Got VirtuaTennis 2009 Today!

[Sovieto]

Isn't motion control the main reason people buy Wii's? Otherwise, why settle for the inferior graphics when you can get much better on an XBox or PS3? The motion control is the only reason I own a Wii.

Nah, Nintendo fans too.

 

[Barris1024]

I've never been able to play these sports games (other than wii sports)
I used to have Tiger Woods 09 and i hated it. It was so difficult and confusing. And judging by the previews and reviews of these games, i will not be picking either up
i feel like i purchased the wrong system. I don't even use the motion controls a lot.

ugh :frown2:

 

[nforum]

Nope I can't play many of these games either for some reason.

 

[raisinghelen]

The knocked score wasn't because he didn't like motion controls, but because it wasn't up to a standard he felt RE4 set.

The reviewer made it pretty clear that he didn't like Wii controls in general, he couldn't play FPS on Wii but liked RE:4. Pretty much anyone else would agree that a game like MP3 has much better controls than RE:4, so it's not that RE:4 set a high standard, just that the reviewer cannot use Wii controls.

I think that the standards on Wii games were raised quite dramatically after SMG was released. Games that may have scored 9s before then seem to drop to 8s now.

Another problem with Wii reviews is that there is such a broad range of gamers on the Wii. Some reviewers will rate a more 'hardcore' game lower because it is too hard for them, while others will rate a casual title low because it's too easy. You can usually tell these games by the wide margin in the review scores. Trauma Centre New Blood scored between 5.0s and 8.5s, the 5s were casual type reviewers who said that the game was too hard (they couldn't even get past the 3rd level and said it was impossible :lol, while the 8s were from more hardcore reviewers who had the skill required to play the game. It is almost like they need 2 sets of reviewers for casual/hardcore.

GST is another game that is getting low marks from some reviewers because they don't have enough skill to play it, yet other reviewers can play it just fine. Because of this the metacritic overall scores make VT2009 look the better game but when you look at the review sites that have reviewed both games they all tend to lean towards GST being the better game.

360/PS3 reviews don't get this inconsistency because game difficulty is much more standard across the board.

 

[Sovieto]

Do you really think hardcore = a hard game and casual = an easy game?

 

[raisinghelen]

Do you really think hardcore = a hard game and casual = an easy game?

Not in all cases and it would depend on each persons definition. I've played games on 360 that would probably be described as 'hardcore' games by most people and they were easy.

As an old school gamer I find most games easier nowadays, back in the 8bit era games were made harder, often to increase the play length or hide the fact that a game wasn't really complete. Of course back then all gamers were 'hardcore' because gaming was more of a niche market. Perhaps that is why I often equate 'hardcore' more to difficulty or depth, where as a lot of gamers seem to think that 'hardcore' just means M rated.

In general on the Wii though 'casual' games are usually easier and more accessible than 'hardcore' games are. Casual gamers are also thought to be incapable of using the full Wii controls, hence the Wiimote only options in many sports titles to give them both 'hardcore' and 'casual' appeal.

The reviewing gap between casual and hardcore is evident in something like Carnival Games. If I was to rate it I would score it around a 4 because it lacks any depth or real skill requirement (lot of hit or miss type games), yet I know people who would score it a 9 because they can just pick it up and play it without any real learning curve. Likewise I'd rate something like MP3 a 9 and they'd rate it a 4 because it was too much for them.

 

[Sovieto]

Well my definition of hardcore games, that most people agree with is...

Any game that allows a player to submerge themselves in the lore, atmosphere and challenges of a goal. A game that is complex and requires massive amounts of time to and allows the player to completely understand.

A hardcore gamer is a player who does go with this flow and does submerge himself into a game.

 

[raisinghelen]

Well my definition of hardcore games, that most people agree with is...

Any game that allows a player to submerge themselves in the lore, atmosphere and challenges of a goal. A game that is complex and requires massive amounts of time to and allows the player to completely understand.

A hardcore gamer is a player who does go with this flow and does submerge himself into a game.

That's a pretty good definition and not too different from what I think. I only include difficulty as a possible criteria because the Wii's library and audience are a bit different from the norm.

In terms of Wii reviews it tends to be a bit more black & white though, as the target audience is usually quite obvious when a game is casual (although some games are not, such as Zack & Wiki which may look cutesy to a hardcore gamer but is actually too hard for a casual gamer). Let's Tap is an interesting title, reviews have been generally good but a few have marked it lower for being a casual party game, despite that being its intention. A game like that really needs to be reviewed differently to an action type of game.

It'll be interesting to see how Natal games get reviewed on 360 when they come out. There are sure to be a lot of 'casual family friendly' titles that will be loved by some and hated by others. Without another controller input I don't see Natal being much use in traditional 360 games, so its main use would probably be casual or sports titles. Sovieto, how does a traditionalist like you feel about Natal? Would you like to play the next Virtua Tennis with Natal or stick with a normal controller?

 

[kathy42977]

I rented this game today. It's....ok. I guess. It's going to take some getting use to. But then, I am playing with the "old" Wii remote. I don't have the Wii Motion Plus yet.

One question though. Why is everybody comparing the new tennis games to Wii Sports Tennis? It's like apples and oranges. Hello, has everyone forgotten TopSpin 3? Am I the only one who bought it? That would be a more interesting comparison. TopSpin 3, vs Grand Slam Tennis, vs Virtua Tennis.

So far I prefer TopSpin. But that could be because I got good at it so fast. Personally, I liked that it wasn't too complicated to pick up.

 

[goheat]

Ouch, Operation Sports slammed VT 2009 for the Wii:
http://www.operationsports.com/review.php?id=486

 

[Sovieto]

That's a pretty good definition and not too different from what I think. I only include difficulty as a possible criteria because the Wii's library and audience are a bit different from the norm.

In terms of Wii reviews it tends to be a bit more black & white though, as the target audience is usually quite obvious when a game is casual (although some games are not, such as Zack & Wiki which may look cutesy to a hardcore gamer but is actually too hard for a casual gamer). Let's Tap is an interesting title, reviews have been generally good but a few have marked it lower for being a casual party game, despite that being its intention. A game like that really needs to be reviewed differently to an action type of game.

It'll be interesting to see how Natal games get reviewed on 360 when they come out. There are sure to be a lot of 'casual family friendly' titles that will be loved by some and hated by others. Without another controller input I don't see Natal being much use in traditional 360 games, so its main use would probably be casual or sports titles. Sovieto, how does a traditionalist like you feel about Natal? Would you like to play the next Virtua Tennis with Natal or stick with a normal controller?

Unless there's a complete epic AAAAAA title that HAS to be played and is only able to be played with NATAL, I'll consider getting it. Other than that I don't care for it. I believe it will fail regardless since it's Microsoft though, unless it's put at a really cheap price (doubtful) with a few GOOD (Wii Sports calabur) games thrown in, and since it is Microsoft......... :O