We all know by now that the PS4 is coming next holiday season and the next XBOX is probably going to be announced at the upcoming E3. That and I have no idea what gen the WIIU is in if any of you do fill me in. So with the end of this gen fast approaching I propose to you the reader what I think were the five most important gaming franchises that really made the gen. I use the word important not best, the franchises have left a huge foot print for good and bad, and spawned either spin offs or ripoffs. Now I can only speak for games that I have played. I game on a PS3 and a decent gaming PC that is of my own creation. So with out further ado the five games are....
5. Bioshock, the game offer a setting with such immersion that Rapture was the main character. The writing of the characters was top notch, the vision Kevin Levine had for the game was outstanding. The topics approached such as objectivism and individualism and how the reacted with the ideas of the state and society. It was one of the most well crafted universes of any game and has a massive cult following. It was released before the flood of military shooters that all but own industry. If it was released any later I doubt it would have been as successful as it is. I didn't take to it the first time I played it but I felt the controls were clunky and annoying, it ended up on the back burner for a while, eventually I booted it up and I fully bought in and ended up loving it. I put in the category of horror survival because I was always low and health and lower on ammo.The true sequel Infinite, because Bioshock 2 was a cash in by a different studio and lacked most of the aura the first had, looks amazing and the hype machine is in full effect. It comes out in a few days and I have been looking forward to this for a very long time.
4. The Walking Dead, the Telltale game not the fps junk bag that was almost secretly released last week. The game was essentially a point and click, the story was well written and held very true to the comics or so I'm told. I partake in the show not so much the graphic novel. I've skimmed through a couple issues mainly just staring at the pictures but overall I can't speak about the comics. The characters were created very well and Clementine was one of the most complete characters that I can remember. The shock and awe of having my decisions matter wore off because it is now so common place. I put the game on the list because it wasn't a big huge AAA title, I think the word indy is appropriate for the developers Telltale games, that and it was a downloadable title which usually get no where near the acclaim, hype, buzz, that the big AAA titles have. I'm sure the fact that it was The Walking Dead was the prime mover in all the game did. I mainly picked it for the way it was developed, I hated the episodic form they released the game in but oh well. Its nice to see small studios do different things, I really love the whole idea of kickstarter platform the now funds games in the millions of dollars. This is a side note but Shadowrun Returns and Wasteland 2 are on my shortlist for must plays in 2013. But back the game, the intra-tubes report that a 2nd season is coming so that's good. I doubt that the hype for any other season will be lessened that and I wouldn't be surprised if some franchise fatigue start to gnaw at it.
3. COD, this will I'm sure piss some of you readers off but going strictly by sale numbers it owns this gen. The first MW really changed the game putting an end to the nonstop WWII fps flood. The first was really innovative and fresh, it was as they all became a globe trotting bullet fest. The multiplayer is really what makes/made the series, it is a frantic twitch shooter that you either love or hate. I won't lie I've been known to go 2-14 every so often. I'm sure the franchise will go on and be a yearly installment for the next gen but I think the game peaked with BLOPS2. I think the Blops was the best followed by MW3. I hated MW2. Love it or hate it the game has been a powerhouse that has caused many games to copy it, and has caused many games to be scrapped in order to cash in on the Modern Shooter phenomena.
2. Diablo 3, now hear me out, this slot could have gone to any of the always connected failed schemes of the major publishers. The anti consumer policies that EA, Ubisoft and many others are a reason why I believe that consoles and the big publishers are going to push away a lot of their fan base. Push them to new outlets like Steam and the Kickstarters. EA one of the most hated companies would gain a lot of love if they didn't lead the witch hunt for used games charging five bucks to play online is blatant greed. Important isn't always positive, but when discussing this gen you have to address the policies that we as gamers have been subjected to. Yes alot of the rage is short lived but the recent Sims debacle proves that if a game has to be always online then wait a week until the servers get there act together. That and if you waited a week the publishers would loose there **** Its strange that video games are so fickle that the vast majority of games depend on the launch week. I fail to understand the apologists who defend when these things happen. We are consumers paying consumers who deserve better, but as long as the majority of gamers are sheep we can expect more of these policies.
1. Mass Effect, yes its an EA game and yes the ending left most of us with a bad taste in our mouth, but the overall experience of the trilogy was nothing short of amazing. The conversations were my favorite parts I loved running around the Normandy just talking to my crew. The alien sex was cool but how could it not be. The story and world that the game crafted was great. You end up really caring about your squad and they seem as real as fake characters can be. The loose cover base shooting was nothing to rave about but it was smooth and did not hamper the game. Driving around in the Mako passed hours of time, the Hammerhead was a piece of **** you would think Cerberus would have invested more into an attack vehicle. I spent hours as many of you did exploring the far corners of the galaxy. I think overall the final boss battles were lacking but when the journey is that great you can't help buck lack in the finally. I was not as appalled with the how the trilogy ended but lets be real it could have been much better. I chose the green light because I didn't want the geth or EDI to get **** that and why was the conversation system so detached after it was so robust in the first two. ME2 stands as one of my all time faves. It's a truly great franchise it didn't pave the way for the whole your decisions matter thing but it cleaned up all the rough spots and nearly perfected it.
Those are my pics, I didn't play Skyrim, or Borderlands, or Minecraft along with a whole slew of others and I don't play nintendo. The above like I said is just from my own reference. There are many great games that I have missed as I am sure you the reader has there own list of games they really should have played. Did you like my list, did you agree, disagree, did you enjoy my maiden blog, would you like to read more. Please comment below, I'd rather not get trashed but this is the intra-tubes so...
This being the savage waste that is the internet I feel compelled to end with this, the above was an opinion not fact. Nothing was meant to be trolling but if it comes across that way well so be it.
"The Vancouver-based (Canada) indie games developer Blinkmoon Games are today very happy and proud to announce that their dark fantasy bullet heaven "Necromantic", is coming to PC via Steam Early Access in 2024." - Jonas Ek, TGG.
Athenian Rhapsody is a JRPG with a difference: alongside turn-based combat & exploration, you'll need to complete WarioWare-style microgames.
A solid Metroidvania elevated by a truly moving story.
The lack of Demon's/Dark Souls is disturbing.
Diablo3 counts as a franchise?
I was expecting to see major series that started this gen, or made some major advancements this gen.
Stuff like AssassinsCreed, Uncharted, etc.
Demon's/Dark Souls
Uncharted
Mass Effect
Bioshock
Dead Space (havent played 3 yet)
those are my top 5
lol @ cod
In my opinion the most important franchises for this generation that broke the status quo and improve or were innovative franchises are:
Uncharted
Portal
Infamous
The Walking Dead
Bioshock
Mass Effect nope.
The Walking Dead nope.
Diablo nope..
COD no f***ing way!
Bioshock maybe...