The "feel" of some games.

You know how in some games, Beat Em Ups for example, you can almost feel some of the punches as if you've thrown them yourself? And how some other games feel "muted" or just not that well animated or just don't sound like they should?

Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

ALL CREATURE WILL DIE AND ALL THE THINGS WILL BE BROKEN. THAT'S THE LAW OF SAMURAI.

Yes. It's not just beat-em-ups though.

I know exactly what you're talking about. Satisfying animation and sound effects are a frequently-overlooked element of a "perfect game".

I do know that the sound effects in Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth sounded too cartoony for a Castlevania game.

edited 29th Jan '11 6:29:37 PM by MrPastry

It's more frustrating waiting for the asskicking than the asskicking itself.

This is why, when it comes to shooters, I like Halo more than Call of Duty. Bringing down an Elite is so much more visceral than mowing down mobs of soldiers.

I've got two guns pointed west and a broken compass.

I guess further examples: What I loved about Devil May Cry 1 was how you could hear every sword swing, and by extension, every slash, clash and monster scream that followed. I loved how ever gunshot had it's impact and you could see it visibly as you fought. Even the jumps had some weight and oomph to them.

But when you switch from DMC 1 to DMC 3, a lot of the game feels floaty and muted. You can't quite hear everything that's thrown, and the physics just felt awkward (still a great game, though).

ALL CREATURE WILL DIE AND ALL THE THINGS WILL BE BROKEN. THAT'S THE LAW OF SAMURAI.

Couldn't agree with you more.

One of the reason I feel God Of War is so fun. The sheer act of swinging your blades just feels RIGHT. Bloody, brutaly, sadisticly right.

I also feel this applies with Ratchet And Clank . Unleashing a huge payload from a particularly grisly weapon feels to satisfying. But that might just be how long I've played the games.

Behold, art. http://insanelyzanter.deviantart.com/

Team Fortress 2 and Monday Night Combat do use graphical effects to help enhance the killing factor, I suppose.

Similarly, Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit is a favorite in my book because the cars actually feel fast in that game.

Lastly, Command And Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars actually allows me to control a lot of things, which I do like.

"Hipsters: the most dangerous gang in the US." - Pacific Mackerel

Also, a lot of Technos Japan Corp games. The THWACK sound effects and everyone's "agony face" when they're hit just feels like home.

edited 29th Jan '11 7:41:28 PM by Schitzo

ALL CREATURE WILL DIE AND ALL THE THINGS WILL BE BROKEN. THAT'S THE LAW OF SAMURAI.

Yup. This is one of the reasons why I prefer Devil May Cry (especially 4) to Bayonetta. That, and I find Dante more likeable.

Likes many underrated webcomics

Definitely. Although for me the "Feel" isn't usually based on sound effects for me. In Doom for example i loved using the shotgun because with a properly placed shot you could one-shot an Imp. Imps are just your basic Mook but they CAN take more than a few shots from your pistol, so they feel solid. Just makes it more fun to take them down.

It's probably why i play a Warrior in World Of Warcraft too. Usually i prefer Magic Knight subtypes, with your basic physical fighter being too bland. But warcraft's warrior tears people apart with huge swings of weapons, smashes them in the face with their shield to stun them, strikes deeply into vitals to cause them to bleed out, rends the very earth with stomps and just generally acts badass.

Bleye knows Sabers.

Tekken Tag and up in its series are really good and conveying the force behind every major blow. The animation, the sound effects, the split second close ups when you land a major hit....

Def Jam: Fight for New York's another good one. I wouldn't recommend its sequel, though.

I kind of loved Tekken 2 for that. Even if the character models are at their most poligonical, I just love the recoil and the hit flashes that come from every punch and kick. And the throws. Oh lawd the throws XD

ALL CREATURE WILL DIE AND ALL THE THINGS WILL BE BROKEN. THAT'S THE LAW OF SAMURAI.

I think this might be why I prefer Tekken over Virtua Fighter and Soul Calibur. T4 kind of lost it, but 5 brought it back.

I agree that DMC 1 had the most visceral brutality. I just got through a DMC 3 session and it's just not there.

Soul Calibur 1 leaves more of an impact with me just because of how unashamedly arcadeish it seems.

ALL CREATURE WILL DIE AND ALL THE THINGS WILL BE BROKEN. THAT'S THE LAW OF SAMURAI.

THIS. Especially rewarding in Hockey and Slam Dunk Heroes, since it's easier to get frustrated to heck with your opponents there.

Surprisingly, not a lot of Wii games have this, despite it being sorta the point of the entire console. No More Heroes does it well, though.

Videogames do not make you a worse person... Than you already are.

In my mind, Mad World suffered from feeling too "canned" The animations felt like WWF War Zone and WWF Attitude, only not as slow.

edited 30th Jan '11 12:39:18 AM by Schitzo

ALL CREATURE WILL DIE AND ALL THE THINGS WILL BE BROKEN. THAT'S THE LAW OF SAMURAI.

I think Skies Of Arcadia was the first and possibly only game to make me want to live in its own fictional universe.

Did I mention I did a 24+ hour marathon playthrough of it once?

METSU... SHORYUKEN!

In my opinion, the most satisfying attack ever.

Oh. Fuck. Yes.

ALL CREATURE WILL DIE AND ALL THE THINGS WILL BE BROKEN. THAT'S THE LAW OF SAMURAI.

Garou: Mark of the Wolves has some of the best animation I've ever seen in a fighting game.

"The world ends with you. If you want to enjoy life, expand your world. You gotta push your horizons out as far as they'll go."

As far as Castlevania is concerned, I felt that although Super Castlevania IV and Rondo Of Blood are the absolute best in the (classic) series, I feel both are lacking in "visceral satisfactory feel". Rondo of blood, especially, had these awkward little blips as the sound cue for enemy damage. So already, The Dracula X Chronicles is an excellent adaptation in that respect.

The 8-bit Castlevania trilogy got the whip and lash sounds downpat, especially the THWASH sound that comes from striking this and that. Its amazing what a little white noise and a chiptune blip can do. And in those games, having your subweapons meet their mark feels like home, yet again.

ALL CREATURE WILL DIE AND ALL THE THINGS WILL BE BROKEN. THAT'S THE LAW OF SAMURAI.

I absolutely agree with you. This applies more to characters than whole games, though. Take Marvel Vs. Capcom 2.

Hyper Sentinel Force? Not satisfying.
Juggernaut's Head Crush? Satisfying.

Hyper Viper Beam? Not satisfying.
Proton Cannon? Satisfying.

edited 30th Jan '11 11:48:28 PM by Magus

This is also another reason why AKI Wrestling Games hold a special place in my heart. I love how overacted some of the attacks and recoils to the attacks are (and again, a lot of the smacking sound effects. Just love the meaty *THWACK* of each clothesline, chop and punch). They also made taunting epic.

WWF War Zone and Attitude would've had the same, were it a little better developed on the controls and the pacing. WWF Smackdown for the PSX is an example of a "muted" game. No involvement whatsoever (though it plays well enough)

edited 31st Jan '11 12:17:56 AM by Schitzo

ALL CREATURE WILL DIE AND ALL THE THINGS WILL BE BROKEN. THAT'S THE LAW OF SAMURAI.

Assasin's Creed 2 and Brotherhood had some pretty visceral moves, especially when you're using the stuff like the bastard sword or axe; you could see the weight and strength that those weapons had whenever you used a finishing kill.

World in Conflict is another game that got the whole "feel" of how destructive modern ordanance is nailed down perfectly. Whenever an artillery salvo or fuel air bomb hit it's target (or hell, even if it missed!) the amount of damage it caused was impressive.