Paintball Video Games Just Aren't Much Fun
Wednesday November 26, 2008
NPPL Championship Paintball 2009 by Activision was released this past week for seemingly every console imaginable: Play Station 2, Play Station 3, Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii. While I have yet to play the game, early reviews seem to confirm my general impression of paintball video games - they just aren't that much fun. IGN reports that the game is a good virtual depiction of paintball, but that doesn't mean that it's going to be actually fun to play for any length of time. They conclude:
It’s easy to see how paintball enthusiasts could love this game, but hard to envision anybody else spending more than an hour playing it before they got bored and disillusioned. This is a niche game and it does a nice job catering to that niche, but doesn’t provide a product that the general gaming audience will appreciate.What I've noticed from all the paintball video games I've played is that they are repetitive and get old in a hurry. As much fun as it is to play real tournament paintball, games just don't seem to convey that same enjoyment. The strategy doesn't really reflect how the sport is played and almost all the games tend to rely on lucky long-shots and unrealistic run-throughs.
Are paintball video games bad? No. They typically offer a few hours of enjoyment and let you enjoy paintball inside your home. They just don't bring the replay power of many other types of video games. Nobody is going to lose their job because they can't stop playing NPPL Championship Paintball like people do with World of Warcraft type games. That just means a paintball video game might be a good rental to play for a day and ring all the fun out of it there is to be had.
I just know that I'm not jumping out of my seat to try it out.
Dude, don’t knock it when you haven’t even tried it! What you should’ve said was: “Paintball games arn’t as much fun as playing real paintball”. I can’t wait to play it!
Hey: I’ve tried both real paintball (KS state champs-5 man) and the mod for CoD4 and the mod kicks ass…I think you need to expand your definition of “paintball video games” because I know of hundreds of people that play the Mod everyday…..Otherwise you have a great blog
since i first layed my hands on a marker i feel in love with the sport playing in the woods then moving up to speedball. im an adrenaline freak everything from riding bulls in tournaments to skydiving and joining the military. but the is nothing better than shooting someone legally.now as far as this game i cant wait to play it in the comfort of my home never thought i would see the day that would happen. but instead of it being repetative as you say you could go on line with it right? with the x-boxes that would add to the game i think
“Are paintball video games bad” i think this is not the easy games. it is easy to play but must have power for playing.
I just had Greg Hastings on the show and we talked about the NPPL game. Like you David, I gave it a thumbs down review for Paintball Sports Magazine before I’d even played it. You can tell a lot about a game from it’s pre-release buzz, photos and that gut feeling you get when you see something and go, "I dunno…"
Worthplaying.com just gave NPPL Champ ‘09 a 4.8/10 review and World Championship Paintball came out last January and is already going for $3 on Amazon.com. Greg said something which gave me hope that the new GHTP will change the stigma of paintball video games. He said,"I’m a hard core gamer and I’m making a game that I’d want to play, first and foremost." "It’s coming out the day after it’s perfect, not sooner."
There’s the difference between GHTP and NPPL Championship Paintball: They wanted to make a good PAINTBALL game, banking on the fact that all the disenfranchised paintball players will jump on it and they’d make a mint. Greg wants to make a great VIDEO GAME first and foremost. The fact that it’s about paintball is just a bonus for us.
I think Paintball video is the most critical part for this article. i am agree with your content. thanks for providing the article for people.
I think that to really like the paintball games you have got to be a paintball fanatic if you never played paintball in real life then u shouldnt try the video game first. the fact is paintball players love the game just like anybody who loves football and plays the madden games u know. you just have to like the sport to like the game
i also belive that the game is unrealistic in some parts and yes i think there can be room for in provment but over all its a good game for paintball players u gotta be a die hard. just like madden for football players and golfing games for golfers it just fits in for people that llike the sport. thanks for reading