Out With the Old, In With the New

Last week was one the most eventful for the gaming world for 3 sequels of the most successful video and computer games appeared within a space of 5 days although if you were watching the mainstream media you wouldn't have known that but that's a subject of another editorial.

This article will examine the three games that appeared; Halo 2, EverQuest 2 and Halflife 2 and will attempt to answer one fundamental question: Do they advance gaming in any way or is the entertainment medium actually eating itself? It's a question many asked after this years E3 during which most people were getting excited about games that had a numbered suffix.

First up to the plate is Halo and Halo 2. Is Halo 2 really that much of an improvement over Halo?

Halo vs Halo 2

So Master Chief and his much ignored AI construct partner Cortana who supplies much of the game's wit seeing as Mr Chief is not the most verbose person make a return some 3 years after the original appeared in the Spring of 2001 (in Europe anyway!). With much fanfare Halo 2 has commanded much attention with some regarding it as the best First Person Shooter ever made...until Halflife 2 arrived of course!

Bungie, the makers of Halo 2 like games. This made sound like an obvious statement but many developers out there seem to make products 'by the numbers'. The work within a weird vacuum and produce something that's so out of touch with everything else the game falls flat on it's face. Bungie on the other hand recognise gaming brilliance when they see it and have been inspired by other games and inserted certain gameplay mechanics of titles that have appeared since Halo and spliced them into Halo 2. Good examples of this are the way in which players can hijack vehicles from other players and AI creatures in a similar fashion to Grand Theft Auto. It's a nice touch and results in the previous one sided trooper vs vehicle battle into a much more even affair.

In addition to this there is the inclusion of the status of other players in a team allowing the player to assess what state they are in as they approach the battle. This is similar to Planetside which lists up everyone's health and armour status within their platoon/squad.

All of these facets along with the inclusion of clans and statistic tracking on a web site are all things we have actually seen before. The only difference here is that it they appeared on PC games, not on a console. So if anything Halo 2 advances the cause of console gaming more than it does for gaming in general.

Having said that there is one gameplay mechanic that I've only seen in one game and that was only partially achieved. That is dual wielding of weapons. If memory serves me correctly Unreal Tournament 2003 was the first FPS to have a dual wield for the pistols. This wasn't available for almost every weapon, like it is for Halo 2 which makes it a central part of the game. I rather like it although it prevents the player from lobbing grenades which can be a problem when facing a large amount of enemies.

EverQuest vs EverQuest 2

Ahh EverQuest AKA EverCrack due to it's addictive qualities. Launched in 1999 the game has gripped many for 5 years now and Sony Online Entertainment have seen fit to make a sequel to the game it owes it's existence to. So what does EverQuest 2 (EQ2) bring to the table? Well I've already written a great deal about this game during its beta and by all accounts the full game release has been an amazing success. With few crashes and bugs that blighted the Star Wars Galaxies release SOE seemed to have learnt their lesson.

Now to compare EQ against EQ2 is a somewhat confusing affair. EQ has a total of 8 expansions to its name. It has morphed over the 5 years of its life into something almost unrecognisable from its original incarnation. Elements of gameplay that appeared on other Massively Multiplayer Online games found themselves creeping into EQ. It is because of this that I actually find it difficult to say that other than the massive step in graphics EQ2 actually brings anything new to the genre of MMO's. Due to the fact that MMO's are always being updated to say that a sequel will being brand new gameplay elements to the genre makes little sence. MMO's evolve over time. From what I can see EverQuest 2 is the next chapter in the EQ universe that allows the developers to expand the game even further beyond the bounds of the original game. It allows them to bring in a fresh new audience for the old game was so entrenched that new players actually found it far too daunting to play. So much so that I know of so many people that have started playing the game that would not normally touch EQ or any other MMO for that matter. This can only be regarded as a good thing.

Halflife vs Halflife 2

Halflife (HL). The game that reinvented the FPS. Anyone who has a faint interest in the FPS genre has played this game at least once. It's sequel had a lot to live up to. HL brought into the FPS interaction with the environment the player was in. They could hit windows with the now eponymous crowbar and watch them smash to allow them to crawl through the window. The story was also gripping as it was entertaining. Halflife 2 (HL2) had to carry on that story to its next chapter but not a conclusion.

HL2 was released on 16/11/2004 to much applause. HL2 has pushed the envelope of the FPS genre with its use of real physics. there is little to no clipping i.e. creatures limbs appearing through walls. The use of physics as a gameplay mechanic is spread throughout the game. It is usually required to use gravity in some way to get by from one area to another. For example a ramp is blocking the way. The only way to raise it is to place barrels in a cage under the ramp that lifts it allowing the player to progress.

The player models are also the most detailed of any FPS out there. The expressions on their faces and how the eyes follow the player and look around nervously are astounding to see. Graphically then the game is leaps and bounds over its original not to mention any other FPS out there.

We have nothing to fear

So there you have it. Computer and video games are not eating themselves. Games are evolving and taking us to places we could never dreamed of. This is especially the case with HL2 which really does stand head over heels over it's piers. I feel for any developer who is making an FPS that will be released after HL2 for now every such game will be measured against it. This may not be fair but that's just the way people are.

So here's to Halo 3, EverQuest 3 and Halflife 3. See you in 5 years!