Poll: So the game sucks... but what about the universe?

[Wargamer]

I want to explain the 'rules' of this poll.

This is NOT about the games. You have to keep that in mind. It doesn't matter if you think Game X is the biggest pile of shit you ever played - this is about the universe the games (and books, comics, god-awful movies et al).

I've decided to go with the five games I can think of that are most often compared to one another, mostly because I personally rank them rather differently when considering the setting than I do considering the gameplay.

So, here is what you vote for:

Vote for your favourite game SETTING. Do NOT vote for your favourite based on gameplay, or fanboyism toward the main character, creator, etc.

Basically, if a totally different company was going to make a totally new game using none of the existing heroes or villains (like how Halo Wars did with Halo), what setting would you want it in?

 

[Wargamer]

Now, I shall give my own breakdown;

Top of my list is the Resistance setting. It sold the series for me. I think the Chimera are one of the most bad-ass races that the Generic Evil Alien Spawner has ever thrown at us, and the fact that it is 'technically' set in World War Two makes it very fun as well.

Second has to be Killzone. I love the fact that the Killzone universe feels 'real', that there are actual reasons for the factions to be at war (ie: the Helghast are not "Evil because someone has to be"). Aside from some frankly retarded stuff from the Vectans (their drop-ships are the most idiotic method of troop insertion I have ever seen), the whole setting feels solid and compelling.

Third, I start to go into less familiar territory. I pick Halo here because, as much as I condemn the setting as being 'generic', the fact is it does generic far better than most. There are genuine motivations for most of the fighting (the Flood, from what I can tell, are Evil because someone has to be, but the Covenant are not). I'll admit I'm not familiar with the entire setting, but I can certainly see myself watching the inevitable TV spin-off.

Fourth, Gears. This is largely because I have next to no idea about the universe setting, and from what I've seen it seems to be as bare-bones as humanly possible. I'm guessing there is a wider, more rounded universe out there, but I couldn't see it.

Fifth, Half-Life. I can already hear the Nerd-Rage, but Half-Life's universe doesn't wow me. The gameplay is solid, the story-telling is great, but the actual physical setting... bores the shit out of me. I played through all of HL2, all of Ep1 and most of Ep2 plus Portal. The Half-Life universe doesn't wow me in the least outside of the story-arcs of the games, and no matter how many times people quote "The Cake is a Lie", I just can't bring myself to change my mind.

Just for the sake of completeness, here's how I rate the series' based on actually playing them, considering every facet (story, setting, single-player and multi-player where applicable):

(Portal)
Killzone.
Resistance.
Gears of War.
Half-Life.
Halo.

 

[Wargamer]

Why does the poll feature mostly successful games, with decent gameplay, but shallow, generic story?
Shouldn't it be the other way round?

Because these are the five big games that get shouted about. They are also all FPS games (except Gears, I know, but that still tends to get touted out when 360 players want to shout down Killzone 2 so I put it there for completeness).

I didn't want to include obscure titles because people wouldn't know what they were. Nor did I want to include RPGs and so-forth because that seems a little unfair; RPGs typically need a better universe. Likewise, mentioning any game set in the Star Wars / Star Trek universe seemed quite unfair...

So, this is basically about the settings of the five games usually used in the "X sucks Y is teh sex!" threads.

 

[Khazoth]

None of the above really, but I can tell you right now that Half-Life will win.

The gamer is a predictable creature.

Halo's story, while bland and uninteresting, had the potential to be good if handled right. In reality, Mass Effect is what Halo would have been if it had been done well.

In reality, its all about presentation. Look at Portal, the game is a freaking tutorial. But because the game wasn't sold alone for fifty dollars, and because the game was so charming its very forgivable. Look at Knights of the Old Republic 2, there are so many bugs and plot holes, yet the game is so well presented. Even with all the plot holes I still think Kreia is one of the greatest villains.

 

[The_Deleted]

You forgot / ignored God of War.

 

[Fortesque]

None of the above.

I personally love the 40k universe. Everything is filled with backstory and meaning.

 

[Wargamer]

None of the above.

I personally love the 40k universe. Everything is filled with backstory and meaning.

Yes, I have already mentioned I deliberately avoided anything that would auto-gib any of its computer-game-based rivals.

 

[Fortesque]

None of the above.

I personally love the 40k universe. Everything is filled with backstory and meaning.

Yes, I have already mentioned I deliberately avoided anything that would auto-gib any of its computer-game-based rivals.

Ok, forget the tabletop game. The Dawn of War universe =P

 

[WrongSprite]

None of the above.

I personally love the 40k universe. Everything is filled with backstory and meaning.

Yes, I have already mentioned I deliberately avoided anything that would auto-gib any of its computer-game-based rivals.

Ok, forget the tabletop game. The Dawn of War universe =P

Still not based on a game... Its been around for 40 ish years, it'd crush upstarts like Halo XD

 

[Fortesque]

None of the above.

I personally love the 40k universe. Everything is filled with backstory and meaning.

Yes, I have already mentioned I deliberately avoided anything that would auto-gib any of its computer-game-based rivals.

Ok, forget the tabletop game. The Dawn of War universe =P

Still not based on a game... Its been around for 40 ish years, it'd crush upstarts like Halo XD

Touche

 

[October Country]

I voted for Resistance, but I'll admit that my knowledge of these games are basically non-existing in terms of actually having played them.
That said, I think Resistance is interesting because it presents an alternate past - WWII with aliens - and speculating about alternate realities and how things could have went if so and so had happened is something I find really interesting.

 

[S.H.A.R.P.]

I don't know too much about any world but Half Life and a bit of Halo. I voted Halo because I like the concept, even though I despise the game itself. Half Life's world is pretty cool, and the mysteries intrigue me, but Halo has quite some potential as far as I know the world.

 

[Vrex360]

Halo and Gears. But then I don't find the story to Halo generic at all, I find it deep layered and if you take the books into consideration very complex and with the perspective of the aliens... something unique.
(That said I'd love to live in the Mass Effect universe, get to hang out with Krogans and date Asari... it would rule.)

Don't question me unless you want the text wall to make another appearance.....

 

[Danzaivar]

Halo has the best sci-fi universe of the games on display (40k would shatter them all, but then again that's why it's not on there).

But no doubt, people won't look at the first post/title and just vote 'half-life' because they heard Yahtzee likes it, even though the universe itself is just...dull.

 

[Calax]

Mass Effect and Witcher are my two favorites, but of those posted above I voted Resistance.

Mass Effect just has the detail set up to high while Witcher seems like it'd be a great place to explore if we were allowed in.

Oh and from ye olden days, Myth.

 

[Vrex360]

Halo has the best sci-fi universe of the games on display (40k would shatter them all, but then again that's why it's not on there).

But no doubt, people won't look at the first post/title and just vote 'half-life' because they heard Yahtzee likes it, even though the universe itself is just...dull.

This man speaks the truth.

 

[Samurai Goomba]

Halo. It's kinda like Star Wars, especially with the books. Very much a Space Opera, and the ODST rock.

I guess second would be Killzone for all the stealing they did from Kerberos Corps.

 

[Khazoth]

Halo has the best sci-fi universe of the games on display (40k would shatter them all, but then again that's why it's not on there).

But no doubt, people won't look at the first post/title and just vote 'half-life' because they heard Yahtzee likes it, even though the universe itself is just...dull.

Because its impossible for someone to have an opinion that is the same as Yahtzee without them being a foaming fanboy. I disagree with Yahtzee a few times. (Mass Effect, Mirror's Edge, Half Life, Psychonauts). But for the most part I agree with him because like him, my heart is also a dried up apple of cynicism and misanthropy with a delightful pessimistic caramel shell.

 

[Daymo]

I really like the setting of Resistance, their are plenty of factions and secrets in the world of it. Where did the Chimara come from, who are the Cloven, what are the towers for. It has plenty of room to expand on it's story but the games don't really do it justice.