Any good crowd combat games?

[johnmasterlee]

So I heard that term before and I think it summarizes the concept well. Basically it's games like Dynasty Warriors, Dead Rising, Earth Defense Force, Orcs Must Die. Games which have you facing off against a massive swathe of enemies using tactics, combos, weapons, etc. to take them down.

I'm looking for some reference points for an indie game I'm working on. I love the idea of big skirmishes, and wanted to explore how some other noteworthy games approached it.

One idea I wanted to explore was Minecraft + Horde Mode. So you can build your terrain, structures, defenses, and then battle against an invasion.

Curious that concept catches your fancy.

 

[Ender910_v1legacy]

Payday 2 is a pretty good example, plus it has a lot of stealth elements to the game too, which isn't something you see in many coop games. The Left 4 Dead duology would be another good example for crowd control coop.

 

[josemlopes]

Serious Sam has some crowd control worth experiencing if you are developing a game, the enemies are very well designed like all of them make diferent sounds so that the player can tell what is coming even if facing a diferent direction, if he is good enough he can dodge an enemy without looking at him.

 

[James Joseph Emerald]

Does Arkham Asylum/City count? You tend to fight large groups of 6-12 enemies at once, if not more. And the combat, though fairly simple, tends to be challenging and satisfying. Assassin's Creed is very similar.

 

[Harlemura]

Though it is very, very similar to Dynasty Warriors, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 might be worth watching some gameplay of for some ideas if you're looking for ways of taking out a truckload of people really fast.
I doubt you'll get many ideas for the strategy side since all the game consists of is jumping into crowds of enemies and seeing how quickly you can take them all down, but for that reason it might give you some ideas on the crowd thinning aspect of these kinda games. Combining enemies that move into a tight group when getting ready to attack and super moves that kill everyone within an area may not be challenging but it sure as hell's satisfying.

 

[Smooth Operator]

I would try and look at dungeon loot grinders such as Diablo / Torchlight / Path of Exile / Titan Quest.
While they aren't strictly doing the one million monster battles they do offer a very systematic approach to crowd combat, with all sorts of spells, abilities, weapons, summons, items,... and the monster roster is usually excellent as well.
Where DW and EDF have very little variety to offer, don't get me wrong I love those games but I have no delusions of their complexity, and they are an excellent stepping stone to something much greater.

 

[krazykidd]

Diablo 3 ( for console)You got tons of enemies to kill in that game . On the higher difficulties (like master 1-5 ) you need to be patient , use crowd controle , and think . Not just got in a press buttons .

Drakengard 2. I haven't played the first so i don't know about that one . But the second got you fighting tons of enemies with different skills, kinda like dynasty warriors . Also , you get to fly a dragon and kill shit . It's fun.

I want to say chaos legion also . But no one knows that game .

 

[Gizmo1990]

Marvel Ultimate Alliance? You have a team of 4 and you go around kicking the crap out of large groups of bad guys. Plus their are a lot of characters. It's quite an old game now but I still play it sometimes because it is fun to take on a big group of bad guys with different teams e.g.

My favorite Avengers team- Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Spider-man
Fantastic Four
My favorite X-Men (from the chars avalible) Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus
My own custom team Iron Man, Thor, Doctor Strange and Iceman (super overpowered)

There is also a Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 but I did not like that as much.

 

[Gizmo1990]

I want to say chaos legion also . But no one knows that game .

Prepare to have your mind blown because I know it. I have played it many times, the most recent time was last month. I love that game.

 

[Ninjat_126]

Serious Sam and Painkiller have a reputation for being crowd-combat shooters.

I really don't recall playing much along these lines.

Back on the PS2, I played Lord of the Rings: Return of the King? That was damn good for a licensed title, in the basic theme of "functional mechanics" and "enemy variety" and "cool set pieces" and "Actual film voice actors." But I was 10, and I'm biased.


I should really pick up a Dynasty Warriors game sometime.

 

[Omega500]

Ive always liked the scrolling beat-em-up games Streets of rage. i would love a reimagining game of that.

many years ago the boy next door had a saturn and that had a awesome beat em up game i cannot remember what it was called but i want it, i want it now

 

[Foolery]

Sengoku Basara. Also called Devil Kings on the PS2. You could import the HD Collection for PS3 or pick up Sengoku Basara:Samurai Heroes. It's a pretty decent and colourful crowdfighter.

 

[Glongpre]

Ive always liked the scrolling beat-em-up games Streets of rage. i would love a reimagining game of that.

Streets of Rage Remake. All SOR games in one plus some extra levels and stuff. It is amazing.

 

[krazykidd]

I want to say chaos legion also . But no one knows that game .

Prepare to have your mind blown because I know it. I have played it many times, the most recent time was last month. I love that game.

It was a nice game . I'm seriously surprised . I have never heard anyone say anything about that game , good or bad . It was overshadowed by DMC ( which , quite honestly is the better game ).

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

Diablo 3 ( for console)You got tons of enemies to kill in that game . On the higher difficulties (like master 1-5 ) you need to be patient , use crowd controle , and think . Not just got in a press buttons .

Drakengard 2. I haven't played the first so i don't know about that one . But the second got you fighting tons of enemies with different skills, kinda like dynasty warriors . Also , you get to fly a dragon and kill shit . It's fun.

I want to say chaos legion also . But no one knows that game .

Chaos Legion was awesome! Fairly challenging in places, too. Probably the first game I played in that style. Drakengard 1 was more... interesting than 2, but the gameplay is far, far, far far worse in every single way.

There was another PS2 game like this that I played, but I can't quite remember the name. Crimson Sea, I think?

Try Vikings: Battle for Asgard? Huge wars, but you have to trudge through a lot of stuff to get to the wars. It's impressive though.

Viking is really fun, too. I really liked exploring the open worlds, building up my army before the big battles. It was a little formulaic, but very enjoyable. It was the first game I played from this generation that made me think "this wouldn't have been possible last gen" with its gameplay. There were just so many people on screen at once.

 

[TrevHead]

The TPS / Brawler hybrid Space Marine has it's moments with crowd control especially near the start of the game where your weapons are quite weak.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

The Arkham series in Batman, Sleeping Dogs, and the Assassin's Creed series mostly use groups of enemies, anywhere from three to twenty or more, at once. I think the Arkham series has the best combat, but (at least in Arkham Asylum) the battles tend to be unsatisfyingly spaced out between puzzle moments and stealthy annihilation.