Ow My Spleen
A collection of Random
The Console Saga Continues!
Mar 12th
A long time ago in a galaxy not so far away, we had computer games that were in-depth not just in story but also in game play. We had simulator franchisees that prided themselves on creating a realistic simulation within the fantasy world they belonged to. We had FPS’s that required you to aim at the target and shoot instead of a large glorified crosshair that would auto aim at anything within the reticule.
These were the days of PC games. We are now in the year 2010 and I am sad to say that this decade brings the death of these games. If you walk through a computer game store on the high street all you get now is console games. If you are lucky, one or two will still have a shelf dedicated to PC games but it will be unkempt and forgotten.
It’s not the stores or the online distribution that’s killing PC games though; it’s the game developers and the console generation. I recently did a review on Supreme Commander 2 and this is an ideal example of over simplifying a game so it could be released on PC and Console. The majority of games now are being designed primarily with Consoles in mind to an extreme point that they are dummied down husks of their former selves.
Mech Warrior once was a proud franchise where you were in command of an awesome titan of metal and weapons of mass destruction. This was one of the first franchises to fall to the Console Saga. As Microshaft released each sequel you could see how they simplified the game progressively. It went from managing core temps and building custom Mechs to arcade action grabbing powerups for damage buffs. The only way to get a good Mech Warrior experience now is to play one of the old outdated games or play mods. I would like to state now that the mod Mech Warrior Living Legends for Crysis is quite epic.
Pc Multiplayer games are getting the exact same treatment. Remember the days when going into multiplayer brought up a list of servers showing map and game types including number of players on each server? Well those are gone the way of the Dodo.
Now you get Bioshock 2 and the new Aliens Vs Predator now with inbuilt LOBBY on LOBBY action. Who needs to pick a server when you have a match making service that randomly puts you on servers the other side of the world with lagtastic action! Lobby systems are made for consoles to make it easier for them to find a multiplayer game. For PC’s its being thrust into multiplayer hell where your only winning choice is not to play.
I just hope this saga doesn’t continue.
Supreme Commander 2 – Steam and Refunds
Mar 11th
Supreme Commander 2 Review
I recently purchased Supreme Commander 2. Now normally this would be a good choice as the original game was amazing. Sadly though Supreme Commander 2 is neither Supreme nor a sequel so please feel free to remove the 2 and give it a new name like “My First Commander”.
The game shares the original factions though completely redesigned in a stream lined simplified manner. The economy system has completely been redone removing the ability to queue builds if you don’t have the resources. Tech levels have been replaced with research allowing you to upgrade units with extra abilities and strength. The levels are extremely small in comparison to SC1. They have Seton’s Clutch but the entire level could fit into one of the sides of the original SC1 map. It’s no longer Seton’s Clutch, it is now Seton’s Pinch.
I can see why some of the choices were made but in making them you completely reshape the game. In SC1 you had a huge verity of units; it was this that gave you the strategy and tactical sides of the game. Build an army up of different types from different tech levels provided you with your own customized army with its own advantages and disadvantages. In SC2 you have a very limited choice. True, research will upgrade these units over time but where’s the fun in having a unit that does everything? What’s tactical about that?
It was this that brought me to seeking a Refund from Steam.
Steam Refund
Since the game was not what I expected I decided to pursue a refund. I will state now that I did not expect from the get go that I would get one. Companies hate parting with your money but I was so disillusioned by the game I felt like venting in the form of writing a support ticket in pursuit of a refund.
I wrote the following to Steam:
Dear Steam,
I would like to request a full refund on the product in question “Supreme Commander 2” under consumer laws that product is not fit for purpose. The Product in question is advertised as Supreme Commander 2 whilst the majority of the features of the prequel no longer exist in this title.I understand that games are suppose to evolve with time but when a game takes two steps forward and then a giant leap backwards removing the original root of the game then it is no longer a Sequel.
Thank you for your time and I hope to hear back from you soon.
Now what I expected from Steam was a simple reply stating that games can’t be refunded due to a customer not liking them or something along those lines. What I didn’t expect was the following reply posted not by an automated service but actually from one of their support staff:
Hello,
Thank you for contacting Steam Support.It appears your issue might have been the result of Steam being down for a period of time on 3/4/2010
Are you still experiencing this issue?
Seriously? That’s the reply I get? How incompetent do you have to be to send out that kind of response? It’s either extremely retarded or extremely ingenious because after getting that reply I decided the pursuit of a refund with Steam would be a waste of time.
I’ll let you decide if it was the former or the latter.