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Creativity in Game Sequels
The New York Times (reg. required) has a look at two sequels that manage to recapture some creativity from the original games. Resident Evil 4 and Mercenaries aren't just knock off money makers, a refreshing note in a rehash heavy industry. From the article: "Capcom's invigorating leap into 2005 includes tossing out what had been the basic premise of the series, which centered around a manmade virus that destroyed Raccoon City."
Enemies that drop ammo and stores is not something that I would normally equate to a Resident Evil game. If they dropped Raccoon City AND they dropped most of the old play mechanics, what exactly is 'Resident Evil' to RE4 but the name?
BTW, Mercenaries is not a sequel, so I don't even know why it is being discussed unless the thread really isn't about sequels and rather about interesting shifts in gameplay.
I' afraid i have to disagree, take Mario 64, a 'sequel' to Super Mario World, yet it was far more innovative than a first generation game such as Clay fighters, or Turok could ever be
"all through my house i set up traps, it seems like the rats have a map, so now i feed the rats crack" - Donald D
...when the article claimed that Resident Evil invented the survival horror genre.
Resident Evil: third-person survival horror game, using polygon graphics on rendered backgrounds, where a lone character wanders around fighting zombies. Key scene that sticks in everyone's memory: the bit at the beginning where the dogs jump through the window. Published 1996.
Alone in the Dark: third-person survival horror game, using polygon graphics on rendered backgrounds, where a lone character wanders around fighting zombies. Key scene that sticks in everyone's memory: the bit at the beginning where the dogs jump through the window. Published 1992.
Question: which of the above was innovative?