Blog entry02 Somebody stop Rockstar Games!!

The internet's an hate machine, you know...
I usually try to stay positive, enjoy the stuff I enjoy, and the stuff I don't like simply not try nor do them.
I'm sorry guys and gals, but this time you'll have to endure my rambling a bit...
(well, technically no, just skip or don't read this article : P)

Ah.. Rockstar Games. One of the modern most loved studios/productions.
I find them a bit overrated.
*ducks hate mails from Rockstar fanboys*


Yeah, so they made up the fantastic-ly loved GTA gaming series. One of the biggest blockbuster series nowadays, alongside modern games such as Gears of War and God of War. (not from them, just illustrating modern gaming blockbusters)

I did like the original GTA (top down view). Played a bit but never cared to "finish" GTA 3. Not played any other GTA.
The open world's formula's nice, sure, if you like that type of game!
I'd much rather play a scripted level-based game like Half Life 1 over GTA.
It depends on your experience! I come from old school arcade games, I prefer that developers throw at us an experience that graduates in difficulty to deal with, having specific tasks to do and levels to explore. (this probably comes from my old school 2D running plateformers "origins").

I often find "Sand boxes - open world" games either boring or repetitive.
For example I never finished or played much GTA 3, even if at the time I really liked it.
I turned it on for an hour or so, played a bit, runned mayhem across the city...then turned it off. Enjoyable, but not "involving" for me. Alright, if you like that type of stuff, mindless blockbusters with tons of explosions, no doubt you played hours, I mean, days and months of GTA 3.
I found it was kind of mindless fun, not a fun experience for me (the keyword here is fun).
I tried once to play the game's missions, but I didn't really care about the gangsta story and the stealing cars deal.

Not for me!

But, you're gonna say to me, it sold thousands of copies! Everybody love it! It's a blockbuster, why don't you like it??
To each their own! I do prefer and find more substance in more indie flicks and B movies as I wrote in a little post some time ago.
So why should I like the current gaming gig or fashion?
Modern TV is reality TV, I prefer and enjoy more scifi for example. The ones that make us dream about, work our imagination (hey! I'm a cartoonist too! I prefer imagination!)
Modern music is, ugh, I prefer not to talk about it. I prefer current indie stuff like Jonathan Coulton or old school music like the ZZ Top, The Monkeys, Blues Brothers, etc..

You get the point, right?
Ok, back on Rockstar.

On the left Red Dead Revolver, on the right Red Dead Redemption.

So Rockstar, who owns the Red Dead game and franchise, as I discussed about it in my Red Dead Revolver Review, made a modern sequel called Redemption.

I will probably end up buying it or at least playing it.

But from the looks of it, the game lost some of my favorite aspects about the first one.
First of all, it isn't Spaghetti western anymore, this time around it's more based on American Westerns. You know the John Wayne type instead of the Clint Eastwood one.
That kinda makes me sad since there's so few of those in games (huh, strike that, there aren't, besides RDRevolver).
Then the music isn't taken from old Spaghetti westerns anymore (logic!) but it's a score (..good!) based on American Westerns. (oooh...)
Since the game lost all is original story/characters (Red no more), it was natural to keep at least one thing to justify this game title. The slowmo "Dead Eye" mode.
Last, the game changed, it isn't an arcade-y level based challenging game anymore, it's a "Sand box - open world" game as I put it earlier.

Seems like I may like it (fun well made western game afterall!) but at the same time I'm kinda sad...
Couldn't they change the name? part of it?

The game's receiving a lot of praise, great comments and great reviews, kids already talk about "the Game of the Year" for this one.
And everytime, the souvenir grows stronger.

I kind of think they just wanted to use the old franchise for it's well received reception and cult status, make a big mod and update of GTA 4 and slap it a western overlook.

On the top, the Real Max from Remedy's games, at the bottom the *charismatic* new look from Rockstar's sequel.

I can accept that kind of thing happening to a little bought and owned Capcom old west game.
But Max Payne... I cannot allow that...

Now Max Payne's suffering from the same fate!
Co-developed by 3D Realms (the Duke Nukem guys) and finnish studio Remedy Entertainment, Max Payne was a cleverly plotted dark 3rd person shooter. It had a great story, a great gameplay for 2001, graphics were ok, a great voice acting and was a memorable experience.
Unlike Red Dead, the game sold very well, had a cult status, many fans developed tons of mods... the game had such a big replay-value and an impact in gaming (like Matrix with the movies, it introduced bullet time in games).

Naturally Max Payne had a sequel.
Max Payne 2 was everything fans of the first one dreamed of.
It was beautiful, the gameplay even more tightly done, the story was as good as a good thriller...
I personally luuuuv the second game's plot. One of my favorite game stories ever!

Now they've changed Max Payne completely.
I'll just quote Rockstar's Sam Houser Sam Houser now:
"This is Max as we've never seen him before, a few years older, more world-weary and cynical than ever."

The game is supposed to be more realistic (yeah.. cause we totally loved this junkie cop with trippy dreams and bullet time-gameplay for his realistic aspect), darker and grittier (what? darker and grittier than the game that started with the death of a wife and newborn daughter?? on the streets amongst gangs and drug dealers?)...

They already announced a new gameplay and story like we've never seen...
I'm guessing "sand box - open world"..
An the story will progress from missions, no more comic book-like story with Max's narration over it and non-linear order.

Sure, the game will sell a lot more, be a lot more marketable for mainstream audience, but also totally lost it's roots from that!
It's like a deal with the devil, the Max Payne franchise will lose its soul to a more commercial success!

I'm tellin' you guys, I hate Rockstar games.
This game probably started as a GTA expansion or mod, was slapped in a Max Payne "fakeness", because a new GTA so close to GTA 4 wouldn't sell as much...

No thank you Rockstar Games.
I'd much rather stare at this fan made picture during 20 hours than see the crapfest you're making with this original gaming series and play 20+ hours of a spiritless hollow sequel.

At least we got Alan Wake from Remedy not long ago, that's a helluva more Max Payne than what Max Payne 3 will ever dream to be!