Can a game stand on combat alone?

[Harb]

Sure it can, if the combat is lucrative enough. One example? Serious Sam.

 

[Itsthatguy]

Sure it can, if the combat is lucrative enough. One example? Serious Sam.

This

Also painkiller, Counter Strike, TF2, and L4D, just to list a few

It probably does help though, that these are cheap games with online components that increase playability.

A full price game, on the other hand, needs a bit more than combat alone to be truely great. Either that, or it has to appeal to those dam wannabe 1337 casual gamers that CoDs entire fanbase consists of.

 

[WorldCritic]

I'm left giving a big fat "eh." I suppose a game can stand up on combat alone if it's really, really good, but I have yet to play such a game, or at least remember one.

 

[somonels]

Ooooh yes, as long as it is rewarding and varied enough. It is gameplay, the only thing that a game must have.

 

[Mouse One]

*leans back in the rocking chair* Well, back when I was a wee lil sprout, games were pretty much all combat. There ain't a complex narrative in Defender, but man, I spent my share of quarters on that one. And yeah, someone mentioned Doom already.

But that said, I think games are better if they're more than just combat. Even Left 4 Dead (to take an example) has a world background, and some basic character development. Sure, it's mostly about shooting zombies, but I do think the story adds to the game.

 

[ZeroMachine]

Darksiders is up there on my list of quality games. Then again, the graphics are decent, so that's probably not what you meant...

Hm... I don't know. If it's lacking EVERYTHING else, it'd have to be damn good.

OH, WAIT! Mount and Blade! The menus aren't horrible, and there is some minor customization, but the graphics are pretty damn bad by today's standards and the dialog is just... ew. But the massive army combat is just so damn FUN. Maybe that's a good example?

 

[Ladette]

I don't love Dynasty Warriors for the story or breathtaking graphics.

Although the horrible faux historical bits are amusing.
"I am Cow Pee."

 

[ThongBonerstorm]

A good example i can think of is the Mercenaries series. The first one was amazing, i loved it so much and could play for hours. The second one came out and i was ecstatic, and i picked it up for $9. i could not play for more than a few hours because it was just so bad, the game play worked like shit, it felt terrible, and it was just no fun.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

Can a game with poor dialogue, atmosphere, charactarization, graphics, UI and plot still be a great game?
I argue yes, a well-made combat system can carry the almost any flaw.

There you go. [http://ps2.ign.com/objects/951/951226.html] Look at the critic vs. reviewer scores. Loyalty to official rules and gameplay at the time made fans sink countless hours into it. But it was a bad game in every other department.

 

[DaHero]

Can a game with poor dialogue, atmosphere, charactarization, graphics, UI and plot still be a great game?
I argue yes, a well-made combat system can carry the almost any flaw.

Counter Strike, Call of Duty, every f2p shooter in the world, Battlefield, few f2p RPGs.

Final verdict: Hell no.

A good story, even if you make it yourself, is essential to actually enjoying the game.

 

[Verex]

Indie Arcade anyone?

 

[Sniper Team 4]

The Ninja Gaiden games certainly aren't winning awards for their barely-understood-plots, their overly-generous developed ladies, and campy dialogue, but the unforgiving combat is what keeps people coming back. Fun times there.

 

[scorptatious]

Depends on the game. If the game was an RPG, than it's pretty unlikely that it would be able to stand on it's combat system alone.