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Thread: Is it all about length, or is it what you do with it that counts?

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    Seething Cauldron of Hatred TheAnimus's Avatar
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    Is it all about length, or is it what you do with it that counts?

    When i first started gaming properly, it was probably Lemmings on the A5000.

    I can't remeber how long it took to complete it (i was about 6 and would have to take it in turns with dad over who got to play) but it must of been hours.

    Moving into the 3D gaming world Starfighter 3000 took ages to complete the pyramid.

    Half-Life was a wounderful sleep deprivied weekend and still didn't complete it due to feble body falling asleep.

    But call of duty 4. Great game, really well finished, with a better storyline than many films. But its a little short isn't it? I mean for 30 smakers i'd of hoped for a longer experiance. Its a truely great game, but the ending comes out of nowhere with all the tact of jimmy carr.

    Thing is, i like quality games, i don't have much free time anymore now i'm a grown up, but COD4 just is a little too short,but is this the sign of things to come?
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    Re: Is it all about length, or is it what you do with it that counts?

    I think Portal is a prime example of a woefully short experience. If it weren't for the other content bundled in the Orange Box I doubt it would have done as well as it has. It's a great little game but overprices on its own with the amount of entertainment it offers.

    Is it a sign of things to come? No, at least I hope it isn't. I've heard CoD4's single player campaign is short but judging by the comments, it's really aimed at the multiplayer fan (I've not purchased it for that reason). There are still plenty of lengthy, in depth lose-yourself type games about and they're still being made. And so long as developers don't neglect the single player titles, I'll continue to be satisfied.

    I guess it all depends on your choice of genre. For me it's mostly RTS titles where the skirmish modes help suck me back in. The racing and adventure/RPG genres aren't going anywhere soon and still delivery plenty of gameplay.

    Perhaps the genre suffering the most is the shooter/FPS game - they appear to be more online based these days, only offering the minimum campaign they can get away with. If I feel I can complete one of those in a day or two (after trawling though reviews) or a single sitting then I'll avoid it unless the experience is particularly unique or rewarding.

    Ultimately it comes down to price - how much are you prepared to pay for your entertainment? £40 for the 360 version of CoD4 for a day's worth of single player fun when I'm not interested in the online stuff? That's not a worthwhile investment for me.
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    Re: Is it all about length, or is it what you do with it that counts?

    bit o' both. I too liked the cod4 sp and was kinda sad when it ended abruptly. I was real pissed that I could not shoot down the damn helicopter. Although Crysis is longer it's just soooo much more boring... Multiplayer is the only good thing about that, and the visuals.

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    Moderator DavidM's Avatar
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    Re: Is it all about length, or is it what you do with it that counts?

    The difference with Lemmings - it was fun to return to ...

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    The King of Vague Steve B's Avatar
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    Re: Is it all about length, or is it what you do with it that counts?

    Quote Originally Posted by moogle View Post
    bit o' both. I too liked the cod4 sp and was kinda sad when it ended abruptly. I was real pissed that I could not shoot down the damn helicopter. Although Crysis is longer it's just soooo much more boring... Multiplayer is the only good thing about that, and the visuals.
    you cant shoot down the helicopter on the final mission, it keeps moving out the way.
    If its the achievement you're after, do it on the level in the bog, when the helicopters come to drop troops off, theres an RPG over on the right side of the map, beside one of the containers.

    I found that with CoD 4 and Halo 3 as well, after playing through the maps on Hardcore (Heroic for Halo) and then playing through the game again on Veteran (Legendary), I noticed a massive difference in playing time.

    I was quite happy with the length of both the games.

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    Re: Is it all about length, or is it what you do with it that counts?

    You've played through Halo3 on Legendary, solo, Steve?

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    Senior Member Hicks12's Avatar
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    Re: Is it all about length, or is it what you do with it that counts?

    i have to say that the halo series is probably the shortest games ive played, loved halo(original) but the rest didnt have the good feel to it, halo 3 was ok but halo 2 was dire and mediocre. The gameplay of halo made up for a shortish campaign, the story was there. Crysis is a great game i think, finally got to play it and although people keep saying the graphics are amazing i wouldnt agree, they are good but they are not good enough to make me think that the new nvidia cards(or amd) can struggle, the textures are poor and the only think really good is the actual gun and some men, still good. The campaign really had a good story(although i hated the alien bit, so much lag ) and was pretty long compared to games released over the past few years.
    Length is important, it has to be replayable though, i found halo really fun because i completed it on every difficulty but on crysis i jsut did it on one and thats it, same with many.

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    Re: Is it all about length, or is it what you do with it that counts?

    I think it's because they're different types of games. If the story behind it (assuming it even has one) plays a significant role in the way you play the game, chances are it will be much shorter experience, especially if it's a first person shooter as well. RPG's can draw things out because usually you spend alot of your time travelling about.

    I agree, COD4 seemed short, but it really is an intense experience. In my opinion Halo 3 felt kinda long and boring so even though I probably got way more play time from one single player campaign, I didn't get nearly as much enjoyment.

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    Re: Is it all about length, or is it what you do with it that counts?

    Its not all about length, no. There are good short games, and poor long games. Ikaruga, 5 levels, classic. Mass Effect, 40+ hours, boring.

    Its about fun, gameplay. Thats all that has ever mattered and all that ever will.

    If GTAIV is 200 hours long, but no fun to play, its a bad game. If its 30 hours and a blast from start to finish, its a great game.

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    HEXUS.Metal Knoxville's Avatar
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    Re: Is it all about length, or is it what you do with it that counts?

    Seeing as cod4 has a multi player mode designed to eat away hours of your life I wouldn't say its a short game at all, it all depends on what you want from your games I suppose, I traded in a couple of games for orange box when it came out, played Portal and really enjoyed the pacing and thought it was just right in length, basically I liked me some Portal, after I completed that I decided to play through Half Life 2 again before I started episodes one and two (something I have yet to do in fact) going straight from one to the other I found certain parts of Half Life 2 felt very drawn out Ravenholme for instance I remember being quite long winded the first time round but this time it felt like it went on forever.

    Don't get me wrong I still really like Half Life 2 but it's come to my attention that I can get more enjoyment out a highly polished game that may only be four or five hours long than one thats twelve or sixteen hours long with a couple of hours in the middle that drag.

    The time that some games have spent making me jump through rudimentary hoops or making me level up with wave after wave of the same enemies to fill out an extra hour could easily be done away with and help the game its self flow much better, for instance Devil may cry 4 which I'm about half way through has had a couple of sections that really feel like they exist purely to get more gameplay time out of a certain environment or to flesh out an extra hour in the overall completion time and it detracts from the experience far more than it adds.

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    Re: Is it all about length, or is it what you do with it that counts?

    Quote Originally Posted by Stewart View Post
    Its about fun, gameplay. Thats all that has ever mattered and all that ever will.
    100% spot on. End of thread really

    But as Knoxville says, multiplayer can add so much more to a game. Most solo games leave me cold, give me some serious MP action and i'm in my element, doesn't matter if the main game is short (Halo 3 springs to mind)

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    The King of Vague Steve B's Avatar
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    Re: Is it all about length, or is it what you do with it that counts?

    Quote Originally Posted by Stewart View Post
    You've played through Halo3 on Legendary, solo, Steve?
    Yep, Cortana took me aaaages to do solo. Hours in fact. I've started playing through the metagames solo too, and that takes even longer. Playing by yourself with 5 skulls on is tough

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    Re: Is it all about length, or is it what you do with it that counts?

    Might have to have another go then. Tried Legendary solo a while back and the game kicked my ass so bad even my own momma didn't recognise me. And this was long before Cortana.

    Sux!

    Done all the metgame achievements ages ago though, they are a piece of piss. You'll walk through them if you've clocked the game on Leg.

    I'll have another go at it post GTAIV.
    Last edited by Stewart; 23-04-2008 at 08:57 PM.

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