Earlier this gen, it became more popular to add RPG elements to other genres, hack'n'slash, FPS, open world games... And it went over really well, just think about what a success Bioshock was, it was a unique game which had more to it than your average shooting gameplay. In fact, it's so common that we don't react to it anymore, FPS and RPG elements is no new thing now, it's almost expected. The latest example of that is Far Cry 3, that game juggled many things, decent FPS gameplay at the core, functioning stealth, open world, driving and RPG elements... Not many games does that much, and to be honest it's those games that's really going to give you value for your cash these days.
I didn't notice much about this... Change, until August when MGS: Ground Zeroes was announced, that's when I really noticed how stale gaming was getting. I looked at what they were doing with MGS: GZ, and what they were doing with their closest competitor, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, I know that some of you may not be as far behind as I was but it really hit me hard then... With MGS: GZ they're attempting to take the established Metal Gear Solid formula and evolve it big time, making it open world, letting you control vehicles, building your base and including so far unspecified cross-platform mechanics among other things, all this with a completely new engine! Then, we look at Splinter Cell: Blacklist, sure there's fuss going on about them changing the voice actor, but there's still some hype surrounding it, why? Because they're going back to what made the series good 10 years ago, you hear that? Their brilliant tactic for progressing is making the game like their older games, that's the selling point, fantastic! Yes, that was sarcasm.
Moving on, as mentioned Far Cry 3 is also one game that really stood out, surely this is a nice breath of fresh air but surely games evolving like this won't last long, right? Well, turns out Tomb Raider is the last game to really surprise me, here I was, thinking I'm going to play some Tomb Raider x Uncharted hybrid, oh how wrong I was... Sure it's not that exciting at first, QTE's and linear paths gets you through the basics, but when it starts to open up, just... Wow! I was surprised, I think it's officially classified as an adventure game, sure is a fitting label but it doesn't quite describe it fully, in my opinion. First off, I was surprised because it reminds me a lot of survival horror games, that's right, this game is not for those wanting a lighthearted Uncharted-kind of adventure, Tomb Raider can be downright terrifying.
Although, Tomb Raider is not a survival horror game, yes there's disturbing situations withing the game, complete with excellent music and sound that great survival horror games use so well... But there's also more quiet moments where you are free to explore your surroundings, that's perhaps what makes the more horror moments even more effective? Of course there's also those action filled moments, not so much earlier in the game though, but later on it really gets hot. The thing is it does everything it do so well, the combat is awesome, with good AI, fun to use weapons and an environment that lets you be creative. The horror elements are pretty effective too, even the most hardened horror enthusiast might feel creeped out... simply put is just feels like a really complete game unlike (somewhat) recent games like MoH Warfighter or Crysis 3 which only puts you into their linear world to go around killing anything that moves.
I don't know if we can call it evolution, perhaps revolution? As I said, I don't know, nor am I particularly interested in putting a label on it all, since that's kinda the point, you can't do that with the better games that pops up here and there. I don't even know if this "trend" is here to stay, of course I'm hopeful since it's those games that does all "that" that I like the most, that I keep going back to. Who knows, perhaps games that blend multiple genres will be more prominent next gen, honestly it's looking good, like the recent Tomb Raider, but lets not forget to look forward to other potential heavy hitters... Bioshock: Infinite, The Last of Us, Grand Theft Auto V, MGS: Ground Zeroes and Watch Dogs (only random examples), these games are just some that might be surprisingly big in scope and won't tie themselves down to what is expected from the genre they're in, be it FPS, TPS or open world games.
I suppose I should wrap this up, I got a lot to say on the subject but alas I shouldn't go on for too long... Please feel free to agree or disagree, or why not add to these thoughts?
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