Criteria that a game must meet before you buy them?

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giantqtipz

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so i've just set up some ground rules before i purchase a game. ive been on the fence a lot lately about purchasing recent titles like crysis 2 and marvel vs capcom 3. after a while, it does get a bit annoying; so yesterday i disciplined myself by creating rules. im a disciplined gamer bitch! also it helps save me money which is always a plus.

so if there is a game that I am interested in, i will purchase the game on release day as long as it meets these criteria:

1) I must be interested in them (of course)
2) Reviews from one of these three sites must be 9.0 or above (Gametrailers, gamespot and IGN).

-If the game did not a get 9.0 in any one of the sites mentioned, then NO BUY.

- If criterion #2 is met:
3) If the game is purely SP, it must be lengthy.
4) If the game has both SP and MP components, then either the MP must last long with a huge community and not bland and unoriginal; or both SP and MP must be worthwhile.

* For #3 and #4, i usually go to the forums to see what people think of the MP or SP in general.

So after establishing these criteria, I decided not to buy crysis 2 because people say the MP it is weak, although the SP is fun (i also watched a couple of gameplay videos where people just run past enemies and clear stages using the cloaking module without getting into battle with the enemies).

but ill buy it when it is cheaper $19.99 :p

Also I sold my Dead Space 2 collectors edition set for the xbox 360 yesterday (which I purchased for $20 after amazon gift cards on release day), because most people say that the MP gets boring eventually. it was still new and unopened, but i figured; ehh ill just buy the regular edition and play it once and get over it

so what are your ground rules?

*sorry for typos and grammatical mistakes im on mobile and im an immigrant too
 
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I think I'm old enough to know pretty much whether or not I will like a game enough to buy it. I don't need a review to make my mind up for me. If it's something I'm not sure about, I rent the game or try the demo before buying. I very rarely buy anything, let alone on Day 1, because I have Gamefly and rent whatever I want to play.

That being said, the titles that I do buy are games that I know I will still be playing in a month or longer. Anything that I can rent through gamefly and be done with in a week isn't worth more than the monthly fee for gamefly.
 
I usually read reviews before I purchase a game unless it's from a series I really love such as Final Fantasy, Gears of War, and a few others. Role-playing games, for example, are an exception somewhat to the point rule for me. Anything 6.5-7.0+ is fine as reviewers tend to not like RPGs much, JRPGs especially. Halo ODST got such amazing reviews and I thought it to be a crappy game aside from the audio logs and the Halo 3 multiplayer.

Like you, I also purchased Dead Space 2. I LOVED the first one and recommended it to my friends who ended up loving it as well. Last time I touched it? Mid-February. Do I regret it? Not really. I wouldn't mind selling it now and getting it again later though. Some games are worth playing but can be put off.
 
The games that I want to play the most are the ones that I buy day 1 (or around release). I also tend to buy games that I want to support the most around release (e.g. franchises I like, or games that I don't think will sell well).
 
Buzz has to be good and word of mouth on forums both have to be good for me to get it. I also have to be interested in it. I pretty much buy every JRPG that comes out. The only ones I haven't bought in the last year were Glory of Hercles, Infinite Space, and Sands of Destruction.

I figure if I don't like it or beat it fast, I can sell it, or at worst, lose $5-10 on it, or in rare cases, make money on it like Radiant Historia.
 
Actually buying games based off of reviews is the worst idea IMO. Video Gaming Journalism isn't real, it's just press releases for those with big pockets. Reason why a Bioware game will never score lower than a 8, even if it sucks on the big sites.
 
I just make sure that the game is lengthy if I am going to throw 60 bucks for it, I was going to pick up Crysis 2, but I heard the online community for it is really weak, and once I complete a single player campaign in a FPS game, I will probably never go back to it
 
[quote name='Cheddahz']I just make sure that the game is lengthy if I am going to throw 60 bucks for it, I was going to pick up Crysis 2, but I heard the online community for it is really weak, and once I complete a single player campaign in a FPS game, I will probably never go back to it[/QUOTE]

You could always sell it then.
 
Has to be a game I consider an A+ type game in a genre I love. If it's not a developer or series I'm familiar with then I'll look at reviews.

I'm only playing 5-7 games a year the past few years so I just don't have the time to bother with anything other than the cream of the crop in genre's I enjoy.

I mainly play FPS and WRPG so I'm mainly just picking up things like Halo, Call of Duty, Gears of War, Mass Effect, the Bethesda games etc.

I'll go outside those genres and play some other stuff like Assassin's Creed 2, Batman Arkham Asylum etc. to mix it up some times.


Regarding length and other factors, those play into whether to buy it new or wait for a price drop or to get it on Goozex. But otherwise I don't care much about length. Quality over quantity.
 
[quote name='ihadFG']You could always sell it then.[/QUOTE]

True, but it seems like Crysis 2 is probably going go drop down in price quickly, so I'll wait
 
for me to buy a game that is 20+ dollars, it must have a metacritic score of 85 or higher,, a campaign that at least 15 hours or longer with replayability, or a fun multiplayer that isnt broken in anyway, and it has a good community.
 
I base gaming purchases like this...

It starts with seeing trailer(s) to gain my interest.

History is another factor. If it is a franchise I liked, I will jump so I see out the story. New IPs I wait a couple days to hear word of mouth like on this site for instance to see what people think.

Personally, I don't care how long a game is as long as the game is memorable and has a good story. That is the big selling feature for me.
 
[quote name='KingBroly']#1 - Do I think I will enjoy this product and/or service?

The only criteria that matters.[/QUOTE]

Ah hell, you beat me to it.
 
[quote name='TheLongshot']So, price isn't a deciding factor for many?

I have such a backlog of games that the game has to be a pretty good value for me to buy.[/QUOTE]

If I already have stuff to play and I know I won't get to whatever game for awhile I simply don't buy it. It's not like the game is going to get more expensive over time. Plus I'm not one for creating a backlog.
 
[quote name='whoknows']If I already have stuff to play and I know I won't get to whatever game for awhile I simply don't buy it. It's not like the game is going to get more expensive over time. Plus I'm not one for creating a backlog.[/QUOTE]

You already have too many kinect games to play.
 
[quote name='distgfx']You already have too many kinect games to play.[/QUOTE]

That's true.

Good thing I bought 4 Kinects so I can play more than one at a time.
 
[quote name='whoknows']If I already have stuff to play and I know I won't get to whatever game for awhile I simply don't buy it. It's not like the game is going to get more expensive over time. Plus I'm not one for creating a backlog.[/QUOTE]

Same. I have no backlog (never more than 1 or 2 games waiting to be played).

With that and only playing a handful of games a year, price isn't much of an issue. The games I really want to play I'll buy at launch. The others I'll wait for Goozex or buy when they're cheap and I want something new to play.

But honestly, with my declining interest in gaming these days I more or less use the rule that if I don't feel it's worth paying $40-60 for it's probably not worth my time.

Doesn't mean I pay that much for everything as some drop by the time I finish the games I was playing when they came out. Just that if it's not something I was at least tempted to buy at launch then it's probably not worth my time.
 
Honestly, the main criterion for me is whether it's part of an established series that I already like. If it's something I'm not already a fan of, it's going to have to work a lot harder to impress me, and I'm more likely to wait around for price drops if I buy it at all. So Final Fantasy XIII was a no-brainer day one purchase, while I didn't pick up Dead Space until I could get it new for $10. Now that I'm a big fan of that series, I'll likely pick up Dead Space 3 on day one.

This sounds kind of lame, but preorder bonuses and DLC influence my purchasing decisions pretty heavily as well. This month I preordered Dissidia Duodecim but skipped The 3rd Birthday. I want to play both games eventually, but I've already got a pretty hefty PSP backlog so I'm not in a rush on either of them. The difference was that Dissidia had preorder bonus DLC on Amazon and 3rd Birthday didn't. I probably would have preordered it too if it had.
 
I also don't have a backlog. I was that way in college buying a bunch of games cheap but I never got around to playing them. So this gen, I only buy 1 or 2 games (during Oct-Dec) at a time. Every game gets played. When I am done, then I look into getting another title that fits my criteria.
 
Funny. I've had a constant stream of games to play since my backlog is like 20 games deep thanks to this site. Also means I haven't bought a game in around 5 months.
 
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