» Tue Feb 10, 2009 7:55 pm The following are obstructing the ability for Crysis 2 to be taken seriously as a competitive FPS game:
<= 60 FOV - This is nauseating for some people and greatly reduces awareness of what's going on around you. It contributes to players forgetting about strategy and deciding to make impulsive decisions instead of tactical ones.
Tons of first person view bob - Same problems as the low FOV.
Global achievement points being able to unlock ability enhancements - Makes it so user profiles with more experience are more powerful. MMO style? Yes. This is alienating for newer players who do not understand the game, and frustrating for experienced players who may want to play away from home and simply jump into a game. It's very inconvenient to have fair competitions with these kind of "upgrades".
Gimmicky suit features (cloak, decoy projector) - Useless abilities or items frustrate newer and experienced players. They may frustrate newer players because they are appealing to use but ineffective. A player may be annoyed that they can't use a cool, appealing feature because they always die when using it.
Huge ugly UI with excessive amounts of text and notifications - Provides distractions and makes players forget about managing tactics as the game appears to do it for them.
Game modes are not apparently thought out in their competitive nature. You can't really have good competitive game play with randomized objective locations. If there are no set objective locations per map, players end up winning by chance. Bad for competition.
Recoil and spread - It looks like you have to use iron sights to be effective at from more than 10 feet away. This takes away much of the requirement for aiming skill. Why? anyone who is shooting at you has to stand still, to use their iron sight. Meaning you don't have to aim at moving targets unless you're completely safe, and then it doesn't matter if you kill them or not.
Slow gameplay - people move slow, people die slow. It's bad because it's very easy to master. Mastery usually brings boredom, especially if it doesn't feel like an accomplishment.
Overall, the learning curve looks very shallow. The game appears to serve up accomplishments at user-relative but set intervals. The game is holding your hand instead of letting you learn.
What is this good for? Selling a bunch of copies at launch. It's bad for returning customers. I'm on the fence about whether I will even buy the game, especially after the disappointment that was Crysis Wars. The only reason I make these suggestions is because I really like the concept of the game and obviously the graphics engines.
-------------------------------------------
I guess I'll compare it to two very popular competitive FPS games: counter-strike and quake. These games have been around for years and are still very populated. Why?
FOV is high or adjustable
Low amount of view bob
All players are equal upon joining a game - there are no global unlocks which increase player ability
There are NO USELESS ITEMS OR FEATURES - All items and features within the game have some advantages and disadvantages. None of them are always better or always worse. Many of them are dependent on skill and experience at using that particular item/feature.
UI displays only critical information and doesn't interfere with gameplay. Player must remember other information, and they will if they're having fun.
Game modes - they're thought out, the maps make sense, and they're tested enough to rule out unfair advantages created by chance or by issues in a map.
Recoil and spread - they're not absent but are used tastefully. In both games it's unnecessary to stop moving in order to kill people.
Gameplay is fast. People move fast or die fast. Reaction time and decision making is critical.
Learning curve is high, but newer players understand because they are not confused by excessive information or useless features presented to them.
Bye Crysis, it was a nice love while it lasted
