by Harold11
peakhope wrote:
Harold11 wrote:
there is no difference in gameplay or difficulty of information management
Could you at least say "almost no difference"? Have you played the Fantastic Four solo with 4 heroes? There are a ton of ongoing effects to remember, so playing solo, I often forget some of them. If I'm playing with others, I only have to remember MY ongoing effects. That's a difference in "information management", even if you consider it to be small.
Also, to John's point, you have an unusual definition of "gameplay", so perhaps you could substitute "rules", to reduce misinterpretation of what you are saying. The game will play out differently co-op vs. solo, simply because different brains are providing input. To me, that make the "gameplay" different.
I'll be sure to try it, but then solo-only games often have many effects and options, also. I suspect that the Fantastic Four will be like other modes - the information will be provided turn-by-turn, on a small number of cards. You only have to worry about one hero at a time, and to make a decision on easily-accessible information. Having to "remember" (i.e. pay attention to) effects is an expected part of many solo-only games. The point is whether the information is able to be reviewed and cross-checked easily, without needing to consult multiple sources of dissociated information, in order to determine an apparently effective order in which to use resources. The timeline and turn-order limits this problem, to the extent that one player can do it as easily as multiple - especially since only one player has an individual hero turn at one time. Games like Power Rangers Heroes of the Grid and Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu have more options across dissociated decks, and so in terms of when and how to combine resources (and to what end), discussion makes it easier in those games. In MU, your easily-manageable set of options are further guided by what is on the timeline, the hero abilities and effects are basic (icons, whatever's faceup on the single timeline) and - since the timeline is the key to effective use of resources - discussion of options would merely replace what one player can already do (and that is an assessment of easily-reviewable information). It's no more difficult to look at the information oneself, and (for those who value agency), could be more satisfying due to the already-lightweight nature of the game. A game like MU calls for one to look. Others call to discuss. Let alone the base MU.
An even more dire example of a "solo game that can be played cooperatively" is Tiny Epic Defenders.
As for "gameplay", I mean the rules, the options and the ease with which information can be reviewed (in order to arrive at an apparently sound conclusion). See above. So you can see why having more people doesn't factor into it. Whether you read the effects, or have "someone remind you", it's still the same. But it is as easy to read as to have someone remind you, unless you want to say that reading is always cooperative when literacy is a challenge.