Quote:
Original post by Razorguts
This is an interesting (and humorous!) way to describe what boils down to maintaining the gamer's interest. Ketchval is on to something here...
Hehe, yeah. Unfortunately, just like shallow people in relationships, "looks" are all that matter. (akin to graphics in games.)
-Razorguts
From Eurogamer's review of god of War
Quote:
But thanks to the allure of some of the most richly beautiful environments we've ever seen, along with some truly gigantic early bosses and some clever puzzling it's a game that masks its initially derivative nature via some stunning set-pieces. Once you've got a feel for the precision of the combat and how well implemented the automatic camera angles are, the game does a great job of breaking any early resistance you might have at the prospect of another hackandslash button masher.
...
Exquisitely paced and expertly structured, new abilities appear right the way through the game, positively demanding that you keep on going to find out what lies around the corner. But the game never strays into mindless mashing territory, with a range elegant combos that are easy to learn yet fashioned with a depth that encourages you to try out new moves and different tactics to dispatch the variety of foes that cross your path.
...
While this does cut the overall playing time down a notch (to around 12-15 hours), it's one of the few games around that could never be accused of unnecessary padding. It's pure, lean, unrelenting entertainment. A game that constantly keeps things fresh, changes the environment, and ups the ante without ever throwing in a gruelling task or unexpected difficulty spike just to artificially prolong the agony.
This hints at both elements, using (looks) to hook them, but keeping people coming back with all sorts of new stuff.
