Ben-DutkaBelieve it or not, I don't have a heck of a lot of time. And if anyone thinks reviewing crap games is always "fun," they obviously haven't done it for an extended period of time. Furthermore, with the ever-increasing average age of the gamer these days, avid players have less and less time to spend with their favorite hobby. Hence, we have to be even more selective with the games we purchase…well, I've always been far more selective than most, but I'm starting to notice a trend.
I really don't care about the platform or the developer or publisher; I only want to play the best of the best. I only have time for the best of the best. But over the past year or so, I've started to realize that my "must-have" list or my "most-anticipated" list consists of an increasing number of exclusives for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. What were my favorite titles last year? Uncharted 2: Among Thieves , Killzone 2 , inFamous , Flower , Assassin's Creed II , and Dragon Age: Origins . I should also mention that although I didn't like it as much as others, Demon's Souls was indeed a fantastic game and one of the best of 2009, and although it was obviously nothing more than an expansion (meaning it felt insanely dated), I completed Halo 3: ODST . Outside of ACII and Origins , the trend is obvious.
And what about 2010? By far my favorite of the year thus far is Heavy Rain and I'm assuming God of War III will quickly be right at or near the top of the list very soon. Then there's Gran Turismo 5 , Alan Wake , MLB 10: The Show , Splinter Cell: Conviction , SOCOM 4 , and Halo Reach . Yes, I'll be plenty interested in Red Dead Redemption and Bioshock 2 was fantastic but the further we go in this generation, the more I'm starting to leave multiplats behind. Now, of course there are great multiplatform games. There's Battlefield: Bad Company 2 , Final Fantasy XIII , and at some point, Grand Theft Auto V . But for the most part, I don't have time for them all and the elite games all tend to be exclusive to either the PS3 or 360. The former has most of the best exclusives available – yeah, just accept it – but the point is, I only have so much time in any given week.
I suppose the question is, do you find yourself playing more exclusives? If you have a time issue or if you had to prioritize for another reason, don't exclusives often end up at the top of your list? I mean, Uncharted 3 and Gears of War 3 ? Yeah, mine. Immediately. Game of the Year nominees and winners at most major sources in 2009 and probably in 2010? Lots of exclusives, no? And I'd also like to add that it seems more than a little likely that for the third year in a row, the overall Game of the Year will almost undeniably be a PS3 exclusive: MGS4 in 2008, Uncharted 2 in 2009, and God of War III in 2010? I'd also lobby for Heavy Rain and Gran Turismo 5 , and my hopes for Alan Wake are super high, but I think GoWIII is the obvious choice right now.
Last week was Heavy Rain. Tonight, I picked up Mass Effect 2. I don't even have time for every exclusive…but I'll definitely make time for GOW3.
if you wanna swap jobs ben ill be first in line.
sure reviewing crap games can be annoying over a extended period of time, but it sure beats the sh*t i have to put up with.
hell my best friends father who i work with was taken to hospital today because he fell down a man hole.
hate to be harsh but god hes a idiot he walks around a construction site in thongs, in a dark area with no torch.
he cant see where the hell hes going of course your going to hurt yourself.
I know. I'm thankful for the job; I don't want to make it sound otherwise. 🙂
Ben if you're getting a little too busy and becoming stressed, its not good for your health, so I guess I'll throw myself under that bus and help you review some games. 😉
I haven't commented on here in a LONG time, but this warranted a response. This exact subject has been on my mind a lot lately.
I was looking at my collection earlier today. 20 games (hard copy, that is), and 13 of them are PS3 exclusives. And of those exclusives that have released since I've had my PS3, I preordered most of them. How many multiplats have I preordered? None. I've owned more multiplats, but those are the ones I sell.
I'm a graduate student in my last semester. My free time is valuable to me, and I'm about to have less of it. So, I've been thinking about how much gaming I will be doing after I get out there in the real world. It's only the exclusives that I plan on making time for. InFamous 2, Uncharted 3, Killzone 3, Last Guardian… I will make time for those, but not much else.
Great article, Ben.
Last edited by JasperLoons on 3/6/2010 12:33:49 AM
Thanks.
Now comment more! 🙂
I saw the last guardian comment and couldn't remember when it was coming out. Now I'm totally depressed. I thought it was this spring but ign says TBA and vgreleases says november? Seriously?
Please Ben tell me it's not true, I don't want to wait that long.
more! 🙂
LOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!
inFamous > Prototype, nuff said.
Correction: inFamous>>>>>>> Prototype
I was looking at both and decided infamous for sure, thought i'd pick up prototype later. I still haven't. lol
Most friggin definitely.
didnt even contemplate on which one to get, Infamous was alway first.
I own them both and after beating inFamous, Prototype is almost unplayable.
prototype was bootleg with pissy graphics. infamous s**ts all over it. no contest
Last edited by ace_boon_coon on 3/6/2010 6:52:59 PM
That is a very good question. For me I suppose in the end the answer is no. I would absolutely HATE to have to prioritize either multiplats or exclusives, but if I HAD to, then no, I'd go with multiplats.
Playstation exclusives are brilliant, but they will not bring games like Batman, ACII, MW2, GTA, Final Fantasy or Dragon Age into my collection. Some used to be exclusive, and at that time maybe I'd answer differently, but now? Multiplats just offer more selection.
Thankfully we don't have to live by such nonsense and we CAN play both PS exclusives and all the greatest multiplats. You like gaming? You MAKE the time to play those games no matter whether they are exclusive or not.
They used to bring final fantasy -_-
I honestly don't see how the games you listed are more diverse or better than the likes of the Uncharteds, Mass Effects, Gears of Wars, MGS4, Killzone 2, God of War III, MAG, inFamous, Heavy Rain, GT5, Ratchet and Clanks, etc.
I'm certainly not saying multiplats are obviously second-class – Bioshock 2 and ACII are two of my favorites – but despite them all, I still say exclusives would take priority for me.
Yes exclusives are diverse, but it's practically only one game per genre. The exclusives may be out of this world in production value and brilliant story telling, but for hours of gaming, multiplats are the road for me.
Of course it's going to highly depend on personal tastes. If you love KZ2 online more than MW2 and you'd rather get the latest inFamous over the latest GTA or the latest Mass Effect over the latest FF, then yeah, it all depends on what you like.
Frankly, it's kinda cruel to even ask us to choose… We're limited with our time, but not SO limited that we cannot own and enjoy both.
Here's the problem I run into with this situation. My budget = I'm picky.
Look at multiplat games. For the most part the single player campaigns last between 6-12 hours, and 12 is really pushing it if you are not new to video games.
Look at most exclusives. For the most part the single player campaigns are 20+ hours of gameplay.
So for me its, how many hours of enjoyment am I spending my 60 bucks on. Do the math, exclusives win.
Not saying I don't have some multiplats, just saying when it comes time to choose, math decides and well, math chooses ps3.
I'm actually different. I've been putting a lot of time into Mass Effect 2, true, but my next gaming purchases are going to be Bayonetta, Dragon Age Origins, BioShock 2. Yeah, I'll be getting Heavy Rain, too. But in terms of exclusives, that is actually the exception in my upcoming plans.
In terms of future releases, my most anticipated is actually LA Noire, which is, also, a multiplatform. Nothing really going on with Nintendo in a short window in terms of exclusives that I'm aware of at this moment, either.
Me, too. I'm figuring MA2 will hold me over until GOW3. Regarding FF13, I'll wait for psxextreme's review as I do with all games I'm on the fence about.
I predict it'll get mid 80, and not exceed 90.
FFXIII still in a way feels like an exclusive since the PS3 is the better version by far. Its sad its linear and the scores keep falling at Metacritic. Right now its about 81 with about 18 critic reviews, that's bad, is it going to turn out 76 or something after about 50 reviews? This sucks. Anyhoo Tekken 6 is about 80 and I personally love it and don't fully agree with the critics, so I don't know.
When it comes to franchises I love reviews never give them the justice they deserve in my eyes. I took a risk with WKC after seeing it got a 5.1 on IGN and I was happy to see I made the right choice. Certain genres just don't get great reviews anymore, that's my understanding.
Yes it's what am starting to notice.
I Blame all the shooters naturally. Although i do love a shooter there are just SOO many and i feel some reviewers are forgetting that other genres can be fun.
14 / 7
2:1 Exclusive to multi
14 exclusives (Resistance 1, R2, Killzone 2, MLB 09:The Show, GOW Collection, LBP, Warhawk, echocrome, GT:HDC, flOw, flower, PixelJunk Monsters, Uncharted 2, Heavy Rain) / 7 multi (RB1, RB2, RB:AC/DC, GTAIV, Genesis Collection, GH:World Tour, NCAA Football 10)
So if you take away music, sports and PSN games, it's 4:1 exclusives to multi.
I'm a PSN whore. A majority of the 360 "exclusives" I want to play I'm able to play on my PC which is sweet. PS3 exclusives are where its at.
The only multiplats i still really enjoy are sports games, I still love FNR4 and Fifa. The rest of them i play through once and that's that, not to mention the overall experience is never really comparable. Except for batman AA and Assassins creed.
I still can't help but wonder what DMC4 and FF13 would have looked like had they remained exclusive.
I actually never planned to get multiplats because PS3 exclusives are way better and more worth it.
But with games like AC2 it's hard to not buy multiplats.
Just finished Flower yesterday, now that's a beautiful game right there, just loved it.
Now for my game libary, 9 exclusives(not counting PSN games) over 2 multiplats…
Playstation always takes the cake at my house.
Same with PS1 and PS2(Kingdom Hearts 1+2 FTW!)
I used to just buy whatever interested me most, and I've always been proud that my tastes are somewhat different than the mainstream. However, I'm growing increasingly disappointed with the quality of multiplatform games these days. I just spent over 100 hours trying to platinum Need For Speed Shift, only to find out that it's impossible on the PS3, because the horrible frame rate slowdown during some races makes it impossible to beat the required lap times on certain tracks. EA says that the game was rushed out the door and there were some problems. They have no intention of fixing them.
Other than Dead Space 2, I really can't think of any multiplat I'm very excited about. I'm a huge racing sim fan, and the only racing sim game coming out is GT5. I have no interest in blowing stuff up or zapping other cars while just holding the accelerator to the floor – I actually like the focus of my racing games to be on mastering the art of driving. Weird, I know.
I really don't have time to play too many games, and I think from now on I'll just stick to console exclusives. I'm not too interested in the multiplat titles, and even if I would be, I'm highly dubious of their quality.
Ben, what are you talking about… the PS3 DOESN'T have any games!! haha
I know my small collection is PS3 exclusive heavy and will only be heavier after this year.
Has anyone played Superstars V8: Next Challenge, need some racing to hold me over till GT5?
Now that you mention it… I own a heck of a lot of PS3 exclusives. They are awesome! Uncharted 1 and 2 are both massive, MGS4 was beyond good.
The game I cannot wait to hit the stores, God Of War 3 will sure be great. That one I buy without even hessatation.
But I own also multiplatform games, one I really liked was Darksiders. That is a great game.
I also find myself always going to buy and play exclusive games but this is because i find them to always be of the highest quality compared to multiplats. i am proud to say the bulk of ps3 collection are exclusives and hopefully Sony can keep up their insanely high standards.
The last few games I've played are (in order): Uncharted, Uncharted 2, Ratchet and Clank:ACIT, Little Big Planet, Heavy Rain. Did I purposely only pick PS3 exclusives? No, those are just the ones that I was interested in. FF13 is going to break the exclusive streak, but then it's GOW3, and Last Guardian, and who knows from there.
I only have money for exclusives. From here on out, multiplats are getting picked up in the bargain bin.
amen!!!!! quality over quantity
Last edited by ace_boon_coon on 3/6/2010 6:56:51 PM
As time goes by i do find that i mostly only have time for exclusives.The only multiplat i've played so far are AC2 & Jrpgs cause quite a few jrpg went timed exclusive 🙁
One thing I noticed is that even tho my collection is pretty split down the middle between exclusives and multiplat, there is a distinct difference.
All my exclusives I bought day one, most of my multiplats I bought brand new for $20 after price drop or I got them on some special sale week.
the games on my priorities list are all time favorite series, like ratchet and clank or Bad Company. multiplat or otherwise isnt so much a factor for me.
speaking of which the servers have been terrible on BC2 all weekend. they better fix it before tomorrow.
I guess for me it depends what the game is but out of the last four games I picked up 3 of them were PS3 exclusives. Now the two games I'm looking at for my birthday are "MLB 10 the Show" and "God of War III"
My collection is pretty much evenly split too… but I expect to eventually have a 2:1 bias toward the exclusives.
Admittedly I caved in yesterday and purchased the "limited" edition of Battlefield Bad Company 2 instead of MAG. Come to think about it, I am actually disappointed with that decision; I should have gone for MAG…
Simply put, the visual anomalies and technical quirks (and to some extent – the bugs that have surfaced thus far) have proved to me again that multi-platform titles just don't cut it like exclusives. When you look at quality titles like Uncharted 2, gamers become spoilt and start demanding this quality from all the developer titles being released. Unfortunately, and expectedly so, that will never be the case.
At least exclusives get "close" to perfection, closer than multi-platformers in my eyes. I am not saying all multi-platformers are bad, infact there are some very good ones as Alianange pointed out earlier…
Thinking about it, it may simply boil down to the talents of that developer and the overall quality adhere too… ultimately, exclusives usually do look better, and in some cases, play better than multi-platformers, but, but if the game in question is bad, regardless of the platform, the game will fail…
Q!
"speak to the droid"
Last edited by Qubex on 3/6/2010 8:24:46 PM
Well that's just it. Exclusives are, in general, the higher quality games. Isn't that why we bought PS3s in the first place? So we can play the massive amounts of multiplats along with superior exclusives. If the PS3 ONLY offered exclusives on its system it's almost certain that the grand majority of gamers would HAVE to own "the other system."
You make a good point about developers though. It is sad that many choose to go the gimped DVD route in this day and age, but that doesn't make their games bad or unplayable. In fact, the huge sales numbers of FFXIII on Tuesday will show just how popular some multiplats are.
@ Alienage
Honestly the exclusives are not why I bought my ps3. I looked at the technical specs for both platforms before either was released, researched blu-ray and hd dvd, researched prices and accessories. In the end it was obvious that hd dvd was destined to fail, wasn't much of a technology improvement while blu-ray obviously is.
I don't care what people say about getting xbox because they like gaming and they didn't want a blu ray player. Why wouldn't you want it to do more?
Basically it was just the better choice, however that being said, the exclusives are a very nice bonus.
Overall, I agree with you Ben. Exclusives, IMO, are usually better games due to the fact that they're allowed to utilize the full power of their respective consoles, whereas multiplats kinda have to skimp on the power in order to make it run on both systems.
Does this mean that I hate multiplats, or that I exclusively buy exclusives? Hell no. I just think that exclusives are generally of higher quality and deliver a much better experience than most multiplats do.
Exclusives are definitely the way to go, but GTA IV, Fallout 3, AC II (not 1), Bioshock 1 and 2, and Batman AA were awesome…so wait, when you think about it, multiplatform titles do deliver, but then again, look at the time frame between these games. From my gaming experience, I do believe Killzone 2, Demons Souls, Infamous, and Uncharted 2 took up my 'gaming' life in 2009, but I played alot of AC II and Batman. So I guess what I am saying is, I get my moneys worth when it comes to exclusives last year, but that wasn't the same story in 2008, and I don't think 2010 will be a repeat of last year. But honestly, I always find myself having better and memorable experiences with exclusives(MGS4 comes to mind). And multiplats never deliver the same satisfaction. Bioshock 1 was close though.
I honestly always spend my money on exclusives not multiplates unless it's a must multiplat but right now I'm addicted to HR (almost done my first round) and I have GOW III coming in 1 week so honestly my poor Bioshock 2 has been on the back burner.