Summary
A good number of games have made a splash in the industry right off the bat, or with just a few entries in their franchise. Studios might see that a given formulais working for themor the rest of the industry, and decide to keep going with that trend. And honestly, it may work.
But other times, that formula just doesn’t cut it anymore. Whether a game or series has run an idea into the ground, or that idea failed to yield great initial results, the only option left would be to try something new. The result is a game that might share themes or gameplay elements with its prequel, butoffers an entirely new experience.
As human, bug, and automaton parts get tossed aboutin equal measure, it becomes clear that the player is not meant to live long in this world. But with a little teamwork, they might make it through a few more mission objectives.
While the guts ofHelldiversremain the same,Helldivers 2takes the camera and brings it closer to the explosive action. This means that buddies have to watch each other’s backs even closer if they want to spread managed democracy through the cosmos, with gameplay reminiscent ofMetal Gear Solid 5rather than the original game.
GTA 3revolutionized the modern open-world gaming experience while placing fans squarely in the shoes of a morally bankrupt protagonist. It was now possible to terrorize the streets of a fully 3D-rendered Liberty City and become more immersed than ever before.
But before it did any of this, the series was a run-of-the-mill, top-down action-adventure title.These first few gamesare where some of the series' staples originated, like the criminal main character, or fun radio stations that play in the car. However,GTA 3is where the game truly came into its own.
The mainlineResident EvilSeries has gone through a number of large shifts over the years. From first being about hard survival-horror elements with fixed camera angles, to eventually incorporating 3rd-person-shooter action, all of which run the gamut in terms of quality.
Resident Evil 7’srelease showed players that Capcom hadn’t forgotten the series' roots, though. Grounding the story in a single house in themiddle of a swamp, the game managed to make players feel isolated in genuine fear, thanks in no small part to its first-person perspective.
Typically, an anthology, the series' fantastical elements got a more modern look and feel inFinal Fantasy 15. Characters are decked out in leather and are given a car toaccompany their chocobo. The game’s combat is also real-time action-focused instead of the usual turn-based affair.
Players will still battle every manner of beast and armored knight, but it’s hard to escape the chill road trip vibe that the game gives off, and that is wholly unique toFinal Fantasy 15. Luckily, for those looking for a more straightforwardFFexperience, later chapters in the game reign in the scope, from an open world to a more linear one.
Fallouthas always been a bit on the nose with its satirical themes of American stoicism, to the point where it wouldn’t be a stretch to call the games a littlegoofy at times. Regardless, the first 2 games were both commercially and critically applauded for establishing a wasteland with many interesting people and situations to get involved with.
So it was certainly a shock when the main series burst back onto the scene, after a few spin-offs, as an excellent first-person shooter. The best part was that it still retained its excellent RPG elements that allowed players to shape their story how they see fit.
The exclusion of a story mode in the originalTitanfallwas certainly…a choice. One that played a major part in the game’s quick demise. And yet Respawn saw fit to give the series another go, putting out what many critics consider to be one of the best campaigns in amodern FPS, period.
Titanfall 2included a lot of what the original established, from weapons, to gunplay, to the amazing verticality of movement, all packaged in a fun buddy-comedy between a man and his robot friend. It’s all so good, in fact, that it just makes the game’s flop all the more tragic.
A Bolder New Open-World Action Game
Jak II
Jak is back in another action-packed adventure, but he’s not the same. Experiments with Dark Eco have gone wrong, leaving Jak with an uncontrollable dark side. Accompanied by your trusty friend Daxter, unleash the dark powers on multiple enemies and witness amazing transformations. Armed with powerful weapons, a high-tech jetboard, an impenetrable mech suit, and a number of vehicles at your disposal, you have no excuse for failure.
Naughty Dog decided to re-brand their flagship franchise,Jak and Daxter, dropping the furry companion’s name from the title. Further,Jak 2adopted a full open-world, third-person shooter elements, and has a setting that serves as a great entry point fornewbies to the games.
The game went full Grand Theft Auto clone in the best way possible, allowing players to do things like hijack cars and get chased by guards. Arguably, the platforming action was more focused in the first game, but every new element thatJak 2incorporates seems to come together as if it was always
An Open-World Western Adventure
Red Dead Redemption
America, 1911. The Wild West is dying. When federal agents threaten his family, former outlaw John Marston is forced to pick up his guns again and hunt down the gang of criminals he once called friends. Experience an epic fight for survival across the sprawling expanses of the American West and Mexico, as John Marston struggles to bury his blood-stained past, one man at a time.Red Dead Redemption is a Western epic, set at the turn of the 20th century when the lawless and chaotic badlands began to give way to the expanding reach of government and the spread of the Industrial Age.
Red DeadRevolverhad one of the wildest gaming glow-ups ever, trading in itsmission-based arcade-style action gameplay, for a mature open-world cowboy romp. Now, instead of cartoonish, tongue-in-cheek enemies, like Pig Josh, players got nuanced antagonists like Dutch Van Der Linde.
Red Dead Redemptioncame onto the scene during a time when Rockstar was becoming truly distinguished. In many ways, it helped to solidify the studio’s legendary status, as it was the beginning of an incredible streak of high-quality output.
