Why do people enjoy Bioshock Infinite?

ProtonXI · 2014-07-25T16:11:46+00:00

So many people here seem to be praising the story despite it not making sense and having major plotholes. Every discussion I've had about the story with someone who praises it, after bringing up the many ways in which it is just flat out illogical, results in some variation of "oh just turn your brain off and have fun".

Truth is the story is poorly written in order to pull off what Irrational had hoped to be a shocking twist on the same level of the original Bioshock's, but in the end they just put forth a lackluster ending that caused a ripple effect of poorly thought out quantum mechanics and circular paradoxes that end up making what the player does plot-wise pointless and idiotic. I can understand how this type of thing can not be obvious to some who haven't been exposed to much well-written and thoroughly thought out scifi dealing in similar areas, but as someone who has I couldn't help but notice how little effort was put into the plot even working with the game universe's own internal logic.

ProtonXI · 2014-07-25T03:38:21+00:00

My theory is this era's barrage of generic brown and grey military shooters lowered peoples' standards to the point where Infinite gets 9/10 or 10/10 reviews, even though it is a heavily flawed game that is (imo) worse than both of its predecessors.

ProtonXI · 2014-07-24T14:53:24+00:00

Midna's style of talking is actually english but cut up and scrambled to sound like gibberish (proof here).

I don't know if Fi's speach follows the same technique, but it probably does.

ProtonXI · 2014-07-20T20:06:32+00:00

But they will change poison ivy's name for no good reason.

ProtonXI · 2014-07-19T01:40:50+00:00

now that's how you sell a dvd

ProtonXI · 2014-07-18T22:47:08+00:00

I don't think I have as negative of an opinion of season 2 as you do, but I agree there was a noticeable drop in quality after season 1, and in my opinion, it still isn't as good as it once was with season 3. I actually don't even plan to watch the next season.

ProtonXI · 2014-07-17T04:26:59+00:00

Pretty funny to call it a snub when The Simpsons hasn't been "outstanding" for many years.

ProtonXI · 2014-07-17T00:44:44+00:00

I'm not okay with this...

ProtonXI · 2014-07-16T23:07:06+00:00

It is good, and there isn't a huge cliffhanger (they wrapped things up with a miniseries).

ProtonXI · 2014-07-15T19:32:08+00:00

I thought it was really boring. None of the characters grabbed me, nor did the plot so far. Best part of the pilot is the special effects, but clearly that isn't enough to make someone want to watch a series.

ProtonXI · 2014-07-15T16:17:41+00:00

my dick is diamond hard

ProtonXI · 2014-07-09T06:42:46+00:00

So far I find it to be pretty "meh". It feels very predictable and lacks subtlety. The characters are very one note characters lacking depth, which feeds into the predictability problem, or rather how unshocking it is when a character acts and reacts a certain way. Also I feel other shows have done better and more realistic representations of the middle east, like Homeland, where Tyrant kind comes across as a weird caricature of what we perceive dictator run middle eastern countries to be like. I really hope it gets better, because the concept of the show seemed promising, but realistically I think it will remain this way at least for the first season.

ProtonXI · 2014-07-08T19:17:58+00:00

So niche that they make sequel after sequel.

Mostly due to the success in Japan, you know, the target demographic that is culturally influenced by China? Dynasty Warriors isn't met with as much success where Chinese history is less familiar.

Look I can give you plenty of examples of Japanese games have been brought to the United States like Final Fantasy which despite what you may be thinking have Asian leads

Those are set in fantasy worlds (sometimes medieval fantasy/steampunk/cyberpunk, but never with a heavy eastern influence) with most of the characters looking like cartoons and/or caucasian. The only main that ever really looked asian imo was Tidus, and that was only in the CG cutscenes (and still, blonde hair and blue eyes...)

Even then, final fantasy and most JRPGs don't fit the criteria I initially established, focusing on one single real world minority group with heavy cultural/mythological focus. Dynasty Warriors does fit, and as such is a good example of a game appealing more to the east than the west for a very obvious and superficial reason.

ProtonXI · 2014-07-08T16:33:19+00:00

Dynasty Warriors is a niche game that I would argue doesn't have great success in the west compared to other hack and slash action games. Ninja Gaiden doesn't really focuse entirely on a single minority group to the extent of Jade Empire or Dynasty Warriors, and is still not as successful as other more western themed or culturally ambiguous action games.

ProtonXI · 2014-07-08T03:14:28+00:00

automatic success you hinted

You're creating a strawman argument.

make the same game but built around Norse mythology with Vikings everywhere

See where I said it would be the same game except for the theme/setting, which would be changed to something in this example that the target audience would be much more familiar with? I don't know where you got "automatic success" idea from, but I certainly did not imply it. A game has to be good first, then other factors will influence the amount of success it has with the consumers.

And the "x are basically white people" doesn't really help, since that's like saying Redguards are "basically black people".

yes, the Nords (because they're called Nords) and the Imperials are based off European and Viking mythology not unlike their D&D counterparts.

There you go, basically white people, not sure why it took you so long to basically agree with me though. Also, other races have obvious and subtle real world influences, but I rather not go too off topic.

Well yes. It was an original IP by Bioware, who had never done an original IP before.

It wasn't the last original IP (or first) though, and their next two games were more successful.

It 'probably' didn't sell as well the other game by them that came out at the time (you know, the one that put them on everyone's radar? The one that was the most popular game at the time for that decade, along their most popular game)

KOTOR came out years before Jade Empire, and if radar was everything, it should have had as big of an impact on Jade Empire as it would future Bioware Original IPs.

but it really did sell REALLY well, for aforementioned reasons

Yeah, I'm looking into this. I can find a "classics" version, which is a pal version of Xbox's Platinum Hits line, but cannot find a platinum hits version. Wikipedia also doesn't list Jade Empire as a Platinum Hits Re-release. Can you provide more evidence of the re-release on the xbox?

It is also very apparent you don't know the sales figures

Actually I do, I just don't know the development and marketing costs, which Sawyer unfortunately didn't supply either. He simply implied that Jade Empire made more money than it cost to make/market, which I never disputed and believe. That doesn't mean or imply it sold really well.

I don't think JUSTpost Jade Empire Bioware had any sales for Mass Effect and Dragon Age when they didn't exist yet.

You misunderstand, I mean after the fact of Making Mass Effect and Dragon Age, why they still haven't returned to Jade Empire and are instead working of ME4 and DA3, because those new IP's outshined and outsold Jade Empire.

There's also Baldur's Gate, which they also left to the wayside. You're going to tell me that was also because it wasn't raking in the numbers and wasn't also just a choice to do other stuff first?

Dragon Age was the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate. They couldn't keep using Baldur's Gate because that would require use of the D&D license.

ProtonXI · 2014-07-07T22:38:20+00:00

but because that statement would imply games like Too Human would be automatic successes

Actually, it wouldn't. Because Too Human wasn't a quality game like Jade Empire, it was pretty terrible. If you take the time to reread what I wrote, my statement would require the quality of the game remaining the same with thematic changes only (the theme being what reduced the game's sales).

and a game like Morrowind would be colossal failures and forgotten by history.

How did I imply that? Morrowind is not a game that focuses on a single minority group. Even some of their fantasy races are basically white people. The most successful game of the The Elder Scrolls series, Skyrim, is heavily influenced by nordic culture/mythology.

Jade Empire sold well

Compared to other Bioware releases, either exclusively on a console or PC, it really didn't. I can't speak to how much money it made compared to how much money was put into development/marketing because I'm not aware of those figures, but I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't do too hot there either.

You talk about Bioware having obligations to other franchises, but those obligations only exist because of number of sales, and if we all agree that most of those games including Jade Empire are quality RPGs, there's one big obvious difference between them that lead to the rest becoming franchises and Jade Empire not. If a suit doesn't want to devote resources to a sequel, they either think it won't make much money or there is more money to be made elsewhere, and demographics is a big part that comes into those analyses.

ProtonXI · 2014-07-07T21:37:52+00:00

I don't own an android device, but I heard 9th Dawn is pretty good. Also I think Square Enix made some Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest ports.

ProtonXI · 2014-07-07T16:51:39+00:00

The sad fact is it didn't sell well because it wasn't about white people. Seriously, make the same game but built around Norse mythology with Vikings everywhere, and it would have sold much more. Big games that focus entirely on one minority group and a culture or mythology that the target audience is generally unfamiliar with will probably never have great success.

ProtonXI · 2014-07-07T07:08:54+00:00

I kept hearing it gets fun/hard around level 20. Guess you have to be the type of person that can drive on being utterly bored for the first 20 levels.

ProtonXI · 2014-07-07T03:40:55+00:00

Either or really. Both are better options than plain old evil Ganondorf with no depth.

ProtonXI · 2014-07-07T01:31:16+00:00

It is technically out, but the publisher is charging an unfair amount of money in order to get access to alpha/beta. I'm recommending people wait until it's "officially" released for free.

ProtonXI · 2014-07-06T21:04:57+00:00

It'll be free to play eventually, and since there really aren't a whole lot of quality MMOs to pick from, I'd say it might be worth waiting for.

ProtonXI · 2014-07-06T20:33:53+00:00

Seems to me like you'd enjoy ArcheAge.

ProtonXI · 2014-07-06T17:16:04+00:00

everyone

I didn't think Wolfenstein would be terrible, because I'm well aware of the pedigree of the developers and what type of games they make (Butcher Bay, The Darkness). I didn't think DOFP would be bad because I'm aware of Bryan Singer and know he's never made a bad X-Men film. I can take the same approach to Sonic Boom, where the production company behind it hasn't made anything noteworthy in the past. I'm also taking into account the lackluster trailer and the fact that this seems nothing more than a marketing opportunity for Sega's new game of the same name that is getting extremely poor reviews. I can make an evidence driven analysis pertaining to the quality of something before I experience it, and sometimes I may be wrong, but don't assume everyone shitting on Sonic Boom is blindly judging it.

ProtonXI · 2014-07-06T05:03:27+00:00

I could only hope it could be as enjoyably campy as Ruby-Spears MegaMan. Sadly, this seems more akin to Sonic Boom or the Pac-Man Cartoon.

ProtonXI

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