I feel dirty.
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| Fastest sequel of the year. |
Burnout 3, Golden Sun 2, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Half-Life 2, Halo 2, Jet Set Radio Future, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes, Metal Gear Solid 3.
Normally I'm the guy in the corner espousing creativity, something new, not the same-old same-old. And it's not that I'm violently opposed to sequels; they can be just as fresh and innovative as the next original game. No, I just don't like what they represent: laziness, stagnation, facile game design.
Metroid: Zero Mission, Onimusha 3: Demon Siege, Pikmin 2, Ratchet & Clank 2: Going Commando, R-Type: Final, Silent Hill 3, Silent Hill 4: The Room, Sly 2: Band of Thieves, Sonic Heroes, SSX 3: Out of Bounds. And those aren't even all of the sequels/franchise follow-ups I've played this year.
So why the hell am I playing so many sequels? At least one-third of the games I played this year were sequels. Eight out of ten of the last games I've played were follow-ups! Well, the majority of the time it's because I haven't played the first. Had I experienced Burnout prior to the third in the series? Nope. Onimusha 3 was a deflowering experience. Ratchet & Clank 1? Nah, never got around to it. SSX existed before Out of Bounds? I'm a busy man, don't burden me with your trivia. Why didn't I play Halo before? None of your business.
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| Sequels, sequels everywhere. Now let's all have a drink. |
Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, Fatal Frame 2, Gradius V, Jak II, Jak 3, OutRun 2, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, Ratchet & Clank 3: Up Your Arsenal, Viewtiful Joe 2, Way of the Samurai 2. And that's not every sequel or follow-up in my Gamefly queue.
However, I feel that by even playing these games I'm assisting in driving the gaming industry towards creative bankruptcy. I'm not going to stop playing sequels but when seasons like these pop up, where I'm playing practically nothing but sequels a little trigger goes off in my head. Instead of anticipating a sequel, I become skeptical. Knights of the Old Republic II? Pfft, Bioware's not developing it. Metroid Prime 2? Looks like more of the same, except that I'll be cursing twice as much! Viewtiful Joe 2? You promised me multiplayer.
Is this a healthy reaction? Probably not. But many things I do aren't too healthy for me. Now, pass me that second bottle of whiskey and let me get back to Mega Man X8.
Devil May Cry 3, Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, Oddworld Stranger's Wrath, Resident Evil 4, Star Fox Assault. I am so ashamed of myself.
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#1 Dublyner Dec 9, 2004 06:54am
Gabe Newell shopped around and considered the Q3 engine for HL2, but decided that the story as it was evolving and the absolute need for the sequel to be as incredible if not better than the first made the available engine code inadequate for his aspirations. They hired a real, honest writer to design the storyline of HL2, and coded around it.
Why is the one man so lacking in common sense as to force Steam's implementation in all Valve products the only one who seems to have a shred of orginality and creativity left?
#2 Seraph_Six Dec 9, 2004 01:26pm
You can always run back to Katamari Damacy
#3 hobbie Dec 9, 2004 05:06pm
You know, if the game is good, play it.
#4 sk8dork Dec 9, 2004 05:14pm
sequels can be boring and stupid, but not in all cases. i noticed a few times where the sequel more feels like they've got the funding from the first game and the recognition to make probably what they wanted to make initially. burnout 3 blows the other 2 out of the water and actually looks so good it makes what i thought was great [burnout 2] look like complete shit. halo 2, it's halo 1 the way it should have been in every way shape and form. the hardware hasn't even changed. half life 2, though, is one of the few legit sequels for all the right reasons. then we are brought to thug2...would be the *counts on fingers* 6th in the series? hasent changed enough to earn any title past 'expansion pack' ridiculously huge expansion, yes, but still.
#5 R. LeFeuvre Dec 9, 2004 05:32pm
I don't think that's the point. It's not about whether or not the sequel is any good, it that simply by buying then we are telling the game industry that we don't mind designers that taking the safe, less creative route.
There's a certain maximum amount of creative freedom a designer has when crafting a sequel. A follow up is about taking what worked, fixing what didn't and adding in new elements (well, at least a good follow-up), and that definintely limits what option a designer has when making a game.
Buying all of these sequels is like going "sure, I don't need 100% fresh ideas to be happy because you can shovel the same basic/classic/cookie-cutter games on me every year". I'm certainly not happy sending that message - one of the best games this year was Katamari Damacy.
And guess what, it's getting a sequel... and I will likely buy it.
#6 Stilgar Dec 14, 2004 01:43am
I think part of the reason that there aren't many new and inventive games is that nobody has thought of a new genre of games. Right now most of the inventiveness comes from a new twist on a previous type of game i.e. RPG, shooter, racing, etc.