Disclaimer: THis rant is not aimed at anyone. I love you all. That is all.
but...
Oh come-on. The internet games forums have rules: Here they are --
The unwritten rules:
#1. NFS is for chavs.
(A chav for those that don't know, is simply a new name for the lower part of the working class.
) NFS, despite IMHO, being pretty good since it's inception (with NFS2 and 3 begin rubbish) all later games have been enjoyable. NFS Carbon, NFS Under Ground, NFS Porsche Unleashed - I thoroughly enjoyed. I must be common.
Highbrow Internet forumites do love to sit around feeling superior. So who better to sit around feeling superior about than poor people, who in turn sit about wearing cheap clothes and have cheap cars and don't speak using proper English.
Since there are a lot of these people, (chavs) they must be ones putting NFS in the top 10 every christmas, because we sophisticated players only play Ico, Okami and Nights into Dreams. because we are educated and they, the common folk, are not. (I am being facteous)
#2 RE1 is always crap.
Despite selling in the millions and being one of the most anticipated and played games on the PS1(and Saturn) for some reason nobody, ever, seems to own to liking it. The controls were rubbish, the camera was rubbish, the script was rubbish... despite it being a brilliant game.
#3 Sega can do no wrong but we don't know why.
The entire Sega arcade collection, despite Sega being held aloft, is completely ignored. Sega, IMHO, was in it's prime, not on the consoles but with Virtua Cop, Virtua Cop 2, (Virtua Cop 3 is brilliant, rare, but brilliant) Virtua Fighter series, House of the Dead series. Sega Rally 1 and 2 was OK as well. Now the real test is going onto a public board and saying how much you loved Sega. And there will be a murmour of approval. Then, go on to any board and say Daytona was rubbish because the handling was rubbish. Ditto for Virtua Racing. You'll be linched and beaten.
It goes on.
Some other Sega rants: Firstly, Sega DC and it's Japanese imports. Now read this for a heresey. Ikuraga is awesome to look at. It is beautiful. I agree. But it plays like a pooh-covered-stick because the Dreamcasts controller is dreadful. It is. And it's damned hard.
And, while I'm ranting (
) bits of Shenmue were indeed boring. I liked it, but they were.
AND! Nights into Dreams is not only confusing, but it's also rubbish. And boring. People raved on about this game, and I tried, oh how I tried, but I don't get it. It's just a 2D game (like Sonic the Hedgehog in many respects) tarted up to look like a 3D one. What did I miss?
The PS2 didn't kill the Dreamcast. Sony did not wander round to Sega's HQ, holding axes and maces and spears and murder everyone in Sega's R&D department. They didn't. SEGA KILLED THE DREAMCAST (FFS)
Sega thought back in 2001... hmmm, everyone loves Sonic (except 3DOkid) and Virtua Fighter and Sega Rally and Sega stuff, and now Sony will sell a billion of these PS2 things and we will sell due to lack of a DVD drive, half a billion of these DC things. Now, MS are thinking of joining the fight and Nintendo are just about there. Why don't we, Sega, not make hardware, because it expensive, and has low profit margins, and has all sorts of distribution difficulties, and just make multi-platform games? Software is easy to distribute, easy to port, and has high profit margins!
We could be TEH RICH! First-things-first, let's ditch the DC so we are not competeing with the people we are trying to sell too. Sony, MS, Nintendo and go from there...
Does that not make more sense than the Sony killed the DC scenario? If I'm lying I'm dying.
#4 Nintendo is innovative.
Maybe so. But the practice of re-purposing old hardware and selling it in innovatve ways isn't. And that is what the Wii is. Now - I was born an engineer, and moved to sales, but my heart is always an engineer. So - I love Nintendo the company that doesn't include Miyamoto or indeed his games. I prefered the salty old Japanese git who ran the show for all thse years. I admire the fact thay bolstered the GameCube and flogged it something new. I love the way they sold it too my granny, my mum, my dad and my brother. I just don't like a single (Paper mario 2 excused) Nintendo game.
The happy-clappy games make me sick. Having given it a great deal of thought, I like grey stone in my games. I do.
Casual games isn't new either -- 3DO did it in 1993 and Sony did it in 2000.
#5. Sony, never, ever, did any good. Walkman aside and Trinitron TVs aside. Every Sony format fails. Every attempt by Sony to set an industry standard fails. Like UMD, like Betamax. Unlike the 3.5inch floppy disc, unlike the CD, unlike Bluray which Sony also did. Doh!
Philips, Matsushita, Toshiba, MS and Sony know there is value in standards. There is money in them. They all do it. And when one fails, they try with another. It's not evil, it's not sinister, it's the way it is.
Sony games are arrogant liars. Probably true. At a certain level. With certain people within the organisation. Not the whole company which is comprised of tens of thousands of people. Public Relations people talk rubbish. For all companies. Because 9 times out of 10, they haven't been told or do not know what they are saying. This is a fact of life.
Also, interesting fact, Nintendo used to be the evil game world overlords, conveniently forgotten now the world has changed sides. But it used to Nintendo lawyers attempting to destroy companies (DATEL?) controlling distribution, and forcing us all with their standards and crippling the game making industry. That was the accusations squared at Nintendo cartridge fixation was it not?
Morning...
)
Only because he looks like... well... me. But with a tan. According to her.