Covered #12: Co-op Elation

[ApocalypseCow]

QTE's are dreadful, I can't think of a worse way to interact with a game than an on screen prompt that says "Press X now to win" and if you don't it's game over. Games should be better than that.

QTE's are dreadful, I can't think of a worse way to interact with a game than an on screen prompt that says "Press X now to win" and if you don't it's game over. Games should be better than that.

See, I'm inclined to agree, but I can see both sides of that argument. At their very worst, they're completely and utterly shit; Resident Evil falls into that bracket. At their best, they can enhance what would otherwise be a standard cut-scene, giving the game a more 'epic' feel to it; the God of War series does that very well.

I think, done right and used tastefully, QTE's have their place. However, Resident Evil's QTE's really are fucking diabolical and spoil the game.

[ApocalypseCow]

Epic? Yea, I think that's the problem, they're used by game designers who want to be movie directors. In my experience this kind of 'interactive cutscenes' lose me - all this amazing epic shit going on with my character and I miss it all because I have to stare at the same 30 pixels of screen waiting for the next button prompt to appear or else I'll die. nah, I don't think I'll ever be a fan of the QTE I'm afraid.

I still think you all just sucked at the game . The qte's in resident evil work perfectly and do exactly what you describe nighteyes. Take a normal cut-scene and make it interactive.

30 attempts! You've got hands right? You're not trying to operate the controller with some stumps and a complex system of levers and pulleys?

If I remember correctly there are only two variation of button combination that come up, even if you've got the slowest hands in the world surely memory would kick in before the 30th attempt? You can even press the wrong button and still get a pass if you press the right button before time runs out.

What difficulty were you playing on?

Yes, 30 attempts was a slight exaggeration (are you never guilty of doing this to make a point?)
bearing in mind with RE4 this is ONLINE co-op and there is lag at times.....plus you're talking about 2 people having to input multiple buttons at precise moments (I swear the window of opportunity was tiny on that game)

At the end of the day, I fucking hate QTE's - it's not my idea of fun to be punished for not paying attention in a cut scene and missing a button press or 20.
at least Ninja blade got it right, with the warning before each button press.

I just don't see the point....you're not changing the outcome at the scene, your button presses don't sway the action, they just let you watch more and progress.....completely.fucking.pointless.

But anyway, this thread is veering dangerously off course.....I've nothing more to say on the matter.

I still think you all just sucked at the game . The qte's in resident evil work perfectly and do exactly what you describe nighteyes. Take a normal cut-scene and make it interactive.

No they don't, they're ill-timed, and the time window for hitting the button is too short. At least that's what I found when playing online co-op, lag my have been an issue with that one.

[Noir]

The timing window changed depending on the difficulty you were playing on.

Normal (or whatever its equivalent is).

The timing window changed depending on the difficulty you were playing on.

Such a naff thing to do! we played on hard.....and I get punished for not having a 13 year old (on sunny D's) reaction times?! crazy!

[Born2beSlicker]

Dude, the game's QTEs aren't hard. The same button combos kept coming up so you knew what to expect.

[Pug]

I've fond memories of playing co-op with mates. My fave was Syndicate Wars.
Also we used to spend ages taking it in turns playing fighting games, MK, Tekken, Killer Instinct (personal fave), etc.
International Superstar Soccer(now PES) was awesome too back in the day.

Don't do it at all now, I'm not even an avid online gamer either. Don't know why I keep up the subscription, probably coz I can.

Am I right in saying M$ has just got the patent on hot-joining in online co-op games?
Thought I read it somewhere yesterday.

[Noir]

Hot-joining in squad based action games specifically I believe. It was patented for/around Brute Force.

[Pug]

Ah yes, correctamondo.

[Colonel Red]

Dude, the game's QTEs aren't hard. The same button combos kept coming up so you knew what to expect.

They do change to catch you out, althought they're generally one of two buttons or combinations.

I can normally put up with QTEs, but only if they're a single-player experience. I can't recall any other instances where two people need to work together completing the same QTE. It resulted in me missing out on S grades several times, even though I was playing well enough. My mate's terrible QTE skills were costing me.

I appreciate that you're supposed to be working together, but where the rest of the game let each player make up for the other's weaknesses (protect them, heal them, leave them out of the way), the QTEs in RE5 offer no such luxury. You are dead, instantly, after one mistake that you did not make. The game goes from a feeling of "thanks for saving me" to "thank you for not killing me". What's fun about that as a co-operative experience?

[Janus]

I hate QTE events with a passion. They're just bloody cheap and rubbish. And if you get them wrong you have to put up with repetitive sounds, visuals and sometimes even whole cut scenes. Cheap.

As for co-op, it's great. Playing with mates is always better, and I've got loads of great memories of competitive co-operative play. Most recently Rocket Races on Halo 3 - endlessly hilarious.