Old glory, new chances
When I look at certain game series like Resident Evil, Call of Duty, Fifa and Silent Hill then I can´t help but think that the best that these series have to offer is in the past. Some of these game series have a new game almost every year, is that a good thing or a bad thing? It´s nice that you get to play new games you like that often but how new are these games really? Isn´t it usually just the same thing but with an extra gimmick or better graphics? It really makes you wonder if you want to spend money on that every year, but a lot of people seem to be interested in them and so the cycle continues. Of course die hard fans of these game series will defend the games furiously, their arguments aren´t always that convincing though.
Should a game series stop at a certain point or just keep going? As long as the developers have new things to show and find ways to make the game better every year then I don´t really mind seeing more games in the same game series. But often this isn´t really true, it´s only once every (give or take) 5 years that there is really something new. I think that CoD Ghosts shows some serious improvement, of course some Battlefield fans will probably still call it stupid and that it´s a sad attempt to copy Battlefield. It´s nice when people try something new, even if the idea isn´t that original that doesn´t make it a bad idea. Maybe sometimes you should stop, when you have nothing new to offer and it doesn´t show anything interesting anymore then why keep going? Well that´s not difficult to answer, money is usually what keeps people going to make new games in the same game series. Because if a game sells good just because of the name and the fans of the game series then there really isn´t any need to improve much as long as people keep buying the game.
Is improvement always better? I don´t think it always works out that well, especially when I look at the Resident Evil and Silent Hill game series. I once loved Silent Hill, the first two games are definately my favourite and I also had fun with the third. But then that awful game Silent Hill the Room game out, oh how I hate that game! Enemies that can´t be killed (ghosts), sure you can kill them but they´ll keep coming back and the best thing you can do is stick them with a sword so they can´t move. Then in the second half of the game you go through the same blasted levels as you did in the first half. It didn´t put my hopes up high for Silent Hill Homecoming, but silly me decided to buy the game anyway. Now you´re supposed to have a better combat system, well guess what? The combat sucks, even in the first Silent Hill game the combat system was better! Not to forget that monster keep respawning, so if you enter a house and then go back outside the monsters you just killed are back. Now that´s a good way to waste ammo and lose health! I didn´t even bother with Silent Hill Downpour, I´ve heard it´s better but after two disappointments I just can´t take a third. Some people say the same about Resident Evil and I have to admit that I didn´t have as much fun in Resident Evil 6 as I did in Resident Evil 5. Of course the first Resident Evil is still my favourite, so hearing the news that they might reboot the game series might be interesting.
When all else fails reboot the game series? So Resident Evil might go for a reboot, which could be interesting but why are they doing this? Because people hated Resident Evil 5 and 6? I think Resident Evil Revelations was pretty good and a lot of people thought the same. Sure it´s wasn´t the best in the series but I think they got a good job on that game. As much as I love the first Resident Evil I don´t think a reboot of the game series is the best option, I mean going back to 1998 with Resident Evil will make the gap between what happened then and where we live now only bigger. I´m glad that Resident Evil is catching up with where we live now in time. Using modern technology and weapons, not that there is anything wrong with an old shotgun or an antique hunting rifle but come on there is so much more you could use! There have been multiple remakes of the first Resident Evil game, most of those did pretty good. I enjoyed the remake on the gamecube, man did that look good and the extra parts in the story are also fantastic! Trying new things in a familiar formula isn´t bad, I even welcome it if it fits.
Trying new things, dangerous or exciting? I think for developers it´s always scary to try new things with a familiar game series. Gamers will expect the same idea but with new things that will make the game even better than the one before that. Seems simple but it´s not, I think at first you just have to realize that you can´t always please everyone. There will always be people who won´t like what you´ve done or what you haven´t done. But it´s always a good idea to listen to your fans, see what they like and base ideas on that. Sure you can ignore your fans and just do what you like, but that doesn´t always lead to succes. The ideas of fans should be motivation and inspiration, something you can use to improve a game and not to build a game on. Developers shouldn´t fear to try new things, just think it through and if they think it will fit then do it. Sometimes all you need is have a little bit of faith in others, I´m certain that developers don´t want to mess up a game and gamers want to enjoy the game. So with some luck there are two winners at the end, unfortunately that´s not always how it goes. For example taking Resident Evil to a swamp, so no longer inside buildings or in cities but into nature seems like an interesting idea. Don´t be afraid to try something new, just make the story interesting and the gameplay good.
Should a game series stop at a certain point or just keep going? As long as the developers have new things to show and find ways to make the game better every year then I don´t really mind seeing more games in the same game series. But often this isn´t really true, it´s only once every (give or take) 5 years that there is really something new. I think that CoD Ghosts shows some serious improvement, of course some Battlefield fans will probably still call it stupid and that it´s a sad attempt to copy Battlefield. It´s nice when people try something new, even if the idea isn´t that original that doesn´t make it a bad idea. Maybe sometimes you should stop, when you have nothing new to offer and it doesn´t show anything interesting anymore then why keep going? Well that´s not difficult to answer, money is usually what keeps people going to make new games in the same game series. Because if a game sells good just because of the name and the fans of the game series then there really isn´t any need to improve much as long as people keep buying the game.
Is improvement always better? I don´t think it always works out that well, especially when I look at the Resident Evil and Silent Hill game series. I once loved Silent Hill, the first two games are definately my favourite and I also had fun with the third. But then that awful game Silent Hill the Room game out, oh how I hate that game! Enemies that can´t be killed (ghosts), sure you can kill them but they´ll keep coming back and the best thing you can do is stick them with a sword so they can´t move. Then in the second half of the game you go through the same blasted levels as you did in the first half. It didn´t put my hopes up high for Silent Hill Homecoming, but silly me decided to buy the game anyway. Now you´re supposed to have a better combat system, well guess what? The combat sucks, even in the first Silent Hill game the combat system was better! Not to forget that monster keep respawning, so if you enter a house and then go back outside the monsters you just killed are back. Now that´s a good way to waste ammo and lose health! I didn´t even bother with Silent Hill Downpour, I´ve heard it´s better but after two disappointments I just can´t take a third. Some people say the same about Resident Evil and I have to admit that I didn´t have as much fun in Resident Evil 6 as I did in Resident Evil 5. Of course the first Resident Evil is still my favourite, so hearing the news that they might reboot the game series might be interesting.
When all else fails reboot the game series? So Resident Evil might go for a reboot, which could be interesting but why are they doing this? Because people hated Resident Evil 5 and 6? I think Resident Evil Revelations was pretty good and a lot of people thought the same. Sure it´s wasn´t the best in the series but I think they got a good job on that game. As much as I love the first Resident Evil I don´t think a reboot of the game series is the best option, I mean going back to 1998 with Resident Evil will make the gap between what happened then and where we live now only bigger. I´m glad that Resident Evil is catching up with where we live now in time. Using modern technology and weapons, not that there is anything wrong with an old shotgun or an antique hunting rifle but come on there is so much more you could use! There have been multiple remakes of the first Resident Evil game, most of those did pretty good. I enjoyed the remake on the gamecube, man did that look good and the extra parts in the story are also fantastic! Trying new things in a familiar formula isn´t bad, I even welcome it if it fits.
Trying new things, dangerous or exciting? I think for developers it´s always scary to try new things with a familiar game series. Gamers will expect the same idea but with new things that will make the game even better than the one before that. Seems simple but it´s not, I think at first you just have to realize that you can´t always please everyone. There will always be people who won´t like what you´ve done or what you haven´t done. But it´s always a good idea to listen to your fans, see what they like and base ideas on that. Sure you can ignore your fans and just do what you like, but that doesn´t always lead to succes. The ideas of fans should be motivation and inspiration, something you can use to improve a game and not to build a game on. Developers shouldn´t fear to try new things, just think it through and if they think it will fit then do it. Sometimes all you need is have a little bit of faith in others, I´m certain that developers don´t want to mess up a game and gamers want to enjoy the game. So with some luck there are two winners at the end, unfortunately that´s not always how it goes. For example taking Resident Evil to a swamp, so no longer inside buildings or in cities but into nature seems like an interesting idea. Don´t be afraid to try something new, just make the story interesting and the gameplay good.
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