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What do you place above other criteria?

Posted: 2nd July 2006 02:32

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Holy Swordsman
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The full title was going to be 'What do you place above other criteria when evaluating a game?" but that wouldn't fit. That's the question btw.

Zeromus loves surreal environments. If there's a surreal environment, he'll probably like the game even if he didn't care for other things. I mean, really, crystalline outer-space dungeon? Floating sky castle? Undersea lost civilization? Bonus dungeon that looks like an Estcher painting? Any combination of those? Count me in! It may seem silly, but it isn't any more silly than some of the things people think of...

And, of course, replay value. I love games with replay value. (Probably explains my fixation with tri-Ace.) Any game with replay value...must be played again, unsurprisingly. Difficulty levels, some sort of collection, New Game +, different playable characters, endings, different events, you name it. (Although, it works even better when it's a combination of things that give replay value.)

And, there's of course Soundtrack. If a Sountrack has music that matches the theme of whatever's going on, than it works for me.

And, as another question, what criteria do you place below others?

I generally don't think much of story, since I'm not expecting the characters or story to be terribly groundbreaking anyway. (Everyone will think everything is cliched anyway.) If you want a big story...then go read a book, quite frankly. There's a story right there. happy.gif

Battle System.

I don't normally care if it's a turn-based game, or a real-time game, I'll probably like it just fine regardless. (Probably only an issue in RPGs.)

Keep in mind that if a game has an exceptional system or story, I'll still merit it.

Meh. What about everyone else?

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Posted: 2nd July 2006 04:00

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Chocobo Knight
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Storyline is probably the most important aspect to me. It's the same with movies. If something is too abstract and just doesn't have any unity or point I tend to hate it (besides Napoleon Dynamite happy.gif) That's probably why I love FF7 so much as well as Silent Hill.

Also, I love a good arsenal of kickass weapons and really love fast gameplay. I love the battle system of Onimusha because everything is quick quick quick. One wrong move and you're on your ass. It forces you to become a perfectionist while fighting, which is how I roll. smile.gif

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Posted: 2nd July 2006 04:12

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Kung Foogle
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Gameplay. Gameplay, gameplay, gameplay. A game can have groundbreaking graphics, a heart-wrenching story, unforgettable characters, cutting-edge technical specifications and a masterfully composed soundtrack, but if it's not fun to play, it's worthless. Without a solid foundation of good gameplay, even the most elaborate productions are doomed to failure - you can't gloss over substance, no matter how hard you try. This is why games like Tetris will never die - no matter how sophisticated gaming technology gets, there's always room for good old-fashioned fun.

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Posted: 2nd July 2006 04:14

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I look at gameplay,storyline,battle system,graphics,and sound.
Some games Storyline quite interests me,not only in the game but well....fiction.
Battle system,Dragon Quest 5/6 on the zsnes i swear i'll sue the person who invented that battle system just since it's soo horrible.
Graphics....well i wont blame ZSNES or NES but it does need decent graphics for my liking. I bet alot of people like decent graphics as well.
Ahhh sound Nobuo gets my vote for best music maker. No game that i played so far has Shwack music. And on Star Ocean the ZSNES version i was just plained SHOCKED to hear that the characters would actually talk, even if it is hard to makeout what they are saying I was like OMG voices on the ZSNES! Most PS1 games don't even have voices!
And as for gameplay it has to fit my liking so for all of the above chances are i'll even ADORE the game. blush.gif

That is my Criteria for a good game. tongue.gif
It doesn't have to be perfect,cus i can't name one game that is. But this criteria follows a awesome game. If the sound or any of the above aren't great, OK so what as long as it's decen tand good enough for me.

This post has been edited by Dragon King on 2nd July 2006 04:16

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Posted: 2nd July 2006 14:58

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Lunarian
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Gameplay and story. It's hard for me to place one above the other. If the gameplay and/or the story isn't what I like, I probably won't enjoy it as much as other games, but that's not to say I won't necessarily rule out playing it.

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Posted: 2nd July 2006 16:23

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Storyline, Gameplay, Content, Soundtrack. All else is secondary. Even graphics. In fact, especially graphics. Red Alert 2 is the least fun C&C there is.

STORYLINE: It's hard to describe what I want from a storyline, but restraint and realism usually help, even if it's just realism as applied to the universe the game/film is set in. For instance, I question the validity of Gun Kata, but still think Equilibrium is what the later Matrix films wish they were. Also, characters must meet the criteria of:
-not emo
-no angst, yet conversly, must remain as human as possible.
-Experience. I hate playing as some person who is just a rookie or a kid who will save the world.
-Not invincible. I like Die Hard and all, but I'd rather the character has a clear weakness or clear weaknesses that include getting shot more times than there are seconds in the day.

GAMEPLAY: This actually ties with content. If it's got a fun main game and not laden with minigames that you have to play, then by all means, fire freely.

CONTENT: I prefer a realistic approach to things, and that

SOUNDTRACK: No nu-metal screeching, no emo nonsense, just anything that works.Like, say, Frank Klepacki.


Oh, and one last point: Realistic weapons are always a bonus.


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Posted: 2nd July 2006 19:04

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Characters/storyline (in an RPG), game play.

Characters is placed in front of storyline intentionally because, quite frankly, I can't enjoy a story if I don't like the characters.

Game play is important because it's the pretty much the whole point of playing a game. Once I again, I purposely placed characters and story first because I mostly play RPGs and if I don't have any interest in the characters or story, I probably won't pick it up to find out how it plays.

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Posted: 3rd July 2006 03:17

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Character,storyline,music and gameplay.

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Posted: 5th July 2006 00:47

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Customization System and Music.

If a game allows for a broad range of customization, I'll probably like it. An example would be FFII and FFX-2. If a game doesn't have a lot of customization, then it must have outsanding music before I like it and even then I won't like it a lot. Example being FFI and FFVI.

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Posted: 5th July 2006 05:26

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Black Waltz
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Gameplay, Story, Replay, Sound, in about that order

You gotta have good gameplay if you want to even begin to enjoy the game. By gameplay, I mean mechanics, battle systems, etc.

Story is the thing that gets you into the game, and makes you feel for characters. It's what immerses you, if you will/

Replay is helpful especially for us tight budgeted people. Something that we have an incentive to play again, maybe to see another side to a story, or to unlock things.

Music helps with the immersion. My friends don't see this for the most part, but to me, a good soundtrack will get me into a game much more than nice graphics.

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Posted: 5th July 2006 06:21
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you know, i tried to answer this question for myself, and i determined that i tend to buy games for different reasons.

for example, in fighting games, i could care less about the storyline. i'm buying it strictly for the gameplay and the competitive factor. i'm looking for a bug-free, balanced system with enough freedom that the game becomes mind v mind rather than strictly twitch reflex. games like mgs -- and dmc, and tenchu, and even games like zelda and kh -- "action" games are the same; i'm looking mainly for a gameplay system that will keep me entertained for a while to compensate me for the $50 i had to shell out. sure, when i buy a kh or a zelda or even a doc, i'm expecting a good story -- that better be a part of the package, or i'll get disappointed. but the thing that interests me most in recurring installments of action/adventure series are the updates in the gameplay system.

but when i buy an rpg, the #1 consideration is the story. the gameplay has to be at least passable and of course i will prefer a game with cleaner, more innovative, or simply more interesting gameplay (fft yes, ff8 no), but the story i put above everything. when i play an rpg, i'm looking to play the part in an excellent story that has already been written; i find rpgs in which you make a part of the story are always more distant or perhaps emotionally limited -- i have no problem "playing a movie," so to speak, and that extends to any game with an excellent story such as mgs series games. the story has to be a really good one, though, and the characters both credible and individual, if i'm going to enjoy and rpg. ff7, ffx, and wa1 i really like. ff8, ff9, bof4, not so much.

of course music and graphics are especially relevant to me when it comes to any game. with the technology and techniques developed today for the production of high-resolution 3d graphics on consoles, any company that doesn't at least put out graphics that are up to par is just being lazy -- i haven't really found a great game with terrible graphics, anyway. disgaea, for example, was half-assed all the way through except for the cheesy jokes. wa4 was *such* a joke, as a *huge* and longstanding wa fan i couldn't play it even halfway through. good graphics draw me to a game. ffx had great graphics and excellent art direction. the characters were designed well, the costumes were colourful and blended well, and the area background were probably the best in any ps2-generation console rpg to date. i'm aware that the general sentiment around here is that good graphics make bad games, but i can't buy it for a second. 3d wasn't the end of good gaming. some of the best games ever are 3d. what's wrong with making a product pretty if it's still a good product underneath?

and good music is really a must. only in fighting games can i really tolerate sub-par music, and that's because most of them have really bad music. i can pass a game if the music at least isn't outright irritating, but i score a game so much higher for an excellent soundtrack -- notably ff8, ct, xg, to name a few.
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Posted: 5th July 2006 07:06

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Quote (Super Moogle)
Gameplay. Gameplay, gameplay, gameplay. A game can have groundbreaking graphics, a heart-wrenching story, unforgettable characters, cutting-edge technical specifications and a masterfully composed soundtrack, but if it's not fun to play, it's worthless. Without a solid foundation of good gameplay, even the most elaborate productions are doomed to failure - you can't gloss over substance, no matter how hard you try. This is why games like Tetris will never die - no matter how sophisticated gaming technology gets, there's always room for good old-fashioned fun.


SECOND!

Which is one reason why I love the Castlevania series, despite its lame plots. The plots are REALLY lame (coughHoDcough), but I absolutely love the gameplay--exploration-type action/adventure combined with a horror-themed but not excessively horror-oriented environment.

I dislike FFVII partly because of the gameplay--I actually dislike the Materia system mainly because it feels like a very strong incentive to powerlevel, and because I prefer learning magic by level (FFIV, Pokémon, SMRPG) or by equipment (FFTA). Additionally, I disliked FFVII because it felt like an interactive movie. If I wanted to watch a movie or read a novel, I'd go get myself a movie or novel, rather than a game that apparently masquerades as either. Too complex a plot may actually detract from the gameplay, as happened in FFVII and CvHoD (which was also confusing during my first play-through). (And the bracelet was NOT intuitive.)

For RPGs, story is important, but is part of gameplay--a story that fails to drive the game or otherwise just plain sucks detracts from the fun value; an expertly-crafted story that keeps my attention adds to the fun value.

I don't play FPS or fighting games, so I can't say about those.

For action games, I prefer very precise control of my character. That's why I say I love playing as that hidden character in CvAoS--that character is just extremely easy to control very precisely, and does pretty much exactly what I want. Contrast that to Simon Belmont, and you can figure out why I don't like playing as Simon. Similarly, MZM's Samus had better play control than did Super Metroid's Samus, and I thus like MZM's gameplay more. Cave Story also has reasonably good control, but doesn't rank among the most precise.

And Super Mario RPG is just a pure delight to play. Seriously. I absolutely love that game.

Edit
Oh, I should mention my second-most important factor--music. For those of you who didn't already know, I'm a huge videogame music connoisseur, to the point where soundtracks have driven me (twice already!) to play a certain game (Mega Man 6 and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night). It might happen soon with Wild ARMs 4, given the opening theme.

Just for your information, FFVI, Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG, and many Castlevania games all have well-acclaimed soundtracks, and I'm also a fan of all of them.


This post has been edited by Glenn Magus Harvey on 5th July 2006 07:09

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Posted: 5th July 2006 14:32

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>.< I'm about to get mauled by gamers for this.

How fun the game is. I like lighthearted, humorful games with cute costume designs. And how the characters act together. I like character depth, too. Like, secrets revealed, flashbacks, etc.
And plot twists biggrin.gif They're pretty cool, too, though .

So I have the game preference-equivilancy of a 12 year old.

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Posted: 5th July 2006 15:04

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Black Waltz
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I gotta admit that I like the fun factor too. That's why one of the many reasons of why I like the old SNES games. A dark story is nice too, but so many games that I love or want to play are whimsical, like the Mario RPGs, Katamari Damacy, and WarioWare

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Posted: 5th July 2006 15:05

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Quote (RelmArrowney @ 5th July 2006 09:32)
How fun the game is. I like lighthearted, humorful games with cute costume designs. And how the characters act together. I like character depth, too. Like, secrets revealed, flashbacks, etc.
And plot twists biggrin.gif They're pretty cool, too, though .

It's no wonder you love Grandia, then. It also seems to me that the Lunar series was made for you and you alone, then. Do yourself a favor and play some Silver Star and Eternal Blue.

But yeah, I really can't describe what draws me to certain games, but gameplay is absolutely the most important part. If a game isn't fun to play, I won't have fun playing it. Understand?

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Posted: 5th July 2006 15:36

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The plot... definitly the plot. Also a game that has secrets and upgrades of some sort, so that the game can stll be played after it's been completed (obvously not 100%).
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Posted: 8th July 2006 20:06

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Chocobo Knight
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Quote
How fun the game is. I like lighthearted, humorful games with cute costume designs. And how the characters act together. I like character depth, too. Like, secrets revealed, flashbacks, etc.

Hey, I agree wholeheartdly. Fun and humor is absolutely a part of it for me, too. I think that's why FF9 is by favorite of all the games I've played, becuase of how funny and lighthearted I thought it was.

Yes, I look for fun characters. For a game to have characters I care about falls at the top of my importance list. And that goes hand-in-hand with the story. I also like little things like easter eggs and bonus scenes.

But something I will openly admit that I DO look for...? Lynch me for this, but yes, graphics are important to me. What I mean by this is I want something that doesn't make me dizzy while I play. Some games make me dizzy after half an hour. It is NOT FUN to play a game like that. So therefore, games like FF6 fall under the "good graphics" category for me. I would not play Spyro the Dragon becuase the movements of the game made me sick. Even Kingdom Hearts could make me dizzy if I played too long (KH2 greatly improved on this... either that or I don't get motion sickness as easily anymore, or something... heh).
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