As the sun sets on this generation, Minecraft takes top honors.
With the dawn of a new generation looming, GameVain writers will take a moment throughout the week to share their thoughts about the games and franchises of this console generation.
Minecraft
This is probably one of the easier ones for me to list, considering everyone who’s played it has walked away somewhere around 9 hours later has realized the ingeniousness of this game. Minecraft is a game that calls to mind a time when video games were simple and drew you in with your imagination. The hardest tool that this game makes the player use is their imagination; to escape from or fight undead monsters nonetheless! You want a venerable fortress to protect yourself and your possessions from hordes of skeletons and zombies? Build it! You want to live like a dwarf in a mountain during the day and hunt for creepers at night? Go ahead! To be able to do these things in an online community with your friends is the icing on the cake. The game, being already addicting during the beta, has seen enormous growth since it’s official release, complete with objectives and an end game that is still being expanded upon and updated. Minecraft is a sandbox game to the truest form of the word, letting players use their imaginations to create their own world that they see fit, and should quite honestly be in the consideration for the top ten games of all time, let alone this generation.
A universe for the saving? Sign me up!
Mass Effect
Science fiction is a genre normally seen as being too convoluted for its own good. Because it involves heavy doses of a thing called “science” (go figure), writers need to balance crafting a believable story in a world that plays by different rules than what we’re used to. When its done to great effect, you have franchises like Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, and Halo. Poor science fiction exists in much greater quantity, and listing it all would take up too many lines for this article (although special consideration has to be given for Anarchy Online, which is somehow still alive, albeit with a very small community). So when excellent science fiction rears its head, and obtains more than just a cult following, it’s something to be considered. The Mass Effect series has done just that for this generation – bringing in players of all types with a believable, well-crafted universe and a storyline that will have players talking about for years.
Mass Effect started off special because from the very beginning, players were told their decisions in the game would matter, and not just in a karma good/evil sort of way, but individual choices that would impact things from the smallest details to the ending itself. While some people still cry foul over the ending choices presented to them – get over it, after the endings were patched and updated, they made sense and gave much needed closure – it’s because the players genuinely cared about the universe they participated in for three separate installments. For a majority, their Commander Shepherd was a personification of themselves. Their decisions were ones they may have made themselves if given the opportunity. The crew Shepherd commanded became as known to them as their friends – so much so that players would replay the ending sequence to the second Mass Effect game not because they just wanted to get the perfect ending, but so that their favorite character wouldn’t permanently die. And that’s not even talking about the gameplay, which was a brilliant combination of RPG and shooter elements that made players enjoy firefights rather than see them as a hindrance to the story.
Hacking and more multiplayer game types are prominent in the Mass Effect series.
The writing for video games has come a long way from the days of the NES, and the Mass Effect series exemplifies this evolution. The whole “save the universe” plotline suddenly seems like a giant burden when your home and the lives of your teammates are at stake. Character development goes a long way towards making players want to invest in the story, and just like another game being covered by a member of this staff, Mass Effect does it brilliantly.
Call of Duty takes this generation’s top FPS for its fast-paced 60 fps gameplay and addicting multiplayer.
Call Of Duty
Call of Duty started out as a fresh face in the tired world of WWII shooters at the tail end of the last generation. It gave players a cinematic action-packed experience that previous shooters were lacking, and when Call of Duty 4: Modern Warefare came out, it took action and online multiplayer to a whole new level. Running at sixty frames per second, Modern Warfare created a new standard for the FPS genre, and has somehow managed to surpass the Halo series the go-to shooter. Of course, it helps that a new installment comes out every year, but that’s besides the point, and a whole different article.
Packing more scripted action sequences than a Michael Bay film, the Call of Duty series redefined FPS storytelling, and its installments have even made gamers stop and take note of their actions in one memorable sequence involving a Russian airport. But more importantly than that, the Call of Duty franchise has changed the way online multiplayer is handled with its introduction of leveling and perks – a system designed to keep players coming back for more matches and give them a focus. While not exactly fulfilling the tactical shooter category, twitch gamers everywhere have found Call of Duty to be this generation’s shooter of choice.
The gang’s all here for some incredible platforming and ass-kicking.
Assassin’s Creed
If Call of Duty redefined first-person shooters, Assassin’s Creed redefined platforming and stealth. No longer did players have to hide around corners and wait for guards to turn their backs so they could move in for the kill, instead hiding was done in plain sight. As the Assassin’s Creed series progressed, so too did all of its gameplay elements. Blending into crowds and pulling off the perfect assassination became just as fun as leaping from rooftop to rooftop and engaging in combat with a legion of guards. With the release of the third installment, gameplay was taken to an even different level with the wilderness offering new stealth opportunities and combat continuing to evolve. Hard to forget the storyline either, with every installment providing both questions and answers, and giving quite an interesting take on the Templars, Assassins, and even certain story written about the Book of Genesis. The Assassin’s Creed series also redefined platforming, as players no longer had to time jumps or watch for flying medusa heads (and if you don’t get the reference, shame on you). The puzzle wasn’t trying to figure out how you were going to get from point A to point B, because all the player now had to do is push a few buttons and the assassin of choice in the game did all the work for you. Suddenly, you were flying through the air, burying your hidden blade into the target, running through a crowded market to evade guards, and jumping into a hay pile all within minutes of each other, and with very little thought given to the controls. Platforming and action will never be the same.
Open world gameplay, character customization, and tons of sidequests provide endless replayability.
The Elder Scrolls
Ten years ago, the JRPGs were the established tried-and-true format for quality RPGs. Final Fantasy was king of the hill and turn-based combat the accepted norm. Western RPGs existed for sure, and the Elder Scrolls series had a solid following behind first Arena and then Daggerfall on the PC. Morrowind, when it was simultaneously released on the Xbox, began to stir the the pot in the RPG market and make gamers aware there was something different than the linear follow-this-path-and-beat-this-boss mentality. It wasn’t until Oblivion hit though, that Western RPGs became a force to be reckoned with. Oblivion, and later Skyrim, gave players numerous ways to play the same game, and become the character they created. A stealthy assassin? Go join the Dark Brotherhood. A noble knight? Follow the main questline or join the Fighters Guild. Prefer magic and crafting your own spells? There’s a Mage’s Guild of some kind for that. Robust stealth elements, combat that isn’t decided on the basis of a dice roll and the latest gear you could obtain from the town were all breaths of fresh air compared to the standard formula that has been used time and time again since the days of the NES. Skyrim alone continues to be enjoyed by thousands of players across platforms, especially with the release of new content a full year after its release, and as any RPG fan will tell you, it’s for good reason.
This guy was actually one of the easier bosses in the game. Ugly as sin though.
Demon Souls/Dark Souls
I hesitated to use a platform-exclusive for my final game of choice this generation. Minecraft at least was eventually released on the Xbox 360, and all the others are multiplatform releases. Demon Souls however is just too good to pass up, if anything because its release and sales figures show there is a need for a game that is – quite essentially – a kick in the ass.
Understand, there are games that are difficult because they are cheap. Some games are difficult not because it tested player’s skill in finding a boss’ weakness or overcoming a difficult platforming segment, but by making them ungodly at being able to block and dodge a player’s attack, having players take damage when they’re on the ground and unable to move, or ramping up the damage, health, and number of enemies. Demon Souls is difficult because every death is marked by a mistake the player made. Every single enemy faced in the game can be overcome with a little planning and even memorization – just like in the old-school days. Death is to be a frequent and inevitable thing, and failure to learn from your mistakes will cost you precious experience needed to progress. To help players through all of this, a brand new way of online play was introduced in the form of fellow players who will help you through the level and take on the boss. You are rewarded with progression, they are rewarded with experience and their body back, which for them can open up different areas. The catch? Other players can invade your game and kill you as well, and none of these players can communicate with you aside from gestures.
With publishers trying to bring in more and more “casual” gamers with games tailored to easier gameplay, it’s refreshing to see a series like the Demon Souls series emerge on the market and have a dedicated following. It harkens back to the retro days where games were meant to be difficult and require patience, practice, and skill. Not only that, but it provides a unique co-op experience that shows players are just as willing to work together to achieve a goal as opposed to be locked in a constant state of deathmatch. This is one of only a very few games of this generation that provides the feeling of accomplishment, of seeing a gigantic boss fall at your feet because you found his weakness and had the skill to exploit it. Beating the games in this series is a reward in itself – it’s no easy feat, and that makes it all the better.
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