According to many old school gamers, we are living in a dark age of gaming thanks to all the filthy casual gamers and lazy developers. It’s no longer about making good games but to quickly release a new title then milk it dry before moving on to the next cash cow.
Most of us old school gamers need to realize that we are not living in a dark age because many of these problems in gaming have been around for a long time. From sleazy freemium games to constant re-releases, gamers have seen them back in the days when the N64 and PlayStation were king.
These are five common problems in gaming today that have been around for a long time.
5. Series Never Changes
Gamers hear this a lot about franchises like Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed, every game in series is the same with little changes. Despite a few tweaks, it’s going to be the same game with the same gameplay, same story, same events and same predictable plot twist that any gamer could see coming. By the fourth title, you know exactly which character is going to be killed-off and it’s not even going to bother you. Call of Duty is the obvious target while Ubisoft has faced similar criticism, but at least they put more of an effort than Scott Cawthon and his Five Nights at Freddy’s series.
It’s easy to say developers have become lazy or publishers have become greedy and are trying to milk a series, yet gamers forget that this has been going on for a long time. This has been going on with hit franchises since the 90’s, yet a lot of those games are now seen as classics.
Today considered a classic, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and San Andreas were sometimes criticized for having the same gameplay as Grand Theft Auto III with only minor changes. Even today, some gamers felt that Grand Theft Auto V was no different than its predecessors. Resident Evil 2 is often hailed as the best game in the series and one of the most iconic PlayStation games, but its gameplay was exactly like its predecessor. Also one should ask what is difference between Doom and Doom II in regards to their gameplay.
Developers are going to operate on a “don’t fix it if it isn’t broken” mentality when having to release a new title within two years after the release of the original. To make up for the lack of changes in the gameplay, they will be more focused on expanding the story and character development.
4. HD Remakes
The Next-Gen consoles is the next stage of the gaming industry and yet almost the majority of games being released are just HD remakes. Most of the hit titles released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are just HD versions of games from the last console. Grand Theft Auto V, The Last Of Us, and the Halo series have all been re-released on the Next-Gen consoles while there is very little original titles that takes advantage of the new hardware.
Looking back, this is not a new phenomenon as past console featured a variety of updated versions of titles from the last console generation. Some of the early games for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 were just ports of successful PC titles like Far Cry and Unreal Tournament. Going even futher one could also recall some of the early games for the Nintendo 64 were ports of hit PC games. Titles like Doom 64, Duke Nukem 64, Asteroids, Command & Conquer were available alongside many original launch titles.
Gamers seem to forget that it takes time for developers to switch over to the hardware of the new console. Publishers also would like to see which console is going to be the dominant one so they know who their main audience is going to be. Hence, the early games of a new console are going to be ports from the previous console generation or the PC.
3. Freemium Games
Freemium has grown to become a cancer of the gaming world as developers make s*** games then try to milk stupid casual gamers just to advance to the next level. It’s because of parasites like Angry Birds and Candy Crush Saga that is ruining the gaming industry as developers are trying to focus more on half-ass mobile games.
However the concept of paying to play has been around for a very long time, only it was once known as the arcade. Gamers had to pay $.25 – $2 to play a game that would last depending on a person’s own skill set (but it didn’t last that long). Sure the games in the arcade were a better quality compared to the freemium games today, but paying $1 to play Time Crisis 2 is still a rip-off.
When the consoles began to dominate the gaming market, arcades became obsolete and would soon fade away. In its absence, the freemium market emerged to take its place thanks to rise of smartphones. Now gamers could enjoy that arcade feeling once again only by paying to play very dumb games that offer no real satisfaction.
2. Too Many Re-Releases
Resident Evil 4 was the game that changed the concept of horror survival, yet Capcom has re-released it so many times that it has become annoying among gamers. This has grown to become an annoying trend among gamers who are craving something new and original. Yet when a publisher is constantly re-releasing the same game, it’s obvious they have gone bankrupt regarding creativity.
Yet gamers seem to forget that publishers are always re-releasing their games. Want proof, guess how many times the original Resident Evil was released for the PS1? Answer: three times! There was the original release, a Director’s Cut and the Dual Shock Edition. Meanwhile the original Doom has been re-released on almost every handheld device ever since the release of the Gameboy Advance.
Rockstar Games is also guilty of this as they have re-released Grand Theft Auto III, ViceCity and San Andreas on multiple systems. Originally released for the PS2 followed by a PC version while Xbox gamers had to wait a few extra years. All three would be later re-released for the PS3 and Xbox 360 as part of an anniversary edition followed by a mobile phone port. Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 were re-released as Substance for the PS2 followed by an HD remastering for all major consoles and part of the Legacy collection for the PS3.
So why do publishers re-release their games? Part of it is they feel the new hardware could improve a classic title while also wanting to introduce their games to a new generation. Resident Evil 4 on a Next-Gen console means nothing to someone who played it for the PS2 or GameCube but Capcom is hoping that it will introduce the series to a new audience.
1. Online Trash Talk
Besides lag, the one thing we all hate about multiplayer games is the trash talk and the lack of sportsmanship within the community. Call of Duty fans have the unfortunate luck of being seen as the lowest common denominator of the multiplayer world. They are often labeled as being pre-teen brats who are constantly using homophobic and racist slurs while lacking any sense of sportsmanship. Sometimes an old school gamer wonders why can’t they be more like those who play Counter-Strike or ArmA, a gaming communities that has a good concept of sportsmanship while no tolerance for trash talk
However we all need to remember that at one point, we were all 13 while thinking it was cool to use homophobic and racist slurs. Back in the day it was no different, we were all calling each other “f****-noobs” followed by “suck my ****” during a game of Counter-Strike (or some other multiplayer game). Every single one of us has a story about seeing trash talk or doing the trash talk, so get-off your high horse.
The only reason Call of Duty gamers are slapped with this label is because of the games demographic while those of us who play Counter-Strike got old and matured. The minute a new popular shooter series comes along, it will be the older Call of Duty fans that will be bickering about the trash talk and immaturity of a gaming community.
Hence, branding a fan base as juvenile is almost the video game equivalent of bickering about how the next generation is stupid and will doom us all.
Was there any gamer problems you agreed with ot felt were missed, share your thoughts in the comments.
Published: Aug 18, 2015 08:16 pm