Daggerdale - Tops XBLA Charts

Amazing. As I posted before, I downloaded the Xbox demo, and had two fairly bad bugs and one hard crash that forced a system restart within 10-15 minutes of playing. Maybe I was just unlucky, but that's my all-time record for most bugs encountered in the shortest amount of time...

My guess is that people are jonesing for a co-op Diablo style game, and DD is benefitting from the hype around the upcoming Diablo 3.
 
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It probably benefited from a lack of good weekly discounts and the fact that there weren't any new XBLA games for two weeks after its release. I'm still surprised that the numerous game-breaking bugs weren't enough to scare people off at least until they put out a patch.
 
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The fact is that anything branded D&D sells.

Shame Atari holds the rights
 
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It lets me wonder what kinds of games XBLA players prefer ?

("x-bla" ???)
 
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I tried the demo and was only mildly intruiged. It was short, but the huge amount of horrible reviews put me off. I would really love a good gamepad-controlled dungeon crawler to come out and I guess many other people, too. I think the numerous turn-based strategy RPGs on the console markets are doing decent, as well.
 
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The part that I played (at least the part that worked) actually looked pretty good. Nice animations.

But it was so old and tired. Barrel smashing to pick up coins. Really? It's 2011, are smashable barrels such a solid game component that every vaguely D&D-medieval themed game has to have it? I like that you run through the first part of the populated, excavated dungeon smashing barrels, then go into an area that's supposed to be ancient and unseen by living eyes for centuries only to find dozens more of the exact same smashable barrels all around. Full of coins!
 
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Ah, it's a mindless hack 'n slasher. What do you expect, realism? ;) And sure, I'll pay less for less quality. That's not throwing away money. But this just didn't seem worth it.
 
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Ah, it's a mindless hack 'n slasher. What do you expect, realism? ;) And sure, I'll pay less for less quality. That's not throwing away money. But this just didn't seem worth it.

What's this obsession people have with talking about expectations.

I don't expect anything, generally.

I just look at something and call it like I see it.

This is a completely bland and tiny little piece of crap game. I didn't even expect that, but that's what it is.

To me, that is. If it had been 5$ - I still wouldn't pay for it.

Time is more important to me than money, and there are countless games out there in this genre that are a zillion times better. Even ones I haven't played yet.

For the moment, I'm replaying Dungeon Siege 2. I could fill a book with how much better that game is than Daggerdale. But I'll save you the pain :)
 
What's this obsession people have with talking about expectations.

I don't expect anything, generally.

I just look at something and call it like I see it.

I was talking about the coin-filled barrels. I mean, I don't ask why the hell there are coin-filled barrels out in no man's land when I play a hack-and-slash game, that's all. :)

This is a completely bland and tiny little piece of crap game. I didn't even expect that, but that's what it is.

To me, that is. If it had been 5$ - I still wouldn't pay for it.

I agree (but the demo was fun to play for the short duration it took me)—but there are tons of really cheap games that sell for only a few bucks that are able to entertain me for a few hours. That's good enough for me in many occasions. I don't have to be blown away for those two bucks or get a 20-30 hour game. I need an entertaining distraction for a couple of hours and I think that's worth a few gold coins.

It also helps that I'm addicted to New Game Syndrome. I play a new game, love the new world/setting/surprises, then see a new shiny that I want to try out a few hours later. For some reason, demo's are incapable of providing that. They have to be full games, even though I don't play them to the end or even past the 5 hour mark most of the time. A system where you can try out a full game for 2 hours for free, then be able to buy it, would rock my world. :)
 
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I was talking about the coin-filled barrels. I mean, I don't ask why the hell there are coin-filled barrels out in no man's land when I play a hack-and-slash game, that's all. :)



I agree (but the demo was fun to play for the short duration it took me)—but there are tons of really cheap games that sell for only a few bucks that are able to entertain me for a few hours. That's good enough for me in many occasions. I don't have to be blown away for those two bucks or get a 20-30 hour game. I need an entertaining distraction for a couple of hours and I think that's worth a few gold coins.

It also helps that I'm addicted to New Game Syndrome. I play a new game, love the new world/setting/surprises, then see a new shiny that I want to try out a few hours later. For some reason, demo's are incapable of providing that. They have to be full games, even though I don't play them to the end or even past the 5 hour mark most of the time. A system where you can try out a full game for 2 hours for free, then be able to buy it, would rock my world. :)

I fully understand this syndrome, but I'm trying to shed myself of it.

Mostly, I'm somewhat succesful. I find the experience of a new game to be incredibly hollow if I don't engage myself while playing. Almost like watching TV - which is something I can't stand anymore :)
 
The game was featured heavily on the dashboard adverts. People just clicked buy instead of doing proper research. Plus being number 1 that week doesn't necessarily mean it sold well. It just sold better than the other crap released that week.
 
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I fully understand this syndrome, but I'm trying to shed myself of it.

Mostly, I'm somewhat succesful. I find the experience of a new game to be incredibly hollow if I don't engage myself while playing. Almost like watching TV - which is something I can't stand anymore :)

Well, you know how it is. Once you have what you wanted, it loses its appeal fast. :) I know I don't have time for this new game, I have tons of other games that I still enjoy, and still I can't get Sacred 2 out of my head since I saw it cheap for 10,-. Also, those free PS3 games after Sony got hacked. I snatched Ratchett & Clank and inFAMOUS and have been neglecting The Witcher 2 and Final Fantasy XIII (again).

I realise that a game is more enjoyable if you focus on it and, really, I try. Finishing a game can be very satisfying and I want to work through the list of games that I think would be really worth it. But that list keeps on growing as new titles come out, so I'll never get to the end. :)
 
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Well, you know how it is. Once you have what you wanted, it loses its appeal fast. :) I know I don't have time for this new game, I have tons of other games that I still enjoy, and still I can't get Sacred 2 out of my head since I saw it cheap for 10,-. Also, those free PS3 games after Sony got hacked. I snatched Ratchett & Clank and inFAMOUS and have been neglecting The Witcher 2 and Final Fantasy XIII (again).

Oh, I know exactly what you mean - and it's a problem for me as well. I've just gotten to the point of realising how empty these things become, if you can't work up genuine "staying" excitement. There should be better things to spend time on, though I have trouble finding good alternatives.

I'm at my happiest when I'm working on my own game, actually.

I realise that a game is more enjoyable if you focus on it and, really, I try. Finishing a game can be very satisfying and I want to work through the list of games that I think would be really worth it. But that list keeps on growing as new titles come out, so I'll never get to the end. :)

Yeah, one might think it's a luxury situation. My "heyday" was probably with the Amiga - when I was young enough to have the time to totally dedicate myself to gaming. At that time, good games were not just rare, they were almost unique. So, you had to make do with whatever little weird quirky thing that came out between quality working titles.

I used to dream about having access to the kind of quality CRPGs I saw available for other platforms, and mostly the PC during the late eighties or early nineties.

Now… It's about over-exposure. That's how you get so picky. Well… that's how I got so picky. My time is limited and my life is dwindling before my eyes.

I can't spend it playing trivial little timewasters. It just doesn't feel right, you know? :)
 
Oh, I know exactly what you mean - and it's a problem for me as well. I've just gotten to the point of realising how empty these things become, if you can't work up genuine "staying" excitement. There should be better things to spend time on, though I have trouble finding good alternatives.

Which is why I have trouble sometimes justifying playing games at all, when I could read a educational non-fiction book, learn a language, pick up the drums again, learn to play guitar, train for a marathon, go back to developing something interesting for iPhone, learn Photoshop, or any other things that are actually *useful*. And I'm not even talking about my other passions for entertainment like watching movies and TV series, fantasy fiction novels, music and concerts, etc. How do I spend my limited time!? Games, in-depth and complex or not, should be close to the bottom of the list. *sigh*

Now… It's about over-exposure. That's how you get so picky. Well… that's how I got so picky. My time is limited and my life is dwindling before my eyes.

I can't spend it playing trivial little timewasters. It just doesn't feel right, you know? :)

Yes, and still I want *everything*. Not just games, new series, movies, books. There is too much to choose from, even when you filter out the cheap time wasters.

I do like some of the novelty of little gems, as you know. Having classic SNES games on your phone, or that cheap little clever dungeon-crawler from XBLA, or that 90 SEK (went to Sweden last week :D) Sacred 2 game (it was second-hand and already sold--got L.A. Noire instead). But yeah. Choose wisely.
 
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