In space no one will hear you pause, take a few deep breaths and revive yourself, before continuing. Or at least that's an option EA's dev team is looking at for its upcoming survival horror game, Dead Space.
We've all done it, or at least been comforted by the fact that if the rabid dogs in Resident Evil got a little too much, you could hit pause, calmly cycle through your inventory and ram a few health packs down your throat. You're now able to take a few more bites to the leg before seeing the You Died message. Well done you.
If they weren't so vicious, you could try and pat the nice doggies on the head for stopping their hellish onslaught and allowing you to revive yourself so you have a better chance of killing them. If they could talk though, they'd probably call you a cheating bastard. So would the zombies. Imagine if enemies could pause you and heal themselves.
But after playing EA's very promising Dead Space yesterday, we were surprised to hear the developers talking about omitting that option completely so you won't be able to pause the game, revive, and take a breather.
Dead Space's in-game inventory system has been designed to make everything the player does an activity. As noted, games like Resident Evil allow you to pull up the inventory menu and have a breather to boost your health. Dead Space could be going down a different route. It's not the first game to do it, loads have, but from what we played yesterday, this only adds to the excitement of running for your life knowing you can't stop until you either get away or die.
Menu-wise, everything is displayed in-game; if you want to have a browse through your inventory to boost your health, you'll have to do it through the hologram projected in front of your face. This way, if the hordes of screaming monsters become too much, the only way you're going to be able to calm down is by finding a quiet room by literally running for your life (well, not that literally). If you need to boost your health during a fight, then you'd better do it quick. This system keeps you in the game all the time and looks bloody cool.
The development version we played had a pause function assigned to the start button, like every other game. But EA says it's unsure whether that will make it to the final game. We're hoping, after all this effort, they take it out.
That sounds pretty good, as long as changing weapon is quick, otherwise when you run out of ammo your screwed if you can't change weapon maually on the pause screen. And i presume you can pause right? Just you can't do anything in the pause menu.
this could be disastrous for me. You can guarantee that the point at which the attack intensifies, whatever the game might be, is the exact point at which my phone rings or the doorbell goes. Maybe I'll start playing games during the early hours of the morning when no one's likely to interrupt me . . .
Well, are they completely scrapping the pause button, or just pausing and healing? Because having no pause function altogether is just silly, and will only hurt the game...
No I'm prety sure you can pause the game you just can't enter the inventory in pause mode. In Resident Evil Outbreak you couldn't enter the inventory while the game was paused, when you entered the inventory the action carried on and you was still open to attack. To completely do away with a pause option is ridiculous, like someone else here said what happens when your on a vital part of the game and the phone rings, theres a knock at the door or nature calls?
Hang on a minute; never mind all this "you can't pause and heal" nonsense. What I want to know is what the hell am I going to do when I'm thrashing some zombies, necking back a Guinness and then nature calls? Can't they at least concede a "need a wazz" button that pauses for ninety seconds and doesn't let you administer health packs?
Hang on a minute; never mind all this "you can't pause and heal" nonsense. What I want to know is what the hell am I going to do when I'm thrashing some zombies, necking back a Guinness and then nature calls? Can't they at least concede a "need a wazz" button that pauses for ninety seconds and doesn't let you administer health packs?
Yeah that sort of comes under the point I made about having a pause option without the ability to use your inventory, its common sense really.
Brilliantly old school - like the fighter games of the 90s. Incidentally it is not so hard not being able to use the inventory while in pause... In fact, most games do that. Just utter s**te like Res Evil (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc) can't manage....
Brilliantly old school - like the fighter games of the 90s. Incidentally it is not so hard not being able to use the inventory while in pause... In fact, most games do that. Just utter s**te like Res Evil (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc) can't manage....
I could be wrong here but I do believe pressing the guide button on the 360 controller pauses the game automatically so if there is no pause function you could just use this.
I could be wrong here but I do believe pressing the guide button on the 360 controller pauses the game automatically so if there is no pause function you could just use this.
Yeh, but I imagine you'll be able to pause it anyway, or how would you be able to access the menu, or save or exit the game? It just looks like they are taking away the ability to view your inventory and stuff whilst paused.
Incidentally it is not so hard not being able to use the inventory while in pause... In fact, most games do that. Just utter s**te like Res Evil (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc) can't manage....
You're a moron. Not only is RE5 not out yet, you're complaining about something that pretty much all games have. Please, say three single-player games in which going to the inventory screen does not pause the game.
You guys clearly havent read this or the full preview properly.
Not only would you not be able to access your inventory,but the actual pause button would not be used.Meaning you cant pause the game and adjust brightness or contrast etc
The most important thing though is that you cant have a breather unless you hide or turn the console off.
I think that it is very fitting for a horror game and will definitely add to the atmosphere, i can imagine it now, and actually, did wonder if games actually didn't have a pause button when playing Resident Evil 4. I thought that it would add a bit to the game.
Saying that though if the hpone rings, you need the toilet etc. you're pretty much buggered, so i don't know. If it went in the game i wouldn't mind the ability to choose if this happens. Say, in the options before you start the game or maybe it happens on higher difficulties etc. for people like me who have to take a breather due to hand cramp or being scarred s**tless.
Thats the most ridiculous and stupid idea I've ever heard. No pause? So if someone rings the doorbell or you have to pop downstairs/go to the loo/eat/answer the phone/whatever you can't pause the game?!!!?!
Personally I still don't see anything wrong with going to the inventory screen and whacking in more health when you're getting decked, and in a fast action type game like Ninja Gaiden for example it was absoluetly neccessary if you wanted to make it past even the first level boss. And what happens if you're in the inventory screen trying to swop weapons or simply seeing what gear you've picked up and you start getting attacked without even knowing it because the game didn't pause? How fustrating would that be? It would be a game killer. I can only imagine what the reviews would say about it...
To take out the pause option altogether in any game is madness and whoever came up with this idiotic and fustrating idea deserves to get fired.
But what will happen when you press the Guide Button on Xbox 360, will the game still play in the background like you were playing multiplayer?
Come to think of it, what do those people do who complain that they can't stop when the doorbell or phone rings when they are playing a ranked online match for example?
I think its a good idea, maybe you would have to find a quiet corner to hide in or something while you have a ciggie?
I applaud them for taking some chances, and if it turns out to be a disaster, then I'm sure it could be rectified by way of a title update.
I could be wrong here but I do believe pressing the guide button on the 360 controller pauses the game automatically so if there is no pause function you could just use this.
Yeh, but I imagine you'll be able to pause it anyway, or how would you be able to access the menu, or save or exit the game? It just looks like they are taking away the ability to view your inventory and stuff whilst paused.
It doesn't always pause the game. I remember accidentally knocking the guide button whilst playing Virtua Fighter 5 and to my horror the game carried on whilst I desperately mashed the B button to get back into the action.
finsti something rather wrote: You're a moron. Not only is RE5 not out yet, you're complaining about something that pretty much all games have. Please, say three single-player games in which going to the inventory screen does not pause the game.
I wouldn't want to call YOU a moron, but You failed the irony. And I am not complaining. Merely pointing out. There are plenty of games that force you to use inventory in real time (irrespective of their format - 3rdPS, FPS, RPG....). Would you like me to name them??
1. Fallout 1, 2, Tactics 2. Dungeon Siege 1/2/Diablo. 3. Any adventure game ever made. 4. System Shock 1 / 2
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