Article 2- Pre-Order Nightmares

Article 2 –Pre-Order Nightmares

 Pre-ordering. The one way to definitely secure a game pre release. The relieving feeling of knowing that come release day you will hold the copy in your hands. Though what if it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. You have spent so much money to get this game and now you hate it. It hurts and it’s awful. So why do we still do it? Hype. The only answer hype and now it’s time to break the hype machine.

So it all starts with an announcement. A short trailer to show you it’s really there. The seed is planted and we wait for it to grow. Soon enough another trailer comes along bolder, better and longer showing more of what we want to see. Then with hope we get genuine gameplay and a chance to see the games mechanics and story put to the test or we get the big press release demos at conventions like E3 or PAX or released to the Internet. But just how true is the “gameplay” we really see? Maybe we are just get messed around by the game company who doesn’t want to see their bad ideas.

Evil Evil Aliens

A perfect example of this bait and switch mechanic is a release earlier in the year that had been hyped to hell before being revealed as a fraud. I am of course talking about Aliens Colonial Marines. After five years in development and so many companies it was finally here. Under an embargo until release day. This meaning that media could not show anything featuring gameplay. However at E3 a gameplay demo was shown. One problem, it was nearly all fake. I have played the game and all the way through and the A.I shown, the events, characters nearly everything was a lie. None of it was in the real game. The gamers who had waited were betrayed by the industry. Just to make it worse it was one of the most popular pre-orders on Steam and other online shopping sites.

The real game featured mindless A.I. that had problems shooting the enemy and had no clue as to what they were doing. The graphics were the lowest quality of 360 graphics and screen tearing was rampant. The aliens themselves were hardly ever present and the whole game just felt rushed despite the 5-year development time.  The levels were boring and repetitive and the iconic “Aliens” weaponry is barely non-existent. Not only that, the game is plagued with game breaking bugs that once had me stuck in a wall. The enemies get stuck to scenery removing any scare factor.  The game was a total fake. This is all from personal experience of playing the game and it disgusts me. Though this is not a review so lets get down to the bare bones of the issue…

Basically, the industry seems to be full of liars and schemers. This may not be true but from modern advertising it seems it. Can we really trust adverts anymore? There is a high chance these days that pre-release material is a forgery or staged. The player will never play or see these bits. It’s a scary thought that the companies will directly lie to you for their gain.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad if the game were worth the money. The lies may be lies and the shown screens/missions are scripted but the final product met expectations we as a community could live with the lies. But they’re not. Most games are generic, boring and low quality. There are games that fail. Colonial Marines was only one example. There were also games like Ride to Hell retribution 1%. The prior game being one of the worst examples of horrible game design ever. Though fully functional the rest of the game was poorly designed and just made very little sense. First announced in 2008/9 this game was premiered as a biker gang sandbox set in the 60’s with an array of deep characters. What gamers got was the absolute opposite a linear, shallow, mind-numbingly poor game where everything was broken. Yet it was still pre-ordered. I personally feel sorry for any poor soul who pre-ordered this rubbish.

My final example would have to be The War Z (now Infestation: Survivor Stories). A game released on steam following the success of Arma mod DayZ. It was considered a rip off and it was just generally awful. It had micro transactions and had to be bought initially. But with lies in the steam description and bullying tactics it just failed to make an impact. The game was buggy, textures sickening and overall just a poor quality. Again popular game, false advertising.

Why do we pre-order?

The allure of pre-order comes mainly from the promise of extras. Shiny little in game objects or real life trinkets that we gain for paying a little extra. On steam this can even be a whole game, (Tomb Raider). However half the time these are only skins r guns. A little extra thing you’ll barely use. Though nowadays even whole game modes are being locked off as pre-order bonuses. Which if you don’t pre-order for have to pay extra in DLC.

The problem is that there are so many different bonuses in so many different places that the game is completely fractured. If you want a certain bonus you have to go to a specific store or site and this could cost so much more. The whole exclusive scene is a curse onto gaming and really makes getting a game a decision making struggle.  It all works towards getting money and ignoring the consumers. Fragmenting the experience for a few extra pound coins.

In conclusion…

Pre-ordering isn’t a positive experience anymore. There once was a time where we just saw trailers and waited until release. Now we have lying trailers, forged footage and just pointless rewards to tempt us into buying a game we’d never even consider once we’d seen it’s true colours. I want one thing from consumers and that is to wait. Please. Just wait for the reviews, wait for the footage of the real game. Don’t be another victim to the hype machine.Article 2- Pre-Order Nightmares