"The Future of Shooters is RPGs" says... CliffyB - by van HellSing
Scots Taffer on 9/7/2009 at 02:13
Quote Posted by Stitch
Baaa Baaaaa Baaaaa Baaaaaaa
WHAT ARE YOU SAYING SHEEP? I CANT HEAR YOU.
Scots Taffer on 9/7/2009 at 02:14
Actually, Johnny, shut the fuck up.
june gloom on 9/7/2009 at 02:43
Actually, I'm enjoying Bioshock a lot more- and on a much more consistent basis- than I did the first go-round. Which I've mentioned, sure, but while I still have problems with the gameplay, I'm able to actually enjoy the game's good aspects on a more lasting basis, probably because it's not crashing on me every 10 minutes.
It's not a bad game by any means and is actually quite good. The story and atmosphere, at least, are great. You can't tell me Fort Frolic/Sander Cohen isn't at least as creepy as SS2's Recreation deck.
Has anyone else noticed the way Bioshock was marketed? It was marketed in two ways- to oldtimers like us, as being a spiritual sequel to SS2 (which it turned out not to really live up to, causing a still-raging flamewar) and to everyone else, as being a cautionary tale about the crushing fall of man due to his own hubris.
catbarf on 9/7/2009 at 02:58
I'm not surprised. Offering shiny objects as a reward for hours of grinding is a great way to artificially increase the length of your game.
Scots Taffer on 9/7/2009 at 03:03
I do think CliffyB has a point though, I think the pure shooter genre has bled itself out. If a game came out today with ridiculously advanced graphics but in effect was just a pure Doom clone, it'd be a massive failure. Nearly every successful FPS in the past 3-5 years has been a FPS hybrid of some sort and most improve massively upon the strict FPS formula.
Stitch on 9/7/2009 at 03:52
Quote Posted by dethtoll
It's not a
bad game by any means and is actually quite good.
Yeah, I was able to accept it for what it was and enjoy the hell out of the first 2/3 (although the first level promises greatness the remaining game never even comes close to matching).
That all being said, the last 2/3 is pretty terrible.
Zygoptera on 9/7/2009 at 04:00
I have to respectfully disagree with Mr B on two counts.
(1) Specialist shooter titles have and still are outperforming hybrids markedly.
(2) Bioshock isn't an RPG, isn't a hybrid and has as much in common with racing games as with them. Tonics are fancy named swappable tyres for your Jackmobile and plasmids are just guns with funny names and unified ammo. If their customisation makes Bioshock any sort of RPG then being able to customise a car for your playstyle in --insert racing game here-- makes them RPGs too.
If he'd said what he actually meant- something like "the future of shooters is to improve setting and storytelling (which Bioshock did well) while giving the illusion that our gameplay isn't shallower and more generic than an Adam Sandler movie" then I'd wholeheartedly agree.
Scots Taffer on 9/7/2009 at 04:03
Quote Posted by Stitch
...enjoy the hell out of the first 2/3...the last 2/3 is pretty terrible.
Does not compute.
But I know what you mean. Personally the first 1/3 was the only really good part and even it was on a rollercoaster decline after the spectacular opening which quickly gave way to "why would I .... uhhh".
Anyway, let's talk about FPS/RPG hybrids and how dead the FPS genre is in general. Just because CoD4 still sold well doesn't mean that it's the future of FPS gaming, and for all I dislike BioShock, I welcome the move to games of that nature over the unimaginative spawnathons presented in more standard fare.
Aja on 9/7/2009 at 04:21
CoD4 sold well because it took the doctrines of traditional FPS gameplay and, rather than change them, instead refined them to a level nearing perfection. After it, there aren't many places for these types of games to go. Gears of War did kinda the same thing for third-person shooters.
Bioshock, for all its flaws, presents a more tenable path. Bleszinski might be incorrect in calling it an RPG, but his point—that shooters need to move in a more cerebral direction—is sound. Games like Bioshock can at least help ease the transition, though if Fallout's sales are any indication, the transition is well underway.
Taffer36 on 9/7/2009 at 04:35
Quote Posted by Aja
CoD4 sold well because it took the doctrines of traditional FPS gameplay and, rather than change them, instead refined them to a level nearing perfection. After it, there aren't many places for these types of games to go.
This. Call of Duty 4 took what makes a bare bones, straight up shooter and took it to the top of the mountain.
I frequent the Epic Games boards, too, and a good number of threads have popped up because of Cliff's words on RPG's, but just listen to the guy. He's talking about BIOSHOCK. From that you should be able to tell that he doesn't necessarily mean "RPG", but "pseudo-RPG-esque elements". Sure. I can see FPS games branching out and including things that don't make a game an RPG but are things typically found in them.
It's not that serious.
