Forums > Game Forums > Lula 3D > Why such a low score?..
Unicorn Lynx (181663) on 6/12/2007 8:41 AM · Permalink · Report
I see both MobyRank and MobyScore are extremely low... has anyone here played it? It's not bad at all! Large game environment, nice graphics, easy-gong gameplay, nice humor... So far, I'd certainly give it a solid 4 out of 5. And you know how many adventure games I played. Why such low scores? Just because it has sex?
Daniel Saner (3515) on 6/12/2007 12:48 PM · Permalink · Report
I must admit that I haven't played the game, but the magazine I trust the most has given it a so-so rating of 55%. They said that it wasn't that bad as an Adventure game, but the main downsides mentioned were bad character animation and controls, cheesy dialogues and some "cheap tricks" like objects that suddenly appear only when they are needed in the plot.
Richard Cobbett has written a funny article about the game, maybe this will give you some insight on why people seem to dislike the game: http://www.richardcobbett.co.uk/codex/articlelibrary/filingcabinet/lula_3d_proof_of_athiesm/
Unicorn Lynx (181663) on 6/12/2007 5:10 PM · Permalink · Report
I don't know, he just trashes the game. I think this is totally unfair. It's a porn game, damn it! Why are people so harsh to it?! They should say "thank you" that there is a porn game that is a solid, proper adventure with exploration, 3D world, full camera rotation, interaction, dialogue choices, and so on! Till now, the only porn that we had were hentai games, which don't even feel like games. Lula at least tries to combine porn with normal game mechanics! I don't understand, what was he expecting? Grim Fandango?
Daniel Saner (3515) on 6/14/2007 4:25 PM · Permalink · Report
Well, I said "funny article", not "good" or "highly informative". It's an overstated slating and not to be taken too seriously, but I think you can read out of it what he didn't like about the game.
Judging from the magazine review I mentioned and what else I heard about the game, I agree that the porn theme does make a difference in how people judge the game. But from what I've heard I think the point is that people see it as a disappointment in that department. It's not trying to be an adult game per se (adult meaning "made for adults", not the level of explicitness) but a humorous game in the spirit of Larry, and people are disappointed that it didn't live up to it.
Responsible Pyromaniac on 6/14/2007 1:47 AM · Permalink · Report
I don't think we're playing the same game. The only way it would get a higher score is if I give it extra points for being a sex game. Otherwise this is about the quality of an independent game designed by 14yos. The animations sometimes don't work (try running), It takes FOREVER to pick up, equip, use any object. Missions are unclear where you're going (in the first level anyways). Your walk/run speed is SLOW and all destinations feel like they take a decade.
There's some good about it. Im not saying its a horrible game all around, but I will say its bad enough to avoid if you're looking for something to play.
Unicorn Lynx (181663) on 6/14/2007 3:21 AM · Permalink · Report
The running speed is totally OK. The item-picking animations are slow because you get to see Lula's butt, correct me if I'm mistaken, but isn't it worth the 3 extra seconds you spend staring at the screen? The missions are absolutely clear. I'm currently in San Francisco and it even gets non-linear to a certain point (i.e., you can work on different objectives at the same time). Some of the dialogue is very funny. Graphics are perfectly acceptable.
And yes, when I finish it and write a review for it, it'll certainly get more points from me for the sex. It's really amazing how people praise gory games for the gore and violence, and then suddenly turn holier-than-thou when they see a naked nipple in a game.
Responsible Pyromaniac on 6/14/2007 7:04 AM · Permalink · Report
Dont get me wrong, I LOVE sex games. (you should see my hard drive), but this thing really bothers me. I guess you're more patient then me with the running thing. I get bored way too fast to wait for her. As for the butt thing. Whoop de friggin do! I saw it, 3 times in the last 10 minutes, I dont care anymore. its not that nice anyways. Perhaps my version is missing something cause its only sorta tells me what to do then I have to spend a long time (mostly due to run speed) figuring out where Im supposed to go or what I missed.
Yes the dialog is funny. that's where it gets the few points I would give it. That and yes, she's nice to look at. The animations (at least in the cut scenes) is way crappy. oddly stiff like virtua fighter.
I will always give more points for a game containing any adult theme (sex, violence, substance abuse) but I also will separate that from the rest of the game. Im a stickler the gameplay. if its not fluid feeling or controls suck I get mad quick. C'mon, that side stepping thing doesn't piss you off? The sex? did you use that dildo on her bed?
I always feel like if you're gonna make a sex game put some effort into it and make it look good. Just cause Lara croft is getting raped by a snake doesnt mean you have to skip out on animation frames just to sell it faster.
Pseudo_Intellectual (67449) on 6/14/2007 7:19 AM · Permalink · Report
Just cause Lara croft is getting raped by a snake doesnt mean you have to skip out on animation frames just to sell it faster.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have our new frontpage slogan.
Unicorn Lynx (181663) on 6/14/2007 5:30 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Responsible Pyromaniac wrote--]C'mon, that side stepping thing doesn't piss you off? The sex? did you use that dildo on her bed? [/Q --end Responsible Pyromaniac wrote--] I've played games with much, much worse controls than Lula. And what about the sex? Everything was cool, so far. No raping, no perversities, no torture, no idiotic "take me now, Takeshi!! Take me!!!" phrases of Japanese hentai games... And I didn't use a dildo, I didn't even find it, it was entirely optional. There are lots of optional actions in the game. It's really a nice, easy-going, amusing adventure game, with enough interactivity and exploration, anyway, million times more than in hentai games! So I don't understand, what exactly did you expect? Can you name me one sex game that has better gameplay than Lula? Larry and other mildly erotic games don't count, I mean real, hardcore sex games, like Japanese hentai. Which one of those has a better gameplay than Lula?
[Q --start Responsible Pyromaniac wrote--]I always feel like if you're gonna make a sex game put some effort into it and make it look good. [/Q --end Responsible Pyromaniac wrote--] Yes, in theory. But in reality? I can only repeat my question: which sex game is better than Lula?
Responsible Pyromaniac on 6/15/2007 7:53 AM · Permalink · Report
Ok if we're gonna rate sex games on thier own scale, then, yes, lula is a good sex game. but moby doesnt make that difference. moby rates all games fair and equal. so hence its score is low. Feel free to review it and give it extra points for a sex game, but please, state that in the review. As far as games go it belongs near the bottom of the list. as far as sex games, its damn near the top.
Unicorn Lynx (181663) on 6/15/2007 11:16 AM · Permalink · Report
Some of the most beloved games out there get extra point for violence and gore. Phrases such as "The game is sick! I love it!", "Tons of blood! Great!" are not uncommon. Just try reading some of the reviews for gory games, and you'll see that people praise them precisely for that - for the gore. They don't say: "as a gory game, it's great, but as a game in general, it sucks". They say: "the game is extremely gory, and that's just what I like about that".
Well, I belong to those weird types who find sex more attractive than severed limbs or buckets of blood splashing over the screen. Therefore, I'm going to say that Lula 3D has a lot of sex, and it's also a perfectly acceptable, nice, easy-going adventure game, but I do love it mostly because of the sex. Because other games either throw at us distasteful sex pictures without a game (hentai), or tease us with mild erotic insinuations, without going till the end (Larry). Lula 3D is the first game that combines hardcore sex with normal adventure gameplay.
And it infuriates me that instead of giving this game some credit for that, people ridicule its minor flaws, distance themselves from the sex, and then proudly state that they felt disgusted while playing this game. How noble and pure, indeed.
Note: I'm not talking about you, RP, it's your opinion that Lula 3D is not a good adventure, and I respect it. The fact that you agree that it's among the best sex games out there is already an important recognition.
I'm not comparing this game to The Longest Journey or whatever, sure, as an adventure game, it's mediocre, but it deserves credit for going all the way with the sex, and actually paying attention to the gameplay.
The many optional items, the rather amusing characters, little things such as 360 degree camera rotation and optional 1st person perspective - there is a solid game underneath the sexy outfit. Not the adventure game of the century, for sure, but a decent title.
Responsible Pyromaniac on 6/15/2007 1:09 PM · Permalink · Report
I felt it necessary to include those people that give a game extra points for being gory are stupid as well. So as stated, feel free to give this extra points for sex to offset those games a little.
As you know I love postal 2. the gore and violence is awesome, but I only give it points with its execution. not the concept.
Daniel Saner (3515) on 6/15/2007 1:25 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
I think I'm slowly starting to understand what you're getting at. I still haven't played the game, but I'm going to see if I find a used copy somewhere and see for myself.
My opinion is that games should be rated based on their individual, independent quality. But I don't see anything wrong in rewarding a game for bringing up something new. Take movies, for example: the companies that can afford to produce the really big blockbusters usually stick to well-known, successful formats they know will not totally fail. It's usually B-movies or cheaply produced, elitarian French Arthaus short flicks who come up with the really new influences. And they are rewarded for their new elements, without being bashed because they couldn't afford to decorate them with multi-million-dollar special effects.
Having said that, I don't think that Lula 3D has actually been treated as unfairly as you seem to think. From what I've heard, as a game it could be called "mediocre". The MobyRank of 42 says about that, maybe a bit lower. Furthermore, if you look at the ratings that make up the rank, 4 of them are 60 or more, 8 are at least 50. And if you look at the really low ratings, they come from, with all due respect, not the sources you would call the most respected. If reviewers name the right, proper reasons, I think they should be allowed to not give games a higher score even though they brought something new to the genre.
Another game came to my mind while thinking about this: Fahrenheit (a.k.a. Indigo Prophecy). It was the first (and as of yet only) game I played that had "adult" sexual content that didn't come across cheap, unfitting, aimed at pubescent boys or as having been added because "sex sells.", but as an integral part of a gripping, emotional story. It went as far as to make the sex scenes player-controllable. I never heard anyone mention that as a bad or "dirty" part of the game. Maybe that was because the sex scenes have been censored (removed?) from the American version, maybe it was because it concerns just some scenes of the game and those people could pretend "it didn't happen", but personally I was under the impression that games and reviewers were finally mature enough to handle sex. I might have been wrong, I don't know.
[Q --start Unicorn B. Lynx wrote--]Well, I belong to those weird types who find sex more attractive than severed limbs or buckets of blood splashing over the screen. And it infuriates me that instead of giving this game some credit for that, people ridicule its minor flaws, distance themselves from the sex, and then proudly state that they felt disgusted while playing this game. How noble and pure, indeed.[/Q --end Unicorn B. Lynx wrote--]
I know what you mean, but I doubt that those disgusted by sex are the same that are fascinated by gore. If someone's going to feign morality and austerity, they should stick to that.
But it's an interesting point. It's funny how some people see making love and giving life as more objectionable than taking life and destroying families. I used to think (hope?) that it's an age/maturity thing. But it's probably also a culture thing. In games and movies, they take out the blood and gore for the German market, but they take out the sex and erotics for the American market.
Edit: Here's a nice quote from Randy Sluganski's review of Fahrenheit on Just Adventure: «a European developer once asked me if I thought it would be advisable to leave in a scene that showed a woman’s nude breast in his game for the North American release, to which I replied, “Only if you also blow out her brains with a BFG"»