You could try playing Thief, a game where fighting enemies is a bad idea and gets your ass kicked
Makes you feel like your in high school
Makes you feel like your in high school
Why must every game revolve around making my balls feel big?
- Thread starter Zhukov
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There are countless games that are nothing like how you describe. A few examples of these genres are:
Indie Games
Platformers
Survival Horror
Sports Games
Racing Games
Simulation Games (SimCity, The Sims, Rollercoaster Tycoon, even dating sims, et al.)
Flight Simulators (could be included above)
Hobby Games (for model train enthusiasts, for instance)
Real Time Strategy
-some- RPGs (The Longest Journey, Dreamfall: The Longest Journey)
Adventure Games (Pretty much every one ever made - Monkey Island, now Double Fine making more for the old point and click enthusiasts)
Facebook Games (many of which make more money individually than entire genres listed above)
Apps Games (again, I think you fail to see how massive this market is)
Puzzle Games
Suffice to say that list of genres alone each contain up to thousands(or tens of thousands for the Sports/Sims games) of individual games within. Perhaps you fall into the target audience of the testosterone games, but there are hundreds of thousands of games that don't fit this description, so perhaps it is time for you to broaden your horizons? Because seriously that list above is of millions of games (I'm not sure that's even an exaggeration once you get to facebook & apps games, but I like the numbers to keep going up).
That is not to say that there are an abundance of testosterone filled games, but without even thinking too hard into it, I can come up with two reasons.
1. Target audience.
Computers have long been seen as traditionally 'boys games', and so they market it towards this. Pretty simple, pretty straightforward. Luckily we have seen a recent acknowledgement of the fairer gender as being profitable to target and there have been an abundence of games made towards them. The Facebook & various app games are a huge market, bigger than what you might sensibly think is possible. They have people who pay tens of thousands of dollars on them. Yeah - I've got a few friends in game development, and know of others involved in it too. These people are nicknamed 'whales' and there are a lot of them out there. The games do not feature muscle packed action figures at all.
2. It's about conflict resolution.
Well this one is also pretty straightforward. Most games are about conflict of some sort or another. Some are simulations, sure, but most have some central theme of opposition in them. In the same way that traditional fantasy novels have their issues frequently resolved through battle, so do computer games. Having a bad guy to fight and defeat is a pretty clean cut 'victory' and a lot less complicated than 8000 lines of potential dialogue each time. Before you say "but there are games that don't do this" - well duh, those are the ones I listed above and are the ones that don't have a 300 pound gorilla as the main character.
Indie Games
Platformers
Survival Horror
Sports Games
Racing Games
Simulation Games (SimCity, The Sims, Rollercoaster Tycoon, even dating sims, et al.)
Flight Simulators (could be included above)
Hobby Games (for model train enthusiasts, for instance)
Real Time Strategy
-some- RPGs (The Longest Journey, Dreamfall: The Longest Journey)
Adventure Games (Pretty much every one ever made - Monkey Island, now Double Fine making more for the old point and click enthusiasts)
Facebook Games (many of which make more money individually than entire genres listed above)
Apps Games (again, I think you fail to see how massive this market is)
Puzzle Games
Suffice to say that list of genres alone each contain up to thousands(or tens of thousands for the Sports/Sims games) of individual games within. Perhaps you fall into the target audience of the testosterone games, but there are hundreds of thousands of games that don't fit this description, so perhaps it is time for you to broaden your horizons? Because seriously that list above is of millions of games (I'm not sure that's even an exaggeration once you get to facebook & apps games, but I like the numbers to keep going up).
That is not to say that there are an abundance of testosterone filled games, but without even thinking too hard into it, I can come up with two reasons.
1. Target audience.
Computers have long been seen as traditionally 'boys games', and so they market it towards this. Pretty simple, pretty straightforward. Luckily we have seen a recent acknowledgement of the fairer gender as being profitable to target and there have been an abundence of games made towards them. The Facebook & various app games are a huge market, bigger than what you might sensibly think is possible. They have people who pay tens of thousands of dollars on them. Yeah - I've got a few friends in game development, and know of others involved in it too. These people are nicknamed 'whales' and there are a lot of them out there. The games do not feature muscle packed action figures at all.
2. It's about conflict resolution.
Well this one is also pretty straightforward. Most games are about conflict of some sort or another. Some are simulations, sure, but most have some central theme of opposition in them. In the same way that traditional fantasy novels have their issues frequently resolved through battle, so do computer games. Having a bad guy to fight and defeat is a pretty clean cut 'victory' and a lot less complicated than 8000 lines of potential dialogue each time. Before you say "but there are games that don't do this" - well duh, those are the ones I listed above and are the ones that don't have a 300 pound gorilla as the main character.
You know, you might have just inadvertantly nailed on the head the reason why my three favorite games/series are Mirror's Edge, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, and Portal 1+2, and my current favorite TV show is My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. All of these games break the alpha male male power fantasy mould present in so many other titles.
It's also interesting to note, as a poster on the first page alluded that there were a lot of threads on the issue of power fantasy games flooding the library. Which leads me to a logical conclusion that it is a big issue for many people, nt just a small subculture. Which leads me to posit a question, if so many are tired of the predominately male enforced gender identity of Alpha Male escapism, why do I take so much flak for liking a show which breaks that very mould? Hmm, this may require some more testing...
Also.. did I totally just relate a video game thread to My Little Pony? Yes I did.
/sunglasses
It's also interesting to note, as a poster on the first page alluded that there were a lot of threads on the issue of power fantasy games flooding the library. Which leads me to a logical conclusion that it is a big issue for many people, nt just a small subculture. Which leads me to posit a question, if so many are tired of the predominately male enforced gender identity of Alpha Male escapism, why do I take so much flak for liking a show which breaks that very mould? Hmm, this may require some more testing...
Also.. did I totally just relate a video game thread to My Little Pony? Yes I did.
/sunglasses
Journey actually has like, 5 or so enemies in it, but your ability to evade them makes them negligible, at best. :xZhukov said:
Anyway, I've got several that aren't like that! Well, not entirely, anyway! Most are partially described by that paragraph, but also partially escape it.(I'm not feeling up to elaborating my opinion on the matter in greater detail, per game, unless inquired upon)
Sonic Adventure 2 Battle
Shadow of the Colossus, ICO
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, Sly 2: Band of Thieves, Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition
Hyper Dimension Neptunia, Hyper Dimension Neptunia Mk2
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Lumines
Doodle Fit
Mario's Picross
My Japanese Coach
White Knight Chronicles, White Knight Chronicles II
Tales of Symphonia
Tales of the Abyss
Tales of Graces f
All are such great games.^^ Except Hyper Dimenion Neptunia(Mk2). I don't recommend those two, actually.
so I got curious and took your description "The protagonist is either a blank slate or a badass (if the latter, then extra points if they're a personailty-deficient, heavily built, thirty-something white guy). Progressing through the game involves killing or violently defeating large numbers of enemies. As you progress your protagonist gets increasingly powerful, usually through stat increases or the acquisition of equipment and weaponry.Extra points if you get the girl and save the world." and went through my steam list tallying up ones that loosely fit that description and ones that didn't. here are my results:
Does fit the description : 37
Does not fit the description : 50
this kinda proves two slightly opposing but not exclusive points. 1) there are plenty of games that don't fit that stereotype. and 2) because the "does not fit" includes ANYTHING that doesn't fit what you said, while the 37 all fit a pretty specific criteria, it does prove that there are quite a bit of games with that formula.
I will say that most big name games are set up in the way you mentioned, but that's not unique to games. TONS of movies follow the same formula books as well.
The games that don't fit that category tend to be more in the indie genera (at least in my steam library). Certainly not limited to indie, but there are considerably fewer big title games. At the same time, some of the most interesting and fascinating games are found here. The Void for example, I find that game super interesting simply for the mechanics, themes and how different it is. I don't necessarily recommend it because it is really out there (also not for the kids) but some of the things the game attempts (and to varying degrees succeeds) are really interesting.
My point is there are plenty of other types of games out there, no they may not be as big, some of them are quite odd, but a lot of them are really good once you start to get into them
Does fit the description : 37
Does not fit the description : 50
this kinda proves two slightly opposing but not exclusive points. 1) there are plenty of games that don't fit that stereotype. and 2) because the "does not fit" includes ANYTHING that doesn't fit what you said, while the 37 all fit a pretty specific criteria, it does prove that there are quite a bit of games with that formula.
I will say that most big name games are set up in the way you mentioned, but that's not unique to games. TONS of movies follow the same formula books as well.
The games that don't fit that category tend to be more in the indie genera (at least in my steam library). Certainly not limited to indie, but there are considerably fewer big title games. At the same time, some of the most interesting and fascinating games are found here. The Void for example, I find that game super interesting simply for the mechanics, themes and how different it is. I don't necessarily recommend it because it is really out there (also not for the kids) but some of the things the game attempts (and to varying degrees succeeds) are really interesting.
My point is there are plenty of other types of games out there, no they may not be as big, some of them are quite odd, but a lot of them are really good once you start to get into them
I'd love a new version of Ultima that looked like Skyrim, but that focused more on the non violent side of interactions. Well, you could still kill, but you'd have the choice to find diplomatic solutions to conflicts. That's what an RPG should be about: choice and character development...
You could also find spiritual development in the game, searching for mysterious old scripts, meeting monks, well you get the idea. There's no reason for it to be boring if it's well done.
We need Ultima or some game like that now!
You could also find spiritual development in the game, searching for mysterious old scripts, meeting monks, well you get the idea. There's no reason for it to be boring if it's well done.
We need Ultima or some game like that now!
Well this has always been the modus operandi of RPGs (and that goes back to D&D) and I like that formula, SO DON'T FUCK WITH IT.
That said, it is possible for other games to have the idea. That's why I liked Battlefront two, you are faceless soldier number #112509215, get on the frontlines and prepare to die. (Except when you were a hero...shut up)
Maybe things will change and more originality will come out?
*thinks for a second*
Nevermind
That said, it is possible for other games to have the idea. That's why I liked Battlefront two, you are faceless soldier number #112509215, get on the frontlines and prepare to die. (Except when you were a hero...shut up)
Maybe things will change and more originality will come out?
*thinks for a second*
Nevermind
Depends on what you're looking at. If its on Xbox, then yeah, you're a grunting meat blob blowing shit up.
Disclaimer: This is what applies to most of the people I know who game. I don't have the tools to get an accurate sample of the gaming community, so I'm using what info I have.
Power is fun. It lets you do whatever you want (to a point) and most people don't have it. By dangling it in front of gamers noses, developers appeal to this.
While there certainly is a decent sized crowd that don't want this, they aren't really large enough to support much more than indie games. I think as the game industry grows (and this section proportionally as well) we will see more games appealing to this audience since there will be enough people to support blockbuster titles.
Power is fun. It lets you do whatever you want (to a point) and most people don't have it. By dangling it in front of gamers noses, developers appeal to this.
While there certainly is a decent sized crowd that don't want this, they aren't really large enough to support much more than indie games. I think as the game industry grows (and this section proportionally as well) we will see more games appealing to this audience since there will be enough people to support blockbuster titles.
All right, I'll try, using the games that I have actually played in my Steam library.
<spoiler=ALL THE GAMES>And Yet It Moves: A paper drawing goes from point A to point B. Nope.
Assassin's Creed: Badass assassin assassinates and acquires better weaponry. Check.
Atom Zombie Smasher: Anti-zombie organization saves a city from zombie apocalypse by killing all the things and gaining extra weapons for a time as the game progresses. Checkish?
Audiosurf: A thing coasts along a strip of music. Nope.
Batman: Arkham Asylum: Personality deficient thirty-something white badass billionaire cracks skulls and upgrades his tools. Check with first bonus.
The Binding of Isaac: Small naked boy weeps tears of horror at scary things, while upgrading himself via mutilation. Nope.
BIT.TRIP RUNNER: Black thing runs and jumps over things. Nope.
Blocks That Matter: A robot navigates to rescue - uhm, "Mojung" - via teleportation, puzzle solving and the power of fanfiction. Nope.
Braid: A physically adept white man stomps creatures to death while gaining various time powerss. Checkish (?!!!???!!?) with first bonus (!??!?!!!??!?).
The Cat And The Coup: I dunno lol. Nope.
Cave Story: Blank slate kills all the things and gets upgrades. Check.
Cities XL: SimCity clone. Nope.
Cogs: You build/fix steamwork gadgets. Nope.
Crayon Physics: You draw things that have physics attached. Nope.
Crazy Machines 2: Incredible Machine clone. Nope.
Darwinia: Anonymous user helps cleanse virtual world of virus and rescue the digital inhabitants. Nope.
DEFCON: Faceless weapons technicians nuke the world, getting weaker as they go. Nope.
Dragon Age: Origins: Classic RPG. Check.
Dungeons of Dredmor: Blank slate fights through hordes of enemies to kill the boss, upgrading extensively. Very check.
Elder Scrolls III: Classic RPG. Check.
Elder Scrolls IV: Classic RPG. Check.
Elder Scrolls V: Classic RPG. Check.
Fallout 3: Classic RPG (in spirit). Check.
Fallout New Vegas: Classic RPG (in spirit). Check.
From Dust: God-figure helps establish settlements. Nope.
Gish: Blob of tar kills all the things to save his hot girlfriend. Checkish with second bonus.
Just Cause 2: Personality-defecit white 30-something badass badasses his way around a badass landscape, badassing people with badass guns and destabilizing an island nation in the least realistic and most badass way possible. While being badass. Very check with first bonus.
Lara Croft And The Guardian of Light: Badass girl saves world while upgrading her weapons and killing all the things. Check.
Limbo: Small child searches for sister while everything kills him. NOPE.
Machinarium: Robot is dumped into a trash heap and must save the nearby town non-violently. Nope with second bonus.
Mirror's Edge: Badass girl runs away from everything with no upgrading. Nope (and by the way, the game forces a fight only once).
The Movies: Run a movie studio! ... Nope.
Multiwinia: All the inhabitants from Darwinia attempt to murder each other. Nope.
Myst V: Blank slate wanders around (with a blank slate) while being confused. NOPE.
Nightsky: A ball rolls to the right. Nope.
Osmos: A blob eats the other blobs. Nope.
The Path: Six girls suffer varying atrocities alone in the woods. NOPE.
Portal: Woman in jumpsuit breaks physics. Nope.
Portal 2: See above, minus the jumpsuit. Nope.
Rayman 2: Dog-thing kills all the space pirates and saves the world, being upgraded along the way. Check.
Rayman Origins: Dog-thing kills everything he meets to make someone stop blowing bubbles, gaining powers as he goes. Check.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. SoC: Blank slate kills all the things while getting better weapons. Check.
Scratches: Writer with writer's block purchases a house and things go downhill quickly. Nope.
Civilization IV: Classic TBS. Nope.
Civilization V: Classic TBS. Nope.
Sonic CD: Forest creature kills all the things in order to unkill all the other things. Checkish.
Star Wars: KOTOR: Classic RPG. Check.
Street Fighter: Badass faces off against one other badass on equal footing. Nope.
Super Meat Boy: Chunk of meat fights nothing, upgrades nothing. Nope.
Titan Quest: Classic dungeon crawler. Check.
Trackmania: A car races other cars through wildly improbable courses.
Uplink: Blank slate computer hacker hacks all the things. Nope.
VVVVVV: No combat. Nope.
World of Goo: Blobs of goo build structures. Nope.
X-COM: Save the world by hiring soldiers and researching better ways to fight the threat. Nope (due to the soldiers being anything but badasses).
Applicable: 17.
Partly applicable: 4.
Not applicable: 34.
Bonuses: 5
Apparently, I'm just playing the right games. You say that there's other stories out there, to which I say there's OTHER GAMES out there.
I mean, I bet you don't even know what "Scratches" is. Which is a real shame.
Plus, there's my not-Steam library, housing such non-standard treasures like Schizm, Gubble and the rest of the excellent Myst series.
<spoiler=ALL THE GAMES>And Yet It Moves: A paper drawing goes from point A to point B. Nope.
Assassin's Creed: Badass assassin assassinates and acquires better weaponry. Check.
Atom Zombie Smasher: Anti-zombie organization saves a city from zombie apocalypse by killing all the things and gaining extra weapons for a time as the game progresses. Checkish?
Audiosurf: A thing coasts along a strip of music. Nope.
Batman: Arkham Asylum: Personality deficient thirty-something white badass billionaire cracks skulls and upgrades his tools. Check with first bonus.
The Binding of Isaac: Small naked boy weeps tears of horror at scary things, while upgrading himself via mutilation. Nope.
BIT.TRIP RUNNER: Black thing runs and jumps over things. Nope.
Blocks That Matter: A robot navigates to rescue - uhm, "Mojung" - via teleportation, puzzle solving and the power of fanfiction. Nope.
Braid: A physically adept white man stomps creatures to death while gaining various time powerss. Checkish (?!!!???!!?) with first bonus (!??!?!!!??!?).
The Cat And The Coup: I dunno lol. Nope.
Cave Story: Blank slate kills all the things and gets upgrades. Check.
Cities XL: SimCity clone. Nope.
Cogs: You build/fix steamwork gadgets. Nope.
Crayon Physics: You draw things that have physics attached. Nope.
Crazy Machines 2: Incredible Machine clone. Nope.
Darwinia: Anonymous user helps cleanse virtual world of virus and rescue the digital inhabitants. Nope.
DEFCON: Faceless weapons technicians nuke the world, getting weaker as they go. Nope.
Dragon Age: Origins: Classic RPG. Check.
Dungeons of Dredmor: Blank slate fights through hordes of enemies to kill the boss, upgrading extensively. Very check.
Elder Scrolls III: Classic RPG. Check.
Elder Scrolls IV: Classic RPG. Check.
Elder Scrolls V: Classic RPG. Check.
Fallout 3: Classic RPG (in spirit). Check.
Fallout New Vegas: Classic RPG (in spirit). Check.
From Dust: God-figure helps establish settlements. Nope.
Gish: Blob of tar kills all the things to save his hot girlfriend. Checkish with second bonus.
Just Cause 2: Personality-defecit white 30-something badass badasses his way around a badass landscape, badassing people with badass guns and destabilizing an island nation in the least realistic and most badass way possible. While being badass. Very check with first bonus.
Lara Croft And The Guardian of Light: Badass girl saves world while upgrading her weapons and killing all the things. Check.
Limbo: Small child searches for sister while everything kills him. NOPE.
Machinarium: Robot is dumped into a trash heap and must save the nearby town non-violently. Nope with second bonus.
Mirror's Edge: Badass girl runs away from everything with no upgrading. Nope (and by the way, the game forces a fight only once).
The Movies: Run a movie studio! ... Nope.
Multiwinia: All the inhabitants from Darwinia attempt to murder each other. Nope.
Myst V: Blank slate wanders around (with a blank slate) while being confused. NOPE.
Nightsky: A ball rolls to the right. Nope.
Osmos: A blob eats the other blobs. Nope.
The Path: Six girls suffer varying atrocities alone in the woods. NOPE.
Portal: Woman in jumpsuit breaks physics. Nope.
Portal 2: See above, minus the jumpsuit. Nope.
Rayman 2: Dog-thing kills all the space pirates and saves the world, being upgraded along the way. Check.
Rayman Origins: Dog-thing kills everything he meets to make someone stop blowing bubbles, gaining powers as he goes. Check.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. SoC: Blank slate kills all the things while getting better weapons. Check.
Scratches: Writer with writer's block purchases a house and things go downhill quickly. Nope.
Civilization IV: Classic TBS. Nope.
Civilization V: Classic TBS. Nope.
Sonic CD: Forest creature kills all the things in order to unkill all the other things. Checkish.
Star Wars: KOTOR: Classic RPG. Check.
Street Fighter: Badass faces off against one other badass on equal footing. Nope.
Super Meat Boy: Chunk of meat fights nothing, upgrades nothing. Nope.
Titan Quest: Classic dungeon crawler. Check.
Trackmania: A car races other cars through wildly improbable courses.
Uplink: Blank slate computer hacker hacks all the things. Nope.
VVVVVV: No combat. Nope.
World of Goo: Blobs of goo build structures. Nope.
X-COM: Save the world by hiring soldiers and researching better ways to fight the threat. Nope (due to the soldiers being anything but badasses).
Applicable: 17.
Partly applicable: 4.
Not applicable: 34.
Bonuses: 5
Apparently, I'm just playing the right games. You say that there's other stories out there, to which I say there's OTHER GAMES out there.
I mean, I bet you don't even know what "Scratches" is. Which is a real shame.
Plus, there's my not-Steam library, housing such non-standard treasures like Schizm, Gubble and the rest of the excellent Myst series.
Any gameplay based around a dude running round with a gun/sword/magic wand is bound to suck. Well okay, it can be a little fun for a few hours but those types of games are never going to be as good as dynamic, puzzle or strategy based games, no matter how good the story is.
Those people who say they can go through three Mass Effect or Resident Evil playthroughs spending hundreds of hours doing the same thing over and over are aliens to me.
Those people who say they can go through three Mass Effect or Resident Evil playthroughs spending hundreds of hours doing the same thing over and over are aliens to me.
You don't know what a strawman argument is, do you?Abandon4093 said:
And responsible isn't exactly good wording. More like feeding and feeding into a cultural construct that isn't super-duper healthy.
Well I guess it's the same reason it's easier to program an NPC to try and kill you than ask you how your day has been. Let me explain since I know this might sound a bit off.
When you're playing as some super bad-ass, you're really only tasked with doing one thing. Killing waves and waves of bad guys till you reach the end. But when your character is a bit more flawed, the task of winning tends to be more difficult. Playing as a flawed character means a game is going to need to be more elaborate in its means of resolve than just simply shooting things dead.
The trait of being some super bad-ass just happens to compliment the simplicity of most games today.
Think of it like this. If you're playing a game where you're some space marine tasked with killing hundreds and hundreds of evil aliens, what else could you be but some super bad ass?
I guess that's just one reason why games are like that.
When you're playing as some super bad-ass, you're really only tasked with doing one thing. Killing waves and waves of bad guys till you reach the end. But when your character is a bit more flawed, the task of winning tends to be more difficult. Playing as a flawed character means a game is going to need to be more elaborate in its means of resolve than just simply shooting things dead.
The trait of being some super bad-ass just happens to compliment the simplicity of most games today.
Think of it like this. If you're playing a game where you're some space marine tasked with killing hundreds and hundreds of evil aliens, what else could you be but some super bad ass?
I guess that's just one reason why games are like that.
Because only badasses can kill loads of enemies, and killing loads of enemies is important for gameplay in most games! Well, not really, but a physically or mentally handicapped protagonist, or a coward, or a normal office worker with normal combat ability won't make much sense for gameplay, and is likely to make for a boring game (though that's a rule with many, many exceptions).
Also, I think you end up assuming your character is a badass simply because he does badass things necessary for making a game fun. He might not be a badass at all. I mean, Sergeant Ramirez in Call of Duty is treated on the internet like some kind of super badass marine, but for all we know he could just be a regular soldier. It's just that when he's a protagonist his commander has to throw more difficult tasks his way to make the game fun.
Also, I think you end up assuming your character is a badass simply because he does badass things necessary for making a game fun. He might not be a badass at all. I mean, Sergeant Ramirez in Call of Duty is treated on the internet like some kind of super badass marine, but for all we know he could just be a regular soldier. It's just that when he's a protagonist his commander has to throw more difficult tasks his way to make the game fun.
This doesn't address the underlying issue: Why are so many games about killing hundreds and hundreds of (insert thing here)?Nomanslander said:
Why are there not more games like Myst, where killing was never a good option (nor was it available)? Or Mirror's Edge, where the goal to to run AWAY from tons of dudes? Or LIMBO, where the task is basically "Don't Die"?
I can get 9 if you decide to let me count Dawn of War. (He never said anything about 'nids) Everything else is a blank slate or kill everything or being a whiny person who most likely doesn't want to be mostly robot and then doesn't kill anybody except for the horrible boss battles.
I do see what you're saying; however, this seems to me like it mainly happens in AAA games and less so in Indie games.
I do see what you're saying; however, this seems to me like it mainly happens in AAA games and less so in Indie games.
Developers today are lazy.lacktheknack said:
Ever noticed how even though graphically games have excelled in the past 10 years, you couldn't say the same about the AI?
For instance the best shooter I've seen even up till now when it comes to enemy AI still has to be the original Fear, and when you think about how many shooters have come out since then it really paints a picture of how badly the game industry has been negligent.
Fact is the general console gamer prefers dumber and prettier games than they do with games that demand a little bit more brain power to finish.
That's just where the industry is today.
While there are other games I can think of that tread farther away from the tropes you've brought up, there's one example that I've always thought serves as an excellent subversion of those tropes rather then simply averting them: Splinter Cell Conviction. Yes, Sam Fisher is an utter badass marching his way through what are probably some of the red-shirt-iest red-shirts I've ever seen. But what makes it fascinating is that the machinations of the requisite conspiracy aren't really the point, the focus here is on Sam.Zhukov said:
It's all about his anger at the people that manipulate him, his regret about his daughter, and his deteriorating ability to handle both. The effect is subtle but it does a surprisingly good job exploring these emotions as well as displaying everything from his point of view. There are very effective presentation tricks it uses to really put the game inside his head, more so then probably anything else I've come across.
If you haven't played it I'd say it's worth checking out, if only to see what the archetype can look like when the devs really try to do it justice.