Games are becoming too complicated for me

[kevin_psx]

Was playing the latest Castlevania (Curse of Darkness).

When suddenly a "helpful tip" pops up. "To do a spinning sword slash(?) just hold the L3 button while pressing [] and O and L2 all at the same time."

Um.

Yeah.

So which button do I use to jump again? (scratches head) Ahhh-- yearning for the simplicity of Mario World.

[Kid Ice]

Moving to classic gaming, where your friendly neighborhood Castlevania counselors are waiting to help you 24 hours a day. :)

[Perkar]

Moving to classic gaming, where your friendly neighborhood Castlevania counselors are waiting to help you 24 hours a day. :)

isn't castlevania curse of darkness on ps2 and xb? not so classic to me. hrm

[c0ldb33r]

Moving to classic gaming, where your friendly neighborhood Castlevania counselors are waiting to help you 24 hours a day. :)

isn't castlevania curse of darkness on ps2 and xb? not so classic to me. hrm
Yeah really ... you're right
This game is not a classic
In fact, it's quite new.

(haiku is awesome)

[Snapple]

I feel the same way.

Probably the biggest pet peeve I've picked up after all these years of gaming is a high learning curve. I have close to zero patience when it comes to games' learning curve nowadays.

I want to be able to pick up a game and get the swing of it in 30 minutes. I don't want an RPG where you must master the elemental cooking recipe system or you'll run out of cooking points after turn three and it's instant gameover.

Then, you master the recipe system, or so you think, but then you have to use it efficiently by comboing it with other party members using crazy button sequences and a card battle sequence.

You can't just get cards for the card battle combo system that easily though. You have to execute a hyper recipe on your custom weapon to imbue it with the ability to find cards.

And good luck finding the good card battle cards and hyper weapon recipes though without GameFAQs or a strategy guide!

x_x

[VACRMH]

I glanced at an FAQ and saw no mention about a move like that. Are you sure it was that combination?

[christhegamer]

Was playing the latest Castlevania (Curse of Darkness).

When suddenly a "helpful tip" pops up. "To do a spinning sword slash(?) just hold the L3 button while pressing [] and O and L2 all at the same time."

Um.

Yeah.

So which button do I use to jump again? (scratches head) Ahhh-- yearning for the simplicity of Mario World.

I'm with you, man; performing a "SUPER MEGA ULTRA OMFG GAURD CANCEL" is just freaking beyond me :?

[Kid Ice]

Moving to classic gaming, where your friendly neighborhood Castlevania counselors are waiting to help you 24 hours a day. :)

isn't castlevania curse of darkness on ps2 and xb? not so classic to me. hrm

Gahh. I guess "latest Castlevania" and "L3 button" should have tipped me off. :monkey:

Chan, wanna shoot this over to modern gaming?

[Steven]

LOL Kevin, I feel your pain. Part of the reason I stick to the good ole NES-Dreamcast.

[NE146]

Yknow I'm actually sort of feeling the same kind of frustration right now in Metroid Zero for the GBA.. not that it's complicated and all, but I think I'm at the tail end of the game (after you turn into un-armored samus) and got all my armor back and am super powerful with mega bombs..

....but..

I still see a lot of those "super speed" charge barriers that block certain areas of the game! I'm talking about the ones that go left and right in places you can't run, and some of them look like you have to be in ball form.

Excuse me but I dont recall any part of the game ever explaining how to do the charge left/right aside from running fast, nor did it ever show me how to charge in ball form and get moving.. Did I miss something? :?

[Rev. Link]

Kevin_psx, does this mean you could be interested in a Wii?

[Julio III]

sounds like someone needs a wii

[djbeatmongrel]

really i've noticed the DS really simplified gaming a lot and i assume the new Wii will do the same. those may be your best bet for simpler gaming

[boatofcar]

I solve this problem by only buying current generation games that are really easy to pick up, like Katamari Damacy. It also saves me a bit of money too, since such games are few and far between.

[Ackman]

I've just recently been playing Ininja 3d platformer and it is quite nice and everything

but after 30min of playing I'm tired and I need to lie down


but I can play donkey kong country for hours and hours

[Haoie]

Someone once stated "The best games are easy to learn but difficult to master".

Very appropriate.

[Ackman]

I also think that Prince of Persia the two thrones was really diffiicult I to play the whole game through:

two times O_O

before I got to grips with the gameplay stealth kills were tricky not to mention the bosses and puzzles

it got easier though but it was very difficult in the begining didn't make me tired though well okay maybe a little quite a thinking man's game

[Ruffie]

As a middle-aged gamer, I've been having trouble with this too. I see a game that looks awesome and gets great reviews, and I pick it up. And it has all these insane button combos and moves that have to be done. Recent examples include The Warriors, God of War, and Mortal Kombat :Shaolin Monks.

I get discouraged and never make it far into these games. OK, I understand that I'm getting old and maybe gaming has finally passed me by. Or that both my available free time to play games and my patience with these games is limited to such a degree that I cannot make the commitment in terms of learning curve to make these games playable for me.

Then I come across a game like Beyond Good and Evil. I instantly master its controls, am enthralled by its story, and (for a sadly brief time) am in gaming heaven. So I think, maybe it's not me after all?

I guess I just have to be more selective about what I play. I am really enjoying DS games these days, as well as the ongoing bonanza of cheap GBA titles. But many of these newer games, ones that seem so damn cool, may just be out of my scope. It's a harsh realization. That's okay, though, I had a good run.

Admiral Ruffie

[jdc]

Don't worry, Ruffie. I'm 46.......with arthritis in my hands. LOL

Games aren't getting overly COMPLICATED for me......they're getting too DIFFICULT and demanding. And yeah, in some cases there's too much to remember button-wise, but I'm referring to superhuman AI.

Case in point.....this fuckin' Ridge Racer 6 on the 360. These last races demand such a high, near impossible level of concentration and reactionary timing that when a race is over (win or lose) my heartrate is through the roof and my vision is blurred from the ridiculous false speed. I swear that if I wasn't a lifelong cyclist in above average shape for my age, my wife would be calling an ambulance.

WHY are developers putting this level of competition into racing games? I'd love to know. With the Gran Turismo series, as an example, you get the game and learn the tracks, the braking points and the apexes of the curves. Then as the classes of cars progress, if you've done your homework with the tracks, you can "beat" the game by beating the AI fair and square with the track knowledge that you've spent time acquiring. Interestingly, Ridge Racer 4 on the PSX seemed to be the last RR game where this applied.

I've noticed lately with MANY racing games that the AI doesn't actually "race" the track like in Turismo....but is "placed" around the track according to how you're doing.....as it seems to be in RR6. Call it rubberband AI. This leads to a racer that is based more on luck than skill.....where it all comes down to the final corner and the final straight. The other laps were just bullshit filler and could have been eliminated. It doesn't necessarily matter whether it's arcade or sim....I've noticed it in both. What kind of game development is that? It makes me wonder if anyone at Namco ever truly "mastered" Ridge 6 while it was in development. This game needed a 3 tiered difficulty system IMO so that you could finish the game with 100% on the easy setting if you wished, then go back and try again on the next difficulty. With the one tier progressive system, you may end up abandoning the game.

I also find it scary that there is not one single race faq for Ridge Racer 6 on the internet, including the official site. I've looked. Is the game so bad that no-one could figure it out? It's also bad that the trade in value for this game is particularly low. In our area the game retails for $70, used for $50....but the trade in is only $18 compared to the usual $25 - 30 for a 360 game.

In the end it's the same.....a game that you can't complete is a waste of money. No wonder so many people refuse to buy software and rent it instead. Maybe people like myself who actually buy the games are the idiots. I feel that every game should be finishable by a gamer of average competance. You shouldn't have to kill yourself or perform miracles in order to do so.

[kevin_psx]

Have you tried Ebay? If your RR6 game is 'like new / mint' you should be able to get near-full retail price for it.

Gran Turismo uses rubber-banding. If you drive slow-- the AI drives slow. If you drive fast-- the AI drives fast.

With the "place" AI I think the phrase is "the computer cheats" ----> instantly tranporting its car from one spot to the next.

it has all these insane button combos and moves that have to be done. Recent examples include The Warriors, God of War, and Mortal Kombat :Shaolin Monks. Great. I just bought all 3 of those.

Also playing Sly Cooper 3.

I'm spending more time learning about button-combos in the "training room"-- versus out doing actual missions ["So which button do I use to pickpocket a guard? (presses button). Nope. Now I'm dead."] Ahhh I yearn for the simplicity of Mario64 or Banjo-Kazooie. Hop. Run. Punch. Easy.

[Cryomancer]

Yknow I'm actually sort of feeling the same kind of frustration right now in Metroid Zero for the GBA.. not that it's complicated and all, but I think I'm at the tail end of the game (after you turn into un-armored samus) and got all my armor back and am super powerful with mega bombs..

....but..

I still see a lot of those "super speed" charge barriers that block certain areas of the game! I'm talking about the ones that go left and right in places you can't run, and some of them look like you have to be in ball form.

Excuse me but I dont recall any part of the game ever explaining how to do the charge left/right aside from running fast, nor did it ever show me how to charge in ball form and get moving.. Did I miss something? :?

Technically no, since i don't think any of the games ever ACTUALLY tell you how to do the "charge hold" moves. They're nuts. I spent a few days in zero mission learning to to them and it's great when you make it work but not so great trying for an hour before you do.

http://www.metroid2002.com/ this site has some crazy sequence-breaking videos that show the moves in action. it's nuts.

[googlefest1]

as long as they dont get any worse im fine - some games do piss me off with the AI but in most cases i can handel it.

I do like the complexity of some games and enjoy having the option to move onto something more simple when im in the mood for it. In todays world of games i still get the urge to play 2600 games.

The one thing that bothers me sometime is if i play a game that requires a good memory of buttons and i put it down for a while, it takes a long time for me to get by the lasyess to re-learn the controls and continue playing the game.

I havent played FFX but ive seen people that were into the game drawing charts for the combinations of magics and that has kind of kept me from that game. So i do agree some games are too complicated but i havent come across to many of them. Also i find that button mashing works and if i ever get to shoulin monks that will be my plan of attack.

[kevin_psx]

FFX has a magic chart?

O_O

I just played it straight through. GREAT story-- probably the best story of any game to date.

[zerohero]

I feel the same way.

Probably the biggest pet peeve I've picked up after all these years of gaming is a high learning curve. I have close to zero patience when it comes to games' learning curve nowadays.

I want to be able to pick up a game and get the swing of it in 30 minutes. I don't want an RPG where you must master the elemental cooking recipe system or you'll run out of cooking points after turn three and it's instant gameover.

Then, you master the recipe system, or so you think, but then you have to use it efficiently by comboing it with other party members using crazy button sequences and a card battle sequence.

You can't just get cards for the card battle combo system that easily though. You have to execute a hyper recipe on your custom weapon to imbue it with the ability to find cards.

And good luck finding the good card battle cards and hyper weapon recipes though without GameFAQs or a strategy guide!

x_x

LOL

[Ackman]

Have you tried Ebay? If your RR6 game is 'like new / mint' you should be able to get near-full retail price for it.

Gran Turismo uses rubber-banding. If you drive slow-- the AI drives slow. If you drive fast-- the AI drives fast.

With the "place" AI I think the phrase is "the computer cheats" ----> instantly tranporting its car from one spot to the next.

it has all these insane button combos and moves that have to be done. Recent examples include The Warriors, God of War, and Mortal Kombat :Shaolin Monks. Great. I just bought all 3 of those.

Also playing Sly Cooper 3.

I'm spending more time learning about button-combos in the "training room"-- versus out doing actual missions ["So which button do I use to pickpocket a guard? (presses button). Nope. Now I'm dead."] Ahhh I yearn for the simplicity of Mario64 or Banjo-Kazooie. Hop. Run. Punch. Easy.

Play ice age 2 it's easy, really easy, very much like banjo cochie a bit short though so make sure you buy it cheap...

[Yago]

This is the exact reason I stay away from fighting games. When it comes to pressing 5 buttons, then 5 combos followed by another 5 buttons to perform a move, simply put, fug that. When I have to do something like that I find myself just starring at the control thinking "WTF was I going to do?" Great, just got my ass kicked again, Game Over. Ok, well, back to Space Invaders.

[Ed Oscuro]

I would be all over this thread, but I don't have a PS2 LOL Really, too-simplistic games tick me off. There's gotta be some depth somewhere (though not necessarily in the control scheme).

[scorch56]

Xenosaga II.. that's the game that makes me feel this way. I've read the damn manual from front to back 5 times. Bought the strategy guide; and followed the in-game help as much as possible and I still don't have a clue how to play effectively. The first Xenosaga was nowhere near as complicated as this game. I find myself sometimes playing XII just like I would a fighter.. just mashing buttons and hoping for the best.. but it rarely works. I'm about to give up.

[Frica89]

the first thing that came to mind when i saw this topic was, "you need a wii"