I have been thinking rather hard lately
about games. As I too want to participate in the creation of games
and entertainment and persue this dream of mine, perhaps not for a
living, as I'm by far not confident enough in my skills. But I have a
problem, as much as I want to create something, or perhaps even be
apart of something, I cant help to notice my loss of interest in
games. It seems strange as I do love games, but this love coming from
years back, and still today I can enjoy the good old classics, such
as Doom, Hexen, Heretic, Half-Life, Duke Nukem, Zelda, AVP gold,
quake, etc.. However, very few games of today actually entertain me
=/
Why? now I dont mean to sound pessimistic at all, but it
feels like modern FPS games have really taken a dive, and is slowly
dying. It seems that almost all FPS game developers are trying to win
the consumers over with the CoD like familiar game play (and also the
whole modern warfare and "realism"). I have nothing against
CoD, I think their game play formula rocks, and sure its their
formula, and so its not bad reusing that formula for the CoD
franchise, even though it is kinda getting a bit stale. But other
titles and franchises using the same formula, thats bugging the crap
out of me, thats whats making the FPS genre stale! Damn copy cats. To
use a few examples: the new MoH was practically an exact replica of
CoD (just a different campaign, and branded with MoH), Crysis is
basically CoD with a nano suit (which just adds a tad more game play
creativity next to weapon customization), Borderlands felt like CoD
too, so did FEAR2, and I can go on... (and it seems some mods
seem to be doing the same)
Some games like DooM3 for example
was a bit different though (in an old school kinda way), which was
nice, but I think the FPS game that really did make an effort to not
be a CoD copycat has got to be Bulletstorm. It felt nothing like CoD,
or any other game that uses that formula. And it is this initiative
to break away from the norm and explore new creative ways of doing
something (in this case, new creative ways of killing people). and
then I smile... Was this never the intention of games? Expressing or
new ideas and art forms, to escape reality into a virtual fantasy
world of your own? Whats with all the uber realism in games nowadays?
(even worse is, it's not totally realistic, only to a point that
suits the player)
So anyhow, this has been the reason why I
got into playing mods and indie games, where the more original and
creative content is bound to pop up more often than on the shelves
(ie: overgrowth & depth). But I've noticed that a lot of bigger
mods are remakes of old classics, like Black mesa, opposing force,
project far cry etc... (and it is just a matter of time before the
remakes will be out dated as well). Not that I'm really complaining,
it is a nice sentiment, and the progress sure does look worth the
trouble, however I still feel all that energy, time and talent could
have been spent on something of their own, something new to break
away from the the CoD experience and create a new experience,
something better than CoD in the FPS genre.
Bulletstorm is a combination of the people who made painkiller and the guys who made Gears of War (Painkiller is a awesome 2004 game, that retained all the old school shooter mechanics and proved how incredible they can be when combined with modern graphics, physics and a whole heap of creative weapons)...
Bulletstorm In the end it ended up butchering some of Painkillers mechanics with modern **** like health regen, cover shooting, jam being smeared over your eyes when you get shot... moving around like your carrying a fridge on your back... the game is fun at times but the problem is it could have been a great choatic shooter if weren't for all the 'modern' restraints put on it.
Escapistmagazine.com
If you want a truly good game, thats not only a new game with classic FPS elements and improves upon an old forumula (like Doom 3 and Half-Life 2) then try PainKiller.
Escapistmagazine.com
Thanks for that comment... I actually never got around to play painkiller hey, there was a stage I had an old PC that barely ran unreal (ran it with software renderer) however since we werent "rich" parents never upgraded the to a new PC, at the time the AGP graphic card and extra 64mb ram and HDD upgrades were expensive, so I got them convinced to get me a gamecube, wouldnt require upgrades, just buy game and play, and after that I swapped it out for a PS2... Anyhow, I had driven away from PC, and never played the PC games during that gap, I remember painkiller being very popular.
So yeah Bulletstorm left a huge impression on me due to the fact that I hadnt played painkiller, but I guess if I had, I would probably have agreed with you.
Gee, do you want him playing Painkiller? You only mentioned it like 3 times. *raises eyebrow*
The FPS genre is not dying. Yes, the modern mechanics are generally getting a grasp on some things, but there are also plenty of shooters that stick to the old guard. Frankly, there -are- some things in modern day that aren't that bad.
Also -- technically speaking, things like OpenOutcast and Black Mesa -are- crafting their own experiences. They are updating and fixing the problems. Just because they aren't trying to readjust the formula does not mean they aren't making something new. Don't judge a project just because it's a "remake" or "reimagining". For example: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories and the game it's based on -- Silent Hill -- are two VERY different games.