GamerSushi Asks: Save Systems?

monkey-islandHowdy all. Been a long and relaxing weekend, hence the lack of posts. I’m kind of a weird creature in that the less I have on my plate, the less I tend to do. The busier I am, the more time I make for posting on GamerSushi, working out, etc. It’s odd.

Anywho, after playing Battlefield 1943, 1 Vs 100, Mass Effect and last but not least, the Secret of Monkey Island, this weekend has been monumental for me in terms of gaming. Lots of great flavors. Mass Effect and Monkey Island got me thinking about save systems, though. In those games you can save the game whenever and wherever you want. While this is great in lots of ways (it’s nice to just be able to save and turn off a game without having to wait to find a save point), in some ways you can get screwed if you’ve saved yourself into a corner.

So what do you guys think? Is there any particular game where you’ve really enjoyed the save system? Have you been screwed over by a save point in a game before? Go!

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I write about samurai girls and space marines. Writer for Smooth Few Films. Rooster Teeth Freelancer. Author of Red vs. Blue, The Ultimate Fan Guide, out NOW!

20 thoughts on “GamerSushi Asks: Save Systems?”

  1. I like Oblivion/Fallout 3’s. It has an auto-save, but I can also save my self literally anywhere. In mid swing, if I wish.

    It’s the best of both worlds.

  2. Battlefield: Bad company has the best save system.

    Sure it’s based on checkpoints but all the damage you did before you’ve died, is retained. so, dying is like sending another guy in to finish instead of needing to kill the same thing all over again or lose progress.

  3. Second that Bad Company opinion. I’d forgotten how good that save system was.

    This is exactly a popular opinion, but I really liked the save system in Dead Rising. I think the feel and atmosphere of that game would have been severely affected by a “save anywhere” option. I mean, Majora’s Mask worked on essentially the same system, and no-one bitched about that. Besides, coming back with a bigger and better character (and the Mega Buster) was what made that game so kick-ass.

    Speaking of BF1943, I’d love to get some squad-play in there. I’ve only been doing it lone-wolf, and I feel the need for a change. My gamertag is Lubeius. (Just an aside, if anyone does add me, my X Box is currently at my friend’s apartment, so if my gamertag is playing Halo 3, chances are it isn’t me.)

  4. I mostly like save-anywhere games because for those of us that still have to live with their parents (or just still live with their parents), being able to save the game and run to your mother’s aid before she throws out your brand new gaming console sure is a plus.

  5. [quote comment=”7630″]I mostly like save-anywhere games because for those of us that still have to live with their parents (or just still live with their parents), being able to save the game and run to your mother’s aid before she throws out your brand new gaming console sure is a plus.[/quote]

    Ha! I second that, I need to be able to quit at any time when I play my games. But Save-Anywhere just seems kinda cheap though.

  6. Fallout 3 and Half Life 1 & 2 work really well in implementing this. You can take the really difficult spots 1 minute at a time. I know what you mean about saving yourself into a corner though, but as long as a game can store a massive archive of save slots, it’s not to much of a concern.

  7. Sorry, just to clarify: Dead Rising did have a “save anywhere” option provided you could make it to the safe house or a restroom. What I meant was that it only had one save slot. I still think that it was awesome, though.

  8. I absolutely love save-anywhere systems. I usually keep 2 or 3 saves anyways, as I’ve had quite a few games corrupted or accidentally overwritten. Plus, my attention span isn’t very long when there’s anything else on my mind – if I have anything to do within 5 or 6 hours of the current time, I have trouble really getting into a game. So save-anywhere helps with that.

  9. To be honest i kind of miss the days where there were huge gaps between saves or even no saves at all.
    Probably one of the reasons I pushed myself through more games when I was younger.. and the pause button is there for a reason.

  10. For me, one game (that I like mind you) that is very easy to back yourself into a corner in is Dead Space. One minute you’re playing on a hard difficulty for whatever reason, doing good, got good health and ammo, then a few minutes later you’re about to fall over if so much as a breeze of wind grazes you the wrong way =/

  11. Multiple saves are your friends, especially in those open-ended games like Mass Effect and Fallout 3.
    While specified save points or rooms are a cool feature that keep you on your toes, now that I’m used to games that automatically save or can save whenever I want to, the save points, unless frequent, are more of an irritation if I have to put down the game fast. But that’s what Pause and Sleep mode are for.

  12. Save anywhere. Even on consoles (slower than PC but not too bad). I’ll agree with Anthony on the Fallout 3/Oblivion saves. Auto-save is handy if you make a balls of a fight and dropping in and out makes life SO easy. A save system that screwed me over was COD5 as it always forgot I had got to a late checkpoint (on Veteran!) and made me start each level again (on Veteran!) grrrr. Then it wipes my single player data every so often, like after an update. Does that count as a screwing-me-over-save-system?

  13. I’m been playing a 1999 game “LEGO rock raiders” I just found in my closet, and the save system in it isn’t pretty good.

    It’s an rts game, and it takes like 40 mins to finish each mission, but you have to finish the mission in order to save the game! It’s bad when you have to go when your not finished.

  14. My GOD Snowman, I’d forgotten all about that game. I got it for christmas when I was 7 or 8, as a child of that age imagine playing an RTS. Very tough. I only got to the 5th or 6th mission.

  15. Yeah, me to. I just got to the final mission, haven’t finished it yet.

    It’s funny, the lack of programming in those days. In one mission I fought some slugs. The slugs were suppose to go back to their hole after releasing the sonic charge. But, they wouldn’t. So I had to constantly release several sonic charges at once. Hardest mission yet. Beware of the slugs…

  16. the biggest save systems that screw me over are systems were you have to get to your house to save. ive had to redo a lot of missions because i figured it auto saved my stuff after a mission.

  17. Snowman, I wish you luck in your endeavors against the green slug. Kick his mollusky ass for me.

  18. Well, I like to have an Auto-Save aswell as a manual save. And i always alternate save files so that if I ever make a mistake or get cornered in one I can load up the previous one!

    I remember the auto-save in Mafia on PC fucked me big time. The last mission, at the Museum, I entered and it auto-saved me with 1 Health… lets just say I didnt finish the game until a year later after re-installing and playing through the whole thing again.

  19. In the original first COD games you could save whenever. While this helped me in saving after completing a difficult task, far too often i would save and only a split second later be killed by headshot, arty, planes, and even friendly tanks running me over. I don’t know how many times i’ve had to start entire missions over.

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