Why not keeping up to date with a new game is good:

[Chewblaha]

Has anyone ever been so excited for something to come out that they do not, in any way whatsoever, learn anything about that subject sans the release date?

 

Movies? Books (Dear God do you know how hard it is not to read the Ice and Fire updates?)? Television shows?

 

No. Forget that shit.

 

This is general gaming chat. Durr.

 

I know when Mass Effect 3 is coming out.

 

That's all I need to know. I'd love to know so much about the characters involved and everything else, but I'm not in any rush to look it up?

 

"Because urz not a tr00 fan!"

 

Well shove a carrot up your bunghole. I love Mass Effect more than my coming grandchildren (I'm joking Shepard Chewie II). I cannot wait for this game to come out. I seriously cannot. Though you know what I love most about a game? What I love THE MOST after I unwrap that fucker from it's cellophane wrap (or digital download st33m guys hurr)? It's not knowing what the hell is coming next.

 

Last good example of this?

 

Dead Space 2.

 

I knew NOTHING about that game sans the release date. It is one of my favorite games of all time. I bought it at midnight and I played through that sucker faster than a virgin on his first night. What I loved most about it? I didn't know what was coming next.

 

I didn't know because I ignored every Dead Space 2 article. Every screenshot. Everything. Sure I played part of the demo (because I wanted to see how the controls held up) but that was all. I never finished the demo or anything like that. I was on the edge of my seat (or mattress because you know I'm all meta-lazy and shit) the entire way through.

 

Sure Mass Effect 3 will be a completely different experience in the sense that there are many breaks you can take from the action and everything like that, but my favorite part about it is just not knowing what's coming next. It's not about what you have at the moment and knowing that. It's about what's coming next. Knowing that it's coming. That's all. Not how it's going to be or anything like that. Just knowing.

 

That's what makes it better. Sure everyone screams "spoilers!!!" and shit like that. I'm not talking about spoilers. I'm talking about not knowing a single thing about the game. Not knowing who will be in it or any of that stuff. I have the Mass Effect Game informer sitting next to my pile of Mass Effect comics, neatly wrapped in it's own packaging. Why?

 

Because I don't want to know a thing.

 

A single thing.

 

Now. If you'll excuse me. I need to drink vitamins through a straw.

Edited June 12, 2011 by Chewblaha

[Mercurial]

Your game informer comes in packaging? Bastard.

[Chewblaha]

No. I went to the comic shop and bought it.

 

Just for that one.

[Mal]

The closest for me was for Portal 2. Other than that... GI covers are nice but... that nice?

[Masonvrocks]

I also find that keeping up with every aspect of a game before it's release can build your expecatations too high. Previews are very rarely critical so you just get super excited and then buy it and it's shit =/

[Strangelove]

I read a lot of stuff on upcoming games, but I never go too indepth into anything. I was actually going to bitch about something similar to this yesterday on Kotaku.

During E3 there will be tons of articles on games, say like Skyrim. There will be at least an article a day on Skyrim where you can chat all you want about Skyrim in the comments sections. Your hopes for the game, your opinions what what should and shouldnt be, on anything Skyrim. Then the TAY comes up where you can chat about any game int he world, real or not......and what do people want to talk about? SKYRIM.

Your one chance to not talk about what everyone is talking about and you waste it talking about the same shit everyone has already probably said. Theres only so much you can know or theorize about one game. Let it go already. Talk about something else. Talk about how awesome the Lost Vikings was(which it was) or something. I dont give a fuck.

[deanb]

I quite like reading up on games n such, seeing what they've done n plan to do. The issue is sometimes they tend to dip a bit too much in the story. Though I'm pretty hardy to spoilers n such, so don't much mind I guess. There's very few games I'd buy without looking up on them.

[Hocking]

That's what makes it better. Sure everyone screams "spoilers!! !" and shit like that. I'm not talking about spoilers. I'm talking about not knowing a single thing about the game. Not knowing who will be in it or any of that stuff. I have the Mass Effect Game informer sitting next to my pile of Mass Effect comics, neatly wrapped in it's own packaging. Why?

 

Because I don't want to know a thing.

 

I've just done this with Red Faction: Armageddon. It seems to be getting mixed reactions, but I absolutely love the hell out of it. Conversely, I was rather disappointed with L.A Noire - a game I'd followed in the media quite a fair bit. I hadn't been expecting anything from RF:A other than the ability to repair on the fly. L.A Noire was a disappointment for me because it didn't have as much depth as the old Law & Order games or the original CSI games, but I was expecting it to be so much more. Seems to me more like a complex tech demo for the animation technology.

 

I've still not finished that off, only up to the second case on the third desk. Thinking I'll probably get around to it later in the summer.

[excel_excel]

Yeah I've been like this with Mass Effect 3. I haven't gone out of my way to check up anything or read anything about it. With other games there is so little info available that I will do all I can to find info, like Skyward Sword!

[SanaEquiesterer]

It was when the news about Final Fantasy XIII really started to flow that I decided to stay in the dark about titles I anticipate.

 

Still, if I have some doubts about a game, I will look into it. Example: I loved Valkyria Chronicles, but when the character designs in the sequels started looking like they were pulled from a Tales of... title, I started having second thoughts.

Edited June 13, 2011 by SanaEquiesterer

[Hot Heart]

It's not knowing what the hell is coming next.

 

The only thing I really want to know about ME3 is whether or not Miranda will be...coming.

 

Coming along, I mean.

 

I remember saying something to similar effect around the time the Brutal Legend demo came out. More to do with already sort of knowing what was going on story-wise. It's quite funny now, considering that Brutal Legend is the game that surprised a lot of people.

[Saturnine Tenshi]

Generally, I only read small details and watch a few videos for games I'm looking forward to(which are a rarity anyhow). I get what you're saying, Chewie. The Witcher 2, for example. I watched a few demo videos, but that's it. I used to be really into grabbing news — and I still do for the sake of others — but I don't look too far into it.

[Chewblaha]

It's not knowing what the hell is coming next.

 

The only thing I really want to know about ME3 is whether or not Miranda will be...coming.

 

Coming along, I mean.

 

I remember saying something to similar effect around the time the Brutal Legend demo came out. More to do with already sort of knowing what was going on story-wise. It's quite funny now, considering that Brutal Legend is the game that surprised a lot of people.

 

YOU MADE A JOKE ABOUT FEMALES HAVING ORGASMS AND SQUIRTING!

 

I, too, hope Miranda comes back. I used to be into Tali, like, a lot (/EddieMurphy), but then her character just burnt me out. I was like "oh okay you're cute. Yeah. Okay. I get it. Oh. The cute thing again?

 

Right?

 

I'm drinking."

[Hot Heart]

YOU MADE A JOKE ABOUT FEMALES HAVING ORGASMS AND SQUIRTING!

 

I, too, hope Miranda comes back.

 

OMGWHAT? I never...

You merely inferred that.

 

I'm just in love with Yvonne Strahovski's voice, and Miranda's an alright character. Especially compared to Tali, who's a bit too much of a damsel for my liking.

 

I remember reading something Christina Norman said when people were mentioning 'permanent' squad members and that ME3 won't quite work like that or something. Leading me to figure that either:

- People will die along the way

- As you travel the galaxy you might temporarily team-up with old squadmates rather than have them accompany you the whole time (sort of similar to doing loyalty missions)

 

I can't imagine them not trying to fit all previous love interests into your squad though. Got to please that fanbase.

Edited June 18, 2011 by Hot Heart

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

I went into Chrono Trigger knowing nothing, even 15 years after release, and was amazed. Same with Portal 2, New Vegas, Fallout 3. It's definitely more enjoyable for me when I don't know much going in.

[Strangelove]

Same thing for me with Chrono Trigger and Fallout 3. I barely played Chrono Trigger when it was released on the DS and i had heard a lot about it, mostly how good it was, but I didnt know how the battle system or the story were. It blew me away once i played it.

Same thing with Fallout 3. Fallout 3 was a weird game for me because I just wasnt used to spending 10 hours in a game and feeling like I accomplished little. It almost felt TOO long. Then I got in the groove, so so so so damn addictive groove and I was hooked. A lightbulb just went off in my head and I understood the game. Even with pc elitists talking trash, Fallout 3 is one of the best games ive played this gen. Bugs and all.

[CorgiShinobi]

I'll look into games a bit, but I'll hardly go into detail. It's like Dean said, sometimes they'll go too far. However, I feel that may be because there may be some game changing feature that ties itself to the story.

 

Take inFAMOUS 2 for example. One of the earliest known facts of the game was that Cole would obtain new elemental powers. You don't know how, but part of me feels like that would have been so much bigger if left alone. I mean, Cole is the "Electric Man," but then half way through you gain ice powers?! Perhaps fire powers instead!

 

I'm reminded of movie trailers too. Sometimes trailers for movies reveal too much and then that movie can feel like its padding until that one moment in the trailer. It's why I don't get excited for new trailers for a movie. I don't need to know more because I'm probably going to know the core of the film before I see it in a theater.

[deathtoll]

Same here with Chrono Trigger.

 

Generally I don't bother looking into the back story. If I do that then it kinda taints the experience. Most games these days seem to be designed to be enjoyed by both n00bs and pros.

[Mal]

Another good thing about not keeping up with new games is... you forget about them and the cost that comes with them. I just did a quick check of games I want and geez, in the next 9 months or so I can spend about $300 on games, at least. ;_;

[WTF]

You know what I tend to read up on every game I am remotely interested in. I note their names down, I note down the publishers, I write down dates when they're meant to be released. I divide them by PC and Console releases on one side and portable releases on the other. I don't care if people get hyped about a game or not. I want to know personally if I will like the game because if I like the game I am mostly willing to pay full price for it but I also classify games on which games will I buy right now and which will I buy later. I don't have an infinite resource of money so living in the UK I know that many games will be £17.85 in approx a month depending on sales. Some games will drop from their £30s price to £20 something in the second or third week and if it's actually bad you'll find them selling it for £10 or less in 6 months. Of course added to this there's steam sales.

 

This is purely personal but living in the UK and with a job has made me be able to buy games that I would truly appreciate rather than every junk that comes around. I will buy everything that gets my interest and I don't really just buy whatever game cause it's cheap. Basically this may come as severely OCD but making lists and categorising them can really help you save a lot of money. Games that are a must buy because they'll go out of print (yeah some games do still go out of print) and games that truly are worth full price are first on the list and these if you're careful will only come to about 2-3 games at best a month.

Then comes the first drop prices, these are usually games in the first category that you won't buy because you've got a fixed budget for games in a month. And after that comes the bargain priced ones which you will get when it hits that price. Finding out info about a game makes you realise which games are worth full price and which aren't. For instance while I would like to play WKC2 and DS3 I'm not going to get them till they drop to £17 or sub-£15. And it will happen. Look out for deals, vouchers, codes anything that will save you money. But the most important reason I follow games is 1) I like to know what I'm going to be spending my leisure game time for (since it's very limited and I'd like to spend that playing something good instead of something shitty) 2) I'm interested in the storyworlds they weave.

 

I skim and ignore all plot points and just focus on 1) is it enjoyable to whoever previewed it and if you read between the lines you can find that out with ease (for instance Sly4 as per the Eurogamer preview plays exactly like the previous Sly games and all they did was give the costumes power 2) How long does it look.

 

Because I usually do this I've saved craploads not buying the games that were truly shite like say Dark Void and the like and my only true regrets this generation were 1) Bionic Commando (despite only having paid £10 for it - it wasn't worth that even) and 2) Enslaved (cause I did pay full price for it and honestly it really wasn't that good and they could have done a lot more with it). On the digital front it was Spare Parts cause I thought I'd play that with my wife (but didn't) and there were 2 more that I can't remember the names of right now. But out of the 100+ games bought in the past 3 years if I've only disliked 5 then I must be doing something right for my tastes and everything else I did enjoy. I just should follow my steam policy of buying decent games unlike my 'friends' who've even bought badrats cause it was on a steam sale. Yeah look it up. It's shite.

 

So in brief I do follow games because I need to know 1) is it worth my time 2) is it worth my money.