My problem with "revolutionizing" Rail Shooters.

Posted by WASDF (110 posts) - 3 years, 1 day ago

The Wii seems to be the new home for the previously dying genre of On-Rail Shooters. I would absolutely love this if it hadn't been for every new rail shooter to come out trying to reinvent the genre. The thing I've always loved about rail shooters like House of the Dead and ARE51 were that they were easy and quick games to pick-up and play! Now developers want to make their games worth $50 dollars just to sell them for $50 even if the game its self does not want to be deserving of $50. They're turning a quick romp of a game into an overbearing unwelcome visit from one of my favorite Arcade genres.

The game that made me realize what they're doing wrong was Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. I just finished the game today and I enjoyed it to an extent. My issues with it were the same issues I had with Dead Space: Extraction. Slow, too long, and repetitive (which is synonymous with rail shooters, which is why they're meant to be short). This genre was not meant to tell an entire story, which is what seems to be the new fad for this kind of game. They're all trying to be interactive cinematic experiences from the perspective a hero when they shouldn't be like that at all, unless they can make it actually fun to play. My playtime of Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles clocked in at a little under 11 hours. I was playing on Normal, by myself, and using the pistol mainly (if that matters). That is way to fucking long, CAPCOM!

Thanks to the length of the game I started to realize "All I'm doing is aiming at their heads over and over again and then shooting a boss' heart." which is normally the formula for all rail shooters - BUT I DON'T WANT TO NOTICE IT! By the beginning of the Code Veronica levels I was hungry for the ending. I remember a time when I never wanted House of the Dead 2 to end, and I could continue killing zombies in Rome with their lovable cheesy populace! Now with every new rail shooter I want it to end before it gets started!

I think the only people doing it right are the masters of the genre, SEGA! House of the Dead: Overkill while not as good as its previous installments and incorporating elements of what I hate but toned down, it was still really fun and funny. And re-releasing House of the Dead 2 and 3, what a cool thing to do! Now all they need to do is release House of the Dead 4 and I'll never play any other rail shooter ever again!

#1 Posted by WASDF (110 posts) - 3 years, 1 day ago

The Wii seems to be the new home for the previously dying genre of On-Rail Shooters. I would absolutely love this if it hadn't been for every new rail shooter to come out trying to reinvent the genre. The thing I've always loved about rail shooters like House of the Dead and ARE51 were that they were easy and quick games to pick-up and play! Now developers want to make their games worth $50 dollars just to sell them for $50 even if the game its self does not want to be deserving of $50. They're turning a quick romp of a game into an overbearing unwelcome visit from one of my favorite Arcade genres.

The game that made me realize what they're doing wrong was Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. I just finished the game today and I enjoyed it to an extent. My issues with it were the same issues I had with Dead Space: Extraction. Slow, too long, and repetitive (which is synonymous with rail shooters, which is why they're meant to be short). This genre was not meant to tell an entire story, which is what seems to be the new fad for this kind of game. They're all trying to be interactive cinematic experiences from the perspective a hero when they shouldn't be like that at all, unless they can make it actually fun to play. My playtime of Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles clocked in at a little under 11 hours. I was playing on Normal, by myself, and using the pistol mainly (if that matters). That is way to fucking long, CAPCOM!

Thanks to the length of the game I started to realize "All I'm doing is aiming at their heads over and over again and then shooting a boss' heart." which is normally the formula for all rail shooters - BUT I DON'T WANT TO NOTICE IT! By the beginning of the Code Veronica levels I was hungry for the ending. I remember a time when I never wanted House of the Dead 2 to end, and I could continue killing zombies in Rome with their lovable cheesy populace! Now with every new rail shooter I want it to end before it gets started!

I think the only people doing it right are the masters of the genre, SEGA! House of the Dead: Overkill while not as good as its previous installments and incorporating elements of what I hate but toned down, it was still really fun and funny. And re-releasing House of the Dead 2 and 3, what a cool thing to do! Now all they need to do is release House of the Dead 4 and I'll never play any other rail shooter ever again!

#2 Edited by Coombs (3436 posts) - 3 years, 1 day ago

Point Blank 2 Roller Coaster
Need I say more (lol)

#3 Posted by WASDF (110 posts) - 3 years, 1 day ago

Yeah, I fixed it. Thanks though.

#4 Posted by davidwitten22 (1060 posts) - 3 years, 1 day ago

Ninja Assault is the definition of what an on-rails shooter should be. Too bad it involved the crappy guncon, an awful piece of technology for the ps2.

Yeah, um, do you live near an arcade? Because you seem to want an arcade style light-gun shooter. And they have tons of those at arcades.

#5 Posted by WASDF (110 posts) - 3 years, 1 day ago

@davidwitten22:
Unfortunately, as I'm sure you're aware - Arcades are a dying breed. And I haven't lived near one or been in the same city as one since 2001.

#6 Posted by Emilio (3380 posts) - 3 years, 4 hours ago

I agree with you, good sir. That's the problem with these games. Capcom/Sega/EA/Whatever get all pissy because they put out a "Mature" rail shooter on the Wii, and nobody buys them. Its because they are fucking over priced, you twits.

Plus they get soooo boring unless you have a friend to play with.

Overkill, though kind of fun, is just way too "over the top". It overkills its overkill.
Havn't played Extraction, but I do want to give that a go and Darkside Chronicles.

I just wish they'd bust out the rail shooters at 20 dollars per disc. Maybe bundle two or maybe even three games per disc... it'd be wonderful.

#7 Posted by Meowayne (6084 posts) - 3 years, 4 hours ago

"All I'm doing is aiming at their heads over and over again and then shooting a boss' heart.

Sounds like 80% of all big budget games today.

#8 Posted by Emilio (3380 posts) - 3 years, 4 hours ago

@Meowayne said:

"
"All I'm doing is aiming at their heads over and over again and then shooting a boss' heart.
Sounds like 80% of all big budget games today. "

I hope Sin & Punishment 2 ain't like that!! :(

#9 Posted by Arkthemaniac (6535 posts) - 2 years, 11 months ago

I agree to an extent as well. I mean, the only two I've played have been Umbrella Chronicles and Overkill, and Overkill was better by leaps and bounds, but that was mostly because shooting zombies in UC felt like shooting at a brick wall, no recoil whatsoever. I want to try Darkside Chronicles and Extraction, but I plan on waiting for them to both be good and cheap, 20 bucks or so.

#10 Posted by Shirogane (3423 posts) - 2 years, 11 months ago

What were your thoughts on Ghost Squad? I liked the arcade one back when i went to arcades, and it existed at them, but somehow the Wii version didn't capture the feel properly.

I havn't tried Extraction, but with Darkside Chronicles i had a different major problem that annoyed the hell out of me. What's up with that stupid shaky camera?

#11 Posted by WASDF (110 posts) - 2 years, 11 months ago

@Shirogane: I don't really think a light gun game experience in the arcade can be replicated on the Wii. They're decent but not as much fun as playing them in the Arcades.

Wii

The Nintendo Wii is a home video game console released on November 19, 2006. The Wii's main selling point was the innovative use of motion controls that its signature Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers allowed for. It became the best selling home console of its respective generation of hardware.

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