Hell froze over
I remember a while back, that I said it would be ages before a PC game had the longetivity, and playerbase that actualy sticks with the game that Quake3 and Counter Strike have gotten. Infact I think I went as far as saying it would never happen.
Well, it hasn’t happened once, its happened twice. Three times if we include QuakeLive (but common, really thats just Quake 3).
The first game thats made the break through into, what I believe is the never ending cycle of being played, and being played because it freakin’ rocks is Call of Duty 4.
This game, is almost into its third year of being played, its still being activly supported by developers, and the players shunned the newer version of it (World At War) for this game. Thats a sure sign that the game will last, when inferior sequals are ignored in favor of the older, more polished, more fun, and just better product.
Like Quake before it that just last and last, theres nothing overly special about Call Of Duty 4, really, its just a hugly polished version of whats come before it. The gameplay mechanics really arn’t any different from the first Call of Duty, but they HAVE been polished, and perfected, and it makes a really fun game.
The next game takes a huge leaf out of Counter Strikes book. Its not a perfect sequal, it really is a mod, thats become a game of its own.
Ofcourse I’m talking about Left 4 Dead.
Left 4 Dead really came out of no-where, and has taken the multiplayer sceen by storm. The basic premisis of Verses in it, really isn’t that much different from Assult in UT99/2k4/3, but its done in a way (zombies being the major one), that keeps it fun, and compeditive, and in all honsty, it is the first game that I’ve seen voice communication used properly, AND having voice comunication working at acceptible standards.
Then theres the fact of: What other game can you mow down whords of zombies, and plan out this mowing down in a tacticly way on the fly?
And where else can you play as a zombie, and wrap an unsuspecting player in your tongue before clawing them to death?
So yeh, now theres no-longer two PC FPS games that have lasted the time, or are going to last the time, theres four: Quake 3 (Live), Counter Strike, Call of Duty 4, Left 4 Dead.
And In all the games that have lasted: Warcraft 3, Starcraft, AoE, Quake3, CS, CoD4, L4D
Subjective? Fuck yes. Correct? I hope so!
GTAIV might stick around for awhile… L4D needs more content however so i hope this does happen
Yeh, but will it be around in 10 years time with the same following?
L4D i can see staying for ages yet, new content would only lock this in
Steam have an awesome way of making mods not mods. As you said above that L4D really is just a mod, is like saying TF2 is a mod for HalfLife, or that Gears of War is a mod for UnrealTournament 3.
But the game feel is completely different to the platform it’s based upon.
I’m still going to say – that games playability is 90% based on how interactions are done with people on the server. For example, people can play World of Warcraft for 3+ years (I swear I wasn’t one of them….) – and it’s the people that will make you stay and keep coming back for more.
L4D has a synergy with the other 3 people you play with, even stronger and more team orientated that any game I’ve played for AGES.
People