My first impressions
Being the perfectionist that I am, I'm always looking at ways to improve this fine blog that you're reading right now, and one of the things I'm contemplating introducing soon is an occasional First Impressions post for key games released during 2010.
I'm thinking that I'd give my impressions of a game after the first hour or so - not enough playtime to know everything about it but just enough to get a feel for controls, objectives and storyline. I reckon that if you can't get a good feel out of a game after a couple of hours then either the game's doing something wrong or the player is.
If I took Mass Effect 2, for example - which is sucking up all my time in the evenings at the moment - I'd give a rundown on how the game plays for the first couple of hours, how the controls work, whether the story is any good, what I like, what I don't like and whether I think it's worth my time continuing to play it. I might even comment on stuff like how good the voice acting is and whether I empathised with the game's characters. It's not a preview but my initial thoughts on the opening hours of a game.
I'd be especially careful not to reveal key plot twists or spoilers that could ruin the game for people who hadn't played it yet: there's nothing worse than reading a review or trolling a gaming forum then the writer suddenly, without warning, drops a huge plot twist that ruins the whole experience. I wouldn't do that to you. I'd use my journalistic magic to describe a scene without revealing too much.
I'm hoping that the information will be a catalyst to some good discussions, especially from those of you who are playing the same game. Hopefully, it'll act as a platform for readers to get good, reliable information on games from the Game Junkie community.
What sort of information would you like to read in First Impressions? Is it something that you'd like to read and what games would you like First Impressions of? If it something that finds favour, I can get started on my initial thoughts about Mass Effect 2.
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Keen to see the preview deal - 1. your blog is my sole gaming fix at work and 2. as long as you don't reveal anything important, I'm very keen to read. Perhaps things about the layout of menus, or control systems to give us an idea before we start?
Roll on your piece about ME2, its the only fix I will get until I pick up the game tomorrow!
I think this is a great idea. It's amazing how often those first impressions of a game really stick with you, and even on the spoilers front there's generally not much in the first hour of a game that is too spoiler-ish anyway.
I think one thing to include would be the 'fun factor' - how does the game feel to play, and does it have any really jaw-dropping 'oh hell yes' moments. Could you happily put it down after an hour or did you lose track of time playing it? If I think of games that have scored high in the enjoyment stakes in the first hour or two - Darksiders, AC2, Brutal Legend, these games were almost invariably strong throughout.
Definitely keen to hear your thoughts on Mass Effect 2, and I think Bioshock 2, Alien vs. Predator and Dante's Inferno are not far off and would deserve the treatment also.
BTW I think Beastman should enter Blog Idol 2, I think pretty much all the Game Junkie regulars will vote for him.
I'm afraid that my first impressions are: Please don't talk about it! I don't own a 360 (yet) and so i'm constantly being bombarded by aweseom info, trailers and reviews - but I can't play it!
Obviously the other readers would be keen as to hear about it and even though I don't want to read it, I will anyway!
Q. So, what do I want to hear?? a. What were your emotions in the game...
The sheer mention of a spoiler or that there will be aplot twist is a good selling point most of the time. I dont know, most of the reveiws I will read will be in regards to single player games, so hearing someone freak out about how epic or un-epic it is is the clincher. Bit of excitement, bit of slurring, bit of "Holy god this sh*t is CRAAAZY" when deserved of course. Or an Epic Meter on a scale of One to Ben Hur. And those are my main concerns, is it enthralling, immersing. Does the world blow up part way through and you have to crawl through a nuclear wasteland. Tell me how epic it is and i'm sold
Sounds like a good idea Gerard - as I mentioned yesterday, for those of us who have yet to play the game, a brief comparison with a recent release in the same genre may also be helpful (i.e. "'x' has been done really well, a significant improvement on 'y' [game]")
Finally, I hope you can be brutally honest in your reviews!
Looking forward to reading more about ME2...
I think first impressions are very important. That is why I always try to have all my muscles flexed at once upon meeting a new friend. I like to wear a shirt that is at least three sizes too small to enhance this effect - I also find that while holding this pose it really helps to tell people how many press ups I can do. I once burst a blood vessel in my eye from the strain of tensing my whole body while talking about how many press ups I could do so try not to make that mistake. Did you know that if you hold your eyes open when you sneeze your face will explode? I read that on the internet.
Whether its badass or not, whether its a keeper or a rental..
General feel and ...*drum roll*... your first impressions.
Great idea Gerard - however I wouldn't worry about giving away any of the plot information - a first impressions heading is enough for anyone to avoid reading if they're worried about "spoilers".
That sounds like a good idea, Id be keen to see it. Id be interested to see you Mass Effect 2 one to really get a judge of what it is going to be like.
Personally im really looking forward to Mass Effect 2 so cant wait to see what your impressions are.
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I think this is a great idea, Gerard. In terms of actual content, you pretty much covered most of what I'd like to see in a first impression post. In addition, if the game is a sequel, discussion on how it seems to compare to its predecessor would be welcome (including whether core complaints have been addressed). FI, It took me about 5 minutes of playing Assassins Creed 2 to determine that this was a much better animal in terms of gameplay and character empathy than the original.
In terms of games coming up, I'd like to see you cover Bioshock 2 (both single and online play), God of War 3, Red Dead Redemption, and Gran Turismo 5 (if that ever releases).