The Dilution of Gaming - Shooters

[Serebii]

After watching the PS4 conference, and thinking about games over the last two generations, it really has come to mind that the vast majority of games nowadays are shooters.

 

Now, I used to love them. Goldeneye was fantastic, as was Perfect Dark, and I've always had a softspot for Halo, though mostly due to vehicles, and I often played CoD with friends. Recently, though, I've been getting so bored with them. Played some Halo last night with some friends, and it was just so boring. It's not fun to play anymore. These genres aren't putting a smile on my face, which is what gaming should do

 

However, I'm constantly seeing so many FPS games be released, often with very slight differences. They've mostly turned into corridors (even if disguised as "open") and it's just getting frustrating to me that people seem to consider it the best of gaming. Space-shooters especially. With the reveal of Destiny, I was hoping Bungie would try something new, but it's just another space shooter. Very little is changing with the genre, it's just getting prettier.

 

Thankfully, a lot of small developers have moved away from it, but I can't help but think that this is going to continue throughout the next generation.

 

Am I over-reacting/over-analysing or do you lot agree with me in regards to this?

Edited February 22, 2013 by Serebii

[Rummy]

I've felt a bit like this for the more recent end of this gen. Like all the big titles are FPS series with numerous games in them - CoD and Battlefield for example. I do hold a softspot for Halo myself(though only really having played Reach and 4), but that's due to my friends and a major social aspect of it for me. I think there's only really so much you can 'do' with the FPS genre - it's fairly self-limiting; so I'm certainly quite fatigued with seeing these being all the big blockbusters really. Unfortunately, FPS sells, so I don't see it changing up too much any time soon.

Edited February 22, 2013 by Rummy

[Cube]

I don't think it's that much of a problem. Games like Call of Duty, Halo, BioShock, Mass Effect, Gears of War, Uncharted, Borderlands, Killzone, Dead Space, Bulletstorm, Call of Juarez, Condemned, Crysis, Dark Void, FEAR, Fallout, Far Cry, Far Cry 2, Far Cry 3, New GoldenEye, Metroid Prime, Other M, Red Steel, Red Steel 2, Portal, Resident Evil 5/6, SOCOM 4, Vanquish and probably more I haven't played feel like completely different games.

 

Lots of shooters have big unique elements to them, or combine it with a different genre or specialised gameplay. Sure, there are lots of poor quality ones that are likely similar, but most of us wouldn't be interested in games of that quality anyway. Even games like Skyrim aren't really that far from an "FPS" classification.

 

It's like saying all sports games are the same. Or racing - you wouldn't accuse Mario Kart and Gran Turismo of being too similar.

 

If you're not a fan of the genre and don't look closely at them, I can understand the problem. I have the same problem with RPGs on the 3DS, as those games don't interest me.

Edited February 22, 2013 by Cube

[Dcubed]

I haven't enjoyed an FPS since Timesplitters 2 (There is Bioshock I guess, but going back and playing it again just recently made me realise that it's nowhere near as good as I remembered). Todays FPS games are boring, largely play themselves and generally all congeal into a big homogeneous dark chocolate cricket ball of mediocrity. There are a few interesting multiplayer only FPS games like Team Fortress 2 (though that one has since been ruined by F2P garbage ) and Shadowrun 360, but they still don't come close to those classic titles for me.

 

 

I love the old Doom games, Quake 1-3, Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Turok 1 & 2 and Timesplitters 2. Sadly nobody makes games like them any more

Edited February 22, 2013 by Dcubed

[Retro_Link]

@Serebii I don't think Destiny is a straight-forward Space shooter, I think they are trying something different in terms of making it more community based, more of an MMO, living world type feel. It could be VERY open world for all we know, the footage certainly suggests that kind of approach.

 

Doesn't stop it looking dull and boring at the moment though I'll agree! :p just saying.

 

---

 

Personally I've never been a fan of shooters, and largely stayed away from them throughout my entire gaming life. Nor do I tend to game online, so I don't get that whole community element that drives Call of Duty etc...

 

However, I have had some of the best gaming experiences with shooters, playing 4 Player Goldeneye into the early hours with a bunch of friends. And just the other year Goldeneye 007 on Wii was incredible in terms of it's controls and single player campaign; so they can still have a lot to offer!

 

I don't think it's correct to say people consider them 'the best in gaming', I'm not sure that's true at all. But it has been 'the best in gaming' at being able to integrate with the social online world we live in today. It's one of the genre's that lends itself to it best, and thus it's been capitalised upon and being enjoy their gaming communities; we even have one on here!

 

There are a lot of differences within the genre too, but personally I'd love to see a move away from them though.

 

It wouldn't hurt Nintendo to have implemented Online into the likes of Wii Sports and Nintendo Land over the years though! Who knows what type of vast online community/change in trend Wii Sports could have driven!

[Serebii]

@Serebii I don't think Destiny is a straight-forward Space shooter, I think they are trying something different in terms of making it more community based, more of an MMO, living world type feel. It could be VERY open world for all we know, the footage certainly suggests that kind of approach.

 

Doesn't stop it looking dull and boring at the moment though I'll agree! :p just saying.

 

---

 

Personally I've never been a fan of shooters, and largely stayed away from them throughout my entire gaming life. Nor do I tend to game online, so I don't get that whole community element that drives Call of Duty etc...

 

However, I have had some of the best gaming experiences with shooters, playing 4 Player Goldeneye into the early hours with a bunch of friends. And just the other year Goldeneye 007 on Wii was incredible in terms of it's controls and single player campaign; so they can still have a lot to offer!

 

I don't think it's correct to say people consider them 'the best in gaming', I'm not sure that's true at all. But it has been 'the best in gaming' at being able to integrate with the social online world we live in today. It's one of the genre's that lends itself to it best, and thus it's been capitalised upon and being enjoy their gaming communities; we even have one on here!

 

There are a lot of differences within the genre too, but personally I'd love to see a move away from them though.

 

It wouldn't hurt Nintendo to have implemented Online into the likes of Wii Sports and Nintendo Land over the years though! Who knows what type of vast online community/change in trend Wii Sports could have driven!

See, I agree, but the problem is I know so many who won't touch a game if it's not a shooter, assuming the other games are for kids. It sounds hyperbolic but it's unfortunately true. This is a common thing I see around the net too

[Retro_Link]

It's true, but in that case is it not developers like Nintendo's [/insert other as hugely influential developer if one exists] responsibility to go out and try buck this trend, no?... otherwise where else is the change going to come from?

 

Microsoft don't want to change it, it's the market where their entire Xbox install base lies, it's almost entirely what their sales have been built on/where their money comes from.

[Fierce_LiNk]

I don't think it's that much of a problem. Games like Call of Duty, Halo, BioShock, Mass Effect, Gears of War, Uncharted, Borderlands, Killzone, Dead Space, Bulletstorm, Call of Juarez, Condemned, Crysis, Dark Void, FEAR, Fallout, Far Cry, Far Cry 2, Far Cry 3, New GoldenEye, Metroid Prime, Other M, Red Steel, Red Steel 2, Portal, Resident Evil 5/6, SOCOM 4, Vanquish and probably more I haven't played feel like completely different games.

 

You're stretching it a bit by calling Other M and the two Resident Evil games "shooters". Although, you may be right, and Resident Evil may be part of the problem. It used to be a survival horror/action game. It's a shame that now it is lost amongst that crowd of third person shooters. (Other M is a platformer, all day long, for me)

 

I remember the days of old where people used to argue that Metroid Prime was a third person adventure rather than shooter. Yes, you do "shoot things" but it was almost a category of its own.

 

Personally, the big problem I have is to do with setting. Notably, the Call of Duty and Medal of Honour games are guilty of reusing the same setting over and over again. I personally dislike that, and it's games such as those which give the entire genre a bad name. In addition to that, the "space" shooter genre is being a bit saturated. Aliens: Colonial Marines was intended to be the King of this genre, the story mode looked excellent...alas, it wasn't meant to be.

 

What I don't really like about certain series' is that they are almost being "tech fests", where it becomes a case of how "impressive" a game can look or what it can do, rather than actually being fun or exciting to play in itself. I've mentioned this before, but TimeSplitters 2 nailed this for me. It had reems of content, looked quite nice with its graphic style, had a good multiplayer, map maker, etc. But, it just didn't click for me, it didn't have a soul like Goldeneye had in the past.

 

Red Steel 2 was interesting in that it had a nice art style and great sword controls. The mission structure wasn't right, though, which fundamentally let the rest of the game down. It seems hard for shooters to get everything right, and those that do are the rare awesome quality ones.

[Retro_Link]

Have to agree, the Timesplitters series never really appeal to me either I never felt compelled to pick them up, specifically coming off the back of Goldeneye and Perfect Dark.

 

I seem to remember playing Timesplitters 2 in co-op with @Eddage, not sure if we completed it. At the time though it did have some cool features for that, like one of you being able to control a security camera sentry gun and help the other person out as they went into a room full of enemies... of course things like that are a standard these days.

 

What happened to the Turok license after Acclaim went under?

 

Maybe a return to dinosaur hunting, done by a capable developer, would be a nice change in scenery!

[Cube]

I remember the days of old where people used to argue that Metroid Prime was a third person adventure rather than shooter. Yes, you do "shoot things" but it was almost a category of its own.

 

That's what I meant by how quite a few are a different genre. Portal is an FPS-Puzzle, Fallout is an FPS-RPG, Borderlands is a totally different kind of FPS-RPG, Uncharted is an TPS-Platformer, Far Cry 3 is a FPS-Sandbox, Mass Effect is a TPS-RPG (but again, a very different RPG from the two mentioned), Dead Space and RE are TPS-Horrors, FEAR is an FPS-Horror.

 

You get games like Call of Duty (one a year) and Medal of Honor, but they don't blindly sell like some people seem to suggest - the I think latest Medal of Honor was a disaster.

 

What happened to the Turok license after Acclaim went under?

 

Disney made an utterly terrible one.

[Fierce_LiNk]

That's what I meant by how quite a few are a different genre. Portal is an FPS-Puzzle, Fallout is an FPS-RPG, Borderlands is a totally different kind of FPS-RPG, Uncharted is an TPS-Platformer, Far Cry 3 is a FPS-Sandbox, Mass Effect is a TPS-RPG (but again, a very different RPG from the two mentioned), Dead Space and RE are TPS-Horrors, FEAR is an FPS-Horror.

 

You get games like Call of Duty (one a year) and Medal of Honor, but they don't blindly sell like some people seem to suggest - the I think latest Medal of Honor was a disaster.

 

The ones I've bolded have interesting settings. I'm not even sure half of them are "primarily" shooters. I wouldn't look at Dead Space and say it's a shooter first, I would say that primarily it is a Survival Horror. That's where the different lies. Uncharted is a platformer/action/adventure that also happens to be a shooter. It's not primarily a shooter that has some adventure elements, if that makes sense. I've not bolded Resident Evil because it is trash. :p

 

So, my point is that the way forward is to make interesting locations and settings/environments first. The genre is also important. Dead Space didn't excite me because it was a shooter, but because of the survival horror elements, the story and locations.

[Agent Gibbs]

i wish someone good would remake perfect dark, or do a good sequel.....this thread has reminded me how some of the best FPS i used to love are dying away...

[Retro_Link]

Disney made an utterly terrible one.

Oh I thought that last Turok was maybe by Acclaim too... So Disney own the Turok license now?

 

i wish someone good would remake perfect dark, or do a good sequel.....this thread has reminded me how some of the best FPS i used to love are dying away...

The end sequence of the Killzone demo flying through the city actually made me think of Perfect Dark, especially if it was set at night...

 

 

We need a return to the Perfect Dark world, and a futuristic city setting... if only Nintendo could buy it from Rare/Microsoft and give it to Retro Studios.

[Agent Gibbs]

We need a return to the Perfect Dark world, and a futuristic city setting... if only Nintendo could buy it from Rare/Microsoft and give it to Retro Studios.

 

 

i would die if they did that

[Jonnas]

FPS, a genre that I loathe. The only one I genuinely loved was Timesplitters 2 (also, Goldeneye was fun in multiplayer, but I barely played it. Timesplitters 3 is good for the multiplayer, but is otherwise lacking in comparison to the predecessor)

 

I hear Half-Life 2 is great, so I should give that one a go. I remember playing some HL1 and being captivated by it, too.

Bioshock is another one I should try.

 

Portal

 

I wouldn't call Portal an FPS. You don't shoot bullets, you almost never shoot to kill, and action isn't the game's main focus.

 

I wouldn't call Metroid Prime an FPS, either, but that's in the same vein I wouldn't call Super Metroid a platformer. To me, they're adventure games.

[Magnus]

At least we can always count on Pokémon to be innovative and never get boring.

[Cube]

I wouldn't call Portal an FPS. You don't shoot bullets, you almost never shoot to kill, and action isn't the game's main focus.

 

I wouldn't call Metroid Prime an FPS, either, but that's in the same vein I wouldn't call Super Metroid a platformer. To me, they're adventure games.

 

That's exactly the point I'm trying to make. The same applies to a lot of other "shooter" games.

[Jonnas]

That's exactly the point I'm trying to make. The same applies to a lot of other "shooter" games.

 

Ah, you're talking about games that are generally called an FPS, even though, in essence, it's another genre in the 1st person (like Fallout 3) or simply integrating 3rd-person gunfights (like Mass Effect).

(Also, is Borderlands an FPS that incorporates RPG elements, or is it an outright hybrid? I thought it was just the former)

 

I think that Serebii is only talking about FPSes that stick with the genre definition, though, like Halo, CoD, Medal of Honour, Unreal, etc.

And games Half-Life, TF2 and Spec-Ops: The Line also fit that mold, though they actually manage to stand out from the crowd (or at least that's what I heard).

[Sheikah]

After watching the PS4 conference, and thinking about games over the last two generations, it really has come to mind that the vast majority of games nowadays are shooters.

 

Now, I used to love them. Goldeneye was fantastic, as was Perfect Dark, and I've always had a softspot for Halo, though mostly due to vehicles, and I often played CoD with friends. Recently, though, I've been getting so bored with them. Played some Halo last night with some friends, and it was just so boring. It's not fun to play anymore. These genres aren't putting a smile on my face, which is what gaming should do

 

However, I'm constantly seeing so many FPS games be released, often with very slight differences. They've mostly turned into corridors (even if disguised as "open") and it's just getting frustrating to me that people seem to consider it the best of gaming. Space-shooters especially. With the reveal of Destiny, I was hoping Bungie would try something new, but it's just another space shooter. Very little is changing with the genre, it's just getting prettier.

 

Thankfully, a lot of small developers have moved away from it, but I can't help but think that this is going to continue throughout the next generation.

 

Am I over-reacting/over-analysing or do you lot agree with me in regards to this?

 

It's because you're playing the same type of game with the same basic formula over and over. Which I find more than a touch ironic given your love for Pokemon.

[Fused King]

[Cube]

(Also, is Borderlands an FPS that incorporates RPG elements, or is it an outright hybrid? I thought it was just the former)

 

It's a loot/quest kind of RPG (open world, levelling up, upgrade trees, picking up quests, lots and lots of loot, HP bars, and all that kind of stuff) in an FPS shell.

[Daft]

All FPSs have nuances. If you aren't a fan of the genre, then that's fine but tarring them all as broadly similar is pretty ignorant. It would be like saying GT5, Forza, PGR, Need for Speed are all too similar.

[Grazza]

If you're not a fan of the genre and don't look closely at them, I can understand the problem. I have the same problem with RPGs on the 3DS, as those games don't interest me.

 

But then again, are there any really good RPGs on the 3DS yet? Maybe in Japan, but I don't think there are in Europe.

 

...

 

Regarding shooters, I just find them callous, to be honest. The Killzone footage was a real low point of the conference to me, although Sony did at least prove themselves masters of irony. "Nintendo is so unoriginal, making all those Mario games. Here's an FPS."

 

But really, I didn't know how they weren't embarrassed to be making a focal-point of something so... repetitive. It was just mindless violence, and the way they introduced it made it sound quite artistic!

 

I don't want to sound like a prude or anything. There's just as much violence in films, if not more. But when so many games are just about guns and violence, I'm thinking to myself "Have we all numbed our brains or something?"

[Serebii]

All FPSs have nuances. If you aren't a fan of the genre, then that's fine but tarring them all as broadly similar is pretty ignorant. It would be like saying GT5, Forza, PGR, Need for Speed are all too similar.

That's the thing, as I explained, I used to love them and enjoy playing them, but they have gotten to be so common and so blah

[Dcubed]

But then again, are there any really good RPGs on the 3DS yet? Maybe in Japan, but I don't think there are in Europe.

 

...

 

Regarding shooters, I just find them callous, to be honest. The Killzone footage was a real low point of the conference to me, although Sony did at least prove themselves masters of irony. "Nintendo is so unoriginal, making all those Mario games. Here's an FPS."

 

But really, I didn't know how they weren't embarrassed to be making a focal-point of something so... repetitive. It was just mindless violence, and the way they introduced it made it sound quite artistic!

 

I don't want to sound like a prude or anything. There's just as much violence in films, if not more. But when so many games are just about guns and violence, I'm thinking to myself "Have we all numbed our brains or something?"

 

There's a reason for that and that's because these games are aimed at bloodthirsty American teenagers first and foremost. No other demographics exist apparently, didn't you get the memo?