If Video Games had Movie Posters

 

Drive and Survive

Actually, it's more like "The Endless Drive" in it's current state

As anyone who has consistently been reading this blog can probably surmise, I have an interest in obscure or niche video game subgenres.  In the past, I've posted about survival strategy games (such as Frostpunk and Outpost), as well as Factory sims (like Satisfactory and Factorio).  This time around I want to talk about the "Road Trip" genre.

Like many subgenres there aren't all that many games that fit into the category.  To name a few though, there is Jalopy (and its Chinese knockoff Road to Guangdong), My Summer Car, and the seemingly abandoned Under the Sand.  Perhaps the oddest one of the bunch though is The Long Drive.  Like all the aforementioned entries in this subgenre, the environments are procedurally generated.  Unlike those games, there are extremely hostile large rabbits that attack on sight.  If they get within biting range then it is instant death.  Adding to the weirdness are UFOs, killer snowmen, a flying broomstick and even working Commodore 64s.

The Longest Drive is a glitchy game, but even so it holds "overwhelmingly positive" status on Steam with close to 5000 user reviews.  Then again, when some of the review quotes are as follows...

"man hot pebble on road.  man fly 400 feet and lose everything.  other than that.  good.  fix fly man glitch."

"+ you can drive - you can't fish"

"This game plays like getting away with 4 separate murders within 1975-1984 in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan"

"Pro Tip: Drink gasoline, so when you run out of gas.  You can just piss in the tank and be back on the road in no time."

"I can rip out the engine while driving"

...it's a bit hard to make any kind of rational judgment.  On top of this the game is in early access.  So, this is still very much a work in progress.  Incidentally, I feel like Road Trip genre is in many ways the natural evolution of that classic educational game, Oregon Trail.  The primary difference being everything is handled in real time by the 3D rendering engine rather than having several different subsystems (or mini-games) working in tandem with each other.  Obviously, the historical trappings have been abandoned in lieu of quasi-post-apocalyptic set dressing as well.  Regardless, the ultimate goal for these games remains unchanged; start in one place and get to another without dying in the process.

Naming Conventions

Keeping with the previous blogpost theme of game titles, I decided to have some fun with the concept.  This is just a lark and as such shouldn't be taken it seriously, but I hope that at the very least it will elicit a chuckle or two from readers.  Anyway...here we go!

Resident Evil was followed up by Resident Evil 2, but I feel like there was a missed opportunity in that it could have been called "Resident Eviler" with the third installment entitled "Resident Evilist".

The two Middle-earth action/adventure games are subtitled Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War, but why not combine the two and sell them as a set with the title of "Shadow of More War"?

The stand-alone expansion of sorts for Subnautica is Subnautica: Below Zero.  Since it appears there is a theme of things being underneath when it comes names, how about calling the next one "Sub-Subnautica: Under the C°"?

One would think the sequel to the highly successful arcade game Mortal Kombat would have corrected the misspelling by naming the sequel "Mortal Combat II".

Call of Duty is a very long franchise with no less than eighteen mainline games.  When the series broke away from its historical roots and begin the Modern Warfare, Advanced Warfare as well as  Infinite Warfare games, I was surprised that there was never a "Ultra-Modern Warfare".  Additionally, when the series returned to the World War 2 era, I feel like there was a missed opportunity to refer to it as "Call of Duty: Dated Warfare".

Konami made a muted attempt to update the graphics for the second Silent Hill game.  Perhaps an appropriate title would have been "Silent Hill 2: Extra Quiet Summit Remaster".

If Nintendo ever decides to make a sequel to Super Mario Odyssey, I hope it's called "Super-Duper Mario Odyssey II: Cappy Strikes Back".

XCOM really should have been followed by "YCOM" and "ZCOM"... or better yet combine the three and release it on tablets with the title "XYZ-COM: Baby's First UFO Defense".

Obviously, the sequel to Returnal (assuming it ever gets made) should be "Re-Returnal: She's Back...Again".

Contrary to it's name, Black and White is actually presented in full color.  If anyone ever gets the idea to remake or update the game a great title would be "Black and White: HD Mono Chromatic Remake".

The Last of Us was followed up by The Last of Us Part 2.  If they ever make a third game, it might be possible to win back some alienated fans of the original by calling it "The Last of Us Part 3: Zombie Joel's Revenge".

Considering how many simulator and VR games there are coming out recently, I'm waiting for an inevitable combination of the two along the lines of "VR Simulator: Existential Crisis".

The Chessmaster series started as Chessmaster 2000, followed chronologically by Chessmaster 2100, 3000, 4000 turbo, 5000, 5500, 6000, 7000, 8000 and 9000 before eventually just becoming 10th and 11th editions.  Personally, I'd like to see a final iteration of this franchise labeled as "Chessmaster Googolplex".

Red Dead Revolver was followed by Red Dead Redemption, and then Red Dead Redemption 2.  Rather than sticking a two on the end, I think it would have been more interesting to swap out the word at the end with something else starting with the letter R.  If it's supposed to be the conclusion of a trilogy then how about "Red Dead Resolution"?

The Ace of Combat IP tends to replace the real world intricacies of aerial combat with arcade-style action, but if the studio ever wanted to educate their players on the particulars of how aircraft win control over the skies then it could be called "Dunce of Combat: Dogfighting for Dummies".

Next is the Fallout series which squandered an opportunity to ditch sequentially numbered games in favor of a seasonal theme.  Why call them Fallout 1 through 4 when you could call them "Fallout", "Winterout", "Springout", and "Summerout".

Lastly, there is Total War.  For a long time each entry in the series was based on a semi-historical setting, but the developers have since drifted into adaptations of the Warhammer Fantasy universe.  There has been quite a bit of paid DLC for these games as well.  I certainly hope that someday they release all the content as a single product presented as "Total Warhammer: The Complete Collection".       

Misleading Titles

The ideal UK summer sky - cloudy with patches of heretical blue

Ever felt that the title of a game doesn't reflect the experience of playing it?  I can think of a few such games: Final Fantasy (it sure wasn't the last one) and Half-life (the game starts with Gordon Freeman having full health).  Jokes aside, the hands-down winner of this category of video games has to be The Magnificent Trufflepigs.  Spoiler alter!  There are no pigs or truffles, nor is this recently released indie game "magnificent" (reviews are decidedly mixed).  So, what is it really about?

Ostensibly, Magnificent Trufflepigs is actually about metal detecting in the idyllic countryside of northern England.  Getting down to it though the game is a mostly linear story-driven walking-sim focused on two characters - Adam and Beth.  All of their interactions are dialogues usually taking place over a pair of walkie-talkies.  Sadly, players can't operate their metal detector while listening to these frequent conversation sequences.  The way players find buried objects is also a bit strange.  Instead of making sweeping motions back and forth while advancing slowly (until the detector beeps), the system works more like a proximity detector (chiming more and more rapidly as the player closes in).  I don't think the game needed to be a one-to-one simulation of the real thing, but something that was more akin to how metal detectors actually function might have made gameplay somewhat less barebones.  Since there's not all that much in terms of gameplay...how about the story? 

At the risk of sounding reductive, it's Firewatch: handheld transceivers, red herrings, a natural setting, and sprinkle of romantic tension...the same framework is there.  The problem is our two leads in Magnificent Trufflepigs have a very lopsided relationship.  Of course, there's a story reason for this dynamic - it wouldn't be a proper Firewatch clone without a late game plot twist or two (more on one of those in a moment).  Having said all that, I noticed more than a few players who got annoyed with Beth pretty quickly because the "treasure hunting" aspect of the game is put on pause every time she wants to chat.  Tangential question...why bother with portable radios when they both have working smartphones?

Well, that's a relief...being a horror game I was
worried there for a minute...

Anyway...the endgame twists I alluded to earlier is Adam not being an actual childhood friend of  Beth's, but rather a figment of her imagination.  The tale concludes with Beth selling off her valuables in order to go on an "adventure" of self-discovery.  I suspect that the intent here was for players to be left with bittersweet or heartwarming feelings about finding oneself.  However, one review I read (possibly written by someone with a background in psychology) noted that hearing voices in your head while pawning off all your personal belongings is a major red flag as far as mental health goes.  I found that interpretation amusing, but it is perhaps too dark a turn of events given the sentimental subject matter.

In the interests of fairness, I should mention a few of the good points.  The voice acting is topnotch.  The music is pleasant.  Visually, the game is beautiful.  A tip of the hat to whoever was tasked with art direction.  The hot air balloons and wind power generators, in particular, were a nice touch.  In general, it's a relaxing game that doesn't overstay its welcome.  I think with some modifications to the script and improvements to gameplay, it could have been a indie gem...that is if the title were changed to something to do with metal detectors and soul searching.

Dustrunner

Years and years ago, before the dark times, I played the demo for a rather unique driving game called Spintires.  It was little more than a technical showcase involving various Russian-made trucks and jeeps in a wilderness setting.  No objectives existed, but players could drive down muddy unpaved roads, ford rivers or even go cross-country through forests and swamps.  There was a day/night cycle, as well as a distinct atmosphere that I can only imagine is what Siberia feels like in the middle of summer.  Eventually, an early access version of Spintires was released, but I never played it due to a somewhat convoluted legal controversy surrounding the game's development.  I wont bother to go into detail...suffice to say, the original team moved on to a new project called Mudrunner.  I did purchase and play this game, which is very similar to Spintires just with an increased emphasis on transporting lumber from the forests where it's harvested to the mills where it is processed.  As far as concepts go, it was interesting in that (unlike other driving games) player have to pay special attention to pathfinding and logistics.  I never played any of the paid DLC, but my understanding is some of it takes place in the USA which turned out to be foreshadowing for what came next.

Snowrunner is, in my opinion, the full realization of what began as that original Spintires demo.  Gameplay takes place across three distinct locations: Michigan, Alaska, and Taymyr.  Objectives are quite varied and consist of hauling everything from supplies and construction materials to massive machines such as oil drilling rigs.  More incentives have been added to scouting and exploration.  There as also numerous recovery missions involving vehicles that have become trapped or disabled due to environmental hazards.  Overall, it feels like a much more fleshed out experience.  I even developed a bond with some of my favorite trucks to the point that I couldn't bring myself to sell a few of them even when superior replacements were readily available.  All that said, I have yet to finish Snowrunner.  I played the game quite a bit when it first launched, but chose to leave the Russian third of the game largely unfinished.  In part, this was due to the game needing a bit more polish, but more so because an extra map for the Taymyr region was in the works.  Well...that piece of content is out along with a bunch of paid DLC.  I haven't touched any of the DLC yet (maybe when it goes on sale..), but I have since began wrapping those loose ends.  As I chip my way through the few remaining tasks, I find myself wondering what comes next.  Will there be a sequel to Snowrunner?

A post-apocalyptic setting might sound cliché these days...even so, I think there is an opportunity for the developers of Mudrunner and Snowrunner to put there own unique spin on it.  Unlike...say... Mad Max, there doesn't need to be bands of raiders.  Instead, this hypothetical follow up could have the danger come from mother nature.  When you think about it, stuff like sandstorms, radiation zones, wreckage and rubble can pose all manner of challenges for players to overcome with the overall goal being to help humanity move onto to a post-post-apocalyptic world.  Vehicle customization could be greatly expanded upon since it wouldn't be necessary to adhere to particular makes and models of trucks.  When you get down to it the developers  have already dabbled in this genre a bit what with flooded-out Michigan and long-neglected Taymyr feeling like they have experienced an apocalypse.  Not to mention the fact that the local residents are looking to player to help them get back onto their proverbial feet.

This sort of setting could also provide the framework for greater mission variety.  There could even be some nods to the classics with players doing things like delivering a water purification system or establishing a local postal service.  Personally, I like the idea of having to disarm old boobytraps the makers of which have long since been lost to history.  Environments are another area that can potentially posses a lot visual variety.  Keeping with the three distinct regions in Snowrunner, there could be the ruins of an overgrown cityscape, a desert with scorching salt flats and sunbaked cliffs, and a frost-covered wasteland pockmarked by craters, dead trees and rusting hulks.  Anyway...I think I have said enough to stimulate the imagination of most people.  Time to get back to it.  These bricks aren't going to deliver themselves.