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[carbonbased]

I never played the original on Saturn, but I am EXTREMELY tempted to pay the insane price for this. Gonna try the trail first to see if I really want it. I already bought Golden Axe, Super Contra, SSF2T:HDR and R-Type Dimensions 2 weeks ago, the day and day after I got my 360.

you'd have to make Golden Axe free AND reward Microsoft Points for playing it to get me to go near it.

joking aside, I too couldn't resist both R-Type Dimensions and Death Tank despite their 1200 point price tags. I beat the Dimensions demo and immediately purchased the full game. hell, I would have probably bought that one even without the redone graphics or cool filters. no buyers remorse on Death Tank (loved the demo), and I've only played random FFA games with pub leavers. once I get some GAFers to play with the game will be bliss.

I guess my point is that if the gameplay is well-refined and a compelling enough package is offered, a slight price markup is easy to ignore. Death Tank is full of intense moments and has a nice big skill ceiling, and those things more than anything will keep me coming back to a game. multiplayer with 7 other people sure doesn't hurt either. I had never even heard of the series before this was announced for XBLA.

 

[Shogmaster]

You fuckers are complaining about paying lousy $15 for the BEST MULTIPLAYER GAME EVERY INVENTED?!?!? You losers don't deserve this GOTF. That's Game of the FOREVAH bitches!!!!

 

[bigGIRLSblouse]

So before I bite on this one are people playing it online? Most XBLA games are dead right off the bat as far as online community.

 

[Cheech]

I downloaded this last night, and it is quite a bit of fun. However, I'm not paying $15 for a remake of a 25 year old DOS game. That's insane.

To answer the above poster, yes, there are a ton of people playing it online. However, you get an hour of online play free with the demo, so the REAL question is if you'll find anyone after the initial trials are downloaded. It's fun, but $15 is insane chutzpah.

 

[Shogmaster]

I downloaded this last night, and it is quite a bit of fun. However, I'm not paying $15 for a remake of a 25 year old DOS game. That's insane.

To answer the above poster, yes, there are a ton of people playing it online. However, you get an hour of online play free with the demo, so the REAL question is if you'll find anyone after the initial trials are downloaded. It's fun, but $15 is insane chutzpah.

But spending $15 on movie ticket and refreshments at your local cineplex for a movie that last 2 hours is fine, right?

You are what's wrong with gaming.

 

[teepo]

But spending $15 on movie ticket and refreshments at your local cineplex for a movie that last 2 hours is fine, right?

You are what's wrong with gaming.

i only spend around 6-7 dollars when going to the theaters and that's just for the ticket. it's only when i go to an amc theater to see a big budget film that my wallet feels raped with their 9 dollar ticket prices.

 

[Shogmaster]

i only spend around 6-7 dollars when going to the theaters and that's just for the ticket. it's only when i go to an amc theater to see a big budget film that my wallet feels raped with their 9 dollar ticket prices.

regular movie prices here in LA are $11. The fancy theaters on weekend nights = $15 for a ticket. ;_;

 

[Label]

i only spend around 6-7 dollars when going to the theaters and that's just for the ticket. it's only when i go to an amc theater to see a big budget film that my wallet feels raped with their 9 dollar ticket prices.

2 movies for $14, so thats around 4~5 hours of entertainment.

Now $15 for Death tank, which will bring countless amount of hours of fun. I myself have already had more than 5 hours of pure fun with this game!

A no-brainer which is the better deal

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Game was already getting old and starting to show flaws after 40 minutes of my 60 minute trial. For $5 this would have been a no brainer. For $10, maybe if 3-4 of my friends had bought it, I'd have jumped in. For $15, :lol .

 

[Shogmaster]

Game was already getting old and starting to show flaws after 40 minutes of my 60 minute trial. For $5 this would have been a no brainer. For $10, maybe if 3-4 of my friends had bought it, I'd have jumped in. For $15, :lol .

Show it's flaws? You must be a genius since after playing the game for 10 years, I still can't find any. (hint: all flaws are really the reason the game is so fun)

 

[Arpharmd B]

Man, I remember when 800 point games were considered alot.

If they released Rez, E4, Exit, Omega 5, Ikaruga, or any countless others that probably had a similar budget or less, if they had released them now they'd all be 15$. It's just new standard pricing.

I think it's a bigger issue, not just with this game. 400 point games are simply dead. Crazy to think stuff like the original Geometry Wars was 400 points. Back in 07 you could get a 20$ points card and it would last you about 2 or 3 XBLA games. Now, you get one and enough points left over for a premium theme and a gamerpic.

Really makes you appreciate it when a dev comes along and releases a really, really nice game for a good price (Bionic Commando, The Maw).

I mean seriously you cannot tell me it cost more to develop this than either of those two.

-edit- one final thought. If those new Sega Classics (Sonic 3, Gunstar Heroes) come out @ 10$ the shit is going to hit the fan.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

Game was already getting old and starting to show flaws after 40 minutes of my 60 minute trial. For $5 this would have been a no brainer. For $10, maybe if 3-4 of my friends had bought it, I'd have jumped in. For $15, :lol .

Flaws? Okay...what flaws, exactly? (I'm curious about your take.) Death Tank was originally conceived as a local party game with everyone in the same room/on the same couch blowing each other up, so I can understand why someone wouldn't feel the love in online FFA online with a bunch of strangers.

DT, IMO, still succeeds primarily as a local party game...and aside from my occasional issue with the handling of bad connections with the game while online, I think the game might need to explain all of the items and techniques that players should really understand to fully enjoy the game. I can't count the number of times I've seen people avoid the plane drops (money) and/or items exposed out of the terrain (bonus items and weapons) because, I assume, they thought that they were mines or something similar to stay away from. I don't think most people understand what the curse and blessing are and how to play while affected by or facing player affected by them. Hell, most people still don't seem to understand the value of defensive items very well, such as the shield or exomites (which are thankfully more reasonable compared to the original carbomite hoarding).

Anyway, different strokes for different folks...weakling

Spoiler

j/k

. The game could do with an update to add in more training for using the other items (I guess) and some clearer explanation (some dialog boxes on the side or something) of some of the weapon controls (took me forever and a day to figure out the new missile control) and what they do.

400 point games are simply dead.

I think Community Games general pricing has pushed up the starting range of professional games available on Arcade.

 

[Seth C]

It's Deathtank. Unless they've REALLY screwed up the game, it's worth $15. Hell, what were the Saturn games that Deathtank was part of? (Or was it just one?) I think I bought them with my only intention being to play DT.

Edit: Totally missed the post spelling out which Saturn games it was. So yes, I bought Quake and Duke Nukem specifically for Deathtank. Well, Quake wasn't too bad of a game though, really.

You needed a save from Quake and Duke 3D to play Zwei, but only needed Powerslave to play the original. Still, I didn't pay $15 for Powerslave or Duke 3D, each of which included a version of this game as a bonus, so eh. One of the best multiplayer games ever and my friends and I loved it, but I'm passing for $15. Someone has to, or before we know it this shit will cost $30.

 

[Shogmaster]

You needed a save from Quake and Duke 3D to play Zwei, but only needed Powerslave to play the original. Still, I didn't pay $15 for Powerslave or Duke 3D, each of which included a version of this game as a bonus, so eh. One of the best multiplayer games ever and my friends and I loved it, but I'm passing for $15. Someone has to, or before we know it this shit will cost $30.

Genius logic, genius. One of the best MP games and I love it but I'm going to make a symbolic gesture that no one will ever notice with it! Ooooooooookay.

 

[Cheech]

You are what's wrong with gaming.

Sorry, but after reading the rest of this thread and noticing you're the only one defending this stupid price, I would say you could take your quote and apply it to yourself.

 

[Liberty4all]

I'm really suprised they put the game at 15 dollars. Especially when you have some ridiculously amazing games coming out on the PSN at a lower price point.

With that said when my 360 gets back from the repair centre this will be purchased instantly. I just think though it was a really fucking stupid move to price a game that is heavily dependant on community so high that it cuts out a huge portion of that community.

 

[camineet]

I bought it, telling myself, this is the last XBLA I'll buy for 6 months at least. This month was a total splurge, buying $700 worth of stuff including the console itself. Next month is moving to Florida month so I'll need every penny for that. I've got all the games I'm gonna get until Christmas time at the soonest. I bought 8 Xbox 360 games and 6 XBLA games with Death Tank being the last. I never got to play the original on Saturn but I heard there's a version of it to unlock in this XBLA version. So far it's pretty fun. I totally suck at it but this is a kind of game I could really get into.

 

[Jonnyboy117]

I'm sure you can play Scorched Earth online for free somewhere. And QBASIC used to be bundled with Gorilla (both free). I don't understand the fuss over this Death Tank thing... sounds like it must have been important in the Saturn days for some reason. Meh.

 

[Shogmaster]

Sorry, but after reading the rest of this thread and noticing you're the only one defending this stupid price, I would say you could take your quote and apply it to yourself.

If you actually fucking think GAF collective's wacked out viewpoints represents the norm, go shoot yourself now.

 

[Shig]

If you actually fucking think GAF collective's wacked out viewpoints represents the norm, go shoot yourself now.

Uh, if anything, a community of gaming enthusiasts is going to be more likely to buy something at a premium than the average person, not less.

I know Braid had plenty of whiners too, but once everyone actually played it, that attitude turned around quickly and the thread ballooned with people singing its praises and saying how wrong they were. I'm not seeing a whole lot of converts in this thread.

And like I said earlier, whether or not Braid was a success, it would still deliver the same experience no matter what. This game, on the other hand, is based entirely on multiplayer, if the community isn't there, it's a shell of a game. It's in the best interest to price something like that at a point that's going to ensure a long shelf-life of impulse purchases. Sorry, but $15 is not an impulse purchase price for XBLA games.

Good luck finding games at non-peak hours in a few month's time, if that.

 

[watership]

I'm sure you can play Scorched Earth online for free somewhere. And QBASIC used to be bundled with Gorilla (both free). I don't understand the fuss over this Death Tank thing... sounds like it must have been important in the Saturn days for some reason. Meh.

That doesn't make much sense. People are probably still playing Quake and Rise of the Triad somewhere out there. Those old games don't invalidate Killzone 2 or Halo ODST.

 

[watership]

Good luck finding games at non-peak hours in a few month's time, if that.

The game is going to be like Castle Crashers in terms of party games with friends on the same couch. Peak hours are when ever you have friends over.

 

[Shogmaster]

Uh, if anything, a community of gaming enthusiasts is going to be more likely to buy something at a premium than the average person, not less.

Which is why I said he is what's wrong with gaming today. Too many cheap bitches that think they deserve games for free. People work on that shit. The fucking industry needs to be sustained, not drained by leeches. It's $15. It's not $30, like most portable games these days. It's a fucking bargain, specially give the game's quality. They did this one right. It oozes just as much quality as fun.

 

[SapientWolf]

Sorry, but after reading the rest of this thread and noticing you're the only one defending this stupid price, I would say you could take your quote and apply it to yourself.

I mentioned earlier in the thread that I would welcome more $15 XBLA games if they were truly worth the $15. I bought Braid at that price and it was worth every cent.

If you have to pass on great downloadable gaming experiences due to a $5 difference then I feel kind of bad for you. It might be time to consider making a budget. Maybe you can save money by cutting your own hair or eating out less.

 

[Len Dontree]

regular movie prices here in LA are $11. The fancy theaters on weekend nights = $15 for a ticket. ;_;

Have you checked out the Vista?

 

[FutureZombie]

Death Tank: The Tank That Eats People

 

[epmode]

I'm sure you can play Scorched Earth online for free somewhere. And QBASIC used to be bundled with Gorilla (both free). I don't understand the fuss over this Death Tank thing... sounds like it must have been important in the Saturn days for some reason. Meh.

It's posts like this that make me want to kill the internet.

Did you even bother to look at a video before puking all over GAF?

 

[FightyF]

I'm sure you can play Scorched Earth online for free somewhere. And QBASIC used to be bundled with Gorilla (both free). I don't understand the fuss over this Death Tank thing... sounds like it must have been important in the Saturn days for some reason. Meh.

I propose this for "Dumbest Post on GAF for the Year 2009".

Anyways to buy this game I had to skip out on Flower. Looks like I made the right choice.

 

[watership]

I played the game to -well... to death tonight. Mostly open mutliplayer with randoms online. Lots of fun espeically with a full match and most people I played with were very vocal which was simplly amazing.

Local multiplayer with friends is still perfered though. The matches were super quick that way and if anyone took too much time chosing weapson we'd yell at them. Online random matches were occasionally frustrating with some people just taking forever to pick weapons. Or two idiots that were still alive obviously attempting to get acheivements by doing revenge killing that took 4 mins while the rest of us screaming at them. I am impatient it seems.

One thing to avoid is getting into online matches with 3-4 players who are obviously on the same xbox. 9 out of 10 times I had the whole fucking team just come at me match after match, ignoring each other. Hate. See on a couch if anyone did that you could just punch them in the face.

The real joy of this game comes when the tables are turned on winners when matches are randomly forced rules with All Lasers and Jump jets, or ALL NUKES AND FORCE SHIELDS. I'm not an apologist, this game is worth 15 dollars.

 

[Wehrwolf]

So, noticed "Download Content" on the menu... Any word what the DLC for it will be?

 

[Gowans]

Post the makes me want to buy the game

After SF4, DoW II and LTOD I might use my last 20mins of trial up and be very tempted.

 

[mujun]

i love this. someone explain to me how the targetting computer isn't busted though. seems that if you get a couple of wins and then stock up on it + high damage weapon then you are going to keep on winning..

 

[Wehrwolf]

i love this. someone explain to me how the targetting computer isn't busted though. seems that if you get a couple of wins and then stock up on it + high damage weapon then you are going to keep on winning..

It probably is overpowered against computer opponents, but in multiplayer you end up having to spend a decent amount of effort disguising your shots once your opponents are used to the idea of the targeting computer (for example, by using your targetting computer but purposely aiming a little off of where you intend to shoot, turning off the targetting and making your final adjustment). However, if lots of targetting computers are being used, eventually others usually start using jump jets or fuel to just move out of the way quicker.

 

[Another_visitor]

Sorry, but after reading the rest of this thread and noticing you're the only one defending this stupid price, I would say you could take your quote and apply it to yourself.

Except you didn't read the rest of the thread & there are others defending this fair price. Other than that, your argument is flawless.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

i love this. someone explain to me how the targetting computer isn't busted though. seems that if you get a couple of wins and then stock up on it + high damage weapon then you are going to keep on winning..

Well, the biggest strength of the targeting computer is also its biggest weakness. All people have to do is, like Wehrwolf said, simply use someone else's use of the item against them by simply moving out of the way (since you do see exactly where they're aiming)...especially if you've invested in, at least, one super fuel buy (which is inexpensive) or jump jets. Timing and having the mobility to effectively move out of the way of a taken shot is the key.

And to add to the overblown price argument, something is worth what it is worth to the buyer...like anything for purchase anywhere. Not everyone values everything equally...duh. I think DT is worth the current price, but I also think it would be better served with a larger active online community (it needs one right now in ranked play) due to having a price that most people wouldn't feel psychologically trips past the 'game is expensive now'-800 pt/$10 mark. Who knows...maybe it will grow just fine at the current price...

 

[SickBoy]

BTW, regarding the price, I think it's pretty clear the 1200-point price probably hurt sales: No. 5 in its week of release (probably the first game with some credibility that hasn't launched at No. 1 in some time). Worms was No. 3.

http://majornelson.com/archive/2009/02/24/live-activity-for-week-of-february-16th.aspx

 

[FightyF]

BTW, regarding the price, I think it's pretty clear the 1200-point price probably hurt sales: No. 5 in its week of release (probably the first game with some credibility that hasn't launched at No. 1 in some time). Worms was No. 3.

http://majornelson.com/archive/2009/02/24/live-activity-for-week-of-february-16th.aspx

That's what I attribute as the cause of the lower than typical placement, but at the same time, it may have been the more profitable choice. IIRC games like Roogoo and Space Giraffe also had average debuts.

 

[TheExodu5]

regular movie prices here in LA are $11. The fancy theaters on weekend nights = $15 for a ticket. ;_;

In Ottawa, fancy theater is $9.95, tax-in. On Tuesdays, fancy theater is $4. They used to charge $14 normally, and $8 on Tuesday, but they've recently backed their prices way down and they get a ton of business.

 

[dreamcastmaster]

BTW, regarding the price, I think it's pretty clear the 1200-point price probably hurt sales: No. 5 in its week of release (probably the first game with some credibility that hasn't launched at No. 1 in some time). Worms was No. 3.

http://majornelson.com/archive/2009/02/24/live-activity-for-week-of-february-16th.aspx

It might not so much be the price as the frequency of games appearing at this price point. It's already been noticed that games on XBLA that have a large forum prelaunch hype are almost now guaranteed to be 1200 points.
Now if you've brought R Type and other games at that price recently you'll start to consider how much they are costing you collectively.

This isn't an argument of the value or quality of the game, simply that those big ticket XBLA games start to add up. Especially when the core gamer audience is being targetted with this price. They start to become considered purchases, "Am I going to get my moneys worth out of this game?".

 

[C4Lukins]

I still need to try out the demo, but for a 1200 point game this seems like a tough sale from the videos I have watched and the comments out there. I am not at all adverse to the 15 dollar XBLA game, but it needs to be a Castle Crashers or Braid as far as production value to justify it.

 

[SickBoy]

The new world of XBLA pricing is a problem for me. I probably would buy the super-low-production-value-feels-like-an-XNA-game Funtown Mahjong for 400 points. For 800 it's a ripoff.

It takes a pretty big deal for me to pay 1200 points. I might finally buy Braid this week since it's on sale.

But in the grand scheme of things, maybe it's a better business decision and they're better off releasing high and discounting later (although I wonder if that's a strategy that has any value for games that stumble out of the gate). It'll be interesting to see how Braid's sales look this week.

 

[dreamcastmaster]

The new world of XBLA pricing is a problem for me. I probably would buy the super-low-production-value-feels-like-an-XNA-game Funtown Mahjong for 400 points. For 800 it's a ripoff.

Mahjong is not really a title that's aimed at westerners, just like the Shotest Shogi game it's more for the Asian market as they are very popular games there. I think that it's a standard that all XBLA games are localised so it's no problem to sell them in the west for additional sales.

Is there any way we can check Japan XBLA sales to prove/disprove my theory?

 

[MightyKAC]

The new world of XBLA pricing is a problem for me. I probably would buy the super-low-production-value-feels-like-an-XNA-game Funtown Mahjong for 400 points. For 800 it's a ripoff.

It takes a pretty big deal for me to pay 1200 points. I might finally buy Braid this week since it's on sale.

You know what I hope this economy does? I hope it makes more people think the way you do. Now maybe Deathtank is worth 1200 points and maybe its not, but I honestly think its better when the consumer has and exercises his say in whats worth 1200 msp or dollars or fucking Thai Baht and NOT the seller. And if enough people say it then MAYBE the companies that want our money so much might listen.

This whole "so what if 1200 is the new 800" mentality is why game companies think we are such sheep as it stands now.

 

[SickBoy]

Mahjong is not really a title that's aimed at westerners, just like the Shotest Shogi game it's more for the Asian market as they are very popular games there. I think that it's a standard that all XBLA games are localised so it's no problem to sell them in the west for additional sales.

I'm not sure 800 points isn't out of line for Asia, either. The production value is incredibly low and it feels like a decent XNA game, not a release-calibre XBLA game.

 

[watership]

It looks like the pricing killed this game. It's my most played arcade game in a few months, yet matchmaking in ranked seems completely empty. Having friends over is just an absolutely blast and its still very much worth it to me, but I can't get other 360 friends to buy it themselves. I really hopped it would take off, dispite the price, but I guess people can't get past it.

 

[binary]

When I heard Death Tank was $15 I almost didn't download it at all. But when saw on the board that the game had 60 minutes of online play with the trial version I said what the heck...I'll give it a chance. I'm glad I did because it's all I've been playing today. I can see myself coming back to this game a lot so to me it was worth the $15 dollars. 60 minutes of online play for a trial game is the best idea ever. More devs should do it.

 

[Toothpick]

So yesterday I figured I'd give the trial a chance and loved the game. Bought the full version, though I think the 1200 MSP is a stupid price. I wish this game had as much hype as something like Braid or Castle Crashers. Hopefully some free DLC or 'Deal of the Week' event shines some light on it. I think its 2 weeks since launch, online multiplayer is alright, but ranked matches are pretty empty most of the time. No one on my list has it.. Seems like a fun party game to introduce to friends when they come over.

This reminds me a ton of Scorched Earth which I played to death as a kid. Seems like it would be an obvious buy with just 3 problems...

1 - I've got no online friends who'd be willing to buy this. I had enough truoble getting one friend to buy Worms, and that cost only 5 dollars.
2 - It's an XBLA game. That means the multiplayer population will most likely be non-existant in a week or so.
3 - I've got no local friends who like these type of games.

Bleh!

this.

 

[Sectus]

Well, I ended up buying the game afterall. I managed to convince 2 friends to get it as well so hopefully I'll be able to have some fun multiplayer matches with them.

I did try some random online matches with the game and there's unfortuantely not many people playing. Ranked matches are basically stranded (is there any difference between player and ranked matches anyway?). FFA player matches were easy to get into, but team matches are almost impossible to get to.

I've got a bad feeling it'll be impossible to find random people to play with in a month or two.

By the way, does anyone know if it's possible to manually access the random replays which are played in the main menu?

 

[Beer Monkey]

Eight of my friends bought this game, probably nine tomorrow. You guys suck at having real gamer friends. :lol

 

[Mama Robotnik]

Sorry for the Megabump, but I felt it was a good reason:

Over the last month, Death Tank has had a massive free update, with a load of new weapons (Orbital cannon!), tools and tanks. There is possibly some new graphical trickery at work too. I'm happy, and feel it changes the game from remake to full-on sequel.

There doesn't appear to have been any publicity for this, I only found out indirectly. Shame, its a marvellous game.