A co-worker brought up a very good point today. These days, when a game is coming out, you know about it for weeks, months - hell even years - beforehand. The hype builds and the masses pore over every last tidbit of detail until the day finally arrives. The game rarely lives up to all that fanfare.
His point was that it wasn't always like that, and he kind of misses being in the dark, so to speak. He said "it used to be that you never heard much, if anything at all, about a game until it hit the shelves. Usually any prerelease info was a gaming magazine reviewing the completed game about a week before it came out."
He's right. When something's on its way out, you know. You get 50% complete build playtests from magazine writers and complete websites updating every couple hours with new screenshots, concept art, soundtrack snippets, wallpaper, buddy icons and news. I've been frothing at the mouth for nearly a year now over Beatles: Rock Band and I have this new style of coverage to blame.
Sure, we can just ignore it by not seeking out the specialized websites, reading the articles detailing every last minute item, or just not looking at gaming sites or magazines altogether but let's get real. Half the problem here is the coverage. Half the reason there is hype is because companies PUT that much crap out there and most of it is unavoidable.
Beatles: Rock Band will succeed, even without the visceral advertising flowing out of every orifice of the interwebs. Other games may not be so lucky.
Two come to mind that share different sides of the spectrum.
Brutal Legend's advertising may be its own worst enemy. Jack Black's over-the-top "RAWK AN ROHL" shtick is only tolerable for so long. Unfortunately he's been out there in full force since the announcement of the development of this game. Tim Schafer *is* a great game designer, but to idolize him like he's a god on earth is just asinine and the display at the VGA's was too much. To a point - Schafer's work has never been akin to a blockbuster-style money maker. Being a critical success doesn't pay the bills, but games like Maniac Mansion, Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle and Full Throttle are awesome - hell they're some of the best games in existence. I just don't think that translates into "Brutal Legend = Instant Success" alone.
Wet is a game that banks on the Tarantino style. Mix 70's exploitation film with Grindhouse and Kill Bill and you're coming closer to what it's about. The main character, Rubi, is an assassin who chooses guns and a katana as her main implements of disposal. This game looks like it has a lot of potential, but who has heard of it? Unless you have your fingers on the pulse of the game-o-sphere, no one. Thing is, the game was announced, and then cancelled. Then quietly picked up again. It's due out in September and aside from an article I read back when it was under development the first time, the only advertising I've seen for Wet is a countertop card at EB. Oh yeah - and it comes out September 15th.
Hopefully they both live up to the expectations.
Unfortunately from what I've read and been told, Wet did not live up to anyone's expectations. The lowest score I saw for it was 14 (out of 100).
ReplyDeleteBrutal Legend, it turns out, is NOT what people thought it was. Some are complaining about a bait & switch marketing campaign. It seemed to have all the hallmarks of a "God Of War" style 3rd person hack and slash but seems to have more in common with "Command & Conquer" than the aforementioned GoW.
I still want to try BL. Wet is sadly off the list.