marvelharvey
Member
Forget graphics, gameplay, controls, sparks, 60fps, grass and Dolby Digital, being able to pause a game is the single most important aspect and should be the no.1 consideration during development. In fact, it should be a bullet point on the back of the box... if a game pauses without any hitches, I'll buy 3 copies! Hear that developers? Test your pause buttons!
Anyway, there are a few bad apples out there that fumble in this world of 'needing to answer the phone'/'popping to the toilet'. Here are my Top 5 games that suck at pausing...
No. 5 Biohazard 4
Biohazard 4 isn't too bad at pausing, but it has some strange idiosyncrasies. You can't pause the game during the following situations...
-firing a gun
-kicking
-180º turn
-lying on the floor after being knocked down
-being hit by an arrow or Melee weapon
-jumping over a gap
None of which are a too much of a problem game play wise, which is why I've put it at no.5.
No.4: Super Mario Kart
During the opening camera flyby sequence and subsequent traffic-light-countdown, the game is unpauseable. This is the ONLY time I wish to pause the game.If I pause the moment the race starts, I miss out on the chance of turboing, a crucial help. If I pause once the race is in full swing, say on lap 3 or even after I managed a turbo start, once I return to the game from my interruption, the transition from paused>racing will take me a couple of seconds to get back in the groove, and since the tracks are quite small and narrow in this version, I usually crash and have to restart. Thankfully, it isn't such a problem in the later games as the tracks are wider are less convoluted.
No.3: Forza 2
In a similar vain to Mario Kart, this suffers from being unable to pause the game during the opening race countdown PLUS the first 2 seconds of the race. I mean, WHY? Why is paused disabled for the first 2 seconds of a race? Not only that, but on the screen just before the race, if you view the 'difficulty setting screen' or try to hire a driver, a loading screen pops up. WHY? What on earth are you loading when I turn off traction control? OK, the last part isn't a pausing gripe, it's a menu one, but I wanted to rant about it anyway.
No.2: Goldeneye
Pressing 'start' doesn't pause the game, but instead roots you to the spot and the game/AI continues to run while Bond brings his left arm up to check his watch (which eventually pauses the game). This isn't too noticeable on the easier difficulty levels but on hardest setting, pausing in a firefight can mean failing the level, as you can be shot once or even twice during the 'pause transition' and lose half your health!!
No.1: Xenon 2
Now this is going back in time somewhat, 1989 to be precise. Anyway, I'm not sure about the Amiga version, but on the ST one, it was IMPOSSIBLE to pause the game at anytime. I remember the arguments I'd have with my parents when they called me downstairs for dinner "I'll be there in 3 mins" I'd say "I've almost finished level 5" to which their response was to come running upstairs and instantly turn my machine off, losing not only my game progress but any love I had for them!
And so ends my game-pausing headacheing nightmares of sorrow. Please tell me yours!
Anyway, there are a few bad apples out there that fumble in this world of 'needing to answer the phone'/'popping to the toilet'. Here are my Top 5 games that suck at pausing...
No. 5 Biohazard 4
Biohazard 4 isn't too bad at pausing, but it has some strange idiosyncrasies. You can't pause the game during the following situations...
-firing a gun
-kicking
-180º turn
-lying on the floor after being knocked down
-being hit by an arrow or Melee weapon
-jumping over a gap
None of which are a too much of a problem game play wise, which is why I've put it at no.5.
No.4: Super Mario Kart
During the opening camera flyby sequence and subsequent traffic-light-countdown, the game is unpauseable. This is the ONLY time I wish to pause the game.If I pause the moment the race starts, I miss out on the chance of turboing, a crucial help. If I pause once the race is in full swing, say on lap 3 or even after I managed a turbo start, once I return to the game from my interruption, the transition from paused>racing will take me a couple of seconds to get back in the groove, and since the tracks are quite small and narrow in this version, I usually crash and have to restart. Thankfully, it isn't such a problem in the later games as the tracks are wider are less convoluted.
No.3: Forza 2
In a similar vain to Mario Kart, this suffers from being unable to pause the game during the opening race countdown PLUS the first 2 seconds of the race. I mean, WHY? Why is paused disabled for the first 2 seconds of a race? Not only that, but on the screen just before the race, if you view the 'difficulty setting screen' or try to hire a driver, a loading screen pops up. WHY? What on earth are you loading when I turn off traction control? OK, the last part isn't a pausing gripe, it's a menu one, but I wanted to rant about it anyway.
No.2: Goldeneye
Pressing 'start' doesn't pause the game, but instead roots you to the spot and the game/AI continues to run while Bond brings his left arm up to check his watch (which eventually pauses the game). This isn't too noticeable on the easier difficulty levels but on hardest setting, pausing in a firefight can mean failing the level, as you can be shot once or even twice during the 'pause transition' and lose half your health!!
No.1: Xenon 2
Now this is going back in time somewhat, 1989 to be precise. Anyway, I'm not sure about the Amiga version, but on the ST one, it was IMPOSSIBLE to pause the game at anytime. I remember the arguments I'd have with my parents when they called me downstairs for dinner "I'll be there in 3 mins" I'd say "I've almost finished level 5" to which their response was to come running upstairs and instantly turn my machine off, losing not only my game progress but any love I had for them!
And so ends my game-pausing headacheing nightmares of sorrow. Please tell me yours!
