So I popped in the Original Lost Planet recently. As it was released a month after the Xbox 360, I have a lot of good memories about it. And why not? Freaking mini-mecha and AWESOME giant monsters running around wrecking everything. What more could I ask for?
Well, a game that's not a complete mess for starters. Jumping is awkward, dodging requires me to press two buttons and a direction, the default controls are counterintuitive, every single hit you take will leave you stunned for multiple seconds, a storyline so terrible and full of cliches that it actually makes me queasy plus is full of a bunch of crap Anita Sarkeesian would probably sink her teeth into if the game was actually relevant in any way shape or form.
The only time the game is fun is when you're fighting in one of the mechsuits, which is good because if you screw up mechsuits you fail at life.
And I really, really used to LIKE Lost Planet. It was an awe-inspiring peek at what "Next-gen" games could be for me. I'm almost glad games didn't take any cues at all from it (Well, the lack of mechsuits always hurts) considering how frustratingly bad it is in my hands now.
And yet I was blind to the game's faults because holyshit that Akrid is HUGE!
And I'm really sensing the same thing with the launch titles we've seen on the PS4 and Xbone. Knack is quite possibly the worst platformer I've ever played. Ryse takes a watered-down Arkham City, removes all the unique aspects and then forces a QTE on you every twelve seconds. Dead Rising 3 is Dead Rising 2 with weaker bosses and all the awesome weaponry made moot by how common and effective vehicles are. Killzone: Shadowfall I haven't actually played, but it apparently shoehorns in stuff like the touchpad as regular gameplay features and I remember how the valve-turning in Killzone 2 added SO MUCH to the experience when it was just an isolated thing. The WiiU doesn't fare any better in hindsight, ZombiU being so half-baked it wasn't given a proper name and New Mario Bros U being just sorta there. Only now a year later is it getting any decent games.
And I know there are easy answers to the question posed in the topic name. Deadlines to meet a launch window and unfamiliarity with hardware. But that doesn't explain why first wave games are so FUNDAMENTALLY BROKEN. No amount of polish added to Knack will make it a better game. It is, at the core, rotten. Ryse decided quick-time events where something people wanted as fundamental gameplay mechanics. Dead Rising 3 would have been better if it where just a transplant of everything Dead Rising 2 was. And this is not something unique to recent generations. Early PS1 and PS2 games completely fail to grasp how a game is basically built. None of it is merely a build-up from what came last generation, it's random stabs into new territory that best remain uncharted. Hah. Uncharted. There's another first-wave game I don't like, but everyone else does so I'll keep my mouth shut about it.
So... Why? Why do so many first-wave next-gen games fail so hard at the basics?
Well, a game that's not a complete mess for starters. Jumping is awkward, dodging requires me to press two buttons and a direction, the default controls are counterintuitive, every single hit you take will leave you stunned for multiple seconds, a storyline so terrible and full of cliches that it actually makes me queasy plus is full of a bunch of crap Anita Sarkeesian would probably sink her teeth into if the game was actually relevant in any way shape or form.
The only time the game is fun is when you're fighting in one of the mechsuits, which is good because if you screw up mechsuits you fail at life.
And I really, really used to LIKE Lost Planet. It was an awe-inspiring peek at what "Next-gen" games could be for me. I'm almost glad games didn't take any cues at all from it (Well, the lack of mechsuits always hurts) considering how frustratingly bad it is in my hands now.
And yet I was blind to the game's faults because holyshit that Akrid is HUGE!
And I'm really sensing the same thing with the launch titles we've seen on the PS4 and Xbone. Knack is quite possibly the worst platformer I've ever played. Ryse takes a watered-down Arkham City, removes all the unique aspects and then forces a QTE on you every twelve seconds. Dead Rising 3 is Dead Rising 2 with weaker bosses and all the awesome weaponry made moot by how common and effective vehicles are. Killzone: Shadowfall I haven't actually played, but it apparently shoehorns in stuff like the touchpad as regular gameplay features and I remember how the valve-turning in Killzone 2 added SO MUCH to the experience when it was just an isolated thing. The WiiU doesn't fare any better in hindsight, ZombiU being so half-baked it wasn't given a proper name and New Mario Bros U being just sorta there. Only now a year later is it getting any decent games.
And I know there are easy answers to the question posed in the topic name. Deadlines to meet a launch window and unfamiliarity with hardware. But that doesn't explain why first wave games are so FUNDAMENTALLY BROKEN. No amount of polish added to Knack will make it a better game. It is, at the core, rotten. Ryse decided quick-time events where something people wanted as fundamental gameplay mechanics. Dead Rising 3 would have been better if it where just a transplant of everything Dead Rising 2 was. And this is not something unique to recent generations. Early PS1 and PS2 games completely fail to grasp how a game is basically built. None of it is merely a build-up from what came last generation, it's random stabs into new territory that best remain uncharted. Hah. Uncharted. There's another first-wave game I don't like, but everyone else does so I'll keep my mouth shut about it.
So... Why? Why do so many first-wave next-gen games fail so hard at the basics?
