Game Developer meet Game Player

Why is it I can play a game and instantly within an hour or so see problems with it?

I really don't understand how a game can be in development for any reasonable length of time, play tested by players, previewed by critics, and then have noticeable flaws instantly out of the gate or within the first few hours of game play. It defies comprehension and seems to me to say to the game player that the developers really couldn't care less.

My best example at the moment is with the new Wii game "Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games". It looks like it actually will be a really fun game over time. The problem is, they really screwed up some simple things.

First, they only have FOUR (yes, four) save game/data slots for tracking stats and progress in the game. For some, this may be fine, but listen, I've got 2GB of SD storage on a plug in card and more internally on this Wii of mine and I can't use it! Why do these companies, particularly with Nintendo based games, put such severe limits on save space? Why do they need this artificial limit? I've got six people in our family and sometimes a friend comes over too (yes, it is known to happen) and I've got to now figure out who gets to use the save game slots. What a let down.

Second, they don't save stats in multi-player games. What??? I thought the whole point of the Wii and to a large extent, this game, was to foster togetherness and group play. Well, guess what, if you decide to do that, you can't unlock anything and you can't save any of your records. Yeah, that's encouraging us all to play together. Way to go Sega! The best example I can give is that my wife absolutely blew away the Olympic Record in the Javelin, she got excited, wanted to see her score on the leaderboard (yes this game actually does use the online element...but more on that later), and guess what, it isn't there. It isn't saved anywhere. She crushed this event and has nothing to show for it. All they had to do is let you tie a character or Mii to a save game area so it always shows your scores and tracks them. If they couldn't do that, they could have at least just asked where to save the data each time. This is a big disappointment.

Third, why do companies insist on forcing me to watch all the cute stuff all the time. Some of the replays and medal ceremonies are cute the first couple of times but frankly, I just want to play. After the umpteenth time watching the stupid ceremony and the medal crap, I want to scream. You can click past it sort of but everything just takes too long. I want to get into event, play, and then retry, and I want to do it as fast as possible. There should be an option that says "Cute - ON/OFF" or something.

Fourth, is it too much to ask for real instructions? The number of Olympic games represented are vast in this and each game for the most part uses the controllers in a very different way except for the running events. Was it really that technically difficult to show real video examples of how the dang control scheme works? The animations and icons are about the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. Also, apparently, the developers don't know the difference between horizontal and vertical either.

Finally, the whole leaderboard scheme, while welcome, is badly managed. Don't get me wrong, I'm so very thankful for a game that finally actually uses the internet connection. Even the vaunted and greatly anticipated Super Mario Galaxy that is soon to be released doesn't use it (I think...) so it is nice that the internet connection isn't totally wasted. But why can't I scroll the whole list? Does it really take that much memory? Why can't it auto-update? They also blew it with how they track the scores here. I can't post anything if I'm playing a multi-player game and it would be nice to know just a little bit more about the scores such as when they were posted and from where. Why can't I see the online records while actually playing an event either? Was that so difficult? Oh, and did I mention you can only have FOUR names tied to the Wii in this game?? Oh yeah, I did didn't I. It was also disappointing that you can't play a friend online either.

With that said, I still like the game. I just can't understand why they didn't perfect it. I've only played for a few hours and if I can pry the controllers away from my kids, I'll actually try it again soon. I think it'll offer a lot of game play value. It's the first game so far that made me think that I didn't make a mistake buying the Wii. Hopefully Galaxies, releasing next week, will further convince me of the same.

Oh one last thing. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking the Wii is cheap. Sure, the console is only $250 but don't forget, you need to buy at least one more Wii Remote and Nunchuck for $50. On top of that, if you really want to play four players at a time, plunk down another $100 for two more Remotes and Nunchuks. If you don't have a GameCube, you'll need a Classic Controller for $20 too. Grand Total for Wii = $420!! You haven't even bought a game yet.

Sure, you can spend that on the other systems too and more for controllers but guess what, I can play online with them too and make the person I'm playing with buy their own dang controller. I sure hope they work out some way to make online play really click with the Wii and soon. How else am I suppose to crush my friends and family from far away?