Posts Tagged ‘Defending’

27 May

IDO: Playstation Plus

Posted by vagrantesque in Games, IDO, PS Vita, PS3. Tagged: , , , , .

Well what do you know, looks like I’m in a bit more of an apologetic mood than usual. Let’s do another one.
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I N   D E F E N S E   O F

–==Playstation Plus==–

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Note:
For those without a current generation Playstation console or just not in the know, Playstation Plus is a completely optional online subscription service for owners of its consoles, launched by Sony in mid-2010. In Australia, it costs $20 for a 90-day subscription and $70 for a year’s worth. The company also likes to throw around free 30-day trials for the service as bonuses with its new games from time to time. The biggest reason to be a member of Playstation Plus is access to what the company calls its “instant game collection”, which is basically a constantly changing list of games available as full downloads for free. Members are able to play these full games until their subscription runs out, at which point they have to either renew their subscription, pay for the game completely or surrender the legal right to play it. The service also provides small discounts on normally priced game downloads (which can be played for as long as you like) and allows for automatic game and system updates on PS3 while it isn’t being used, among other things. Glad we got that out of the way. Now:

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The Case Against:
The one thing that the Playstation 3 always had over the Xbox 360 in the online department was that it was free. You didn’t have to pay any stupid yearly online fees just to enjoy a multiplayer game online with your friends. While Playstation Plus technically doesn’t change that, it does represent a cynical attempt by Sony to take more money from its loyal customers. This leaves a bit of a sour taste in the mouth, but it’s nothing compared to the outrage that is the service itself. The idea of downloading a game and being forced to pay to keep playing it is utterly repulsive. The service is a blight on the Playstation name and it should not exist.
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More like Playstation Minus, amirite? hehe

The Defense:
A lot of things attract hate on the internet. Wait, what am I saying? Everything attracts hate on the internet. But the reasons for hating on Playstation Plus that I most often encounter on forums and the like are simply some of the weakest I have ever seen. And they are a lot more plentiful than they should be. Continue reading →

25 May

IDO: Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale

Posted by vagrantesque in Games, IDO, PS3. Tagged: , , , , .

It has been a LONG time since I last did one of these, perhaps because I haven’t felt the need. But this one is kind of topical. Nintendo just announced that it will be debuting its new Super Smash Bros game at E3 in a couple of weeks, and I fear that means this awesome game will be forgotten, if it isn’t already.
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I N   D E F E N S E   O F

–==Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale==–

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The Case Against:
Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale is a shameless rip-off of the Super Smash Bros series. It looks and plays exactly the same; but with a HD graphical sheen to it. Because of this it makes little to no sense that it even exists at all, given that it cannot hope to compete with the sheer presence of Nintendo’s many, many recognisable characters. Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon aren’t even in it! What kind of self-respecting Sony mascot fighter doesn’t have those two? Also, the menus look horrible. The game isn’t worth anyone’s time.
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The same thing?

The Defense:
Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale launched last year in October for PS3 and PS Vita and it hasn’t quite sold as well as Sony may have hoped. Sure, it came close to the company’s rather low expectations and in that sense the game didn’t actually do badly per se, but it didn’t exactly do Smash Bros numbers. Of course it was never going to do Smash Bros numbers, but that was because of a whole range of factors ranging from budget to marketing to the cobbled-together nature of SuperBot, the studio that made it. But its very average sales performance had absolutely nothing to do with it being a bad game. Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale is not a bad game. It isn’t even a mediocre game. It’s a really good one, actually.

Here’s why. Continue reading →

5 Mar

IDO: Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

Posted by vagrantesque in Games, IDO. Tagged: , , .

Here starts a new series of articles called “In Defense Of”, which will attempt to address some of the negative accusations leveled at a host of popular things. Modern Warfare 3 (released on November 8th last year) seems like as good a place to start as any, because there are millions of people playing it even right now.
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I N   D E F E N S E   O F

–==Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3==–

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The Case Against:
The Call of Duty franchise is growing stale and Modern Warfare 3 is a glaring example of this. Every year the series repackages the same game and calls it a new one, expecting everyone to buy it anyway. Putting the disc into your console or PC will give you exactly the same experience as you got from Modern Warfare 2. The game is terrible and no-one should play it. Battlefield 3 is better in every way.
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Keanu muses

Indeed.

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The Defense:
It’s amazing how little time can elapse before a popular videogame franchise becomes ‘cool’ to hate on. But it’s simply astounding that such a franchise can attract as much bashing as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 does and still sell so ridiculously well as to become the highest selling entertainment media property of all time. That’s ultimately the bottom line when it comes to the latest COD: Its sheer sales numbers tell the best story of its enduring quality. No extra argument needed.

But extra argument I will give. Continue reading →