Who Stole All the Common Sense?

I’ve recently played two games. Borderlands and Super Street Fighter IV. Both I enjoyed immensely, except both had inexcusable flaws within them. How is a flaw inexcusable? When it defies all common sense. Let’s take a quick look:

Borderlands

- Offense #1 – Makes you watch all the intro logos and videos. I’m sorry but this is a carnal sin against gaming. I know you’re proud of your game but not allowing the player to skip the same damn logos every time you play is a horrible call. In fact if I hadn’t enjoyed the game so much, I would have stopped playing just for that. Every time you pick up a book, you aren’t forced to read the acknowledgments so why would you do so with a game? GET OVER YOURSELF! Luckily there’s smart people online that taught me how to get rid of it. Take that Take 2!

- Offense #2 – Making you watch the whole entire damn intro video if you don’t press a button for about a min. HEAVEN FORBID WE WATCH THE SAME DAMN VIDEO EVERY TIME WE START THE GAME, BUT IF WE GO AND GET A DRINK OF WATER IT ACTUALLY IS FASTER TO FORCE QUIT THE GAME AND START OVER. Of course by that point you have to watch their damn logos again. I shouldn’t have to watch the video even if I’m starting a new game. This is inexcusable. If this isn’t changed for the next game, count me out.

- Offense #3 – Don’t make a huge world with people you can supposedly talk to when NONE of them will EVER talk to you through the entire game. Come on guys, really? Were we all smoking pot when we came up with the logistics of the game? It’s a no brainer.

Super Street Fighter IV

- Offense #1 – When I want to restart a battle I’ve lost, why the hell do I have to go through 45 sec of useless loading? Ask me if I want to continue with my same character or a new one. If not you automatically load the battle. I don’t want to waste all that damn time watching the continue screen, then the choose character screen, then the choose stage screen, then the cinematic for the boss. Just let me play the !@#% boss and stop making things way more difficult than they need to be.

- Offense #2 - SSIV is a deep game and it takes a long time to get to learning how to use your character. Trouble is though that the characters aren’t balanced. Sure they’re balanced more than most games but not enough. The fact that whenever I go online to read about my initial character (Vega) only to read that he is considered the worst character in the game by the community. What’s worse, I thought the game was really hard playing as him (because it is). Then I play as Akuma and can do these ridiculous supers and attacks with way more ease…and they do way more damage. If you’re going to make a character that’s harder to master, you need the payoff to be good. I’ll still play as Vega because I’m getting pretty good, even if I never use his ultras or whatever, but don’t be lame. Put some thought into your game.

- Offense #3 - Just like Super Mario Kart Wii, the AI in this game cheats. And blatantly at that. I know its more fun to play real people but when you’re poor and can’t afford xbox live at the moment, you have to play the AI. The AI needs to be attuned so that it feels natural. Nintendo is the WORST offender when it comes to this, but SSIV is a close second. The AI should not be able to know exactly what I’m going to input, which it does (because the programmers are lazy). Sorry but the AI in this game is a big letdown.

- Offense #4 - This is a BIG ONE. Teach me how to !@#$ play the game. I mean really, is it asking too much? There’s things I had to read online that the game never did (and never will) tell me how to do, and it’s bullshit plain and simple. Sure I want to explore the character but teach me all about countering and all that other stuff that makes the game deep. How would you feel the next time you bought a computer I just threw a bunch of parts on the floor and told you to go at it? That was suck. Not being taught how to play SSIV properly sucks.

Again I love both these games (in a love/hate way) but these are INEXCUSABLE offenses to the player that even the worst of games have the courtesy of not imparting upon the player.

Advertisement