Alone in the dark to feature skippable chapters

I can completely understand the reasons for doing this (crap/noob gamers) but if the chapters aren't all self contained then I just see it as ruining the game. Imagine doing the last couple of stages first and then you go back to the begining of the game and you know exactly what's going to happen, where you end up....pretty much everything rendering all that has gone before it next to useless. It's just another example of things getting the noob/retard treatment imo and being ruined because of it.

It's like the feature on Bioshock where you can respawn out of these stupid bio-chambers when you die; instead of people actually loading their saved games when they die, they used these stupid respawn chambers and then start complaining how easy the game was and how there was no challenge when you can just abuse these chambers??! Ummmm DUUHHH!! Don't use the damn chambers!!! uGh!! Man people are ****! I don't see these skipable chapters actually affecting my game time at all but I can guarantee there will be idiots who will pan the game cuz they skipped certain chapters and it ruined the story/game for them. Guarantee it!

Look i'm not saying everyone will do it, or even anyone on Palgn will do it, but you'll see the game getting lower review scores cuz some numbnut did do it and unfortunately they're in a position to review games and have their opinion heard.

Benza - On those Vita-Chambers....you do realise you can save your game at any point right (basically like in a PC game)? Basically when you die just load your saved game instead of using the vita-chambers. I never used those chambers, not even once, everytime I died it was loading a saved game.

I don't see how saving and loading a game is that much of an issue, press start, go load, press A, voila!

If you don't like the Vita-Chambers it's pretty easy to bypass them altogether, that's what i'm saying. Who cares if you have to press a couple of buttons to do it, it's not like you need to apply timing or do it in the heat of battle, I can't understand the point you're trying to make, it's not hard nor is it a hassle, you can do it before or after reapawning at a chamber and it takes seconds to load

Like I said if you don't like Vita-Chambers it's not hard to avoid them altogether.

I'm sorry man but that has to be one of the stupidest comparisons i've ever seen! You're saying a checkpoint/save system is similar to ingame moves? That's wrong! No two ways about it, that's flat-out wrong. In mario you have no chance of clocking the game without the jump button, in Bioshock it's actually very possible to clock the game without the vita-chambers/save system. The levels in Mario are built around the jumping mechanic in that you need that move to get through the game, nothing in Bioshock is built around having to use the save function/vita-chambers.

By not using the save/load function you are also bypassing an option the game has. It's there for a reason, they didn't put it in there by accident and it's not hidden away nor do you have to type in a cheat or something, it's right there when you press pause.

You're basically saying that by not pressing the accelerator in a driving game it's the same as using the save/load system in Bioshock.

I see what you're trying to say and I agree to an extent, like when you die it should come up with an option "load last save or respawn from vita chamber".

I'd hardly call it 'bad game-design' though it's basically just a missing prompt. When you die you end up at the vita-chamber, press start, load saved game, end of 'bad game design'.

Really dude you've made a mountain out of a molehill, you've turned the simple act of loading/saving games into 'bad game-design' and something you just can't be botherted with, which is actually quite ridiculous. Like I said the Vita-Chambers are there for the noobs, who don't wanna deal with that saving/loading or don't have the intellect to use the save/load system. They just play the game, shooting stuff, they die, they keep playing, they never once look at their health even. Are you one of these gamers? If not, then I don't see how saving/loading games is even an issue.

Prey I would say has bad game design, there is no way to save/load your game, there is no checkpoint system, when you die you have to play through this mini-game which is exactly like the vita chambers except you got some tedious job of shooting spirits before you're allowed to respawn, if you don't want to go through the mini-game you have to actually quit out of the game, go to the menu and then load the chapter you were previously on and this would only put you back to the begining of that stage, so technically there is no way to go through Prey without using this stupid mini-game...either that or don't die...ever. That's bad game-design when you don't have the options. Bioshock has the option, it just takes 2-3 seconds more than the default option.

aha...now the truth is coming out. Yea I was very very hyped for the game and I was quite dissapointed with the cliched story. Imo they shouldn't try twists and crap, they should've just left it as some guy trying to survive in this world he's stumbled upon.

I didn't think it sucked (far from it) but the plasmid system was underutilised, they really could've added some new gameplay dynamics to the game but instead they were just like simple magic spells. The security cameras and security bots were very much in abundance and broke the flow of the game many many times, and the enemy variety was sorely lacking. Personally I think the idea behind the game and the setting (Rapture) is much better than the final product so i'm hoping for a sequel with a new character and one that makes up for the short comings in the first game.

I'm not sure about being able to turn Vita-Chambers off in the Ps3 version, but I do know there is an achievement (via the update) on the 360 version which unlocks after you clock it without using the vita-chambers, which means you have to save/load in the method I described earlier.