NationStates Jolt Archive

I got this game, Dead Rising, for Christmas. It's supposed to be a decent game, but I haven't got around to playing it 'till now 'cause I've been busy with Gears of War.

It's an adventure-style romp through a zombie-infested mall, and bears all the hallmarks of your standard adventure game: myriad characters, mission objectives, in-game conversations, etc. Like in many adventure games, most of this information is conveyed through small dialog boxes.

Come to find out, the text in these boxes is so minuscule that it's damn near illegible. Even worse is the fact that most of these boxes pop up for about three seconds before vanishing, convinced that your reading speed is up to par.

So I do a Google search on the game and discover that nearly everyone has had the same problem. Unless you have an HDTV, you're screwed. 1UP, a major gaming mag, even contacted the developers (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3153521) at Capcom, to no avail. The game was "optimized for HDTV users" and the company is incapable of making a patch to fix it. Incapable, my ass. If they can waste resources on making downloadable clothing for the characters in the game, they can sure as hell change the font size and make the game playable for about two-thirds of it's customers.

So, do you think I have a case for returning the game? Would any store accept it opened and used for such an issue?

Got any product headaches of your own?

So, do you think I have a case for returning the game? Would any store accept it opened and used for such an issue?

Not after more than 2 weeks, no.

Got any product headaches of your own?

I bought the expansion pack for Star Wars: Empire at War and it shipped with the wrong CD key. I contacted Lucasarts, who told me that they don't give support to Australians and i'd have to contact Activision. I did so, and after a three day wait, got an email from the Activision tech support people who told me to "stop wasting their time" despite my offering to take photographs of the manual and game box.

In the meantime i'd obtained a CD key from a pirate site, of course. I'm beginning to wonder why I actually spend money on games...

My inflatable Jenna Jameson doll did not come with a vibrating mouthpiece as advertised. This contributes mightily to my sexual frustration.

Dont get me started on StarForce and people not taking opened software back.
I cant tell you how frustrating a conversation along the lines of:
"Look, it doesnt work with my computer. It will never work with my computer."

"Well, would you like to exchange it? We can give you another copy of the same game."

"No, that is not acceptable. Every copy of this game contains software which is not only incompatable with my computer, but has caused some rather annoying malfunctions."

"Im sorry, would you like to exchange it?"

etc. etc. etc.

Whats worse is that you have to go online and search through bajillions of pages to find out if a game actually HAS StarForce or some similar protection scheme, because THEY DONT PUT IT ON THE BLOODY BOX.

Gawd.

I bought the expansion pack for Star Wars: Empire at War and it shipped with the wrong CD key. I contacted Lucasarts, who told me that they don't give support to Australians and i'd have to contact Activision. I did so, and after a three day wait, got an email from the Activision tech support people who told me to "stop wasting their time" despite my offering to take photographs of the manual and game box.

In the meantime i'd obtained a CD key from a pirate site, of course. I'm beginning to wonder why I actually spend money on games...

I wonder why companies bother with CD keys at all anymore. Two seconds on google and anybody with the wit to download the game in the first place will have a functioning key.
In the mean time, you cause massive headaches for the legit customers.

BRILLIANT!

Dont get me started on StarForce and people not taking opened software back.
I cant tell you how frustrating a conversation along the lines of:
"Look, it doesnt work with my computer. It will never work with my computer."

"Well, would you like to exchange it? We can give you another copy of the same game."

"No, that is not acceptable. Every copy of this game contains software which is not only incompatable with my computer, but has caused some rather annoying malfunctions."

"Im sorry, would you like to exchange it?"

etc. etc. etc.

Whats worse is that you have to go online and search through bajillions of pages to find out if a game actually HAS StarForce or some similar protection scheme, because THEY DONT PUT IT ON THE BLOODY BOX.

Gawd.

Ugh. I had to put a no-cd patch on Silent Hunter 3 because StarForce isn't compatible with 64 bit windows. Works fine now, oddly...

I wonder why companies bother with CD keys at all anymore. Two seconds on google and anybody with the wit to download the game in the first place will have a functioning key.
In the mean time, you cause massive headaches for the legit customers.

BRILLIANT!

Exactly...the only time they actually do anything is with games that have an online component.

I had other issues with Star Force. I got Bet on Soldier or something from a local used book/game store for $5, since I wanted to see how awful it was myself.
Halfway through the install my computer screen goes fuzzy and I end up having to open my drive with a paperclip after the first hard shutdown I've had to do in two years. Apparently its some issue with Starforce not liking me changing CD's using my CD-RW drive.
Fourtunatly I could return that one due to the stores policy of accepting returns within a week of purchase.

Later I got X3, and it refused to install at all, unfourtunatly Best Buy wasnt so accomidating, resulting in the above conversation.

My inflatable Jenna Jameson doll did not come with a vibrating mouthpiece as advertised. This contributes mightily to my sexual frustration.

I could've lived a full life without knowing that.

Yis. Whatever you think is best.

I acutally bought ninety nine knights. That sucks too.

1UP isn't a magazine it's a site. Are you thinking of EGM?

My inflatable Jenna Jameson doll did not come with a vibrating mouthpiece as advertised. This contributes mightily to my sexual frustration.

I'm going to go throw up now.

Not after more than 2 weeks, no.



I bought the expansion pack for Star Wars: Empire at War and it shipped with the wrong CD key. I contacted Lucasarts, who told me that they don't give support to Australians and i'd have to contact Activision. I did so, and after a three day wait, got an email from the Activision tech support people who told me to "stop wasting their time" despite my offering to take photographs of the manual and game box.

In the meantime i'd obtained a CD key from a pirate site, of course. I'm beginning to wonder why I actually spend money on games...

Because you are Capitalist scum?

1UP isn't a magazine it's a site. Are you thinking of EGM?
Eh, I guess I thought it was the online edition of an existing magazine. Live and learn...

I got this game, Dead Rising, for Christmas. It's supposed to be a decent game, but I haven't got around to playing it 'till now 'cause I've been busy with Gears of War.

It's an adventure-style romp through a zombie-infested mall, and bears all the hallmarks of your standard adventure game: myriad characters, mission objectives, in-game conversations, etc. Like in many adventure games, most of this information is conveyed through small dialog boxes.

Come to find out, the text in these boxes is so minuscule that it's damn near illegible. Even worse is the fact that most of these boxes pop up for about three seconds before vanishing, convinced that your reading speed is up to par.

So I do a Google search on the game and discover that nearly everyone has had the same problem. Unless you have an HDTV, you're screwed. 1UP, a major gaming mag, even contacted the developers (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3153521) at Capcom, to no avail. The game was "optimized for HDTV users" and the company is incapable of making a patch to fix it. Incapable, my ass. If they can waste resources on making downloadable clothing for the characters in the game, they can sure as hell change the font size and make the game playable for about two-thirds of it's customers.

So, do you think I have a case for returning the game? Would any store accept it opened and used for such an issue?

Got any product headaches of your own?

I'm pretty sure the only way you can get a refund is if you can prove out of box damage. Irritataing gameplay and or game format does not constitute a refund in any way...trust me, i've dealth with Circut City, Best Buy, and EB Games on the matter.

Since you got it for christmas, you're chances of refund were pretty much dead on arrival. I agree with what most people say on the two weeks thing, just make sure too not even open the plastic on the case. Better yet, before your next game, please consult:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/

Or

http://www.gamespot.com/

This is pretty good too:

http://www.g4tv.com/

Reading reviews is how I determine a good game from a bad one. Problems like the one you expierience are usually flagged down vibrantly on these sites, making them easy too avoid for purchase. If you want too be ultra safe, rent a game you're interested in. Sure unless its insanely long you'll beat 1/3 of it in the rent period, but at least you know its worth buying, and you always have replay value.

My 2 cents on it.

Console to PC ports in general are bastards to work with.

Since you got it for christmas, you're chances of refund were pretty much dead on arrival. I agree with what most people say on the two weeks thing, just make sure too not even open the plastic on the case. Better yet, before your next game, please consult:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/

Or

http://www.gamespot.com/

This is pretty good too:

http://www.g4tv.com/

I use 1UP (www.1up.com), IGN (ign.com), Gamerankings (www.gamerankings.com)and Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org)

So, on the subject of irritations involved in the gaming industry, I hereby submit for the approval of NSG, the following.

Things that Piss me Off:

1. Not putting vital information on the box.

Yeah, Valve, this is addressed to YOU. If an internet connection is REQUIRED to activate and play a game, PUT A BLOODY STICKER ON THE BOX THAT SAYS SO. If you use some sort of copy protection, PUT A NOTE ON THE BOX SAYING SO.
IF this game requires the blood of a virgin and the eyes of a frog to activate (which doesnt seem unreasonable nowadays), NOTIFY US OF THIS.

2. Stupidly complicated and/or bug-prone copy protection

Im looking at you, STEAM. Some of us, beleive it or not, do not have high speed connections on every computer in our house. Some of us have to make do with 56k, which means that it takes about 12 hours to install your stupid game. And, of course, the copy protections I meantioned earlier.
THIS JUST IN:
CD KEYS ARE POINTLESS
If a person knows where to download a game, they will know (or can very easily find out) where to get a CD key for it. As I said earlier, you are only giving your paying customers headaches by forcing them to keep little bits of paper with CD keys on them.

3. Manuals

Manuals should be more than just a keymap, people. Information on the game might help us, just a little. The days of the 1' x 5" box may be over, but that doesnt stop you from giving us a bit of errata with our keymaps, yes? Its not as if it takes a terribly clever person to write up a list of guns in the game and give each a brief descriptor.

4. Paper CD covers

My God, I paid $50 for this game and you cant even be bothered to include a decent jewel case?
Yes, I know that such cases cost more than you would think, but Im still handing over $50 in cash for what is, nowadays, a gamble on whether or not the damn thing is compatable with every bit of hardware in my computer. The least you can do is give me a good jewel case.
This doesnt apply so much to the DVD-cases, which are becoming much more common now, because they at least give you a place to keep your game and something to stack so you can tell the things apart.

5. World War Two

Stop it. Most of the real Nazi's are dead now, Normandy has been stormed billions of times across the world and the number of dead Germans is easily in the trillions. If youre going to make a World War Two game, do something different at least and set it in North Africa or on the Eastern Front (both of which CoD2 did, and it was an excellent game). Or give us a nice naval sim of some sort, I personally have always wanted a commercial game with a realistic simulation of a battleship command. Nobody say anything about Enigma or you will die.
Or, better yet, give us a medieval 'shooter'. None of the big companies have bothered making once since Witchaven. Theres some indie ones out there though, and they could make some people rich if they got out into the main stream (and received a bit of graphical sprucing up, of course)

6. Stop making mods.

Has anybody else noticed, or am I the only one who thinks that just about every shooter that comes out now seems like a modified version of some other shooter? There are exceptions of course, Republic Commando, CoD2, and the bad, but at-least-it-makes-an-effort, Soldner.
The trend is present in other genres, but not as much. At least strategy games now are growing out of the "Lets copy Red Alert!" phase and giving us some decent games.

8. Movie tie ins.

Dont even bother. You know why.

9. Console ports

If you are going to port a game from a console, at least make an effort to convert it to PC-playability. Or better yet, dont bother. Microsoft ruined Oblivion with its requirements to make it playable on the Xbox. A few games (again, the CoD series) can pull this off, but thats because shooter controls transfer easily from one setting to another. RPGs, strategy games, etc. etc., which are ported all seem like money-traps to me now.

10. Pricing

This is directed at stores. You should realize that very few people are going to buy a game that has been on the shelf for a year for its original price. I practically laughed myself silly a few days ago when I went to Circuit City and saw a copy of Civilization III selling for 39.99. You heard me right. Not Civ IV or Warlords, Civilization III, were talking 2001 here, people.
I can accept one typo, but there were other such 'mislablings' scattered throughout the shelves, no doubt intended to catch the unwary.

A few stores seem to be a bit more careful with the price updates. Best Buy, I've noted, steps down their prices reasonably quickly. But I've already expressed my feelings about them.


End rant.

So, on the subject of irritations involved in the gaming industry, I hereby submit for the approval of NSG, the following.

Things that Piss me Off:

*snip*
Did you write that yourself? I could have sworn I'd read it somewhere before, but a Google search turned up zilch.

Please send me an Xbox and your Dead Rising game.

Or give us a nice naval sim of some sort, I personally have always wanted a commercial game with a realistic simulation of a battleship command.
There have been dozens, they all suck.


Or, better yet, give us a medieval 'shooter'. None of the big companies have bothered making once since Witchaven.
Play Dark Messiah as a Ranger.

I got this game, Dead Rising, for Christmas. It's supposed to be a decent game, but I haven't got around to playing it 'till now 'cause I've been busy with Gears of War.

It's an adventure-style romp through a zombie-infested mall, and bears all the hallmarks of your standard adventure game: myriad characters, mission objectives, in-game conversations, etc. Like in many adventure games, most of this information is conveyed through small dialog boxes.

Come to find out, the text in these boxes is so minuscule that it's damn near illegible. Even worse is the fact that most of these boxes pop up for about three seconds before vanishing, convinced that your reading speed is up to par.

So I do a Google search on the game and discover that nearly everyone has had the same problem. Unless you have an HDTV, you're screwed. 1UP, a major gaming mag, even contacted the developers (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3153521) at Capcom, to no avail. The game was "optimized for HDTV users" and the company is incapable of making a patch to fix it. Incapable, my ass. If they can waste resources on making downloadable clothing for the characters in the game, they can sure as hell change the font size and make the game playable for about two-thirds of it's customers.

So, do you think I have a case for returning the game? Would any store accept it opened and used for such an issue?

Got any product headaches of your own?
if you have the reciept, then go and get a refund. another option is to exchange it for another game/store credit. but also inform the store about the problems so that they can warn other people who purchase the games.

if you have the reciept, then go and get a refund. another option is to exchange it for another game/store credit. but also inform the store about the problems so that they can warn other people who purchase the games.

If it has been opened he can only exchange it for the same game. And it probably isn't legal for the store to independently warn people about the game.

If it has been opened he can only exchange it for the same game. And it probably isn't legal for the store to independently warn people about the game.
it's up to the store really.

If explained that the game is made for an HD system, the stores that I go to will exchange it for another game or give store credit. Taking the article that explains this would also help.

and it's not illegal for stores to warn customers about games, I've recieved lots of "warnings" like "this Game can only be played on the internet" or "you need a light gun/driving wheel/headset to play this.", even a "This can only be played on a japanese system/cannot be played on a modded system" so a warning such as "this is best played on an HD system. I've had complaints from customers that it's practially illegable on normal systems" isn't illegal. and if sales slump because of it, then perhaps that might pursuade Capcom to make a version that is not geared for HD system.

There have been dozens, they all suck.
As I said, nobody mention Enigma.


Play Dark Messiah as a Ranger.

Eh, not quite the same. Play Witchaven and you'll know.

As I said, nobody mention Enigma.

Enigma isn't a dozen games.

Eh, not quite the same. Play Witchaven and you'll know.
Irrelevant. You can't have a medieval "shooter" because medieval times were dominated by melee combat. Dark Messiah is medieval and a shooter.

Irrelevant. You can't have a medieval "shooter" because medieval times were dominated by melee combat. Dark Messiah is medieval and a shooter.
there was a Doom clone called Heretic. where you had weapons like a sword (Chain saw), crossbow (Pistol), and various Spell staves (Shotgun to BFG).

it was fun, but too Doom-like to gain any standing on it's own.

I got this game, Dead Rising, for Christmas. It's supposed to be a decent game, but I haven't got around to playing it 'till now 'cause I've been busy with Gears of War.

It's an adventure-style romp through a zombie-infested mall, and bears all the hallmarks of your standard adventure game: myriad characters, mission objectives, in-game conversations, etc. Like in many adventure games, most of this information is conveyed through small dialog boxes.

Come to find out, the text in these boxes is so minuscule that it's damn near illegible. Even worse is the fact that most of these boxes pop up for about three seconds before vanishing, convinced that your reading speed is up to par.

So I do a Google search on the game and discover that nearly everyone has had the same problem. Unless you have an HDTV, you're screwed. 1UP, a major gaming mag, even contacted the developers (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3153521) at Capcom, to no avail. The game was "optimized for HDTV users" and the company is incapable of making a patch to fix it. Incapable, my ass. If they can waste resources on making downloadable clothing for the characters in the game, they can sure as hell change the font size and make the game playable for about two-thirds of it's customers.

So, do you think I have a case for returning the game? Would any store accept it opened and used for such an issue?

Got any product headaches of your own?

Bummer. It's a really awesome game.

You kids and your videogames. You sit indoors playing skateboard games, army games, and zombie killing games and never go out and see the sun. When I was your age we used to ride actual skateboards. We'd play army with our fake guns. We'd go out and hunt real zombies.

You kids and your videogames. You sit indoors playing skateboard games, army games, and zombie killing games and never go out and see the sun. When I was your age we used to ride actual skateboards. We'd play army with our fake guns. We'd go out and hunt real zombies.
Ahh... I remember those days...

that reminds me... I gotta take my nephews out on a snipe hunt one of these nights...

I wonder why companies bother with CD keys at all anymore. Two seconds on google and anybody with the wit to download the game in the first place will have a functioning key.
In the mean time, you cause massive headaches for the legit customers.

BRILLIANT!
The best CD Key-esque thing I've seen is from Uplink. I "acquired" the game and while "researching" the CD Key I found out that they printed a bit of black card, with a grid in a different shade of black(or something like that which made it very difficult to photograph or scan). When installing the game would give you coordinates that related to the grid on the card, and you put in the corresponding 2 digit number. Sure, you can get around it, but it's a lot harder than other CD keys.
So, do you think I have a case for returning the game? Would any store accept it opened and used for such an issue?

It's up to the store really, I doubt they legally have to.

You kids and your videogames. You sit indoors playing skateboard games, army games, and zombie killing games and never go out and see the sun. When I was your age we used to ride actual skateboards. We'd play army with our fake guns. We'd go out and hunt real zombies.

Silly DCD, they designated fake guns as dangerous toys and nonconducive to proper child raising. The only place you can get decent toy guns now are amusement parks for way too much money.

Silly DCD, they designated fake guns as dangerous toys and nonconducive to proper child raising. The only place you can get decent toy guns now are amusement parks for way too much money.

Well then use real guns. What's the problem?

spend some money and get a HDTV. it will improve your gaming experience greatly. if your going to be a gamer get the right equipment.

spend some money and get a HDTV. it will improve your gaming experience greatly. if your going to be a gamer get the right equipment.

If he/she had the money to get a HDTV this wouldn't be an issue.

I bought the Sims 2 Pets expansion for my little sister this Christmas only to find that the installation malfunctions, saying the patch is incompatible, and the game deletes itself. And let me tell you, EA Games is an ass to deal with as far as tech support goes. There goes my perfect Christmas present corporate hogs.

You cant really expect a refund because your tv is too small. And one day you might get an HDTV anyway. Itl improve your life.

CD keys piss me off so much. For that command and conquer compilation you have to enter a seperate key for each game. ridiculous

We'd go out and hunt real zombies. Can I come next time you do it?


Silly DCD, they designated fake guns as dangerous toys and nonconducive to proper child raising. The only place you can get decent toy guns now are amusement parks for way too much money. Plus too many people robbing people with Black Plastic Guns.

You cant really expect a refund because your tv is too small. And one day you might get an HDTV anyway. Itl improve your life.

CD keys piss me off so much. For that command and conquer compilation you have to enter a seperate key for each game. ridiculous
Tell me about it! Pluse don't forget the CD you need just to install the menu program!

Dead Rising is the single worst game ever created.

I played it for about an hour and a half across two days and promptly exchanged it for Need For Speed: Carbon.

I, too, had to endure the absurdly small text. However I just think it is generally appaullingly bad. Zombies that die relatively easily, a lack of any real objectives and direction, and a feeling of general disgust at it for being so boring; justifying my claim that it is infact the worst game ever made.

I got this game, Dead Rising, for Christmas. It's supposed to be a decent game, but I haven't got around to playing it 'till now 'cause I've been busy with Gears of War.

It's an adventure-style romp through a zombie-infested mall, and bears all the hallmarks of your standard adventure game: myriad characters, mission objectives, in-game conversations, etc. Like in many adventure games, most of this information is conveyed through small dialog boxes.

Come to find out, the text in these boxes is so minuscule that it's damn near illegible. Even worse is the fact that most of these boxes pop up for about three seconds before vanishing, convinced that your reading speed is up to par.

So I do a Google search on the game and discover that nearly everyone has had the same problem. Unless you have an HDTV, you're screwed. 1UP, a major gaming mag, even contacted the developers (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3153521) at Capcom, to no avail. The game was "optimized for HDTV users" and the company is incapable of making a patch to fix it. Incapable, my ass. If they can waste resources on making downloadable clothing for the characters in the game, they can sure as hell change the font size and make the game playable for about two-thirds of it's customers.

So, do you think I have a case for returning the game? Would any store accept it opened and used for such an issue?

Got any product headaches of your own?

When are those assholes at Capcom gonna pull their head outta their asses?

That's bull! shit

You think that's bad..................................... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_rigs:_over_the_road_racing)

Battlefield 2 has become a pain more than anything else. The patches, for the most part, seem pointless and irrelevant, as well as being unnecessarily huge. The game itself runs like crap. I know I don't have the best PC ever, from a technical standpoint, but it's decent. Le sigh. EA loses.

5. World War Two

Stop it. Most of the real Nazi's are dead now, Normandy has been stormed billions of times across the world and the number of dead Germans is easily in the trillions. If youre going to make a World War Two game, do something different at least

I'm planning an alternate history WWII RTS where Hitler never comes to power, and the new ultra-nationalist but not genocidal Germany allies with the USSR to divide Europe. Is that different enough?

I'm planning an alternate history WWII RTS where Hitler never comes to power, and the new ultra-nationalist but not genocidal Germany allies with the USSR to divide Europe. Is that different enough? So a Cross between a WWII game and Red Alert basicly.

Dead Rising is the single worst game ever created.

I played it for about an hour and a half across two days and promptly exchanged it for Need For Speed: Carbon.

I, too, had to endure the absurdly small text. However I just think it is generally appaullingly bad. Zombies that die relatively easily, a lack of any real objectives and direction, and a feeling of general disgust at it for being so boring; justifying my claim that it is infact the worst game ever made.

Good news: I followed one website's advice and switched my Xbox to widescreen mode. This stretched out the picture enough that the text is now a little bit legible.

Bad news: you're pretty much right about the game. It's incredibly bland and dull. Don't think you can return a game on those grounds...

So a Cross between a WWII game and Red Alert basicly.

Yeah. Gonna be more realistic than RA, though. No time travel or invincibility machines.

meh
I have an HDTV.
I thought Dead Rising was great.

Yeah. Gonna be more realistic than RA, though. No time travel or invincibility machines.

Big question. Will the ultra nationalists stick with the treaty in dividing up Europe or for that matter, will the Russians?

Big question. Will the ultra nationalists stick with the treaty in dividing up Europe or for that matter, will the Russians?

It's up to the player. It'll have a Dark Crusade-style map; you can choose where to strike.

Actually, I'm considering having two modes; a story mode which follows a in-game time line directly, and a free mode where they can attack or ally with whomever they want.