There’s a pattern I’ve been noticing lately with video games – at least the ones I buy. They’re just not compelling enough for me to want to continue playing them.
My latest video game purchases include:
- Mass Effect 2: I played Mass Effect 1 to death and loved every minute (and purchased the DLC).
- Bioshock: I wanted this one because I wanted to know what all the fuss and hype was about with the intention of purchasing Bioshock 2.
- Borderlands: After listening to Major Nelson’s podcast and how they loved over it so much, I figured that I would pick it up and give it a go.
Out of those three, guess which one I still play? If you guessed Mass Effect 2 you were right. After playing through several hours of Bioshock and Borderlands, I fail to see what all the hype was about. Those games are just not compelling enough for me to want to return to them. I’m sure I’ve still got hours of play left in them, and the storyline may improve as you continue the game, but if I have no interest in the storyline, you’ve lost me.
I bought Modern Warfare 2 when it came out and I still play it. It took me an afternoon to get through the single player campaign, but four to five months later, I’m still playing it online and loving it. But where Borderlands fails for me as a game, Modern Warfare excels because they offer up an incentive for me to continue playing – increasing my level. Borderlands‘ ‘hey guys! guys! look! You can build a better weapon!’ got really old with me really quick, I’m sorry, but it takes more than a large variety of weapons for me to play the game – that’s just not enough. Bioshock is okay, but again, being okay is not going to get me to continue playing the game.
Fallout 3 is a fine example of a compelling game. I was drawn into it like I’m sure many of you were and I bought all five of the DLC’s. You can bet I’ll be ordering Fallout: New Vegas. A more recent game I’m really into right now is Dragon Age: Origins. While not offering up the same compelling gameplay as Fallout 3, there’s enough in it that I spent the vast majority of last weekend playing it (and purchasing DLC). Again, it has a great storyline.
So, all three people who read this blog, is the art of storyline development in the gaming industry waning? Or am I setting my expectations too high? Is it really too much to expect now that a game have a fulfilling storyline? And does a fulfilling storyline equal a compelling gaming experience? I want to know, really I do.
{ 1 trackback }