Let's think.
Consider Prototype. Prototype is a game that set out with a simple creed:
- You are a dude,
- You slash other dudes,
- Upon slashing dudes, they become both bloody and messy,
- You can eat dudes.
It stuck to them. Granted the conspiracy theory stuff has been done to death in other mediums, and the game is more or less The Thing set in New York, and it's repetitive as hell, but the game does blood, mess, and gore, and does it well. It doesn't go for comedic or absurd, like Gears of War or Wolverine, it does it in New York, and creates a vision that can only be described as the best depiction of Hell that I've ever seen. If the graphics were in any way decent, I'd be thoroughly terrified. This is a game that doesn't pander or sell out, it simply does what it needs to.
But then, I have Red Alert 3. Have you played it? It's a mess. Regardless of opinion about their quality, the Command & Conquer games have always had a solid single-player campaign. A campaign that was fun to play, original, gave you interesting mission objectives. So where did Red Alert 3 become just a series of skirmish missions?
For every Chronicles of Riddick we have a Frontlines, for every Call of Duty 4 we have a Medal of Honor. For every first half of Bioshock, we have a second half of Bioshock. How many of us saw Turning Point and thought 'Cool, alternate history', and then didn't play it because the developer just tried to make it more like Call of Duty or Halo or Other Generic FPS.
I don't think I'm alone here in getting fed up with game companies coming up with new and interesting ideas, then realising that, 'Oh no, that won't go down well with the stockholders' and then trying to make another Halo. So many games have an interesting concept and then fail to deliver. Bionic Commando, for example. Supposedly Spiderman, feat. Mike Patton. Alas, no. Timeshift, another one. All these games that didn't have the heart not to stand up for their convictions.
I worry about Dark Void, because it very easily go so terribly wrong. But that's just me.
We're seeing a similar thing in the film industry, films like Hancock and Iron Man, films with genuinely interesting characters and plots, but decide to throw it in the last half/third and turn into Tranformers. I'm not talking about the indie films, I'm talking about the blockbusters, because it's the same in both mediums.
It's about time the game industry took some risks.
EDIT: Just in case there's any misunderstandings, games like Red Alert 3 are well made, it's just clear to where the developer didn't give a shit. A bad game is one thing, a badly made game is another. There is a distinction, I'm sure of it.
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