Replay value

[stompy]

I play Call of Duty 4 a lot actually. For me, replay ability might not mean that there's a lot to do, but to do the same thing many times is still fun, which is what Call of Duty does for me. Just like Call of Duty 2 as well. I suppose I quite like Infinity Ward's style of gunplay.

 

[Dommyboy]

Games with choices that effect the story line and outcome are always good for replaying unless it is just 1 choice like in Might and Magic.

 

[Spinozaad]

I've played the Baldur's Gate series more often than I can remember. Whenever I finished it, I wondered how I would fare as a thief-mage-whatever tripple class, or because I wanted to own that sweet Mage's Stronghold or whatever.

One game I also played many, many times is the forgotten pirate-game 'Cutthroats: Terror on the High Seas', just because I liked being a succesful pirate; the scourge of the seas and the terror of nations.

Of course, I'd always lose after an epic sea battle which pitted dozens of galleys against one another. Somehow I always pushed my luck too far, ending up dancing the hempen jig.

 

[Downside]

BioShock is fun no matter how many times you play it. I really didn't like Assassin's Creed until I played through it a second time. PC games have a lot of replay value, be it RTSs with different factions and victory conditions, or mods applied to other, more traditional games.

I think driving games and rhythm games have the least replay value. Once you've memorized the route or pattern, what do you get going through it again? You can improve your time or accuracy, but I've never cared all that much.

I'll have to disagree with you there, dont get me wrong i loved bioshock but considering i collected all the intel and explored every part of the map first time through and tried playing it without using vita chambers i cant bring myself to play it again. Maybe in a few years or something but not any time soon. I just cant see the point.

Also i used to play NFS underground 1 and 2 constantly and must of completed them several times through.

I think customisation adds a lot to replay value as it means you can play the entire game through with different sets etc, probably why RPG's have the most replay value as you get different characters with different skill sets so it seems like a different game each play through. Probablt why i played NFS underground so much as i completed it using different cars with different mods each time.

 

[Frybird]

For me, Replay Value is something that turned out to be absolutely overrated.

I often catch myself playing a game and thinking "damn, that's so awesome, i'm gonna play the whole thing again once i'm finished". And in the End i either:
a) Get bored after a few levels and play a new game.
b) Play a new game, thinking i will play the awesome older game afterwards, just to play another new game afterwards

I guess i kind of spend to much money into games as to have really a profit from replay value, since no matter how great the game i just finish is, a new game has ultimatly more appeal, no matter if it's better or worse.

And even on slow months i rather get a cheaper game that i skipped at the time it launced than play an older game.

But that said, once or twice in a year i get around to play a game i finished once before, and i'm usually pretty happy with it. So there is still reason for me to have the old games around.

But well, that's just me...and i am unable to get myself too much into a game anyways. I almost never finished an RPG because, at the 30 hour mark, i usually get pretty bored by the game. And even in Online Multiplayer i just stick around a few months (still unsure if Guild Wars was a waste of money or not)

 

[SmugFrog]

Replay value doesn't mean much, unless you have one of the following:
new secret areas or levels, be able to upgrade your current items in the beginning of the game, new abilities or secret items, or have alternate endings.

That's how I feel about it. I love it when the developers through in all kinds of goodies and secrets, even if it is little trivial things (unlocked cheats after completion). Games to me that have a lot of replay value are Master of Orion II, Total War series, The Sims 2, Xcom, Oblivion with Mods... I could go on. Those aren't the only ones, but those are ones that I feel like I can never "finish" playing. They're always fun for me to pick up again and go through. Lately I've been putting a lot of time into GTA 4, and while I know eventually it will get old, it is always fun to load it up and go for a drive for a few minutes.

Funny how those are turn based (with the exception of The Sims); not that I don't like a good FPS (I love Halo 3, Team Fortress 2, World in Conflict, and multiplayer is addicting to me), but the others just seem to have more options.

I have seen big debates about this on other forums, and the debate usually centers around game length and content.

Some people believe that a game should be short, to the point, long enough for you to beat after a day or so and move on to other games. I fall into the other group that believes a game should be a bit longer than that (or even, optionally to be longer if you want to involve side missions). I think a good game developer should leave it to the player; Games like Oblivion or GTA 4 can be finished quickly, or you can go off and do all kinds of random things. For me, the ability to go off on random stuff and experience the "game world" makes it fun. It's a break from just blasting through the story and "finishing" the game.

Concerning all of the easter eggs and "trivial" unlockables, people don't usually complain about that stuff being present (unless it is hard to sort through), but people certainly complain if it is missing. I love to have it! I want a ton of it - if you don't like it, just don't use it, don't go on those side quests, don't go for all of the achievements. It seems like the people that are quick to voice against these things are the ones that are impatient for a game to be released. The ones that either never finish a game or finish it, put it on the shelf, and be done with it.

If I can beat a game in less than 14 hours of gameplay, and there's no reason to go through it again, what is the point of purchasing it? I'd rather rent it from Gamefly and be done with it.

 

[Yassen]

I always found Abe's Oddysee and Abe's exodus had enormous replay value. Sure all it requires is solving a puzzle a certain way with perfect timing, but the suspence and layout is so adrenaline pumping i can do it again and again. Not to mention it's always fun with friends so you can laugh when they do something stupid like walk off a cliff.

To be honest any game i finish i always finish at least twice so it's hard for me to say which games i found had little replay value but i think force unleashed would be at the top of my list. Once i finish it on extremely hard i plan to put it down and trade it in for another game.

But any game that had branching stories or at least fun gameplay like Ratchet and clank i would always play every now and again which is a sure sign of a good game.

 

[Redlac]

Replay for me is about fun.

Often for me the space between playing a game the first time around and the second is quite long. For instance, recently I've had a real craving for a spot of Silent Hill 2. I finished that game not too long after it was released. Recently I spent 4 days conquering the world on Civilisation 2. I play what I fancy really, old or new.

 

[corporate_gamer]

Feels like i bang this drum a lot but timesplitters 2.

 

[PrISM]

MMOs and sandbox games obviously have replay value. The only real single-player games that have it for me are Half-Life and Max Payne, which I blame the story-telling for that.

 

[Syntax Error]

IGN killed God Hand (and, to an extent, Clover Studio).

Morons.

I remember that. A 3/10 because the reviewer didn't like beat-em-ups. So long Clover, we hardly knew ye.

And MMO's are meant to be technically played forever, so that's a given. But sometimes it's more the community, not the game itself that keeps you coming back for more of the same.

Replay is good, but forced replay is not. I-ninja is a case in point. In that game you had to earn belts by completing levels and challenges. But there are far too few levels that in order to progress you'll need to replay some stages almost immediately to get the necessary amount of belts.

 

[Uncompetative]

Robotron 64
Goldenye 007
Perfect Dark

Halo: Combat Evolved
Far Cry: Instincts

 

[ZenMonkey47]

What ups the replay value for me:
New game + (Chrono Trigger)
Multiple ending (again Chrono Trigger)
Multiple paths (Seiken Densetsu III did this well)
3rd party mods (Baldur's Gate II)
Ability to fine tune characters to get that "perfect" blend (NWN II, KoTOR II)

 

[DesertHawk]

Like an above post mentioned, I also have a habit of buying more games than I reasonably have time to play. Reasons being: diverese tastes, impulse buys out of boredom, acquiring old games I never got a chance to play, etc. So I don't get much chance to replay many games (or finish them for that matter). However there are certain games that I will keep coming back to.

CoD4, TF2, CS:S, Doom 1 + 2 + any thing Doom really (except 3), and a few others.

The reason? I really enjoy games that I can hop into and get the most out of it in a limited play time. I can play a match of Company of Heroes and get almost the full experience the gameplay has to offer in just a half hour or so, and be satisfied for the rest of the evening. Same goes for a few rounds of fast-paced multiplayer FPS games. As for Doom, well, I've played them so much that I can blaze through most of an episode in 45 minutes on Ultraviolence (Nightmare is too cheap...).

 

[aliiicat]

Replay value is definately Ratchet and clank, the weapons just get better when you replay it until you finally get the RYNO....I thought I'd want to play GTA4 through more than once, and I did enjoy it the first time around, but as soon as I finished it, it went back in the box forever.

yes, I know it's sad but the most replayed game i have is scrabble on the ds. nuff said.

 

[Archereus]

my firm beleif is that all games have replay for values for as long as you dont jump the gun,

here is a few examples, dont go ahead and by a strategy guide for a rpg cause it takes the replay value away, beat it without then play it again with it, to get all of the side quests and bonuses of course then beat it again qithout to see how much you remembered, i beleive any rpg is replayable for as long as you do it right

same as most fps, rts alike, but the games with the most replay value has to be the dynasty warriors,samurai warriors,and romance of the three kingdomes, i`m still playing the originals of each

 

[JDLY]

Thanks to upgrades via the internet, content can be added to increase the replayability of almost any game.

 

[SmugFrog]

my firm beleif is that all games have replay for values for as long as you dont jump the gun,

here is a few examples, dont go ahead and by a strategy guide for a rpg cause it takes the replay value away, beat it without then play it again with it, to get all of the side quests and bonuses of course then beat it again qithout to see how much you remembered, i beleive any rpg is replayable for as long as you do it right

Oh man, strategy guides and cheats always ruin a game. I mean, they're fun while they last, and sometimes cheats can add a whole new level of play (GTA codes as an example); but after I beat a game and then go through cheating it - the replay value diminishes greatly on a lot of games. I always prefer to throughly beat a game before cheating or resorting to a guide (unless it is a guide for something like killing flying rats in GTA 4 or finding flags in Assassin's Creed).

 

[BladesofReason]

Chrono Cross has a magnificent amont of replay value...