed to be looking for. Then I didn't know where to go next. I thought i was supposed to leave the desert and go somewhere else but it turned out I was supposed to stand on a certain platform in the desert and let a tornado take me away. The was no sign, clue or indication of me going to that particular platform and if I hadn't looked it up online I would have left the desert and wandered everywhere wondering what to do next. So unless I found it by mistake I was clueless. I am against the blatant direction pointing and hand holding but the vagueness and directionless wandering is no picnic either. Throw me a bone or give me a map or something for the love of cake.

BitbyDeath4231d ago (Edited 4231d ago )

I don't mind it, i remember back in the early FF titles where they told you nothing and i'd have to constantly go scrambling for the walkthrough or spend hours going around in circles trying to find out where i'm supposed to go next.

Having some direction does help.

Show all comments (8)
130°

Looking Back At 2008, An Unbelievably Incredible Year Of Video Game Releases

Huzaifa from eXputer: "2008 was home to the likes of Call of Duty: World at War, Dead Space, GTA 4, Far Cry 2, Left 4 Dead, and many other hits, which is outright remarkable."

ChasterMies9h ago

Some of these low paid video game “news” writers weren’t born before 2007.

just_looken4h ago

Here here

Those that were around before 2000's i am sure are like me that think we entered a world of non readers or those that follow without question.

I can not wait to see fallout 3 a goty game even though it was about water with non content until you add the dlc/updates then you got the performance/crashing

CrimsonWing6920h ago

I don’t think anything can compare to 2023

lucasnooker20h ago

1998 - the best year in gaming! Metal gear solid, crash bandicoot 3, medievil, half life, ocarina of time, thief, tenchu, resident evil 2, Spyro, tomb raider 3, oddworld abes exodus, banjo kazooie.

It was a different breed of a gaming era. You’ll never understand what it was like back then. The aura of gaming, it was different!

KyRo20h ago(Edited 20h ago)

I second this. Gaming was a lot more varied and fun than it is today. I'm 35 so getting on compared to some here but I got to see all the changes from NES up to now but I've never felt so disappointed in any generation than I have this current gen. I was expecting more from this generation rather than prettier versions of games that came before it. Game mechanics have become so refined that alot of games feel the same and has done for a while now.

Maybe it's time to have a break for a while. I love gaming but I don't feel I get much fun in the traditional sense out of it anymore.

CrimsonWing6919h ago(Edited 19h ago)

Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2, Abe’s Exodus, and Ocarina of Time are the only things from that list that I liked.

Here’s the 2023 game releases that I personally liked… and big releases that I didn’t care for:

- Dead Space Remake
- Wo Long Dynatsy
- Resident Evil 4 Remake
- Diablo 4
- Fire Emblem Engage
- Hogwarts Legcay
- Street Fighter 6
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Like a Dragon: Ishin
- Octopath Traveler 2
- Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters
- Final Fanatsy XVI (actually ended up not liking this, but it was still a big deal release)
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
- Lies of P
- Mortal Kombat 1
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Starfield (Ended up hating this one, but big release)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (I’m an old-school Zelda fan, but didn’t really enjoy this game)
- Alan Wake 2

I mean, honestly I’ve never seen a year of major IP releases like that, ever.

Profchaos16h ago(Edited 16h ago)

Isn't it just a generational thing realistically.

I've been gaming since way back and I some of my favourite games go as far back as the late 80s for me each generation has a year or two of game changing releases one after another before an inevitable dry spell.

I kind of agree gaming had a different feel games hit different because we didn't have the internet nothing got spoiled and you really had to put in the effort to beat a puzzle which could set entire groups of people looking for a solution. But most importantly games were experimental and not as cookie cutter as today even basics like controls were not universal today r2 is shoot l2 is ads garunteed you can't deviate from that in a shooter back then it could of been square, R1 or R1 and circle nothing was standard.

But as time moves on a new generation picks up their controller they are going to be interested in different things that PS1 demo disc with the t Rex blew our primitive 16 bit brains back on launch but to kids today it's laughable.
The new gen of kids coming into to hobby seem to value different things to us there seems to be a huge focus on online play, streamers, gaming personalities, and social experiences, convience of digital downloads. To me I value none of that but that's ok like my parents not liking the band's I would listen to its just the natural cycle.

Gameseeker_Frampt7h ago

Just about every year in the 7th generation was great and something we most likely won't experience again.

2009 for example had Assassin's Creed 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Dragon Age: Origins, Uncharted 2, Halo 3: ODST, Killzone 2, Borderlands, Bayonetta, and Demon's Souls to name a few.

just_looken4h ago

It still amazes me we got over 7 rockstar games ps2/ps3 but 3 for the ps3/ps4/ps5

Dragon age 1-3 and mass effect 1-3 in 7ish years what a generation.

50°

Why MW 2019 is still the best looking Call of Duty to date

MW 2019 is five years old at this point and on previous gen hardware, but it is still the best looking Call of Duty game to date.

Read Full Story >>
videogamer.com
EazyC7d ago

MW was an excellent videogame. They messed up Spec Ops big time, but aside from this it was a huge step in the right direction initially. Most notably, at launch it seemed to come from a very cohesive creative vision that was felt across gameplay, to story to art style/visual direction. It was also very notably written by prominent ex-Naughty Dog guys that quit almost immediately before release.

That COMPLETELY dissolved through post-launch content and the full pivot to a "cross-mode" narrative that completely obliterated the cohesion in overall story direction. Warzone then "became" the new face of Call of Duty and the franchise completely removed itself from anything remotely creatively "good". It is a pure money machine, so I kinda get why they're doing it....but I personally completely lost interest.

I would love to see Infinity Ward move off CoD and get to make their own product with full control. They clearly have some massive talent in their ranks but it's perverted by Activision's corporate interests.

70°

I'm Replaying Skyrim (again), and So Should You

Replaying Skyrim after 13 years is a reminder of the progress made in western RPGs over the last decade, but also what's been lost.

anast20d ago

I tried, but it's a poorly made game that insults its customers.

lucian22920d ago

nah, only mods make it decent, and even then it's bad, and this is after i modded for at least 3 years

Nittdarko20d ago

Funnily enough, I'm about to play it for the first time in VR with 1000 mods to make the game playable, as is the Bethesda way