More of the same. So what?
By Pezen 5 Comments
I finally dragged my ass away from Starcraft II enough to start my adventure in Yakuza 4. And as I am savoring the flavor of the game by doing a ton of side-missions and general walkabouts in the city, I started thinking about Yakuza 3 and how similar they, thus far, seem to be. Location wise they've added rooftop access as well as some underground locations all in Kamurocho. And playing someone other than just Kiryu Kazuma is an interesting touch and gives a new perspective to consider, even though I have just been playing Shun Akiyama thusfar. Nevertheless, brutal fights and overly confident verbal exchanges still color an otherwise heartfelt story so far. And the more I am playing and feeling like this could just be Yakuza 3 but more of it, I started thinking about another franchise I am really enjoying, namely Assassin's Creed.
Having recently announced Assassin's Creed: Revelations, and that being the third and final chapter in the Ezio saga, I've seen a lot of people cringe at Ubisoft dragging this whole thing out more than needed. And that fans might be upset if they get too much 'more of the same'. At first I could see their point, and I was certainly not overly excited about another Ezio run when I heard about Brotherhood. Still, I enjoy the games so I sat down and played through, and loved, Brotherhood. I was now convinced that as much as I liked the altering of time periods and main character, what I was actually loving was the franchise itself and the mystery behind everything.
That being said, when I heard about a new Assassin's Creed being the final chapter of Ezio and that Altaïr would be involved as well, I was really excited. Because as much as I would be curious to see what they could do with another character and time period, I don't mind Ezio/Altaïr/Desmond as a tri-force of stabbing. Now as mentioned the argument would be that they can't keep making this franchise for too long because of what it was supposed to be. Well, why limit yourself in that way? Sure, they said one thing but if things grow, why not change your idea of what that thing could be?
What I really like about Yakuza and Assassin's Creed is the story they're telling. And while the games sequels hold similarities to their previous installments, it would be a mistake to disregard a franchise because of that. Because as long as they can keep the games interesting, I don't think they need to revolutionize the franchise with every installment. To me, the idea of 'more of the same' is just a good thing as long as that 'same' is always good.
Bioware was a company that really jumped into my life out of nowhere and I remember sitting one night playing Mass Effect and thinking how awesome it was to play a Sci-Fi rpg with depth and a broad vision. But that was almost the top of what they could do, because everything since then have been deconstructed and altered to appeas fans or some fans. The changes from Dragon Age: Origins to Dragon Age II is a clear indication of them not entirely being sure what they're good at. Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age II has one similarity; they are not as broad as their previous game and they're streamlined in such a way that you actually feel less engaged inside the universe. A perfect example, for me, is the classic elevator in Mass Effect.
The elevator might have been a silly notion to some people, people argued that it was a poor-man's way of hiding a loading screen and that realistically an elevator wouldn't be that slow in the future, or whatever. But, physics of elevators aside, was it really a better idea to give us a schematic-looking loading screen with an elevator moving to it's destination? No, and it took you out of the universe and put the fact that you're playing a game right in your face. It broke the illusion, at least to me.
At some point, the need to change a franchise is a good thing and I think Assassin's Creed at least thus far have been good at bit-by-bit changing some aspects that has made the game more playable and enjoyable. However, I think Bioware's overhaul philosophy is the wrong way to do it and I wish they didn't think they need to please the most vocal fans and be more sure of their own vision.
It's reasons like Bioware's games that I kind of wish there was not as much of a stigma on the idea of 'more of the same' as it is today, and I am glad some developers don't take that idea to heart and stay true to their vision. But I do realize, as said, that sometimes games have flaws that needs to be changed in order to increase it's playability. But ultimately, you sometimes just need to take a if it's not broken don't fix it mentality and let it be.