Several Examples of Games Shamelessly Ripping Off Their Predecessors
1. UnDead and UnDead Alike:
Read Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare Steals a Zombie Model from Left 4 Dead
Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare was all kinds of zombie shooting fun and in my opinion, one of the most enjoyable and most impressively comprehensive pieces of DLC ever released. However, as zombies themselves were certainly not an original concept by the time Red Dead rolled around to them, and as there are really only so many incarnations of the undead, it is not shocking that one of the zombie models in Undead Nightmare is almost a direct pull from the game's zombie slaughtering predecessor, Left 4 Dead. Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare reared it's brain-gobbling head in 2010 and it's undead hordes featured three special zombie types; bruisers, bolters, and retchers. Bruisers, fat, charging zombies are able to stagger the player and deal some powerful melee damage up-close. Bolters are terrifyingly thin speed-demons that give chase on all fours like the worst kind of German Shepherd. Finally, Retchers are a zombie type that glows with green, radioactive goo which they spit at the player from a distance. While these zombies provide a unique challenge in Undead Nightmare, this is not the first time regular players of zombie hack n' slashers will have seen this acid-reflux plagued nightmares. Any gamer who harkens back to the good old days of 2008 will recall when an all too similar made its debut in Valve's Left 4 Dead. Left 4 Dead terrified players with hordes of lightning quick zombies, sensitive to noise and movement and several special infected whose abilities made multiplayer not only truly cohesive and cooperative, but oftentimes very necessary. Among these special infected are Hunters, Tanks, Chargers, Jockey's, Witches, Boomers, Smokers, and finally, Spitters. Spitters hurl acidic slime at unsuspecting players from afar, and explode into a pool of the toxic stuff once killed. Red Dead's Retchers, with their same ability, also mimic the Spitter in appearance, both featuring a gaping mouth and they glow as they're both apparently covered in their own drool.
2. Who Wore It Better? Doomguy vs. Master Chief
The Doom Marine. Invincible. Grunty. And clocked at speeds of 90mph on foot. He was one of the very first in alien combat and is still one of the greatest. However, it's not only his muscles, advanced weaponry, and alien-ass-stomping ability that video games generation after generation have been trying to duplicate. No sir, the Doom Marine has much more to offer. Namely, his boxy physique and fashion sense. The Doom Marine (Doomguy) appeared in this incarnation in the 1999 game Quake 3 Arena, or it's console equivalent, Quake 3 Revolution. He followed in Madonna's footsteps in this game being referred to as only "Doom" and rocking a bosom-enhancing crop top. Whether its with a shotgun, an assault rifle, or a rail gun, Doom racked and stacked aliens and, in Q3A, multiplayer or online opponents like it was nobodies business. So the PS2 had this guy, and in 2001, the Xbox had the hot new girlfriend version of him in Halo: Combat Evolved. Bungie presents, Master Chief. While he may choose a delicate metal sash over a crop-top, and though he has covered up some of that bare skin, what the Master Chief lacks in Doom's raw sex appeal, he makes up for in shear badassness and sexy AI sidekicks.
3. Bugs on a Space Station: The Flood's Slightly Less Obnoxious Cousin, the Rachni
In this incident of games shamelessly ripping off their predecessor's, it was Halo's design that came first. In 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved, Bungie introduces us to arguably one of their coolest creations ever in their alien/zombie/bug/nightmare race that was the Flood. Bursting forth from disgusting green pods, the Spore are the smallest version of the flood, and occupy themselves with attaching to Master Chief and sucking the life out of him. While they are easily disposed of, the Spore do roll upon you in large numbers and are oftentimes successful in slowing you down enough that larger Flood become a problem. Additionally, they're creepy as hell. In 2007, Mass Effect, the next great space saga was released by Bioware and, not to be outshown by Halo, they had to have their own disgusting, annoying, terrifying, space vermin. Meet, the Rachni. Giant, sentient space bugs, the Rachni are controlled by a hive mind, and are not only deceptively intelligent, but are deceptively dangerous to unknowing space explorers. Like the Flood, the Rachni come in a variety of flavors. The most similar to a Flood form are the Rachni workers, the smallest stage. While the interaction with the Rachni reaches an intelligent, and emotionally charged pinacle in the Mass Effect series that the Flood arguably does not achieve in Halo, let's be real, they're both little green space cockroaches.
4. Nutjobs in the Desert: Borderlands' Psychos vs. Rage's Ghosts
Borderlands hit the stage in 2009 with its unique animation, quirky criminal atmosphere, and epic amounts of looting to be had. As most RPG's, it has its various enemy classes, including a common enemy type. In the case of Borderlands, that enemy type was the Psycho. A type of bandits who roam the deserts of Pandora, Psychos have gone crazy over their obsession to find the vault and its treasure. Characterized by their psychotic laughter, orange pants ,tribal like white mask, and club like weaponry, they rush in for close-up combat. However, they're not the only club-wielding looney toons roaming the deserts. No, Rage was not about to let them steal that spotlight. In 2011, Rage rolled around. An FPS RPG like Borderlands, Rage brought all the complexity and edginess to its title of its ancestors, Doom and Quake, along with a semi-expansive desert landscape, steady combat, and even-keel story. But, as it learned from Borderlands, Rage knew that the key to success in an expansive FPS RPG set in the desert is crazy people. Enter the Ghosts. Ghosts are an insane group of cannibals that roam the desert wasteland of earth, stationed out of the eerie Rutherford Hotel. Adorned with white tribal paint instead of a white tribal like masks, Ghosts similarly rush the player with a club-like weapon in order to deal damage in tight melee combat. So, they have a leg up on the Psychos there. But then again, getting invited over to their sweet lair for dinner is a only one time deal.
