Following a
recent—and still ongoing—gaming binge I’ve realized that open world action
games, best exemplified by the Grand
Theft Auto series, constitute my favourite genre in the video gaming
medium. Following the fairly on-rails single player experiences of the Call of Duty and Gears of War games I’ve come to really appreciate interactivity or
at the very least well-executed mechanics: games like Half-Life 2, the Halo
series and BioShock give you a
variety of tools but don’t hold your hand, preferring to let the player work
their way through a scenario as they see fit.
In the case of
open world games, where missions are accessed in a continuous environment and
non-player characters abound, the beauty is how you can make other entities
react, like dropping a pebble into a pond just to see the subsequent ripples. Or,
in the context of GTAIV, dropping a live grenade in the middle of a traffic jam
smack dab in the centre of Star Junction.
The result: always this.
I’ve elaborated how GTAIV succeeds, for me, not in spite of its flaws but because of them, its
clunky handling and at times aggravating lack of mission checkpoints resulting
in one of the few modern action games to make you feel genuinely vulnerable.
Its vehicle mechanics differ from most other games of its type—Hell, from every
other game in its own series—by having cars handle like real cars, swerving out
of control if you take a turn too fast or too suddenly. Try to play it like any
other driving game and you’d think your character was drunk (even more so for
the mission in which Niko Bellic actually does
get drunk and go for a spin).
It’s that sense
of danger that makes GTAIV such a fulfilling game. Frustrating? Yeah,
especially when I’m doing a fucking motorcycle mission and both digitally and
in real life motorcycles are the worst vehicles ever…
*takes a deep
breath*
Sorry. I had to
do that mission, like, fifty times.
Protip: always do this.
2012’s Sleeping Dogs is a little more
conventional in terms of driving and combat mechanics, in pure gameplay terms a
lot more polished product than GTAIV. Between its sleek Hong Kong aesthetic,
seamlessly incorporated martial arts combat and the ability to hijack a car while you are driving another car, it’s
also the epitome of cool. Storywise, it’s also really interesting, putting you
in the role of undercover cop Wei Shen, assigned to infiltrate and dismantle
organized crime in Hong Kong.
But as enjoyable
as it is, it doesn’t quite live up to its potential, removing any element of choice
from the plot proceedings—say, forcing you to decide between your allegiance to
the police or to your friends in the mob. Furthermore, there’s no real sense of
danger, with police pursuits easily halted and the actual police response
pretty insubstantial (I’ve learned and accepted that there’s a dark side of me
that wants to be chased by armoured tanks and we’re all just going to have to
deal with it).
And then there’s
Saints Row: The Third.
Yes, that is what you think it is.
I’ve never
played either of the first two Saints Row
games. I never plan on it, because I know I’ll just be disappointed. Saints
Row: The Third is both the antithesis of Grand Theft Auto IV and everything it could be, offering in-depth
character and vehicle customization unlike anything else I’ve seen in the
genre. It’s also set in the most delightfully batshit insane fictional universe
I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing.
Saints Row: The Third possesses none of the pathos of GTAIV
and Sleeping Dogs and certainly none
of the vulnerability of the former (you can upgrade yourself to become
essentially immortal), but it’s pure fun distilled in digital form and allows
you to have some of the greatest effect on your environment, be it altering the
skyline by demolishing a skyscraper or by wreaking enough havoc to bring out
the military. It has no limits and no sense of restraint and while I don’t
prefer it over GTAIV, it possesses a lot elements I hope to see in a game like
it.
Ideally, Grand Theft Auto V will have the
vulnerability of GTAIV, the polish of Sleeping
Dogs and the nuance of Saints Row:
The Third. I’m disheartened by the knowledge it’s been delayed until
September but until then I can titillate myself with the idea of this perfect
game. And by dropping a few more live grenades in Star Junction.
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