Category: Accessible Games
Ok, am I the only one that hates side scrollers? Am I the only one who finds them absolutely challengeless? I mean, you almost have to try in order to miss. Its all luck of whether you have enough ammo or not. I'd rather have a game where my reactions, my strategy, and my skills allow me to win, rather than if I'm lucky enough to find a box full of bullets.
Plus, I like having to find my way, that entertains me. With a side scroller, there is absolutely no challenge in that. You either go forward, or you go backward. Its pointless.
Just wondering if anyone agrees/disagrees with me on this.
Cody
P.S. If this belongs in the lets talk board, I'm sorry, I couldn't choose which.
Well look at tomb hunter. It is a sidescroller ,but it has the up-and-down dimmension too. This means you do have multiple choices to go. I guess I do understand what you mean though.
I prefer them over ones where you have to remember mazes or complicated directions ontop of the actual game play.
finding my way around is just almost impossible for me in games as it is in real life, i always end up wandering around aimlessly and go back to the same areas of the game over and over again, and never being able to complete more than a little part of the game. so i don't despise side scroller that much, plus they're not necessarily totally challengeless. for example, it's true that it's hard not to miss the target, but it can also be not as easy to get away of its shooting range.
something else i forgot. lol
technoshock is probably the most complex and hardest 3-d audio game I ever played. I finished it, and it felt very satisfying to have finished such a tough game.
I'm not a big fan of wondering around in mazes either. I never get anywhere. lol. I like not having to worry about where I'm going as much
Q9 is a side scroller and challengeless is one thing it definitely isn't. I've only beaten it twice on the easy difficulty. In fact I think the side scroller genre is one that definitely needs a lot more exploration in the accessible games market. Almost everyone seems stuck on simple card games or other simple sports games. True Thomas Ward of USA Games and Jason Allan are pushing the envelope (although there are a lot of things about Entombed that I definitely won't be recreating if I decide to expland into RPG's), and yes Che Martin of Blind Adrenaline with Rail Racer, but beyond that not many other people have really stepped outside the box.
I think every kind of game has its place in the gaming world. But I really appreciate those that are different from the rest...Those who stand out and make me seriously consider buying it. :) I don't buy many games...But, I do a few when they catch me and hold on fast. :)
I'm the same way. I did buy Entombed since I love RPG's, but to be honest I regret that, even if only just a little. Oh I don't regret supporting Jason in his quest to hopefully develop more games. But there are quite a few aspects of Entombed that I don't like. There's little I can think of that's more depressing than having, say, a character several hundred hit points who suddenly drops dead from taking ten damage to the head. i'm all for more challenging games but I have always felt that in some areas at least Entombed takes things just a little too far. And contrary to what a lot of people on their discussion list say I've also always felt that the game seems biased, for lack of a better term, towards certain races and jobs.
Agreed. It is easier to defeat the game with a fighter than any other class. :)
And an Ogre fighter at that, or the nearest possible equivalent.
LOL, I've never played an ogre with that game so couldn't say for sure, but I can believe it...In my opinion give a race an advantage fine; (there has to be a good reason for choosing any thing), but treat all races/classes equally. If you give an advantage to one race give an equal advantage; (not the same advantage of course), to all other races...Same goes for class or what ever.
I agree. And then the fact that some conditions are impossible to cure once they take effect. THe Stone condition is supposed to take several rounds to take full effect, which would in theory mean you have time to cure it with a potion, but it actually happens almost immediately and there's no way to cure it once it takes full effect. And I still feel there needs to be a means of reviving a character as whatever they started as instead of reincarnating them as something else potentially weaker. And I mean besides bringing them back as a Zombie or Skeleton with Lightning or Summon Bones respectively. Even though I bought Entombed I don't play it much anymore because of these little details.
I love entombed though. no its not perfect but it can be addicting and I like that there is so much in it. its not just a simple five minute game like most
Bryan, I disagree with you. Side scrollers are almost as common as card games now. I do enjoy playing them, but I always get the sense that I'm doing the same thing over and over, just a different storyline. Once I beat a side scroller, it loses its appeal and I don't really want to play it anymore.
Let's see. Super Liam. Q9. Battlezone. Mysteries of the Ancients. That's only four side scrollers. So as far as I'm concerned that's not common.
But games for the blind are a small market. So let's see. We have All In Play, Blind Adrenaline, the BG card games, and the old accessible blackjack from games for the blind. That's the same amount, well Kitchens Inc has the casino game too, but they're just as common. And even if a game such as Pipe or Judgment Day isn't a side scroller per se, they are the kind of games that aren't fun anymore once you beat them because you know what to expect. I guess what I'm trying to say is there needs to be more challenging games for the blind in general.
Some cool games that were built along the lines of sighted games like Diablo, Dark Stone; (older but still fun), ETC would be great. But, you have to have a programmer who is accustomed to these games; (helps with understanding what all it needs to do), and someone willing to put in the effort. I am both, but I'm not quite skilled enough in programming yet...Going back to school for Software Systems Ingeneering, so, maybe if I'm lucky...
Oh I agree Turtle, we definitely need more challenging games. But Mysteries of the Ancients, which it's just come to light will have both a First-Person 3-D and a side scroler version, is a game that's definitely shaping up to be one of those games you will want to come back to. Just about everything in the game is random, well at least as far as items and enemies are concerned. The traps admittedly are less so but mainly because Thomas has been working on this project, which wasn't even his to begin with, for about four years now. And those who preordered the game from its original developer were explicitly promised a side scroller, so Thomas has to deliver. Otherwise I'[m sure he'd gladly add more of the sorts of things that he, and the rest of us, would like to see. Then again he's doing the 3-D version of the game for his own benefit as well as every one else's who wants that sort of thing, so he might actually be able to take more liberties with that incarnation than with the side scroller.
I see poster 1's point. I guess if you are beeing chased it is one thing but mostly you just walk.
Cool, I'll have to check out Mystery of the Ancients. And I do admit Q9 is fun because the enemies are randomized each time.
Personally, I find mysteries of the ancients to be less than challenging. I find it boring. Yes, everything is randomized, so you can't figure out when a monster will be in a room, but killing a monster is no harder than pressing the spacebar a few times. Winning the game is based soully on the luck that you have a weapon when a monster jumps out, that has enough ammo to kill said monster. I've even made it through without killing any of the monsters at all. I did that just to make it challenging. Granted, it was only the first level, but still, not that hard.
I have never beat mota on advanced or expert. The mons are just too strong! They take off like 25 health on expert, and about 20 on advanced. It is so frustrating. And I think that after you play it a lot MOTA becmes very boring because you already know the level layouts. I like q9 and battlezone because they are the only sidescrollers that are completely randomized every time; well at least q9's enemies are; the hazards aren't, but it is still an awesome gae with high quality sounds and everything.
Well of course you like Battlezone since you designed it. As for MOTA, apparently the next beta's going to have entirely different levels so it won't be the same. As for it not being challenging I disagree completely. The whole idea is to learn to conserve your ammo by saving the bigger guns for the bigger monsters like the Centaurs. FOr the smaller monsters like the Skeletons ir even the Harpies it's better to use the pistol, especially on the skeletons since they take only two shots. THe Harpies and Zombies might be better taken out with the Magnum while the Centaurs are easiest to defeat with the Shotgun. It's all in strategy. Yeah there is a certain amount of luck involved but you have to learn how to act based on the hand you're dealt.
If you try playing mota on advanced the harpies take about 9 shots with the pstol. And you don't get more ammo for it in the higher difficulties. Having only 15 pistol ammo is really bad in those levels. Even intermediate feels more like advanced or expert should feel because you are constantly out of amo and stuff.
Well I haven't done much experimentation on those levels but I never noticed you never getting more ammo for the pistol.
you do get more but the chances are load because there is useless (for now) gems and gold and scrolls instead of weapons and potions which are actually good for something right now.
The gems and gold and stuff are just a means of keeping score. I don't think they're ever actually going to have a use in the game. I know that in the original version of the game the scrolls were actually the main object of the game since in that version they were actually pieces of one scroll that when combined would show the way to untold wealth or somesuch.
Regarding entombed, what about a druid necromancer? lightning is so useful as is Charm. I don't have the full version yet, but I might get it. What do you get in the full version that you don't get in the demo? I personaly find 3d games (except for entombed) kind of confusing. I can't beleive that KeyWasFull beat Technoshock. I wonder how He managed it.
Random note...
There was some mention of teknoshock a few posts back. THIS GAME IS TOTALLY BAD ASS! Granted the sound design was pretty terrible, the complexity and strategy of the game made up for it's other lacking qualities though. If you find Mysteries boring, play that one. It took me literally months to get through teknoshock, but it was awesome when I finally did.
Indeed. Regarding entombed you get a bunch more player races and jobs to play, as well as all of the 25 floors.