Are 3d games actually better?

Since the advent of 3d accelerators, have games actually improved?
Is it better that you now have control of a camera as well as a character?
Which of your favorite games have been made better or worse since they went 3d?

First-person shooters got better at the beginning of 3D acceleration. Quake, Unreal, Serious Sam were some of my favorites, from the way you had to go around and figure stuff out yourself exploring the environment and/or just shooting everything that moves. Unfortunately, I've never seen a game like those on the iPad. I really dislike the way most FPS games (especially the ones on iPad) are practically on rails now, and there isn't a run around and explore aspect anymore. They all tell you where to go at all times, and put up invisible walls keeping you from going too far off the path. Then they make it so all you gotta do is hide behind a wall if you get shot, and you're magically better. They certainly have far more graphical detail, and some of them are interesting stories, but it's more like getting walked through a movie and testing your aim. All of the effort is going into incredibly detailed artwork and a semi-interactive story, and not enough is going into making it fun, replayable, and wide open like they were 12-15 years ago. It's nice to look at, but I want something that I can still open up 10 years from now and play through again and never have the same exact experience as before. When I saw Epic Citadel for the first time on iPhone and iPad, and I could walk around and see everything, I was so excited at the possibility of a truly open FPS game. But it ended up turning into Infinity Blade instead, the complete opposite of replayable and exploratory.

Platformers got WAY better in 3D in my opinion. Super Mario 64 comes to mind. Crazy Hedgy on iPad is one of my favorite platformers.

Adventure/RPG-ish games like Zelda also got better in 3D. I can't count how many hours I spend on a Zelda game trying to solve all the puzzles and collect all the items. If there were a game like Skyward Sword on the iPad, I think I would disappear for a couple of weeks.

it depends i think. 3d is not thing all the games will be.

I don't think 3d makes a game better, there are some great ones and some bad ones - just like 2d or 2.5d

Angry birds, tiny wings, cut the rope, wild surf, Plants vs. Zombies, etc. are all great games which are not 3d. It is all about gameplay and fun. I actually don't like that many 3d games on the iPhone/iPad. Temple Run and Infinity Blade are good, but there is a bunch of crappy 3d games made with Unity or other tools out there.

Just because a game uses the Unity 3D engine doesn't mean it's crap. CSR Racing, for example, is crap because of the overzealous pushing of in-app purchases, and if it were made with an in-house engine or Unreal Engine instead of Unity, it'd still be crap. Graphics-wise, it's perfectly fine to look at.

Heroes Call, on the other hand, is a fine gem that uses Unity. Then there's Dead Trigger. Each as worthy of being on anyone's home screen as Infinity Blade.

I didn't say that if it uses Unity it is crap (as far as I know Temple Run is using Unity). However, game development platforms in general makes it easier and cheeper to develop games today. It is a good thing in the sense that it reduces the cost to develop good games and many indie developers can actually get their vision out, but on the flip side it also enable a lot of quick and dirty games which all look the same.

I used Unity as an example because the debate was about 3d games, however same is true for 2d games with platforms like Corona, Gamesalad and many smaller utilities. They allow very talented people to produce great games with low investment, but also enable large amounts of games that are made by people looking for a quick buck.

Cheers.

That is true. That's the downside to it being so easy to develop and push out apps in general.

3D adds a new dimension to video gaming, since it improves the graphical qualities, which make a huge difference when it comes to making gaming experience not to feel cramped.

Infinity Blade has awesome graphics. But I'm waiting for Squaresoft Enix to make a mobile version of Final Fantasy.
It would be awesome.

Some games are better with 3D- fro example need for speed series.
And some games are definately worse with 3D - Heroes of Might and Magic!
I stoped playing when the 5th version with 3D were released.

Irrelevant, this is a matter of opinion, the answer is both YES and NO


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