That's why I applaud the advent of indi gamemakers on Xbox live. Little companies can make a game and get it into mainstream audience's hands. There are a lot of programmers making good games on the interweb, but most of my friends will never even hear about them unless I give them a link.
I Am Alive is a good example of that.
Though it isn't super indi (Ubisoft Shanghai and Darkworks), it still isn't a cash grab.
It is a uniquely fun game to play.
I am in lesbian with this idea!
One Friday afternoon back when I was a child my parents went out on a date and I was left at my Aunt’s for the night. She took me to the rental place (Remember when those were a thing?) to find a game. I got the very first copy of Super Mario World when the girl was putting it on the shelf. I played until midnight to only get to the fourth castle.
Now, flash forward to adulthood. A few years ago I buy a Wii at Gamestop. I pick up a few games, Dragon Quest Swords, No More Heroes, and of course, Mario Galaxy.
I beat that game in a few hours. It was a pathetic attempt at Mario. Personally, I felt betrayed. What happened to Mario? The attempt at whimsy just wasn’t on par with the Wonderland of Super Mario World’s Dino Land. The difficulty was laughable when compared to 64. That was the day that Nintendo died in my eyes.
I don’t think it’s because I’m jaded, which I am. I went into that game with eyes bright and tail bushed, excited to have a new adventure with my brother from a different mother, Mario.
Games just aren’t the same, and part of my black heart aches as I type this simple truth. RPG’s storylines aren’t as strong. Platformers are watered down. The only gametype that has truly improved is shooters.
Look at an obscure game that holds a strong grip on my heart: Harvest Moon. I loved the old ones. 64 was the best. The PS1 one was great, an improvement over 64 in many ways. I played the SNES one on an emulator. Hell, the Gameboy one was epic in it’s own way.
The Moon for the Gamecube was weaksauce. The Wii one was worse. Gameplay has improved, there are more options for farming, new animals, crops, all of that. What has changed? The ‘soul,’ if you will. That’s what changed.
They did the same thing to Sonic the Hedgehog.
No Sonic games since the original couple have held the same spirit, or even the same genre.
There is one where Sonic is a Werehedgehog of some sort and has demon monster powers.
So Mario is not unique in his failure to maintain an ideal.
A series must evolve sometimes, but they stretch that pretty thin often times.
Mario Sunshine anyone?