GAMES TM Issue 24

[hankwangford]

The way I see it is that Outrun 2 is always a game you can beter yourself at - there's always a challenge, even without mission mode, to get one extra heart here or shave a second off there. The concept is simple, the extras are limited, and as a result the gameplay is focused. It harks back to the old Saturn conversions of Sega's stuff - "Here's a port with little extras, now go ram it down your throat" - and time and time again such a style brought me back to my Saturn.

Burnout 3, on the other hand, has an incredibly deep single player mode but there's nothing really "skillful" about it; you battle to stay ahead of the rubberband and smash up cars. It's incredibly incredibly fun and exilhirating - if frustrating - as it relies on pounding the senses with adrenaline fueled gameplay... but the audience it's aiming at is generally a massively different one. Only chaps like us are going to get a kick out of both, purely because we buy ****loads of games unlike regular pikey bling chav who buys NFS Underground, Burnout 3 and nothing else all year.

And that's not trying to be elitest - that's just the truth.

[Jaysus]

Burnout 3, on the other hand, has an incredibly deep single player mode but there's nothing really "skillful" about it

Well, there is. Dodging cars and being a master of your own reflexes is very skillful - Burnout 3 has so much gameplay to offer those who look past all the flashing EA logos. This is the reason why you'll find me on Live pretty much every night playing the game at the moment.

Burnout 3 may lack the typically AM2 style arcade coating that gives Outrun 2 its special charm, but it's so much more of a thrill ride to those simply looking at the gameplay and who don't really bother getting into the whole Sega thing.

The bottom line is, Sega fans can either convince themselves that Outrun 2 is better or can genuinely believe it thanks to it being by Sega and feeling like a lovingly crafted Sega game etc etc, but those of you who do prefer Outrun 2 for whatever reason, if you were reviewing it next to Burnout 3 would you really give it a higher score? Could you really justify putting your own special preferences first and recommend Outrun 2 knowing that most of your audience won't get the whole Sega thing and just want to play great games?

[Kotatsu Neko]

Wouldn't it be great if our Xboxs downloaded demos of all the latest games automatically? Then we could play every game we fancied, and if we like it, click on 'buy'.

Someday perhaps. Until then I guess we're stuck with opinions/reviews and the endless arguments.

[Jaysus]

Wouldn't it be great if our Xboxs downloaded demos of all the latest games automatically? Then we could play every game we fancied, and if we like it, click on 'buy'.

Someday perhaps. Until then I guess we're stuck with opinions/reviews and the endless arguments.

Yes, then you could judge all games on their first levels and never have anyone else tell you that maybe it gets better the more you play it...

Oh but hang on, magazines only play the first levels before reviewing anyway don't they?

[PeteJ]

Outrun2 Vs Burnout 3 - it's the new "is Halo worth a 10?".

Yay.

[Jaysus]

Is Halo worth a 10? No.

Is Burnout 3 better than Outrun 2? Yes.

There, case closed!

[Kotatsu Neko]

Yes, then you could judge all games on their first levels and never have anyone else tell you that maybe it gets better the more you play it...

Oh but hang on, magazines only play the first levels before reviewing anyway don't they?

No they don't bother to play them at all. Review scores are decided in advance based on the amount of advertising the publisher agrees to take out in the mag and how many free dinners and trinkets the reviewers get.

Possibly.

[martTM]

Can I play Devil's Advocate between hankwangford and Jaysus here and say this?

OutRun 2 and Burnout 3 both demand skill - OutRun's demands are on self-improvement and the long-term ability to build up skill, while Burnout 3 requires seat-of-your-pants, reactionary skill that's over once the race finishes.

How's that for a summing up (and hopefully, an end to the argument)?

Anyway. In other news... that gamesTM issue 24. Good mag, eh?

[martTM]

No they don't bother to play them at all. Review scores are decided in advance based on the amount of advertising the publisher agrees to take out in the mag and how many free dinners and trinkets the reviewers get.

Possibly.

Now you're talking arse, at least as far as my experience goes. If it wasn't for the 'Possibly' on the end, I'd have you for libel.

Although that said... Game Informer in the US. You can't possibly tell me that last month's 9.5 score for Mortal Kombat Deception (along with the claim that it 'redefines beat-?em-ups as we know them') and this month's world exclusive of Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks aren't related. No way.

[Jaysus]

NO WAY MARTI - you are teh lam3r11!!!!!!

But seriously, Burnout 3 also requires self-improvement and long-term skill building. If you don't practise you'll be nothing online! As you shall discover when you finally play me!!!!! *shakes fist*

[Jaysus]

No they don't bother to play them at all. Review scores are decided in advance based on the amount of advertising the publisher agrees to take out in the mag and how many free dinners and trinkets the reviewers get.

Possibly.

mmmmmmmm... trinkets... *drool*

[martTM]

As you shall discover when you finally play me!!!!! *shakes fist*

[Brats]

Aye, online there are a lot of skills on display. To win races against the best players, you had better get used to avoiding a single crash and drifting the corners to perfection.

Randomness and fluke, my arse.

[Jaysus]

Here's what I have waiting for you, Marti!

[mid]

last month's 9.5 score for Mortal Kombat Deception (along with the claim that it 'redefines beat-?em-ups as we know them')

But it does redefine beat-'em-ups. Presently, they're games of skill where months of practice against human opponents and a development of complex tactical balance mean Saurian will still hand you your arse. MKeception redefines it as a pointless random button mash with a bit of CG gore and some utterly broken one-move finishes where the real point of the game is spending good money on a strategy guide that tells you how to perform each fatality in order to impress your fellow 12-year-olds.