It’s preferable because it’s superior.
You’re a moron because you’re stupid.
Right. Unless it’s clear (e.g. Oblivion) whose strengths were being played to, in which case it’s appropriate that you voice an opinion on lugging one-size-fits-all into two distinct mediums to cut development time.
If finding one platform superior to others and thus preferable to said others means I’m a moron, then so be it.
Cool … it took almost 25 posts for this to degenerate into a ‘PC r teh sux0rz … consolez r f3r n00bz’ debacle …
I prefer the PC in addition to my DS & PSP, but I don’t consider it ‘superior’ - just more to my liking. I actually like gaming in that ‘hunched over the keyboard’ style … weird, eh?
But my real issue is when games bring so much ‘baggage’ from one platform to another that it is difficult to cut through and just enjoy playing.
Mike
Moron.
:)
Having switched largely to consoles in the last few years, I don’t see it. The PC does certain things very well (high precision mouse control, the flexibility of the keyboard), but there are lots of other ways in which the console experience is much better.
But the biggest factor is the games, and the supply of PC games I actually want to play is pretty thin.
My biggest problem with consolitis on PC games is the text scaling to make it readable on an SDTV. I don’t need that kind of big blocky text on my monitor. So I guess a port of Dead Rising to the PC would be good for me. :)
Second problem is lack of mouse support. Menus are meant to be clicked on with a mouse when using a PC, not scrolled though with arrow keys.
I would have thought to agree with you - and certainly my DS usage is similar (i.e. stylus), but plenty of my PSP games work just fine in that regard.
So I guess it keeps coming back to - punish crappy design wherever you find it.
Mike
Eh, I don’t know. In the case of Oblivion, you’re making an assumption that it would have turned out significantly differently had it been created for a single platform. There are considerably worse inventory systems for PC exclusives, so it’s possible it could have been even worse without the 360 limitations.
Anyway, I’m not a big fan of speculation in reviews. And continually harping on porting issues is kind of throwing read meat at PC fans. I’d prefer people focus on the issues and how they impact the PC version, as opposed to using “console port” as a catch-all. So, saying, “the textures are blurry thanks to the PS2” is useless; saying, “the textures are blurry, making text unreadable” or “the graphics are crap, with blurry textures, blah blah blah.” (Though I’d prefer people to talk about art direction instead of the technical level of a game’s graphics, but that’s another discussion.)
Heh, exactly. I really hope 360 devs realize that it’s a really bad idea to use super-thin text when in SDTV mode. Every time the lettering (or spaces in the middle of a letter) is only one pixel wide, the text turns out incredibly blurry on every SDTV I’ve seen.
But anyway, my whole beef with using “consolitis!” as an argument for or against a game has mostly been that it’s used for so many complaints that have nothing to do with whether or not a game’s being made for a console and PC both. DX2, IMO, is a classic example of how to misuse the word.
People said consolitis made the level sizes small. I’d disagree since I never saw a PC run this supposedly-consolized game remotely smoothly. It simply ran like ass despite the small level sizes, the platform, the power of the PC running it, whatever. Looks like crappy coding to me!
People said consolitis caused Ion Storm to remove the RPG skill system. Uh, no, it was removed because the devs thought that would improve the game. (Not saying I agree or disagree since I could hijack the thread for an eternity going on about DX1 vs DX2 and blah blah etc.) Christ, these days you can’t find a console game that DOESN’T have an RPG skill system of some kind.
People said consolitis was the root of the unified ammo idea. No, it was a storyline device that they thought would help simplify the game. I can’t think of many console games that use unified ammo (either you have games like Devil May Cry that just give you unlimited ammo, or games where you do have varying ammo types). In fact, the first game I clearly remember using unified ammo was Syndicate Wars, a PC-only game. So explain to me again why unifed ammo is a sign of “consolization”? No, wait, don’t bother because it simply isn’t.
People said consolitis was responsible for the crap interface and goofiness regarding the text size. No, that’s just Ion Storm not porting the game properly. I remember one of their guys insisting that they could make the experience on each platform identical, and to me that seems like a misguided goal since the platforms aren’t identical. But whatever, that’s not consolitis, that’s just a crappy port you’re seeing at work here.
Thus I don’t think consolization had one whit to do the controversy surrounding DX2. It was a bad port, and yeah we could go on all day about whether it would’ve been a good game had they put more effort into porting, but it wasn’t “consolized”. And that’s why the moment I see someone use this word, I begin tuning out the person who used it.
Save points are the one thing that would clearly label a game to me as console-centric. Seriously.
At any rate, sure, get on devs’ cases for doing shoddy ports. There’s been so many egregious examples of that - I can’t imagine playing Oblivion on the PC and having to deal with that inventory system (which, BTW, isn’t consolization since Morrowind on the XBox boasted a much better inventory screen, the same one the PC version had). But don’t just scream “CONSOLIZATION!” and think you’ve done your job, because to me that just says that you’re not willing to think through exactly why you don’t like this that or the other and instead want to rely on a stupid buzzword. It also smacks of PC-elitism, which has always baffled me and further convinces me to give up on whatever I’m reading.
I think any reader would appreciate knowing that other versions are available on other platforms. Things like a checkpoint save system are also features I appreciate being told about, though it doesn’t really matter to me why that kind of feature is used unless the reviewer is willing to argue its advantages.
The console vs. PC thing for me is really just about the kinds of games. They’re edging closer, but I still prefer the kinds of games I typically find on the PC to the kinds of games I typically find on the consoles. I also hate that anime art style, so any game with that kind of art direction is one I will have a hard time playing.
I realize only hardcore gamers own multiple platforms, but I really like reviews that tell me what’s different on each system and which one they think is the best.
Yeah, forget “consolitis”–reviews should mention problems with a game, regardless of the reason for them being there. Dead Rising has nigh-unreadable text on SD sets. It doesn’t matter if this is because the devs only tested it on HD sets/monitors–it’s a problem in the game.
As for CoD2…I think the author of that letter to the editor is on crack. There’s nothing “console-centric” about it.
You don’t need to say the game has “consolitis.” If it’s overwhelmingly obvious that all the UI problems are traceable directly to untranslated console-centric design, sure, maybe say so. But it’s better to say specifically what is bad about the user interface (40-point type, no keyboard shortcuts, cycling menu systems, whatever), and let the reader decide if it’s not for them.
Yeah, the word “consolitis” positively reeks of PC-zealot prejudice. If a game has UI issues or was ported poorly, that’s one thing. Consolitis sounds like the writer is just upset that their “pure” PC experience has been contaminated by console gaming conventions. I’m sure a monocle is involved somewhere.
Safe bet with Oblivion, but minor issue for me in that game, and I get your point, which is really: you better effing know what you’re talking about if you’re going to so much as spend a single sentence harping on some abstract “porting” issue.
Anyway, I’m not a big fan of speculation in reviews. And continually harping on porting issues is kind of throwing read meat at PC fans. I’d prefer people focus on the issues and how they impact the PC version, as opposed to using “console port” as a catch-all. So, saying, “the textures are blurry thanks to the PS2” is useless; saying, “the textures are blurry, making text unreadable” or “the graphics are crap, with blurry textures, blah blah blah.” (Though I’d prefer people to talk about art direction instead of the technical level of a game’s graphics, but that’s another discussion.)
Not speculation. Analysis. But really what you’re saying is that you hate lazy shorthand. Who doesn’t? Oh wait…
…except that it can. The original Gothic controls are the result of several factors but one of them was the original intent to develop for a console. It never happened, but the control scheme remained.
No, I don’t think reviews should penalize a game for being a port per-se. Of course, the issue for me is that some developers will compromise portions of the design to accomodate specific platforms, etc. In that case, the sub-standard elements can be judged independently, and the review can address any problems caused by those decisions.
For example, if a game has a mediocre graphics engine, that’s a valid shortcoming. If that graphics engine was prompted by the need to make a game platform-compatible, that’s the developer’s problem. The point is that it still sucks independently of whether the game was a port or not.
- Alan
Delurking.
I don’t see a problem with pointing out that the flaws or shortcomings a given game has can be traced back to its console roots.
Thief: Deadly Shadows was clearly affected by being developed with consoles in mind - and this resulted in a dumbed down experience for followers of the formerly PC-only series. Very small levels (connected by “magic portals”), big fonts, no swimmable water, no rope arrows, etc.
In the end, you get a limited experience because of the need to accomodate content to an inferior piece of hardware - I think that’s worth noting in a review, developer’s fault or not.
Khel.