WARNING: This is not a ‘Console Wars' rant. If you’re going to comment telling me to buy a ‘PS3 or Xbox 360’, then close the tab. If you’re going to tell me something along the lines of ‘Real gamers don’t play Nintendo’, close the tab.
Today I went to the (somewhat) local mall since I didn’t go yesterday, and I was hoping there would still be good sales (There weren’t any, but oh well). I went to the Gamestop, even though I hate the company, just in case there was anything worth getting. I went to the Nintendo Wii section, since that’s the console I have, and I was annoyed at the game selection.
No, I don’t care that everything is rated E. In fact, I prefer seeing rated E stuff than video games which make soccer moms think video games are killing teens.
It’s the quality of the games which bug me. A lot.
Most of these games have good cover art. Not necessarily the best, but it gets the job done. And then they show screenshots on the back, and it’s horrible in comparison to the front.
For example, Wipe Out: The Game. The cover is nice, with realistic-ish drawings of people, and nice text. Then, the screen shot looks horrible. The water is mostly one shade, and the people aren’t detailed well. This wouldn’t be so bad if Nintendo just said they were Miis (Which are supposed to be simplistic), but for copyright reasons, they can’t, and the players look like botched up stick figures.
Some games don’t even try to have good covers, like Wheel of Fortune.
Seriously? Again, it looks like they’re trying to copy Miis without copyright infringement. And while the front cover is bad, at least Pat’s and Vanna’s features are recognizable. It looks like two out of the three contestants don’t have noses!
(All pictures from Gamestop.com)
I get that Nintendo has a budget, and there’s a recession going on, but these games were relatively expensive for bad graphics. If they’re going to charge so much, can’t they at least get better graphic artists? Especially if Microsoft and Sony are having games with better graphics?
I’m not going to get a new console because of this, and I don’t want to hear “LOL you’re not a real gamer because you play Nintendo”. I guess I’m just saying that I’m going to stick to Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart Wii.
P.S. Are the bad graphics just game company stuff? Like are Activision and THQ (The developers for the two examples) bad at graphics, or is it with other companies, too? And was The Sims 3 for the Wii any good?
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ReplyDeleteWell, a lot of games that aren't directly made by Nintendo have awful graphics. For example, Brawl, Mario Kart, Super Mario Galaxy, etc. have good graphics, but games like Wheel of Fortune don't. It is a shame that most 3rd party companies have bad graphics for the Wii though. Most of the time I just buy the games directly made by Nintendo. Have you tried WiiWare games? Some of them are pretty fun, not made by Nintendo, and have pretty good graphics. And I'm pretty sure they only cost 5-20 dollars. 20 dollars being the games that have a lot of stuff in them. Some pretty good WiiWare games are LostWinds (Platformer), Lostwinds 2 (Platformer) , World of Goo (Strategyish game), and TV show King (Kind of Like Wheel of Fortune, but with Miis). All of those cost 10 dollars I'm pretty sure minus World of Goo which costs 20.
ReplyDeleteSorry, my last comment had a ton of spelling errors.
Yeah, same. The only third party game in my Wii library is Family Feud (Decent graphics, especially comparing it to other third party games), I think.
ReplyDeleteI've checked out the WiiWare section sometimes, but now that I have recommendations, I'll probably get stuff. Thanks!
The only WiiWare game I have at the moment is Tetris Party.
I have Wheel of Fortune, and I think the graphics are pretty good, but the framerate, not so much. There's not as much 3D going on as the average Super Mario Galaxy level. I also have Jeopardy (also by THQ), and the framerate is even worse there, even though that game has a more "empty" studio set than WOF. And they're not trying to copy the Miis. In fact, you can actually USE your Mii in the game. The three people in the screenshot are just pre-made avatars that you can use in place of your Mii. But I was hoping that Pat, Vanna, and Alex Trebek would look more realistic. I guess they noticed the head-to-body ratio of the average Mii and decided to make them that way to give the games a more cutesy, Nintendo-esque approach. They came out way too short, though. Vanna can't reach letters on the top row of the board, and Alex Trebek needs a staircase to reach his podium. I agree that the boxart isn't very apealling, though. I thought they would have just put actual pictures of Pat & Vanna on there. If they make a sequel for it, this is what I think the boxart should look like:
ReplyDeletehttp://img694.imageshack.us/img694/7015/wofwii2011.png
(No, the game doesn't have online support. Maybe that can be another rant topic about how many third party Wii games don't do online?)
But to me, gameplay is what matters, not graphics. WOF is a VERY accurate and authentic representation of the TV show, and that's all that matters to me. Just look at the new games of the "Mario & Luigi" series on the DS. The graphics are 2D/GBA-esque, but they're still great.
@ Anonymous: Oh, I didn't know they used Miis. To me, that redeems the games.
ReplyDeleteI don't actually have any of these games, and I was just looking at their boxes in Gamestop. I guess I should have researched more.
And game play matters to me, too, but I wish some of their graphics were kind of better. Not necessarily breath taking, but better.