Your game purchasing strategy

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Onyx Oblivion

Borderlands Addict. Again.
Sep 9, 2008
17,032
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1. Originality
Mirror's Edge was a great game. Fuck you haters. Portal was good, but Prey kinda did it first, in a way. The portals were even the same colors. You just didn't have a gun that shot them.

2. Depth
I like seeing the words LEVEL UP. I like a well-realized world. Especially those with in-game encyclopedias and books.

3. Over-the-top
I sometimes like to just blow shit the fuck up.

These are the reason why I recently decided not to buy any FPS recently. And why Brutal Legend is my GOTY, at this point. Despite its many shortcomings.
 

orangebandguy

Elite Member
Jan 9, 2009
3,117
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41
Does it look good and have a lasting impression on you? I ask myself. That's all of the criteria I need. Usually I'm not too dissapointed with games but if I am I'll take it back.
 

wildpeaks

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Dec 25, 2008
871
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Basically, I go in this order to decide:

1. Is it a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game ? If so, get the russian edition directly from Ukraine.

2. Is it a FPS or a RPG-flavored FPS ? If not, there is little chance I'll consider getting it.

3. Is it available on Steam ? If not, is it available on Metaboli.com ?

4. Is it cheap ? (however I don't often follow that rule if it has interesting trailers or that the previous game of the serie was good)



And there are exceptions, like [the awesome] Beyond Good & Evil that I bought out of pure luck.
 

thejadefalcon

New member
Nov 3, 2009
119
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E-mantheseeker said:
What decisions/strategy do you take when deciding to buy a game?

Me, I look at gameplay videos as soon as they become available to judge whether I feel I can enjoy playing it myself. I don't take the words of reviewers as complete truth, but I do take into account when most reviews lean toward negative or positive.

Also, I almost never buy a game on the release day, I usually wait a week to a month to gauge the public's view on the game. My only exceptions are sequels to games I enjoyed thoroughly.
Depending on the game, I'll get it on release date or wait a while. I'm still trying to decide about whether BioShock is my kind of game (every time I get enough money, I end up buying something else >.>).
 

MGlBlaze

New member
Oct 28, 2009
1,079
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Sacman said:
Machines Are Us said:
I tend to only pick games that hold a particular interest, I never go by popularity or reviews because they are usually either a load of BS written to get into the developers good books or idiotic drivel blindly praising the game or needlessly picking at it.

As for what catches my attention, that varies. Both Left 4 Dead and Fallout 3 looked bad when I first caught a glimpse and I am extremely glad to have bought them. Bioshock sounded boring when a friend described it to me and it's one of my favourite games of all times; I honestly cannot say what draws me to certain games.

Sacman said:
I just follow what yahtzee says...
Please tell me that's a joke...please?
yeah it's a joke. I'm just making fun of people who don't take a crap unless its rated above a 9 on GT...
I never trust GT's scores, really. I just look at the game-play videos and try and judge for myself if I'd like the game or not. Of course, I would ask other genuine gamers opinions too.

Come to think of it, I never trust any review scores. In (sort of) the words of Mr. Ben Croshaw, "A complex personal opinion can't be summed up by an arbitrary number".

Speaking of which: He mostly does ZP for entertainment, but behind the bile and caustic awesomeness, he does make some good points. While he does know what he's talking about, though, you shouldn't take his reviews as 'Word Of God' or anything. For instance, while he panned SSB:B, it didn't stop me from enjoying it, even though I'm one of those sad people who has no-one to actually play it with usually. The same goes for the Zelda series as a whole.

Although I would like to see him review a metroid game sometime, especially since he gives Metroid Prime as an example of a good console FPS.

But anyway, back on topic;
I look at gameplay footage and try and pay attention to the opinions of other people who play the game to see if I'd like it or not. Although if it's a game I especially look forward to, I'll often pre-order and dive right in. Naturally, though, this is a bit hit-or-miss.
 

Twilight_guy

Sight, Sound, and Mind
Nov 24, 2008
7,131
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Einne minne minny moe...

Actually I usually look for sequels to really good games and buy sandbox games that look good and any games that are given godlike reviews from large number of poeple (usually escapists). Recently I have only bought games at a very slow rate and I've been trying to buy only the best so I have avoid a lot of crap but have also gotten some "meh" titles.
 

zombflux

New member
Oct 7, 2009
456
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0
I watch gameplay videos, if it looks like fun, I download it. If it looks like fun and the developer looks like they need the cash, I buy it :p
 

Xero Scythe

New member
Aug 7, 2009
3,463
0
0
1:Never listen to the popularity. Most of the time they will not like the same games you like.

2:Buy what looks good, storyline and gameplay. Remember, graphics might be pretty, but you're there to play the game, not watch it. Otherwise, you might as well rent a movie. It'll save you a lot of cash.

3: Buy games that have a whole bunch of after-the-fact junk, 'cause I get though most campaigns in under 24 hours (Even Star Ocean:TLH) and I'm not really one for multiplayer most of the time. certain games, such as HAWX, I will make an exception on the last part, 'cause multi-player cannot consist of just spawn-killing or random junk like that. Stuff like that, when the multiplayer keeps me on my toes, unaware where the next attack will come from... I love that.
 

SovietSecrets

iDrink, iSmoke, iPill
Nov 16, 2008
3,975
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If its a sequel to a game, I usually buy if I enjoyed the first. Everything else I wait to see what my friends/people say and then decide to get it or not.
 

SimuLord

Whom Gods Annoy
Aug 20, 2008
10,077
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In descending order of importance:

1) Developer's reputation. If I've played and liked other games from the same devs, I'm very likely to come back for more (go ahead, hate me for "killing originality", I can take it.)

2) Price sensitivity. As a general matter I think $50 is too much for a game, so I'll wait for a price drop. Launch at $40 or below and I'm more likely to buy.

3) Originality. In contradiction to #1. I'll buy the same stuff from developers I love, but if you're not on that list, you're going to have to convince me that your game isn't just "like x but not as good." Different time period for a historical game, different trading/building engine...there's a lot more room than you'd think in my favorite genres for improvement.

4) Reviews/buzz/friends' recommendations. I tend to know what I like, but it's quite possible to talk me into something new. Unless it's my wife talking. When she recommends a game I end up hating it---she just doesn't understand what I like in gaming.
 

Supreme Unleaded

New member
Aug 3, 2009
2,291
0
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Most of my games i already know much about. Sometimes i go into gamestop and buy a game, ruch through it and see if it worth keeping. If not then it was a free one week rental.
 

Akai Shizuku

New member
Jul 24, 2009
3,183
0
0
Torrents are your friend

Step 1: Enter store.

Step 2: Buy game.

Step 3: Argue on forums about how awesome it is even though every reviewer gives it a 6 or less.
 

Scrythe

Premium Gasoline
Jun 23, 2009
2,367
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I wait for Steam weekend deals and Mid-week sales >.>

On some occasions I'll like the series so much that I'll preorder the game (God of War III, Dawn of War 2, Left 4 Dead 2, WoW expansions, etc).

Due to money issues as of late, I've adopted a strict "demo only" rule that I'll only purchase a game if it has some form of demo or gameplay video. A lot of good games refuse to put out demos, making me resort to first pirating the game before actually purchasing (thanks a lot, Dragon Age and Borderlands)
 

zehydra

New member
Oct 25, 2009
5,033
0
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I usually check Gamespot Reviews, then take a look at screen shots, game premises, some user reviews,(at least one good review, and one bad review).

Games are too expensive nowadays to throw money at randomly for me.