Greedy Gamers?

As gamers we expect a lot from games but why is this?

This question came to me while I and a friend were talking about what game we should play next. We have played all the worthwhile MMOs and we are already avid players of MOBA games, so what else is there for a good multiplayer co-op experience?

As we do every so often we scour the internet for games that might spark our interests and allow us to sync hour after hour into a game and feel it was time well spent. Every time we do this we come out disappointed. When we look, the same suggestions are always apparent, MOBA games, MMOs and certain shooters. Now we do enjoy a good shooter from time to time but as I used to play a lot of shooters I find it hard for one to grab my attention and make me want to keep going back and playing consistently. This is where the problem lies, I have played all the games I want to play and the releases I get really excited for are very few and far between. So back to the point why do we expect so much? I think the answer to this is that we are so spoilt with games that it’s hard for us to appreciate what is out on the market already. I also think that games such as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft have become so popular when other developers make games they seem to use these games as their framework and this makes for a boring release, which is just COD or WOW re-skinned. 

Now I do understand that it isn’t easy to come up with constant new mechanics for games but I think MMOs are the worst for this, a game such as an MMO has such vast possibilities with the world, mechanics and its characters but it seems developers are too scared to venture out and try something new because it “isn’t WOW”. Now this has started to change these last couple of years with games such as Guild Wars 2 and Defiance which take the MMO formula and shake it up a little and this is what gamers want, because who doesn’t love playing with their mates in a massive open world with thousands of other players where your progression feels like it means something. 

During E3 they showed gameplay for two new MMO entries and I’m very excited for both games, they are Destiny and The Division. Destiny is being developed by Bungie (The studio that made halo) and its a Sci Fi style game very halo-esc but that’s ok because it looks awesome. When watching the game play I couldn’t help but notice it looked like borderland with talent trees, lots of loot and wide variety of events and enemies. Now this is a great thing because although it might be an FPS it still is using MMO aspects where each class has their own abilities and weapons types making them have a role in a group which is awesome. Next The Division is a Tom Clancy game based in a post-apocalyptic world where a virus has shut the world down and people are forced to survive. This is your typical story but after seeing the gameplay I can see the great potential in the game, it reminds me of DayZ but with a massive budget this game could go far. In the game play you see a squad of players working together to complete a mission for some NPCs and gain some new loot and supply’s. The game is a Third person cover shooter which I think is a dynamic take on a MMO. After the mission is complete they walk outside to be confronted by another human group for some PVP, the gameplay ends there but this only makes my mind wonder and makes me this is this going to be like DayZ with open world PVP at any possible time. This would be amazing and is a game I know I would love to play and the fact it has NPC style missions as well doesn’t make it feel pointless after you have collected gear, like it does in DayZ. 

Maybe gamers aren’t greedy. Maybe its just they are seeing the same thing over and over again in games and they just want some innovation. Sometimes a rare gem comes along and blows everyone away but they are not as often as we would like. With next gen on the horizon and a slew of brand new games to play, maybe the industry will change and every game will come with its own form of innovation with makes me wants to play and not have my monthly moan about how there isn’t anything to play, we can only hope.