Positives:
+ Pressing the “Start” button during gameplay pauses the game and brings up the Pause menu.
+ The usual controller buttons are mapped to the various menu options making it very easy for someone familiar with PlayStation controls to navigate the game’s menu.
+ Either the left stick or directional buttons can be used to navigate through the menu choices.
+ The choices of the Pause menu are located on the bottom left of the screen while the details of the selected choice are located to the upper right of the screen. The separation makes it easy to see which choice is selected and what its details are.
+ The text is written with a yellowish font that stands out against the dark background and is easy to read.
+ The active Pause menu choice is shown in a brighter yellow color and a slightly larger font than the inactive choices. Those are shown in a muted yellow with a smaller font. The contrast makes it easy to see which choice is active.
Negatives:
- The Quick Select menu is difficult to navigate and use to switch out weapons, gadgets, and items. It requires that you choose the spot on your Quick Select menu that you want to change and then cycle through all the available options. If you accidentally pass the item you wanted to select you have to scroll through all the choices again to get back to the one you wanted.
- The Inventory menu is one of the less intuitive in the game. The “X” gives you weapon details and the Right Stick will rotate whatever you’re viewing. Pressing L1 or R1 will move you to the next inventory item when looking at item details or, if you’re not looking at item details, they will switch you to the next inventory category. So, you can easily find yourself somewhere in the menu you don’t want to be simply because you forgot if you were looking at item details or not.
- If you need to equip an item that is not on your Quick Select menu then it is necessary to scroll through all of the items in the Inventory until you find the one you need. This can be tedious if you have quite a few items in your Inventory.
- If you want to customize a Constructo weapon you must first find it in your Inventory menu, hover over it so the details show up, and then press the square to bring up a customization menu. There are too many menu layers here. There has to be a way to simplify this instead of just adding more menu layers.
Thoughts:
~ The Community menu option isn’t shown on the Pause menu. It is listed on the Main menu instead. So, if you want to view the leaderboards to see where you stand you have to Pause and then select the Main Menu option from the Pause menu. (This will quit your current game.) When the Main menu appears the Community menu option shows up. Once you’re finished you have to reload your game. This wastes time for those who wanted to make a quick check of the Leaderboards before continuing gameplay.
~ The Map menu allows you to zoom in and out of a map but there is no fine control. With a small twitch you’re suddenly zoomed way out of the map. It takes an extended twitch to get the camera to zoom back in and you usually end up zoomed in too closely.
~ I like how the background of the menu changes for each area you’re in. For example, it changes to purple if you’re at the Nefarious Space Station.
~ While in the Pause menu you can enter a certain code and unlock the “Bancho Ratchet” skin. The skin dresses Ratchet in a Japanese high school outfit with a pompadour hair cut.
Would Like:
* A Community menu option on the Pause menu. There is an Extras menu option where you can view your earned skill points and watch cinematics. The Community menu option could be placed here. This would allow for a much quicker peek at the Leaderboards without having to completely exit from the game.
* A way to search through the Inventory menu so I don’t have to cycle through all of the categories and items to find a single thing.
* Finer tuned zoom control on the map. I don’t want to be so close I can see the pixilation but I also don’t want to be zoomed out so far that I can’t even tell it’s a map.
* More options for the Pause menu background. It does change to reflect which area you are currently in but it would be nice to have it set to one specific background if you have a favorite. It would also be nice if there was variety in each area's offering instead of just one background for each area.
Credit where credit is due:
Various. (2008). Ratchet & clank future: a crack in time wiki. Retrieved from http://ratchet.wikia.com/wiki/Ratchet_%26_Clank_Future:_A_Crack_In_Time
Showing posts with label PS3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PS3. Show all posts
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
An Analysis of Controller Use/Button Mapping in a Video Game: Guitar Hero
Positives:
+ The game was developed for the controller. This gave the developers a unique opportunity to create a game that actually mimicked playing a guitar. The earlier versions of the game can be played with a standard controller but the guitar controller is required for the more recent versions of the game that include drums and vocals.
+ Some of the guitar controllers look like real guitars. Gibson designs, including the Les Paul, were used to make some.
+ The game allows players to toggle which hand is dominant so both lefties and righties can play with ease.
+ There are five colored fret buttons instead of strings. The differing colors help make identifying each fret easier.
+ The addition of a touchpad on the version of the controller released with the “World Tour” version of the game allowed players to mimic the slide technique.
Negatives:
- If you’re not familiar with the order of the colored fret buttons you’ll find yourself constantly looking from your hands to the screen and back again. This can kill gameplay because dropped notes will cause your Rock Meter to drop below red, your song will suddenly end and you’ll be booed off the stage.
- Whammy bar is adjustable. Constant adjusting causes it to loosen and no longer stay in the “up” position. This made it practically unusable because players would have to hold it up and that was uncomfortable.
- Controller can be finicky, especially the wireless ones. The wireless controller packaged with Guitar Hero III had issues with the contact points on its detachable neck. This caused a delay in fret button presses registering properly with the game.
- PlayStation 2 Guitar Hero controller will not work with the PlayStation 3 console. So, even though the PS3 will play the games (both are fully backwards-compatible), you won’t be able to use the controller they came with.
- Players tend to strum in one direction, either up or down. This wears out the strum bar in the preferred direction and causes notes not to be recognized.
Thoughts:
~ A unique controller inspired a very popular game franchise. This game franchise’s success highlights the fact that a game does not need to use a standard controller in order to be popular.
~ The controller should not have been made modular in order to package it more easily. This lead to technical and gameplay issues caused by damaged contacts. If the controller had been left in one piece these issues could have been avoided.
~ If you want to play the game with a buddy (Face-off mode) then you need to have a second guitar controller. True, your buddy can play his part with a standard controller but who wants to do that? Unfortunately, this can get expensive if you happen to like games that require specialty controllers.
~ Quality control seemed to be lacking in the later generations of guitar controllers. It seemed that the manufacturers was more interested in making a quick buck off of a proven game franchise than actually providing a quality product. Unfortunately this lead to quite a few complaints about the controller from frustrated gamers.
Would Like:
* The fret buttons and strum bar make a clicking noise when used. It’d be lovely if that noise could be silenced as it is distracting and takes away from immersion.
* If possible I’d like a Guitar Hero controller and game that actually teaches how to play the guitar. The game simulates a reasonable facsimile of playing but it doesn’t actually teach.
* Wireless guitar controllers that are comparable to wired ones. Wireless ones drop more notes and the constant fiddling with the wireless receiver to get the best reception takes up valuable play time.
* More variety in the actual controller. I acknowledge that Gibson makes some of the best guitar designs around but how about a Fender?
Credit where credit is due:
Roper, Chris. (2005, November 02). Guitar hero (game & guitar controller). Retrieved from http://ps2.ign.com/articles/663/663674p1.html
Terdiman, Daniel. (2007, November 15). "guitar hero iii" users reporting problems with their axes. Retrieved from http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-9818556-52.html
Ramsay, Randolph. (2006, May 25). Guitar hero. Retrieved from http://www.cnet.com.au/guitar-hero-240063203.htm
+ The game was developed for the controller. This gave the developers a unique opportunity to create a game that actually mimicked playing a guitar. The earlier versions of the game can be played with a standard controller but the guitar controller is required for the more recent versions of the game that include drums and vocals.
+ Some of the guitar controllers look like real guitars. Gibson designs, including the Les Paul, were used to make some.
+ The game allows players to toggle which hand is dominant so both lefties and righties can play with ease.
+ There are five colored fret buttons instead of strings. The differing colors help make identifying each fret easier.
+ The addition of a touchpad on the version of the controller released with the “World Tour” version of the game allowed players to mimic the slide technique.
Negatives:
- If you’re not familiar with the order of the colored fret buttons you’ll find yourself constantly looking from your hands to the screen and back again. This can kill gameplay because dropped notes will cause your Rock Meter to drop below red, your song will suddenly end and you’ll be booed off the stage.
- Whammy bar is adjustable. Constant adjusting causes it to loosen and no longer stay in the “up” position. This made it practically unusable because players would have to hold it up and that was uncomfortable.
- Controller can be finicky, especially the wireless ones. The wireless controller packaged with Guitar Hero III had issues with the contact points on its detachable neck. This caused a delay in fret button presses registering properly with the game.
- PlayStation 2 Guitar Hero controller will not work with the PlayStation 3 console. So, even though the PS3 will play the games (both are fully backwards-compatible), you won’t be able to use the controller they came with.
- Players tend to strum in one direction, either up or down. This wears out the strum bar in the preferred direction and causes notes not to be recognized.
Thoughts:
~ A unique controller inspired a very popular game franchise. This game franchise’s success highlights the fact that a game does not need to use a standard controller in order to be popular.
~ The controller should not have been made modular in order to package it more easily. This lead to technical and gameplay issues caused by damaged contacts. If the controller had been left in one piece these issues could have been avoided.
~ If you want to play the game with a buddy (Face-off mode) then you need to have a second guitar controller. True, your buddy can play his part with a standard controller but who wants to do that? Unfortunately, this can get expensive if you happen to like games that require specialty controllers.
~ Quality control seemed to be lacking in the later generations of guitar controllers. It seemed that the manufacturers was more interested in making a quick buck off of a proven game franchise than actually providing a quality product. Unfortunately this lead to quite a few complaints about the controller from frustrated gamers.
Would Like:
* The fret buttons and strum bar make a clicking noise when used. It’d be lovely if that noise could be silenced as it is distracting and takes away from immersion.
* If possible I’d like a Guitar Hero controller and game that actually teaches how to play the guitar. The game simulates a reasonable facsimile of playing but it doesn’t actually teach.
* Wireless guitar controllers that are comparable to wired ones. Wireless ones drop more notes and the constant fiddling with the wireless receiver to get the best reception takes up valuable play time.
* More variety in the actual controller. I acknowledge that Gibson makes some of the best guitar designs around but how about a Fender?
Credit where credit is due:
Roper, Chris. (2005, November 02). Guitar hero (game & guitar controller). Retrieved from http://ps2.ign.com/articles/663/663674p1.html
Terdiman, Daniel. (2007, November 15). "guitar hero iii" users reporting problems with their axes. Retrieved from http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-9818556-52.html
Ramsay, Randolph. (2006, May 25). Guitar hero. Retrieved from http://www.cnet.com.au/guitar-hero-240063203.htm
Thursday, May 5, 2011
A Poorly Rated Video Game - DC Universe Online (MMORPG for the PC & PS3)
Again, I used Gamespot's Top Rated PC Games List to choose a game for my analysis of a poorly rated video game. The lowest rating on the list was a 7.0 and, although I'm sure I've played games rated lower than this, I was unable to get the list to show anything rated lower. Searching through the games rated 7.0 I found that the lowest one on the list I've played is DC Universe Online, an MMORPG by Sony Online Entertainment. Let the analysis begin...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)