Call of Duty has broken just about all sales records for video games.
But has it reached its pinnacle? Have the latest FPS games lost their appeal to your inner explorer? Do you think the current crop of First Person Shooter video games are simply fixated on highly-scripted formulas, rather than a free-flowing exploration and experimentation that characterized early FPS games?
This is what MapCore regular Sprony van Johnson reckons.
Johnson says that the latest releases of Call of Duty and Medal of Honor was the straw that broke the camel's back and he *SHOCK / HORROR * stopped playing new first-person shooters.
Johnson lamented the good old days of Wolfenstein 3D (one of the first and best!) and games like Doom, Quake, and Half-Life.
He proposes that there is a phenomenon called "The Call of Duty Effect."
What the heck is "The Call of Duty Effect"? Read on and all will be revealed.
Johnson says "It all began with Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. Scripting wasn't new in games, but the way 2015 Inc did it to create great action set pieces was. Who doesn't remember the Omaha beach landing? When most of the studio left to form Infinity Ward and to create Call of Duty they outdid themselves again. Especially the Russian campaign featured some very intense moments. As the years progressed so did the graphics, sound and set pieces. Other shooters played catch up but most of them were blown away when the first Modern Warfare was released."
Do you think that this “Call of Duty Effect” has also affected live gaming?
Is your local battlefield running laser skirmish games too scripted?
Johnson laments another trend in the latest FP shooters, regenerating health. But in “real-world” live-action gaming a gamer needs to retreat to his or her base to re-spawn when all their Hit Points are extended. Actually regenerating health is a similar concept often used in traditional arena laser tag arena games. In the virtual world, a wounded player can simply take cover to avoid taking damage, while still live in the game and wait it out until his or her character recovers. Likewise in grandpa's laser tag players go into "suspended animation" for a few seconds and they are alive again to play out the game. In Battlefield LIVE, however, there is a penalty in losing all your Hit Points, the gamers must retreat to their base and re-spawn.
Johnson said that regenerating health removes the challenge, strategy, and tension from shooters. "There's no real penalty for getting hit and with each battle, you can simply go in guns blazing. Old shooters forced you to think about your situation and plan your tactics accordingly."
In most live gaming scenarios impose limited ammo and various weapon emulations. This brand of live gaming uses the WYSIWYG model, in other words, bigger gaming guns have a longer shooting range. For example, a compact SMG model such as the Scorpions has a shorter range than the Commando Sniper model.
The good news is that Johnson thinks that all is not lost in modern first-person shooters. Blending role play game elements with first-person shooter components is a successful and enjoyable combination. And Johnson is hopeful for a brighter future, like many of us, is eagerly awaiting the next generation of consoles and the next generation of Battlefield LIVE gaming.
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