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by Casual observer 03/11/2005, 11:57am PST |
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Surely, the bink demographic was so important for me that I am now a devastated man, picked appart my the metaphorical Sea Snakes of Laoconte.
However, I'm putting my foot down, that perception that a game is better because its newer -has- to die, and the case of MW2 vs MW4 is a clear example of this, and I'll make the Methuselanic attempt to illuminate you monkeys.
First off, the arguments objectively summarized:
MW4 is better because, since it's newer, it's a more refined experience, matured with the passing of the earlier iterations on inferior tecnology.
On the other hand...
MW2 is better because the game mechanics are more congruent and the game itself, even my today's standards, is a more organic experience, and thus a better game.
Now, on to the all-exciting and infinetly stimulating sustentation phase!
MW4 is indeed a 'prettier' game, even despite the renewal some seven years ago when they came out with the graphically nasty as anal sex after a year-old enchilada dinner Titanium version of MechWarrior 2. Yeah, it was 3d, it was textured, it was ugly. However, subjacent to that aesthetically sickening exterior, the core was still an organic game that had r0xz3rd the gaming world by the foundations. So much so that Interstate 72, Heavy Gear, Earthsiege (conceptually, and from which Starsiege and later Tribes was spawned), with other less memorable games riding in the wake. Already this can be taken as contrast between both games, MW4 did -not- spawn nor did it renew the genre, as a matter of fact it -killed- it. There won't be an MW5, this has been an official announcement made by Microsoft on the matter.
No one will disagree that there couldn't have been an MW2 without an MW4, and I mean this in the sense that there wouldn't be a 'Mech' genre if it wasn't for that first game, for its quality and unbound success. Very probably, it's also what kept FASA alive before it was forced to become FASAi. This was also the game that developed a die-hard following that today is still trying to fix the game they were given, even if the game itself proved to be un-fucking-moddable as it was originally presented to the public. And certainly it's equally as obvious that MW4 had nowhere near as much impact as its grandfather; you could accuse the dilution of the market and the general apathy of today's gamers towards specific gems from the industry as the ones to blame for this, but there are equally as irrefutable arguments towards that posture : Halo, Half-life2, WoW. These games have changed the medium, anyone can see that, regardless on their own personal concept of them.
So, exactly, what castrated what was heralded as the GOTY of its time? Why, exactly, did MW4 fail to meet the expectations set by MW2? Simple, they misused the technology they had available, they build a game -poorly-.
Here's where we get to the guts of the matter, wrap it around a steel fork like those happy people from the Inquisition did.
MechWarrior 4 presented the hardpoint system, which was fine in itself, the idea was to balance the game and prevent 'Gunbags' from stuffing large-caliber rocket-launchers into their crotches where it CLEARLY had an autocannon of meanger proportions. This change on its own wasn't a bad idea. However, they didn't implement it correctly, and it confluenced with other elements of this (clearly) undertested game to break gameplay irreparably. I won't go into the Clan vs. IS. argument, it exacerbates the problems, but they're not at the core. The core problem is that, given the ability to customize your rides in Multiplayer to your heart's desires, except for the limiter of the slot system, it boils down to this - There's a mech that's better than all the rest, unquestionably, along with a weapon that's better than all the rest, once more beyond any shadow of a doubt. So, the player's given the freedom to either comform or watch himself be screwed into the polygonized soil by an all too-loving Novacat pimp, swinging their hips with much gusto and flair; it's their choice, they can pick whatever they want to do amongst those two. This was not the case in MW2. Yes, you could tune up your mech to a far greater extent, which meant that, yes, tonnage was the only difference between one mech and the other (except for the Nova, no torso twist)but this also meant that no one Mech was better than any other in its class. Also, the weapons themselves, while far different from one another were still all useful depending on your play style. Small lasers by the dozen could be, at short range, just as good as large lasers by the pair at longer distances. The result? Already there's more variety in gameplay in MW2 than in MW4; you could choose how to play rather than have to play just like everyone else did.
Similarly, when you look at other game mechanics, you find that this game was just half-implemented, and made entirely forgiving. Ammo doesn't blow up when hit, it just goes away, and Heat, the central balancing piece of the entire gamem doesn't really kill you. Behold the wonders of physics in the MW4 universe! No object can hold more than 10,000 Kelvin in heat, even when heated up even further! In MW2, there was a cut-off and a timer. If you were running hotter than a certain temperature for a short period of time, or if you went past the red line, boom. In MW4, you reached the aforementioned figure, and your screen wavered, your mech slowed down slightly. That's it. You couldn't get any hotter than the aforementioned figure because, precisely, the half-implemented feature didn't track heat above it. This is a broken game mechanic, it doesn't function as advertized, the self-destruction that you're warned about so tersely is an empty bluff.
The rest of the game's inner workings such as hit-detection, lag compensation, topography, even the graphics engine is rife with similar problems. Do you want me to dissect every last one of them?
So what, anyway? Why should MW4 be taken as inferior to such a much older game? That, in the end, is asking why Warcraft 3 should be seen as a game of lesser quality than Starcraft.
MW2 was, while it ran, far more an organic an experience than MW4 because there were far more limits that you could push, the rules themselves were clear and goddamn unforgiving, but within them you could play whichever way you goddamn pleased, to the level of complexity that -you- alone would like. MW2 functions within its own rules congruently, it didn't cut corners, it didn't just focus on how the game looked but rather on how it played, and Fuck it played a lot better than the newer one.
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Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries review by The Joosh 03/07/2005, 1:59pm PST 
Well, you always kicked my ass at it. by bink 03/07/2005, 5:35pm PST
4 is a lot better than 3. by uh 03/08/2005, 11:56pm PST
Re: 4 is a lot better than 3. by Casual observer 03/09/2005, 12:24am PST
Actually MW4, Black Knight, and Mercs were the best mech games ever made. NT by Creexul :( 03/09/2005, 2:38am PST
If you played MA1&2 you would remember not being able to config mechs NT by The Joosh 03/09/2005, 6:31am PST
Mechassault was Good??? by Mischief Maker 03/09/2005, 7:14am PST
It was "good" but it's no MW by The Joosh 03/09/2005, 7:40am PST
Re: It was "good" but it's no MW by Casual observer 03/09/2005, 7:58am PST
Keyboard flipping of Fabio proportions. by Creexul :( 03/09/2005, 8:04am PST
Re: Keyboard flipping of Fabio proportions. by Casual observer 03/09/2005, 11:10pm PST
Here's a pillow, you know what to do with it. by Creexul :( 03/10/2005, 7:29am PST
Re: Here's a pillow, you know what to do with it. by Casual observer 03/10/2005, 11:36am PST
Thanks for telling in detail about your crying jag from losing bad at MW4. by Creexul :( 03/10/2005, 2:18pm PST
What a sin to expect the game to be what it says it is! NT by Casual Observer 03/10/2005, 3:31pm PST
Especially when it says REALTIME TACTICAL COMBAT! by Creexul :( 03/10/2005, 3:46pm PST
To put a final note on all of this by Casual Observer 03/10/2005, 3:57pm PST
Re: To put a final note on all of this by Mysterio 03/10/2005, 4:10pm PST
Mysterio turns back on checkered past to fight for JUSTICE by bombMexico 03/10/2005, 6:42pm PST
Actually it seems the consensus is that you're a nobody who's dumb. by Creexul :( 03/10/2005, 4:16pm PST
This site's cornerstone is negativity you weepy bitches. by Casual Observer 03/10/2005, 4:40pm PST
Re: This site's cornerstone is negativity you weepy bitches. by Creexul :( 03/10/2005, 4:49pm PST
But you've missed the most important aspect of that negativity! by Mysterio 03/10/2005, 5:10pm PST
Casual Observer: the new Binro? NT by laudablepuss 03/10/2005, 5:47pm PST
Possibly the old binro. NT by Creexul :( 03/10/2005, 6:10pm PST
Just wanted to chime in here and say by The Cheap Zseni Machine 03/10/2005, 6:19pm PST
Well. I disagree. NT by bink 03/11/2005, 4:26am PST
How's that workin' out for ya? by bink 03/11/2005, 4:23am PST
Eh, Overrated. NT by Mysterio 03/11/2005, 2:44pm PST
Re: This site's cornerstone is negativity you weepy bitches. by Bill Dungsroman 03/10/2005, 7:57pm PST
No, you are wrong. by bink 03/11/2005, 4:22am PST
Psh, see that, Casual Observer? Now you've got bink disregarding your opinion.:( NT by I need clarification 03/11/2005, 10:20am PST
It's agony from which I'll never recover. by Casual observer 03/11/2005, 11:57am PST
Wow, add some pictures and that could be a review by Voyons Donc 03/11/2005, 1:38pm PST
Re: Wow, add some pictures and that could be a review by Casual observer 03/11/2005, 2:43pm PST
Re: Wow, add some pictures and that could be a review by Voyons Donc 03/11/2005, 3:46pm PST
Directional JumpJets you skill-less twat. NT by Casual observer 03/11/2005, 4:55pm PST
Is "skill-less" a real word? Hyphen and all? So cerebral! NT by Voyons Donc 03/13/2005, 1:22pm PST
That's definitely too cerebral for a plebian like YOU. >:( NT by Creexul :( 03/13/2005, 6:12pm PST
I would've made a reply like this to casual stupid. by Creexul :( 03/11/2005, 6:01pm PST
In other words, you can't prove me wrong. NT by Casual observer 03/11/2005, 6:10pm PST
Everyone else, including me, already has like 20 times. by Creexul :( 03/11/2005, 6:13pm PST
Point out one instance where my arguments have been disproven. GO! NT by Casual observer 03/11/2005, 6:23pm PST
Okay. This entire thread. DONE! NT by Creexul :( 03/11/2005, 7:32pm PST
ZZZZzzzzzzzzzz... by Mischief Maker 03/11/2005, 1:51pm PST
This entire "review" is basically incorrect, and not worth the time quoting NT by The Joosh 03/11/2005, 2:19pm PST
Prove it. NT by Casual Observer 03/11/2005, 2:28pm PST
It was made by you. That's proof enough. NT by Mysterio 03/11/2005, 2:49pm PST
Potshooting half-wit. If you want to lay in on him, do it once and well. NT by Better Mysterios past 03/11/2005, 3:46pm PST
Am i defending one Mysterio or attacking both? I'm so confused. by bombMexico 03/11/2005, 5:33pm PST
You only have -that- one issue? NT by Casual observer 03/11/2005, 5:41pm PST
But he's in like EVERY panel of that one by bombMexico 03/11/2005, 7:18pm PST
Just who are you caling a homo, you comic-scanning FAG? by Casual observer 03/11/2005, 7:24pm PST
Re: Just who are you caling a homo, you comic-scanning FAG? by The Cheap Zseni Machine 03/11/2005, 8:50pm PST
Re: Just who are you caling a homo, you comic-scanning FAG? by Casual observer 03/11/2005, 9:04pm PST
Re: Just who are you caling a homo, you comic-scanning FAG? by The Cheap Zseni Machine 03/11/2005, 9:59pm PST
As usual. by Casual observer 03/11/2005, 10:27pm PST
Re: As usual. by The Cheap Zseni Machine 03/12/2005, 8:25am PST
Re: It's agony from which I'll never recover. by Creexul :( 03/11/2005, 6:09pm PST
Re: It's agony from which I'll never recover. by Casual observer 03/11/2005, 6:22pm PST
Re: It's agony from which I'll never recover. by Creexul :( 03/11/2005, 7:33pm PST
I already declared victory some thirty posts ago, that shell has been spent. NT by with older drivers, Casual observer 03/11/2005, 7:41pm PST
Except people aren't done gut laffing at you. NT by Creexul :( 03/11/2005, 7:58pm PST
And you still lost NT by Casual observer 03/11/2005, 8:14pm PST
Wow. That is my only response. by Creexul :( 03/11/2005, 8:21pm PST
Trying to deflect the issue ain't gonna help, boyah! NT by Casual observer 03/11/2005, 8:24pm PST
No, no, make no mistake: you're a horrible, terrible poster. by I need clarification 03/12/2005, 11:49am PST
Re: No, no, make no mistake: you're a horrible, terrible poster. by Casual observer 03/12/2005, 12:08pm PST
Persona? by False 03/12/2005, 2:03pm PST
Gayness: starting to stack up with you. by Creexul :( 03/12/2005, 5:35pm PST
I'm fucking sick of this thread. NT by bink 03/13/2005, 4:17am PST
go douche NT by The Joosh 03/09/2005, 12:01pm PST
There won't be a MW5, anytime, anywhere, and we'll sue if there is. NT by Microsoft BeanCounter Department. 03/10/2005, 12:33pm PST
Re: Mechassault was Good??? by FABIO 03/09/2005, 1:22pm PST
Mechassault doesn't suck, dammit it is better than everquest you fag NT by The Joosh 03/09/2005, 4:06pm PST
The Jsoh/MW wars are hotting up. NT by Fussbett 03/09/2005, 4:33pm PST
That's......... that's hot. :( NT by Paris "Seasoned Whore" Hilton 03/09/2005, 4:46pm PST
WHY CANT WE STOP HATING NT by Cat Stevens - Peace Train.mp3 03/09/2005, 5:41pm PST
What about Mech Fucking Commander 2? by laudablepuss 03/09/2005, 9:32pm PST
Re: What about Mech Fucking Commander 2? by Casual observer 03/09/2005, 11:11pm PST
Re: What about Mech Fucking Commander 2? by 8===> 03/10/2005, 1:16am PST
Re: What about Mech Fucking Commander 2? by Creexul :( 03/10/2005, 7:31am PST
Re: What about Mech Fucking Commander 2? by Casual observer 03/10/2005, 11:22am PST
Re: What about Mech Fucking Commander 2? by Creexul :( 03/10/2005, 1:55pm PST
In what concerns you, that illusion becomes reality. NT by Casual Observer 03/10/2005, 2:02pm PST
I can't wait for your essay on Rainbow Six 2 vs the DREADFUL Splinter Cell. by Creexul :( 03/10/2005, 2:23pm PST
Re: What about Mech Fucking Commander 2? by Mysterio 03/10/2005, 2:50pm PST
Dumbass nobody Casual Observer, trumped by a Mysterio? NT by Creexul :( 03/10/2005, 3:09pm PST
Flop : Failure of the game by Casual Observer 03/10/2005, 3:29pm PST
Re: Flop : Failure of the game by Mysterio 03/10/2005, 3:36pm PST
MC2 is good NT by The Joosh 03/10/2005, 11:30am PST
Well played NT by Entropy Stew 03/10/2005, 12:24pm PST
Nah, more like a 3rd-Person "Shogo" with a FASA License and shattering windows NT by Mischief Maker 03/09/2005, 6:25pm PST
Blow me NT by Don't tell me you love me 03/09/2005, 6:58pm PST
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