Tedd Video Game Opinions - 034 - HD
Added 2021-07-24 08:13:09 +0000 UTCCheat mode???
Commentary
This is me playing BioWare games.
I'm almost universally disappointed when combat happens, I just want to get back to talking to characters. I don't want to manage an inventory, I've no idea how to level up my characters in an optimized fashion, I just want to get back to the talking.
I will go for the lowest difficulty and not care.
Possibly more controversial is that I remember this being less of a thing with me and Mass Effect Andromeda, but that game gave you a jet pack.
That's cheating.
Granted, I also remember really disliking some fights in Andromeda, so it wasn't like it was suddenly spectacular (I vaguely recall a jerk who was really tanky and evasive with some sort of nonsense attack?), and I'm pretty sure I kept it on lowest difficulty there, too.
As for books, I tend to want more breathing room. I'm not looking for constant descriptions of fight scenes and peril.
I'm ALSO not looking for any detailed descriptions of... let's just say "romantic" scenes, though romance isn't actually what I'm referring to, if you can assume my meaning. Diane would probably disagree with me on that much.
Comments
On the "Books have the same problem" topic. I dunno if you've read any of the Star Wars novels, especially I'm thinking of the Rogue Squadron/Wraith Squadron series. I liked the combat sequences in the books because they were well done, but it was definitely a strong departure in style from the rest of the books. It felt very different when they were in combat.
Latency
2021-07-26 14:14:25 +0000 UTCBut as much of an improvement as that is, it just underscores "most of this fighting isn't necessary for anything." Just give us a 'skip foregone conclusion fights.' option. Playing FF games, I definitely remember getting to that point in a FF game where two of the three active characters were controlled by AIs, and so many times I needed to go from point A to point B through trivial fights that the two AI characters soloed without taking any damage. This left me with the question of, "Why bother rendering that?" To be clear, yes, my active character *could* have participated, but there really was no need. I got to point B quicker by having my focus being to cross the terrain while the other party members took everything out. Though, on that note, I don't remember why it was important to take everything else out. It's not like they could have really hurt us.
Some Ed
2021-07-26 04:16:03 +0000 UTCOooooh Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor is great for this. The game has it’s fair share of flaws but I really felt like it captured the real visceral feeling of being FEARED by the enemy towards the end. It’s the only game that has ever made me feel all tingly when the orcs helplessly run away from my wraithy self. Also, letting ONE orc survive a massive slaughter sometimes has the orc come back as a named enemy with a distinctly cowardly or paranoid personality. It’s the BEST.
Spiders4brekfast
2021-07-25 20:14:35 +0000 UTCI loved the gambit system!
Kkat
2021-07-25 06:12:06 +0000 UTCOne of the things I liked most about FF12 is that you can set everything up so that the game plays the combats for you. It takes time and skill to get it working well, and you still need to take control for tough bosses, but the actual grinding can just involve you wandering around without once pressing an attack button
A Red Mage Named Blue
2021-07-24 23:18:44 +0000 UTCI usually do this for my first playthrough of story-heavy games because the story is mostly what I'm here for... unless, like Cyberpunk, the game's own mechanics can be exploited to insta-kill entire rooms of baddies on even the highest difficulty, then never mind :)
Cat Tillinghast
2021-07-24 22:51:35 +0000 UTCI want this often myself. Especially in games where the combat is frequent and repetitive. Or in isometric, turn-based games where combat feels more like a math puzzle than an action sequence. Combat itself has long lost its novelty. Like Diane, I like to play the story, the characters, the world-building and the romance... and I would add exploration (which is why I love open world games so much). Unless the combat really adds to these things, it becomes grinding filler, and I grow bored with it.
Kkat
2021-07-24 18:32:18 +0000 UTCI like to play the quick combat challenges like Souls Like and Doom games because the focus sink they become feels nice for my ADHD brain. But I completely understand the story being more important than the combat in a game. Like a sandwich I need all parts to not just work on their own but also complement each other.
Dan Curtis
2021-07-24 18:18:42 +0000 UTCHave you heard of a fanfic called Harry is a Dragon and That's Okay? Sounds like you'd like it :) (and it just finished!)
Inahc
2021-07-24 17:21:16 +0000 UTCI like a reasonable quantity of action sequences in books or games, but there authors that seem to think that is all you need in them. I don't know if you have played Valkyria Chronicles (the first one, not the sequels). The combat part are needed to complete the story, and I liked them, but what you remember is the story, not the battles. The development of the characters is something I liked a lot.
Diego Rossi
2021-07-24 14:58:27 +0000 UTCI'm with Diane on this one. Give me easy mode - heck, give me god mode - and let me experience the story and world and characters without having to worry about fighting the same combat over and over. Video games are the only media that can actually stop you from progressing, and I'm always happy when there's a way to make sure I can see the whole game.
M.
2021-07-24 14:03:58 +0000 UTCThis happens in some versions of the "story" difficulty setting, for games that have one: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StoryDifficultySetting
Frédéric B.
2021-07-24 12:13:00 +0000 UTCMy dad loves the Assassin's Creed games but doesn't have the greatest reflex's, so he was excited when the game let you tweak just combat difficulty.
Ryan Peterson
2021-07-24 11:36:23 +0000 UTCGames let you make choices in ways books and movies don't. And ugh, "visual novels" don't give you the nuance most games do. Heck, the interesting RPGs, you're Cyrano de Bergerac, suggesting lines for your character to use in romance. That's interesting and fun. Yet Another Combat tho... like... that's not interesting. It's room after room of an adventure game where all the puzzle solutions are "use > rifle >enemy head". And you don't get to a point where the enemy goes "Oh fuck, it's him, he's killed like, a thousand of us." and all the non-elite enemies just drop their guns and run. That would be interesting. Like, the game stops throwing waves of minions at you, and starts playing defensively. Smarter. If they attack, it's from ambush, or fortification, or a combat arena with an elite fighter trying to buy time for their people to escape from YOU. Just... if I'm going to fight a mindless, endless horde, can they just be actual zombies instead of people?
Ardent Slacker
2021-07-24 09:31:05 +0000 UTC
