These are the sort of games which really don’t need introduction, but hey, I like uniformity. Basically, these are the kinds of games where if the player can think it, s/he should be able to do it, and if s/he can’t, then the game fails to a certain degree in a genre that celebrates freedom. Map surface area, vehicles, and weapon options may also unlock as the player completes various missions in the game. Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction and Just Cause might be considered B-tier in this genre, and even games like inFAMOUS fit the description, but this space is reserved for the best.
Saints Row
There is nothing quite like a gang initiation fight taking place outside of a church with female participants fist fighting with dudes.
Back when Saints Row first came out, I passed on it because I did not own a Xbox 360. I moved, and befriended someone who let me borrow theirs, and among his game collection was this “GTA clone.” I say “clone” only to grant GTA the honor of being the first of its kind, because Volition, Inc.’s contribution to the genre certainly gives Rockstar’s franchise a run for its money. One of the coolest parts of GTA III and certain parts of Vice City was how R* envisioned organized crime, from the Mafia to the Yakuzas to the Colombian Cartel. Saints Row expands upon this, where each gang is represented by not simply an unlimited number of goons who drive around certain sections of town, nor only one or two talking heads. Saints Row represent diverse, though caricatured, casts through the 3rd Street Saints, Vice Kings, Los Carnales and Westside Rollerz. And these gangs are not just fodder; they have their own unique storylines and ambitions beyond being the biggest and baddest gang because…well, just because!
I did mention Volition, Inc’s commitment to diversity, even allowing players to create a female protagonist and adjusting the story narrative to accommodate the player’s chosen gender. Of course, the game was also the first of its kind in HD, so I fondly remember the bright purple gloss on the sides of the 3rd Street vehicles. Speaking of vehicles, I found the selection in Saints Row more appealing on average than the average vehicles encountered in GTA, and this is still true with the future versions of both games. In particular, Saint’s Row features convertible vehicles, rendering drive by shooting more believable. My personal favorite was the Zenith, in gang colors. Speaking of shooting, Saint’s Row does away with GTA’s target lock-on only system and provides player with free aming, FPS style. This is one of the best features which distinguishes it from GTA. Ironically, there is a GTA style game where lock-on targeting remains convenient….
Red Dead Redemption
I confess that I am cheating with the inclusion of this screenshot, for it is from the expansion, Undead Nightmare. However, fans of RDR would acknowledge that this image fully captures John and Bonnie’s relationship. In another life….
If Mirror’s Edge is #3 on my theoretical “game of the generation list,” this is #2. Let me break it down: GTA III= play as a convicted criminal (who would be retroactively named Claude, but nobody but R* knows this until San Andreas) who benefits from another prisoner, 8-Ball, being freed by the Mafia as a favor for loyalty. Continues a career of crime.
Vice City= Tommy Vercetti’s first thought out of prison isn’t a woman, but getting right back into the game. Continues career of crime. San Andreas= Carl Johnson returns to Los Santos for his mother’s funeral, and to his credit, becomes involved in crime because of the pressure that crooked cops apply on him, not necessarily because of his own volition. The expectation is that he and his brother become crime lords. GTA IV and V are no different. Comparatively, the player character in Saint’s Row begins as a bystander in a shootout, and becomes the most violent character in the series.
Red Dead Redemption convinced me that I am playing as more than a bloodthirsty character. John Marston no doubt carries the burden of a chequered past, and the impetus for his violent action is similar to CJ’s: due to government “intervention,” as his family is apparently being held hostage until John dispatches the surviving members of his former gang. So in that way, John is set apart from the other protagonists in that it is a more sympathetic idea that he would kill to save his wife and son rather than kill simply because he wants to.
And in terms of playing upon player sentiment, this game possesses an ocean charisma. At the beginning of the game, John rolls up on one of those forts that might remind you of the Alamo, thinking that one of his ol’ posse was going to just surrender for a bullet to the brain. The gang shoots John and leaves him for dead, yet he is instead rescued by Bonnie MacFarlane. From there, R* integrates a tutorial for shooting and horseback riding while John is resuscitated, but RDR never explicitly calls these missions tutorials and they are cleverly masked. John builds a palatable relationship with Bonnie that isn’t just platonic, but John is a man of honor, and he reminds the player of this when he passes by prostitutes throughout the game: “I’m sorry ma’am, but I’m married.” Whenever you hear the phrase, “down home hospitality,” the opening segment of RDR should come to mind.
So as John is trekking across the deserts of the wild west hunting this animal, apprehending (or executing) that hoodlum, it is all because of his love, his duty, his honor as a husband and a father. Though the climax of the game, the final showdown with the ex-leader of his former game is a bit underwhelming, the journey toward it, resolution, and the denouement of the overarching story are PHENOMENAL. This game might make you angry. It might make you cry. It might do both, but it will certainly make you smile.
The most wholesome, charming married couple in video games. Actually, they’re kinda the only married couple in video games. At any rate you can feel the love radiating from your television screen.
L.A. Noire
That awkward moment when you come up with a clever caption, but it probably comes off as rape-y, so you resist the joke and include the image anyway because it’s a great shot. Or maybe I’m the only person who has these moments. Okay…subject change….
Team Bondi apparently couldn’t be saved from its own mismanagement, even with Rockstar bankrolling. As a result, this game tries its hardest to be something like Heavy Rain, but the lack of polish in this game is evident. Detective Phelps comes off as bipolar based upon the extreme variance in his tone of voice while performing suspect/witness interviews, particularly while accusing interviewees of misinformation or a straight lies. The plot of the game is both derivative and also ungainly, but I suppose one should suspect that given that the game borrows heavily from film-noire. Still, some of the plot elements are misplaced if not also misguided, as I remember that during the endgame, the motives behind some of the murders are nonensical, as is Phelps’ fall from grace.
But this game certainly gets an “A” for effort. The facial animation capture technology that is integral to determining the verisimilitude has yet to be reproduced. While there is no real incentive to explore the overworld, it also successfully recreates a 1940’s town complete with segregation. Minorities are rare, which is alarming in a sandbox game, but arguably realistic for the setting. Investigating the evidence found in crime scenes and familiarizing yourself with different characters in order to solve the murder puzzles provides a pleasant sense of accomplishment that no conventional in game achievement can provide. I am no connoisseur of film-noire, but even with its flaws, L.A. Noire is a game worth checking out–at least through the first three chapters. Definitely the first two.
