What games would be overall better if it was in a different genre?

[Kyle Donovan]

Sometimes, we look at video game trailers and expect them to be something when they're not. Then when we play the game, we thought it would be, for example, a hack and slash, when it was really a RTS ( Brutal Legend ), or a sandbox when it was really linear ( Mafia II ). So, what games do you think had more potential if they were a different genre then what they ended up being?

 

[alphamalet]

Um...none? I mean you could take any game's story and atmosphere and speculate what it might be like in a different genre, but I don't understand how any game can be "better" because of that...

 

[Saulkar]

It would definitely be that stillborn reboot of Syndicate. Preserving the original isometric play style with modern technology and upgrades to the established game mechanics that defined the series would have forced more creative thinking in level design. The game just felt so cramp in comparison to the crazy open levels of the original 2 where you could demolish whole skyscrapers.

 

[SoranMBane]

Well, Mirror's Edge would have been better as a third person platformer than as a first person falling simulator. Sure, people would have probably just slammed it unfairly as an Assassin's Creed ripoff in that case, but better to be perceived as an Assassin's Creed ripoff than to be just plain broken.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well it's hard to say really, because when a game is put together the genre has a huge influence and you can't just jump to another without major changes.

Mafia 2 was open world they just weren't given the time to populate it, meanwhile Brutal Legend was always an RTS but then they pasted on the intro sequence that was a completely different thing... if you went completely one way or the other that game would still need major work on it.
We could say that Syndicate FPS would be far better as a squad RTS... but that isn't strictly true, that FPS was designed as a CoD clone filler, switching to another perspective would do nothing to remedy that, you just need to design a better game for that to work out.

I guess for my personal preference I could say 4X games would be better with an RTS element, but that is because I hate waiting.
I would prefer dungeon crawlers like Torchlight/Diablo to be playable as twin-stick shooters, because their default RTS based control scheme is really badly suited for single character fast paced hack&slashers that they are.

 

[Nouw]

Speaking of Mafia II, I wish they made it completely linear or open-world instead of making a compromise. If they had focused on making it either this or that, I'm sure it could have been even better.

 

[The Wykydtron]

I disagree with Mirror's Edge, first person gave it a certain charm and flow that wouldn't be as prominent if it was third person in my opinion.

Maybe because i'm one of those rare people who aren't bothered by a face full of wall. It just adds to my precious immersion!


OT: I agree with Brutal Legend, it was still awesome but I have no idea why it would be an RTS. I hope they make a sequel, preferably one more focused on hack and slash instead of awkward half tactic-y base destroying combat.

 

[Shinsei-J]

Uno as a sandbox shooter.

Ok, I'll be serious now. (I actually am about this)
Final Fantasy XIII as an open world JRPG.
One of its major problems was its linearity and just this would have made it bearable to play.

 

[perkl]

Space Marine would've been better as a musical. Every five minutes the scene bursts into song and dance, and you have to pull out your mic for some karaoke action. Game should've ended in a love duet with Orc princess you married despite all the initial obstacles. Don't tell me you wouldn't have been excited at the prospect of Gretchin Polka and Ultramarines doing can-can.

 

[Spitfire]

I think that Bioshock reimagined as a survival horror game would've been fucking fantastic. I think that the atmosphere and design of the game would lend itself perfectly to that genre.

 

[Zhukov]

Bioshock as a stealth game.

I love that game, but charging around shooting everyone in the face with an electric shotgun struck me as rather ill fitting with the game's tone.

 

[webkilla]

I think that Bioshock reimagined as a survival horror game would've been fucking fantastic. I think that the atmosphere and design of the game would lend itself perfectly to that genre.

Sounds like a great idea.

Heck, it could even in theory have multiplayer or semi-MMO options with that - it could work a bit like DayZ.

If that was to happen, then I'd like the plasmid upgrades to... how to put this - not be permanent upgrades - unless you get a more or less constant supply of new adam.

A few weak plasmids wouldn't require much maintenance, so forming hunting parties to take down big daddies would be enough - but if you buff up completely you'll have to hunt every other splicer you see and somehow extract their adam.

This would in theory reinforce the survival horror aspect of the game. You either survive as a normal human, or become a monster that preys on humans

 

[BrotherRool]

It would definitely be that stillborn reboot of Syndicate. Preserving the original isometric play style with modern technology and upgrades to the established game mechanics that defined the series would have forced more creative thinking in level design. The game just felt so cramp in comparison to the crazy open levels of the original 2 where you could demolish whole skyscrapers.

I still think that just some better more open level design with a greater focus on tactics/flexibility with the third-person shooter perspective would have been better. Speaking as someone who was too young to play Syndicate the first time and went back to try it out, Syndicate was no X-Com or Fallout and really did nothing special with the isometricness, I mean you had to click on people every shot?! It was a shooter before technology would allow the right sort of gameplay in a shooter. It would have done better nowadays in a Deus Ex/ Rainbow Six style

Other than that I'm struggling to think of examples, getting the wrong genre is a pretty fundamental screw up. I guess with Red Dead Revolver, people have shown they'd prefer an open-world setting, but I liked the game.

I guess I'd have preferred Lord of the Rings:War in the North to be more straight up RPG than hack 'n slash but it was more that it didn't quite fill either of those, hack 'n slash would have been cool too if it were done fully.

 

[Cavan]

I enjoyed metro 2033 the game, but whenever I think back to the book I contemplate how much it had to mangle itself to fit as an FPS. In my mind it would have made a beautiful horror game.

 

[King of Asgaard]

Syndicate as a strategy game.
XCOM as a strategy game.
[sub][sub]I'm referring to the recent remake, and upcoming shooter, respectively.[/sub][/sub]

Brutal Legend as a hack and slash game.

 

[FoolKiller]

Uno as a sandbox shooter.

Ok, I'll be serious now. (I actually am about this)
Final Fantasy XIII as an open world JRPG.
One of its major problems was its linearity and just this would have made it bearable to play.

This has been Final Fantasy's issue since X. FFX was basically a bunch of corridors. There was no exploration. I second Uno as a sandbox shooter... and I attack with my +4 wild!

 

[Jason Rayes]

Since you mentioned Brutal Legend I wish it had been a straight action adventure as opposed to an RTS. Still I got 50 hours out of the game. Mind you about 30 of those were me driving aimlessly in the Deuce, listening to the soundtrack...

 

[jehk]

There's so many MMORPGs that I wish were just RPGs. Tera, Secret World and kinda even Guild Wars 2.

 

[krazykidd]

Residet evil if it was and action shooter OH WAIT!

Just fooling couldn't help but make a crack at Capcom . Don't want to talk about it anymore , so please don't quote me to argue about RE6.

OT: i think parasite eve 2 and dino crisis 2 would have been better in their original genre . They both turned into action shooters . Dino crisis was a survival horror a la resident evil ( huh wuddya know ) and parasite eve was a ... well honestly i have no idea what genre parasite eve falls into ( free roaming rpg?) .

 

[krazykidd]

Uno as a sandbox shooter.

Ok, I'll be serious now. (I actually am about this)
Final Fantasy XIII as an open world JRPG.
One of its major problems was its linearity and just this would have made it bearable to play.

This has been Final Fantasy's issue since X. FFX was basically a bunch of corridors. There was no exploration. I second Uno as a sandbox shooter... and I attack with my +4 wild!

What do you mean since? What about FF 12 ? That was in no way corridors . If anything is was an openworld jrpg .