Protoype II came out this week. In it, you’re a soldier with powers that turn you into a diabolical wrecking ball of monsterism. You murder soldiers with the greatest of ease, kill helicopters by ripping them in twain with your tendrils and hurl a slew of curse words. But does anyone care? A few years ago, there was a hot debate over which was better: Sony-exclusive Infamous and Prototype. You would find gamers taking up sides, selling out the opponent as more soulless and boring. If both games were in an action movie, you’d half expect the other to say “We’re not so different, you and me.” Last year, Infamous II was released and the biggest change outside the setting was giving protagonist Cole a taser-stick and ice/fire powers. Now that Prototype II is hitting, it’s interesting that hype and interest in these titles couldn’t be lower. Think about it: these games let you do almost ANYTHING. So have we stopped caring?
HAVE WE?
No. In fact, last year’s Saint’s Row The Third actually let you do EVERYTHING you possibly could in a videogame. It was ridiculous as all get out and pretty fun, if a mindless distraction. And that’s what bothers us: Infamous and Prototype are mindless distractions as well (and if you play for the story, shut up). So what did Saint’s Row that the others didn’t? (And don’t put my head on a pike because we have no idea how much Prototype II will sell. I get that). It’s probably because the Saint’s Row rules changed just enough to warrant a look.
Let me back up. The rules changed? Why is Shane up his own ass?
Remember Super Mario Sunshine, the GameCube game which literally made you do community service? By all intents and purposes, Sunshine wasn’t much better than Mario 64. In fact, it was kind of a lot worse. Meaning, there was some nifty ideas but it still kinda shat the bed in platforming. But Super Mario Galaxy? That re-wrote the rules, man! Now you were in space and every level had its own gravity and game changers. The rules were different. They were refreshing and original. They got Galaxy’s rules right.
Now let’s look at Rockstar. Grand Theft Auto IV met with much acclaim, but it was almost too serious. Where the hell was all that batshit crazy stuff we did in the other games? Where was the base jumping? The tank? It was gone! For as engaging (and solid) as it was, GTAIV was pretty damn serious and not as much fun. The Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony injected a bit of fun in the mix (and some full frontal male nudity), which made GTA fun to play again. It was still the same sandbox though and it wasn’t that different.
Red Dead Redemption however, gave us a new sandbox and a new set of rules. All of a sudden we were in the American West and could only play by those rules. It was solid as shit and had an excellent story to boot. We gave a damn and felt that just by throwing us in a new time period and setting, we were more badass. Like a cross between a John Hillcoat movie and Clint Eastwood’s snarl, Red Dead Redemption felt fresh. They got the rules right.
But LA Noire did not. A year ago, we were super psyched for the game that was in development for six years. Play as a cop? LA in the 40s? Rockstar? Team Bondi? Hell, yes. Oh no… While there were some clever concepts, the interrogation system confused more than thrilled and side missions were ultra-boring. No matter how amazing it was to see Ken from Mad Men as a game character, we couldn’t help but wonder why the game was so mundane. They didn’t rewrite the rules in the right way. The investigations at the heart of the game were interesting and harkened back to pixel-hunting adventure games. But the interrogations? Confusing and led to many a failure. In the other Rockstar games, as long as we went about the mission, we got it done any way possible. In LA Noire, we felt like we failed upward.
How about the Assassin’s Creed games? Well, we’re tired of Jerusalem and Italy. But the American Revoultionary War era? Now the rules are fresh again. Now there’s snow and trees to traipse. Why do you think the pre-orders are outrageously high?
It all has to do with rewriting the rules and settings in the right way. We hope GTAV will do so. We hope there’s a good balance between serious and videogame-y fun. We want something that is both a fun distraction and engaging. But with next-gen systems on the rise, where do we go from here?
Community service?
