Zero Punctuation Next Gen Buyer's Guide

This week, Zero Punctuation takes a look at the three next gen consoles.

[mushroomwig]

Regarding the PS4 feature where people can take over your game, he doesn't seem to grasp the concept that it's for those moments when people are stuck. Obviously I'm not going to buy a game and watch somebody else play it but when I don't have a clue what I'm doing, then it'll be used.

[zerocrossing]

But why would anybody even need it though? I mean God forbid we actually progress through a game using our own skill gained through practice, trial and error.

This is the problem with games today, they're so insultingly easy and lack any sense of challenge that you may as well watch somebody else play them, we don't beat games anymore, we just experience them... and that's just sad.

(Edit)

@mushroomwig

We have LPs and walkthroughs on the net now, it's pretty much impossible to get stuck on most games unless you simply lack the skill to progress.

It's one thing to seek out how to do something but letting another person take over when you get stuck doesn't really help you in the long run, IDK, maybe I'm different but I enjoy games most when I'm being challenged.

[mushroomwig]

You've never been completely stuck at a certain point in a game? Trial and error is fine but there are times where that doesn't work, look at Myst for example.

To me it's no different that all the times we've looked at a guide for help. I'll do whatever is quicker but if somebody sees me playing and tells me they know what to do then I'd let them.

@So let me get this straight, you're fine with looking at LP's and walkthroughs for the answers, how exactly is asking somebody to take over any different?

[-Gespenst-]

Part of the joy of Myst is working it all out yourself. While I referred to a guide for maybe like 1 or 2 little things max, my fondness of that game comes from having solved it myself by using my head and my senses. It's super satisfying.

And yeah, even if you read a guide, like Zerocrossing is saying, it's still you who has to actually take the controller in your hand and do it, and in some cases that's still going to be challenging, in others, such as Myst, the tactile experience of controlling the game is still highly important to the game's impact on the player and the experience of the game as a whole.

Nevertheless, if you have to resort to using a guide to play the entire game, you should probably quit. I made that mistake for a game or two when I was young- it really, really, spoiled the experience of discovering it all yourself, and acquiring the memory of an experience that you yourself shaped- one which is fundamentally characterised by YOUR unique interactions and approaches to the game- not shaped by the experiences of another.

[Godmars290]

"You've never been completely stuck at a certain point in a game?"

Yes. Yes I and many others have. And just as many or few times we've given up, we've figured things out or just got better playing. And its a rewarding feeling when that happens.

[zlpw0ker]

ye,I cant agree with you more,if I want a help from another person I play 2player mua or something,when I play games on solo I want to figure stuff and if I get stuck I just try again and again until I get it.
if anyone actually uses that feature they dont deserve to call em self's gamers and they should stop playing,cus thats just a disgrace to the person and gamers generel.

[arronax-1]

Insultingly easy? Switch difficulty then.

[-Gespenst-]

Just figure it out yourself. I have no idea why people are enticed by that feature. I've never sought help from another if I get stuck in a game, and I've always got by just fine- no one asked for this feature. It's just making entertainment an even more droolingly passive experience than it already is. I might look online for hints, but I don't want someone commandeering my game and doing something elaborate to win for me that I didn't understand (think rpgs)

Nah, Yahtzee absolutely has it down as usual. Stop being mindless consumers.

That said, the Ps4 still trounces the Xbox One thus far.

[mushroomwig]

I can't stand that attitude, so unless you completely agree with someone then you're a mindless consumer?...come on.

Like I said, it's no different than all the times we've looked at a guide for help.

I don't know I have to defend an optional feature to begin with, if you don't like it then don't use it..hardly rocket science guys, it doesn't mean the people who don't share your opinion are "mindless".

[zerocrossing]

See that's exactly my point, games are supposed to be challenging so there's a sense of having actually achieved something yourself when you finally finish them.

Gamers these days will probably never get to feel like they actually beat a game, especially when old gems like Super Metroid make them quit 10 mins in.

@mushroomwig

But it is different from looking at a guide (unless we're talking puzzles and stuff) because even after looking how to get past a tough section in a game "you" are the one that still actually has to to do it.

[-Gespenst-]

Yeah you're right, it is an optional feature. But most of the stuff the 3 companies are touting are just this nonsense stuff no one asked for, and yet they're trying so hard to make us think we want it. I am going to completely ignore it, but its annoying that it's those features that are probably ramping up the price, and not only that, but that the games industry is probably going to continue to be characterised by this nonsense.

All they need make are games consoles that support original, unique, challenging, and potent experiences. They're just trying to monetise all these stupid trends - social networking, casual gaming - who cares? The people who care are those completely mesmerised by consumerism. The same people who buy, with only the barest traces of agency- and largely impelled by social pressure and advertising- each overpriced and unremarkable iteration of the iphone.

The worst part, like all advertisement, is the structural narcissism of it. They'd never accept that so many of their ideas are stupid, since that goes against principles of marketing- you have to highlight all your good aspects of your product in order to make money- it's just a giant deception for cynical economic motives. Why can't this just be about producing and sharing incredible and memorable experiences. Games, like films early on by Hollywood, have been nearly completely co-opted by corporate concerns so early in their history. Indies are pretty much the only hope, they exist outside of the big capitalist narratives that run most of the big games companies these days. Thankfully they're going to receive support, I just hope they don't get completely co-opted.

[solidworm]

As always hes having a laugh dude...lighten the fcuk up bro.

[Swiftfox]

Sony uses what you mentioned as an example. They probably saw it as the situation it would be most used for.

I see the feature as being no different than sitting with someone on the couch as you play a game. Say your friend is a bit bored with what he's playing and decides to watch you play for a bit. Suddenly, you have to step away be it for the bathroom, life, or whatever—you'd just throw him the controller. “Play for a bit,” or “get me to a save.”

What if your friend just wants to try the game out in more depth than the demo? Load up your save and let him play for a bit.

The feature Sony showed is more a “pass the controller,” function. I remember doing things like, “play until you die, then it's my turn.”--and we'd go back and forth for hours. We need to look at possibilities, not labels.

[zlpw0ker]

I usually dont like the escapist reviews,but this is spot on how I feel about next gen and how the ps2 and ps1 was just all about the games,you put the disc,the game starts,nothing bullshitt movie&series app or fw updates,dlc.before you had to earn the extra stuff,like in ninja gaiden sigma 1 where you unlock constumes for ryu and if you fiend challenges you get usually hp boost that adds.

sony and ms can go fack emselves until when they stops doing with social bullshitt,dam share button,you gotta pay to play already owned games for last gen console.I cant really care for if nextbox is required online 24/7 or not since I already have it plugged in to wireless,but the facking kinect bullshitt is a disgrace to ms and I hope they loose the next gen war,and sony can go fack em self to.
They suddenly want to revamp the PS controller and it looks like a facking disgrace to ps,its been the same from the PSOne era and I love it like that,what they gonna do on next gen,put a dedicated farmville button and facebook and spotify button on the dam controller?
and if vs13 is released by SE and its going on the ps4 im never buying any more SE games,nor playstation,its the whole reason why I bought the ps3
so next gen can go fack emselves,ill go and play last gen instead,ill grab some other games I want to do more on and get my 360 and play forza games.

[arronax-1]

dude, its not like sony is trying to force you to go online. lighten the hell up, and use some actual english.