Viewing entries tagged
systems
Realism is an interesting idea when it comes to video games, as it's often regarded as something admirable to aim for, while ultimately being compromised for entertainment purposes. I mean, there are many games that flirt with realism, but if they actually created hyper-realistic systems and gameplay mechanics, the entire experience would be a frustrating bore.
I often ask myself "how much game is enough game?", and I often come up with the same answer. In fact I don't think it's limited to games, but if you're trying to tell a story or deliver an experience, it needs to be as long as it needs to be. Can you make the point within an hour, or over a couple of pages? Maybe you need a rolling epic to clearly provide the perspective needed to appreciate a fable. Either way, I often find myself thinking that a game might have overstayed its welcome in one way or another.
Yearly iterative games are nothing new in video game world, where it even seems like the measure of a successful franchise is whether or not it can sustain annual releases or not. However, while being a measure of success, this can also be a curse of limitations and uninspired development. After all, I'm sure we've all played an annual release and wondered what (if anything) has changed since the last time we dove in.
I have to admit that I was apprehensive about trying out what is commonly considered to be the worst entry in the Assassin's Creed franchise. This is the game that was so poorly received, Ubisoft had to eventually rethink its release schedule and get itself together. I knew going in that this might be the game that finally ends my enjoyment of the series.
This won't be the first time I get excited about an odd concept finding its place within the technical world of gaming, and I hope it won't be the last. In fact, this game has spawned so many imitators that it's hard to keep track anymore. I mean, who would have ever thought that cooking games would become their own genre.
Originally released as a mobile companion to Assassin's Creed III exclusively on the Vita, this spin-off features some unique systems that have yet to be repeated. There are obvious limitations to starting life on a mobile system, which begs the question why some of the more interesting developments in this game never made it to mainline titles.
Enter the obligatory line about how the hottest city builder / management game right now is one about survival during a near-future ice age. Although, there's no denying that Frostpunk is one hell of a well put together game from the makers of other well put together titles like This War Of Mine.
In the last decade we've seen a lot of indie darlings make a splash for being small little creative games that big studios wouldn't even bother thinking about. It's been an awesome period in gaming, as we've seen smaller games have a bit of a boom, which has introduced some truly unique experiences, and even defied traditional genre definitions. At the same time though, there's been a flood of games that piece together seemingly random elements to form another eye-rolling attempt at grabbing the hype for a few minutes of success.
Remember the first time you installed Half-Life 2 and were forced to use that silly DRM launcher program called Steam? It was obtrusive and clunky; to the point that I found a hacked version of the game that didn't require it so that I was able to play Half-Life 2 without it crashing every time my internet connection dropped.
