Broken Base/Video Games: Difference between revisions

 

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** On the side of those who hate DLC, we have understandable complaints, since some DLC are content removed from the game in order to sell it under the disguise of DLC (such as some missions of ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''), content already on the disk but that you need to unlock with a DLC in order to use it (such as the costumes of ''[[Street Fighter IV]]''), content which could be seen as vital (or at least very useful) but that you need to buy as DLC in order to use it (such as the chest in which you can store your equipment in [[Dragon Age Origins]]), or even some content which we can reasonably think should have been available in the game right from the start instead of being sold separately as DLC (such as the costumes and arena fights of [[Final Fantasy XIII-2]], DLC available since the release of the game). Some DLC are not new content, but just a way to [[Bribing Your Way to Victory|bribe your way to victory]] (such as some DLC in [[Tales of Vesperia]], which allow the player to gain levels, money, artes, items... It's not so much "downloadable content" here : more like "paying cheat codes"). And let's not start about the activation codes of [[Batman: Arkham City]], preventing you to access a part of the game if you buy a second hand copy of the game instead of a new one, which will make you unable to enjoy it... Unless you buy the DLC which allow the access to these parts of the game. Overall, this side sees DLC as a cash machine for the editors, and fear that they are considered as cash cows.

** On the other hand, the other side argue that DLC can provide new content and fun to a game way after its release, allowing us to prolong the experience. Also, some DLC are whole new levels or adventures, depending on the game, which can lead some DLC as being seen as true extensions. Needless to say, it depends heavily on the quality of the DLC.

** The Reboot is a prime example, you either Hate it or Love it.

** Speaking of [[Mortal Kombat]] and Reboot, poor Sindel's fandom ''shatters'' after a certain point of story, {{spoiler|where she brutally murders the majority of heroes in the fashion of [[Cutscene Power to the Max]]}}, one camp thinking she has fallen so bad she became the new [[The Scrappy|most hated character ever]] while another does take account to how she's {{spoiler|[[Brainwashed and Crazy]], having no control of her actions, as well as her Arcade Ending where it's revealed that her noble side was still there before the brainwashing kicks in}}.

** Oh god, it's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCcYBQ_f90Q&feature=fvst not] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHPK9FTwnxk just] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfUsKWyRRm0 the] games.

** Sega is actually [http://kotaku.com/5336675/ aware] about this situation.

** ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'': Was the Compilation a good idea or not? Just about the ''only'' thing not up to debate here is that ''Dirge of Cerberus'' didn't play very well.

*** And let's not forget the [[Die for Our Ship|legendary hatred between Tifa and Aerith fans.]] Curiously, [[Les Yay|slashing the two together]] will get both sides to stop fighting long enough to [[Squee]], while [[OT3|shipping CloudxAerithxTifa]] will get both sides to toss rocks at you. It's got to be [[Memetic Mutation|a meme.]]

**** Speaking of Sephiroth; In camp one, you have "Sephiroth is the best Final Fantasy villain ever!" and in camp 2: "Sephiroth's an overrated [[Bishonen]] mama's boy adored only by squeeing fangirls, and [[Final Fantasy VI|Kef]][[Monster Clown|ka's]] way more [[Complete Monster|evil]] and [[Faux Affably Evil|entertaining]] to watch!" Ready? FIGHT!

*** There's even debate over whether the flower girl's name is Aeris or Aerith.

** There's also the fact they started to use less and less medieval [[High Fantasy]] settings and more [[Punk Punk]] type settings.

** It's best not to start a discussion on race and the characters. Asking whether Cloud or Tifa are Asian or not causes major backdraft in particular.

** Even through the Melee years there was definitely conflict within the base over use items, use of Final Destination, use of the c-stick, use of exploits in the physics engine... and of course, [[Character Tiers]].

*** On the note of items, as [[Chuggaaconroy]] said, if you aren't supposed to play with items on, [[Insane Troll Logic|then why is the default setting for them to on?]]

** There are also arguments over the spinoff games like ''Battle Network'' and ''Legends'' straying too far from the original games. Despite the fact that there are STILL games being made to cater to the ones that love the classic gameplay, the "[[No True Scotsman|true fans]]" will cling to the NES titles while others embrace the diversity and variety, sometimes saying they are better than the old games.

*** The announcement of a crossover game between ''[[Mega Man Battle Network|Battle Network]]'' and ''[[Mega Man Star Force|Star Force]]'' reignited that flame war awfully fast.

** ''Dawn of Sorrow'' and ''Portrait of Ruin'' have damaged the unity of the fanbase even further with anime-style artwork, which is in sharp contrast to the more Western artwork of titles like ''Symphony of the Night'' and ''Aria of Sorrow'' (never mind that the original Rondo Of Blood had anime-style art and nobody complained). Some like the anime-style artwork, others think it's ruining the series' image. (''Order of Ecclesia'' drops the style.)

** And prepare to see even more brokenness in the base, thanks to ''Castlevania Judgment''. On top of being a freakin' Castlevania fighting game, its characters bear striking resemblances to ''[[Death Note]]'''s, mainly because they are being designed by Takeshi Obata, the artist of ''Death Note''.

*** The draenei retcon was either [[What Happened to the Mouse?|so petty as to be nearly irrelevant]], or [[Ruined FOREVER|completely ruined Warcraft lore]]. There is no middle ground.

*** Especially since Cataclysm, a new [[Internet Backdraft]] has emerged over the direction of the overall lore in regards to factional bias, real or perceived. In particular, a large number of Alliance-side players have complained that many of the new quests in the old-world zones come across as incomplete or rushed for the sake of Christmas release schedules, in comparison to seemingly better-written Horde-side quests in the same zones. Less nuanced debate has arisen over perceptions that Blizzard has biased the lore towards Horde-side victories with the Alliance as [[What Measure Is a Mook?|punching-bag mooks]], and has shifted up a gear with rumours of a major and cherished Alliance stronghold being destroyed by the Horde in the lead up to the ''Mists of Pandaria'' expansion. Horde-side players have countered with arguments that the Alliance held the cards in the original game.

** A large break in the World of Warcraft fanbase is actually a split between the expansions: Those who think [[WoW]] was best before the expansions, those who think [[WoW]] was best during The Burning Crusade, and those who think it's best in Wrath of the Lich King. Each group is constantly at each others' throats, and many foresee a fourth group rising up when Cataclysm comes out.

*** In fact, the announcement of ''Mists of Pandaria'' has caused an even bigger online ruckus, to the point where accusations of [[Ruined FOREVER]] are common. People either say that the Pandaren being the first neutral race will add interesting content and that Pandaria looks amazing, or that the new expansion is a kiddy [[Kung Fu Panda]] rippoff.

** The biggest break in the [[WoW]] base seems to be between casual players who don't really care about character optimization and just want to run the storylines, and hardcore players who could care less about the storyline as long as they have the best gear and are ultimately optimized killing machines.

*** And even bigger break is the argument that Heroic dungeons are too hard. Casual players cite that there's too much time required to be invested for little to no rewards, while hardcore players basically tell them "qq l2play" and to just do regular dungeons.

** Cataclysm's [[PvP]] is also spawning another "Casual vs. Hardcore" argument. Currently, battle grounds, which are battles that go anywhere from 10v10 (Warsong Gulch) to 40v40 (Alterac Valley) only reward two-season-old gear, two pieces of current season gear, and no weapons. In order to get the newest loot and weapons, you have to play in the Arenas, which are 2v2, 3v3 or 5v5 fights with no goal other than "kill the other team" and earn a specific "rating" by winning more than you lose. This is, of course, extremely competitive and arguably much harder than battlegrounds. Cataclysm will reward the best [[PvP]] loot and weapons from Battlegrounds, meaning Arenas will become entirely optional. This has spawned a serious debate among [[PvP]] players, with one side arguing that Arena isn't true [[PvP]] and welcomes the change, while the other side deems battlegrounds too easy and thinks that the best gear should come from Arena.

** "Class X is imba/needs a buff", especially pre-''TBC'' Shaman vs. Paladin. Back in the day, you could go to any class forum and see a thread discussing whether or not a class needs a patch to balance them, whether or not said patch completely broke the balance or not, whether or not shamans are the most absurdly powerful class in any game ever - or whether or not Paladins are actually much superior, whether or not making both classes available to both factions is a good idea to balancing both factions or completely ruins the uniqueness, whether or not rogues and/or hunters and/or warlocks (and/or any other class really) are way too strong/weak, whether or not Blood Elves should get the warrior class like everyone else, whether or not gnomes should get priests, whether or not the pre-''TBC'' Fear Ward available for Dwarf Priests defeats the entire point of raid encounters (Blizzard stopped giving Fear to bosses in the expansions) - or really ANYTHING!

* As one of the older MMORPGs around today, ''[[EverQuest]]'' is full of this kind of stuff. In the early days, EQ 1 was very newbie-unfriendly. No tutorials, no easy armor quests, and if you wanted to run from one end of the continent to the other, you had to... well, run from one end of the continent to the other. And if you wanted to take a boat to the other continent, you ''waited for the boat''. In short, the game was [[Nintendo Hard]] and everyone hated it. Over the years, the game has been made easier in the lower levels, and now you can get gear for your level 10 character that's better than the gear you had to do quests to get for your level 40 character. As for travelling, now there is the "Plane of Knowledge", from which you can get to pretty much any zone in the entire game that you'd want to go to. And [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|people hate this too]].

** Oh, lawdy, GW has tons of cracks. Now with the PvE update split, it's not "They're nerfing us because of PvP!", it's "Why does PvP get all the updates?" And then there's incredible contention over which campaign is best - there're the Proph purists (usually the "let's-lynch-Izzy" crowd), the rare Factions fan, and the Proph-is-slow-let's-go-play-Nightfall people (usually the "shut up about the skill updates, let's enjoy the game and leave A Net alone" crowd). Then there's the horrific debate over PvP skills and consumables ("They broke the game!" "No they just made it more fun!" "Dude guys chill!" "Ur mom!"). Lastly, though this isn't so pronounced, there's the huge gap between the overly vocal, Izzy-fandom, HM- or Guild Battle-elitist (depending on PvE or PvP), PvX-despising, title-fandom, A Net-loathing (or loving, in a few rare cases), anti-Eot N, GW 2-skeptical, Proph-addicted, (sometimes hypocritical) guildie-group-only, "GW is dying!" doom-and-gloom Guild Wars Guru types and the silent, Izzy-tolerating, PvE- or Arena/AB/HA-enjoying (though sometimes elitist, especially in HA), meta-following, title-greedy, A Net-ambivalent (or accepting), pro-Eot N, GW 2-excited (or skeptical), NF-loving, PU Gging or H/Hing, "GW is fine but they just nerfed my build!" average Joe players.

* ''[[EVE Online]]'' is notorious for whipping up epic whine-fests after every patch or content upgrade. Most notorious was the 'Speed Nerf' added in December 2008, which, depending on who you ask, either eliminated small-gang PvP in favor of server melting 'blob vs. blob' combat, or else saved the entire game from a Failure Cascade. Which camp you're in seems to depend on whether or not you have a billion or more tied up in your super fast fandom and implants to make it ''Gofasta'', or whether or not you are Caldari.

** Arguments over Lyra having replaced Kris in the ''Gold'' and ''Silver'' remakes, ''HeartGold'' and ''SoulSilver''.

** The overlap between Pokémon fans and [[Furry Fandom|furries]] is causing a growing divide in itself.

** Pick a Pokémon sidegame. Any Pokémon sidegame, but especially any that was made after the 90s.

** We might have one brewing between people who'd like to see ''some'' sort of noticeably distinct change to the plot mechanism and/or battle mechanics (it doesn't help that Masuda said that he thinks that sufficiently new ideas ought to go in a completely distinct series) and those who think you shouldn't fix what isn't broken. Suffice to say that in the former camp, the keeping-to-the-old looks like embracing weardown from age...

* ''[[Silent Hill]]'' seems to suffer another fracture in its base with every sequel. Although ''Silent Hill 2'' garnered critical and fan acclaim, ''Silent Hill 3'' was immediately hated by a subset of fans and declared a [[Jump the Shark|shark jumping]] moment, due partly to all the [[Epileptic Trees]] its storyline [[Jossed]]. Then ''Silent Hill 4'' came out and it almost instantly became [[The Scrappy]] of the series, although [[Critical Backlash]] set in and a number of fans began to complain that the fans complaining were only complaining because it's a [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|different experience]]. Once Konami exported the series to outside development teams, starting with ''Silent Hill Origins'' and moving on to ''Silent Hill Homecoming'', the fanbase split again, between fans saying that the latest games have lost the atmosphere and rely on formula, and other fans saying that the fans complaining are culturally biased against the western developers and that the formula is just Silent Hill's style.

** The Silent Hill fandom is basically divided into two camps: those who embrace the old games and hate the new ones, and those who like the new ones, but must encourage you to like them in ''their own'' way. There are some fans who fall into a smaller third group, who prefer individual games rather than judging the entire series in exactly one way, but those are the major two groups present in the fandom, from what I've seen. If you like the newer games, you're a traitor to the old fans. If you like the newer games, you're still not in the clear. Apparently, it's not enough to compliment the new games. You have to compliment them IN THE RIGHT WAY (meaning to idolize whatever game that person adores and ignore the others, or worse; i.e. bash them).

** On a similar topic to the above, don't mention the possibility that Angela was raped. Ever. You'll get jumped by veteran forum members who drone on about how no hard evidence points to it, and that the dialogue that confirms this was altered from the original Japanese script.

** Also, don't even discuss the overall quality of ''Silent Hill 3''. There is no winning the debate when the other party won't shut up about how ''Silent Hill 1'' didn't need a direct sequel, writing ''3'' off as entirely unnecessary. The only thing that isn't up for debate is that ''3'' refined the series control scheme, making it the best and most fluid of the older games.

* ''[[Counter-Strike]]'' has a rather fractured fanbase [[Unpleasable Fanbase|that is impossible to please]]. There are those who think that Beta 7, 1.3 and 1.5 were the best. That's not counting Condition Zero which is almost identical to 1.6. But just as things were starting to settle down, the Source re-make comes out and further splits the community, mainly between the competitive and more casual players. Don't even visit the forums when an patch comes out because there WILL be something that has [[Ruined FOREVER|completely ruined the game]] according to some players.

* ''[[Kirby]]'' has a bit of a broken base concerning the quality of the newer games, starting with ''[[Kirby 64 The Crystal Shards]]''. And let's not even get started on [[Kirby of the Stars|the anime...]]

* [[Nintendo]] fans in general have broken themselves once the Wii came along. First, people want new and original games (such as ''No More Heroes'' and ''Madworld''), either no one really buys them and the fans blame everyone else for not buying the games or they find something to nit pick about the games' flaws. Then we got fans that want remakes of old classics and when they finally got one in the form of Punch Out Wii, now fans are crying that it's just a $50 NES game remake. Never a lot of request boiled down to take Wii boxing and add puzzle elements, they got more than what the asked for. The controls themselves. People wanted more classic controller/Gamecube controller support since the Wii was nothing but waggle fests. They got it and now they whine there's not enough motion controls and the purpose of the Wii is defeated. Not to mention many complaints about "waggle" are more from people unwilling to learn new controls rather than with flaws in the game's controls.

** Before that there was Gamecube. You either think that it was a wonderful but under appreciated console or it was one of Nintendo's biggest mistakes. Supporters defend by pointing out the amount of ignored good exclusives while detractors criticize how [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|different those exclusives are from their Nintendo 64 counterparts.]]

** And then there is the very classic split between the horror/undead/supernatural ''Dark Project'' faction and the mechanical/human-oriented ''Metal Age'' faction. In this latter split, you have TDP-fans who love the creepy atmosphere of the first game, the dark (pun not intended) plot, the terrifying critters and mid-to-late game levels, and think that TMA lacked atmosphere and was generally unpolished - to the point where some state that Thief II was noticeably rushed due to the then-impending demise of Looking Glass Studios. On the other hand, the Metal Agers think that the levels in TMA were better designed (with the mid game levels are amongst the best in the series), that the plot was more nuanced than the first game and featured a fantastically mad bad guy, and that the undead/creature levels took away from the pure thievery segments. At the end of the day, however, it basically boils down to one group preferring Hammer Haunts and Burricks, and the other preferring security bots and mechanical Cherubs.

* ''[[UB Funkeys]]'' is a child's game with many adult players. Amusingly, only the adults have childish arguments over the game - but boy, do they EVER. The first series was the best, the Chat Funkeys are ruining everything, how dare they add so much new furniture, every new Funkey is ruining the series forever, all the designs are either too weird or too generic, and so on and so forth. The fandom is most notably divided over the Nightmare Rift and Dream State additions; either adding alternate dimensions wherein small isolated species have developed and been contained against their will (thus explaining why we never saw them before) is a brilliant concept or a complete and total [[Ass Pull]] depending on who you're talking to. (And the voice acting is either so overdramatic it's hysterical or so badly done it's cringe inducing depending on which character and what player you're talking to.)

* ''[[.hack]]'' message boards are usually very peaceful... until you make a poll "Project .hack (The World R:1) vs. .hack Conglomerate (The World R:2)". Then BANG - flame war.

* Various aspects of ''[[Oddly-Named Sequel 2: Electric Boogaloo|358/2 Days]]'' have done this to the ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' fandom. Especially {{spoiler|Xion}}, whom you either hate to death or like her very much and think it's a pity {{spoiler|that she died.}}

* ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]]'', over whether or not the first or second game is better.

** Oh, hell. [[Lucas Arts]] may have made a "canonical" alignment and gender for Revan and Exile, but bringing the topic of either up is still a great way to get a Mythbusters-style kaboom.

* ''[[Backyard Sports]]''. There are the people who thought the games were [[Ruined FOREVER]] when the pros came in. Others thought of them as an improvement, and thought everything after online play was ended sucked. Then came the redesigning of the kids, changing to 3D, removing and adding characters...the series is left with ''no'' fanbase now.

* The ''[[Breath of Fire]]'' fandom generally got along pretty well...and then ''Dragon Quarter'' came out, with the fanbase firmly divided between those who loved it and those who hated it with the passion of a thousand suns (even refusing to acknowledge it as being in the series).

*** Seeing as pretty much most of the rumours and discussion of a possible revival of the franchise has centered around ''[[Breath of Fire]] IV'', even ''Capcom'' seems to want to stay the hell out of this.

** Rather odd...considering nowadays everyone says ''[[Breath of Fire]] IV'' killed the series and will admittedly dry-hump ''Dragon Quarter'', even though you ''still'' see the dissidents who liked IV.

** Catwoman a playable character? I thought this was a Batman game!

** Penguin not a [[Gentleman Thief]]? [[Ruined FOREVER]]!

** Harley Quinn getting [[The Other Darrin]] treatment is really the only justifiable one because her original actress voiced her in the previous game and Hamill and Conroy are returning. Interviews with Tara Strong have set some at ease however.

** And then there’s the announcement/leak {{spoiler|Robin will be a Challenge Map character. [[Sarcasm Mode|Of course it’s totally gonna based off be Burt Ward's take on Robin right?]]}}

* ''[[Blaz Blue]]'' ''Calamity Trigger'' was [[Serious Business|a serious game]], with a [[Crapsack World]], lots of [[Black and Gray Morality]], and a [[Darker and Edgier|dark, epic tone]]. It's sequel, ''Continuum Shift'', had more [[Fan Service]], more [[Crowning Moment of Funny|humor]], [[The Good, the Bad, and The Evil|genuinely good characters]], and was generally [[Lighter and Softer]]. Some believe the sudden [[Incredibly Lame Pun|shift]] for ''Continuum Shift'' meant the ''[[Blaz Blue]]'' series couldn't be taken seriously anymore and was subsequently [[Ruined FOREVER]], and some like the fact that the game has avoided the [[Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy|pitfalls]] so many [[Darker and Edgier]] games fall into.

** Also, ''[[Updated Rerelease|Continuum Shift 2]]'' is either the most balanced and polished version of the game yet, or an inferior version with a metagame that rewards you for trapping your opponent in the corner and raping them rather than pulling off a stylish combo.

** [[Chinese Girl|Lit]][[Hospital Hottie|chi]] is a [[Base Breaker]] after {{spoiler|performing a [[Face Heel Turn]] at the end of ''Continuum Shift'', especially considering the controversial elements surrounding it. Some fans say she is a tragic [[Hero Antagonist]] and [[Anti-Villain]] who was [[Forced Into Evil]] by circumstances she had no control over, and some fans say she is a [[What an Idiot!|massive idiot]] and [[Manipulative Bitch]] who made a deal with two [[Complete Monster|extremely evil people]] out of selfishness and stupidity}}.

** Even though she's [[Ensemble Darkhorse|generally well-liked]], the consensus on [[Ms. Fanservice|Mak]][[Cute Monster Girl|oto]]'s [[Stripperiffic]] new outfit when she was announced was split down the middle. Some fans said it was shameless [[Fan Service]], and other fans defended the outfit, [[Perverse Sexual Lust|for more clear reasons]].