Anytime a video game franchise exists long enough, it is bound to undergo some changes. However, the ten franchises listed below strayed further from their roots than most other series. This does not mean they are any worse than their inception, though many veteran fans often take such radical changes negatively.
At the end of the day, however, even those who decry an intellectual property differing too much from its origins can always go back to play the classics they fell in love with. The best case scenario sees franchises transform into something new while still retaining the same spirit.
10 Resident Evil
The first three Resident Evil games are classic survival horror games using fixed camera angles and gorgeous pre-rendered environments. After Resident Evil: Code Veronica, the series took a massive turn with Resident Evil 4, taking place in a fully 3D environment and putting the camera behind the player’s shoulder. Survival was now less about managing scarce resources & solving puzzles and became more about running away from massive hordes of enemies. After some time as an action franchise, the series toned down its scope and became a first-person horror experience starting with Resident Evil 7.
9 Call Of Duty
Call of Duty came at a time when World War II shooters were all the rage, and three numbered titles took place during the international conflict. While always popular, it was not until the series brought the action to the present day with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare that the brand solidified its legendary status. The stories then got more outlandish, even going into the distant future. These days there is no telling where developers will take Call of Duty next.
8 Alone In The Dark
The first Alone in the Dark game is an incredibly influential survival horror title, establishing numerous hallmarks of the genre. Three games exist in this style before A New Nightmare in 2001 took more cues from the Resident Evil franchise, making combat more prominent. After a modern day reboot in 2008, the series went an entirely different & negatively received direction in 2015 with Alone in the Dark: Illumination, a four-player cooperative experience akin to the Call of Duty Zombies mode.
7 Ghost Recon
The first title in the Ghost Recon franchise is a squad-based first-person shooter where preparation for a mission is just as vital as the actual action while out in the field.
Shooting feels heavy and taking even the slightest amount of damage is a huge detriment to the mission. After some variations on this formula and a small hiatus, the series came back with a whole new look and open-world design with Ghost Recon: Wildlands. The stealth gameplay remains, though this time with more exploration.
6 Far Cry
With the word “Cry” in the title, one can assume the series started under developer Crytek. Fary Cry played similar to Crysis; striving for open sandboxes where one can approach combat situations in a variety of ways. After Ubisoft took over the series, they went full open-world and took away any science fiction elements. The setting also constantly changes, going from lush jungles to the American mid-west. Far Cry 6 is set to take place in a fictional Caribbean island inspired by Cuba.
5 The Witcher
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the most celebrated open-world RPGs of this generation. Those who played it as their entry into the franchise might want to check out the older games. While they may not be disappointed, they might be surprised at how different the first game plays compared to the most recent mainline entry. Gone is the open world and the player can even play from an isometric perspective. However, the importance of decision making is still a large driving force of the narrative.
4 Fallout
While always an open-world franchise, Fallout started out as isometric RPG more akin to the recently-released Wasteland 3. Once Bethesda took over the games, they put the action into a first-person perspective, similar to The Elder Scrolls.
The games reached a wider audience, but not every veteran fan took the change positively. Fallout 4 and 76 feel even more removed from the original releases, playing more like dungeon crawlers than choice-driven adventures.
3 Assassin’s Creed
The first Assassin’s Creed was actually about taking out a list of targets and slowly progressing the story with each new assignment. Assassin’s Creed 2 added more activities and mission variety in the open-world environment, but retained the core goal. Starting with Origins, the RPG elements came more to the forefront and players were given more agency within the story. For the most part, this was received positively, as many had grown tired of the annual releases starting to blend in with each other.
2 Final Fantasy
This legendary turn-based Japanese RPG franchise remained mostly recognizable for the first six entries. While Final Fantasy VII took place in a science fiction world, it still retained the turn-based gameplay. It was not until Final Fantasy XII when random battles were taken out of the picture. While Final Fantasy XV retains some turn-based elements, it also resembles western open-world RPGs with side-quests and exploration. Not only has the gameplay changed drastically, but the aesthetic is also worlds apart from the high fantasy of the NES classics. Fans are wondering if Final Fantasy XVI will continue this trend or head back to its roots.
1 God Of War
After God of War: Ascension, fans were fatigued by the traditional God of War gameplay. When the series reemerged for the PlayStaton 4, it eschewed the fixed camera angles and traded in Greek gods for Norse Mythology. The new perspective makes the combat even more visceral, and Kratos thankfully grew as a character from a rage-filled maniac to a sorrowful father and mourning husband. The increased focus on exploration and discovery helped make it the longest game in the series by far.
![\"IT電腦補習](\"http://itteacheritfreelance.hk/test/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo2-2.png\"){kind=logo}
www.itsec.hk
www.itsec.vip
www.itseceu.uk
Leave a Reply