OK then. So the question is: How many other games make you wait twenty-three minutes before you get to control anything? Not even Final Fantasy is that bad.
I remember Okami’s time from new game start to actually getting to play being pretty godawful, though I didn’t time it. That wasn’t even fmv, just scrolling pictures and s l o w l y appearing text.
Jazar
1664
So it does include the installation. Total time between the first cutscene to gameplay - 7 mins.
Actually, according to that link, you don’t get real control where you can get into a fight until the 44th minute. The control he got briefly in the 19th and 23rd minute doesn’t sound like you can do anything with except adjust the camera and walk forward, which triggers a huge cutscene each time. I’m not sure if Yahtzee was counting that.
So if you subtract the 11 minutes that it took to select New Game (in which he installed the game), that’s really 33 minutes to the first time you get real control where you can do anything other than move forward to trigger a cutscene?
To be fair, he said until the first enemy. Briefly letting someone move their camera may qualify as gameplay by some very generous definition, but I will give the benefit of the doubt that the camera/movement controls themselves do not constitute an enemy to struggle against.
So your attempt to insult me is to quote another poster saying “read the thread”, followed by Generic Condescending Internet Insult #37? Ace work there, Jimbo. You’ve got a bright future ahead of you.
Jazar
1668
That would make it 15 mins then from first cutscene to enemy (Gekkos). Also if you include first fight then the Bioshock length is comparable: 35:12:6.
My point wasn’t even about start-to-game times more of a response to John Sansker’s snarky PC port comment. Some PC installs can take an insane amount of time for me. Spiderman 3 for some reason took like 40 mins.
I’m not sure how you come up with 15 even by that choice, at 9 minutes he says installation is over, therfore the gekkos are 17 minutes in. If I wanted to quibble (and hell, that seems to be the theme of this sub-discussion), it seems you don’t really “face” the Gekkos, as much as you do run away from them while unarmed (seems more like an environmental effect, is a log slide or some cameras an enemy?)… the first enemy that review discusses actually facing off against is 35 minutes after installation completes.
17 minutes vs 35 minutes is up for interpretation, but I am fine conceding 17 minutes. I think that there is so much debate about the exact length of how long the pre-game period is, vindicates the impression driving ZP’s critcism, if not the literal truth of it.
Does this time stuff really matter? If you don’t want to watch the cutscenes, just skip them. Takes two seconds. They are there for people who care about the cinematic portion of the game, and are not a requirement to watch.
Time from post-install to first fight - 30 seconds.
Are the cutscenes really skippable the first time?
thamer
1672
please start then select skip.
He talks about having control while people are shooting each other before he meets the gekko. I assume he could have shot at them if he wished.
I’ve usually downloaded the nodvd for new games BEFORE installing :)
And then you’ll have to tweak the video settings in order to get that sweet frame rate.
Upgrade. You are behind the times ;)
When I installed Company of Heroes, I spent an hour on all that bullshit before I could start playing the actual game.
Old game with huge changes, yes, It’s one of the exceptions to the quick install rule. My patches are over 2 gigs!
I can run it at full settings though, so nyah!
The firefight he describes as being in a cutscene. Control happens after that but before the Gekko, but he says he just walks 10 steps into another cut-scene (the first Gekko scene). He doesn’t get a gun till midway through the Gekkos, so he isn’t shooting at anyone…
I dunno why people are making a big deal about whether it’s 10 minutes or 20 minutes or four hours before you get to do anything. It’s a bit like the inverse of arguing with your girlfriend that you came in 30 seconds, not forty, thankyouverymuch.
While I’m passing, it’s worth stressing the skip-cut-scenes-if-you-hate-story position is just rubbish. It’s based on the idea that people who want to cut an hour and a half cutscene hate story. If it was just about awesome stealth interactions and high-drama, I’d go and play TF2 as a Spy for a while. Most of the anti-MGS people love story in games, so stripping even the power that the context of a narrative brings to a single player experience leaves it just as unlikely to appeal. If I don’t know what’s going on, why the hell should I care?
KG
Hudson
1677
While I’m passing, it’s worth stressing the skip-cut-scenes-if-you-hate-story position is just rubbish
It’s setting up a false dichotomy, because a lot of MGS fans don’t get that the complaint isn’t “too much story”, but rather “too much retarded nonsense”. You can earn gamer patience credit by building a good story.
Shadow of the Colossus gets to have a lot of dead time because it’s artfully told and mysterious.
A game should be selfaware of it’s flaws. If your story sucks and you just have a good gameplay idea, play it safe with a static screen informing the player that the President has been kidnapped by ninjas. If you’ve got a decent story, yeah, you can give me a narrated elevator ride.
It’s possible that a story could be good enough to earn a 90 minute cutscene, but at that point you’re competing with my DVD collection. Err on the side of caution.
This is far and away the most boring thread on this site.
