Innovation? Pah! I Laugh at Thee
After reading the litany of criticisms leveled at Darksiders, I realize that game critics still put far too much emphasis on innovation in games. Not only that, but there are inconsistencies in their criticism: Borderlands is a creative powerhouse for being the first game to successfully combine Diablo loot mechanics with FPS mechanics, while Darksiders is a cheap rip-off for mixing Zelda and God of War.
I have one thing to say to all those critics: you are stupid and you have stupid faces. As it may be hard to understand the sophistication of my argument in just one pass, I will do my best to break it down so that it is more easily understood.
Zelda of War? God of Zelda?
Is Zelda fun? Yeah? Hmm … what about God of War? Still yes? Well, that seals it. Darksiders should be a blast, right? What’s not to like?
Unfortunately, that’s not good enough for most critics. All they want is something new even if it’s poorly executed. That may be a little unfair to critics as some point out in their written reviews that while the gameplay elements are not new, they feel fresh in combination and work well together.
If you listen to critics’ real thoughts on podcasts, however, it is clear that they’re dismissive of Darksiders because it ‘doesn’t bring anything new to the table.’ Did Uncharted 2 bring anything new to the table? Did Ocarina of Time, for that matter? The answer is clearly no; they brought tweaks and improvements.
The only difference between this game and those is that they had a higher profile on release. Critics might argue that Uncharted 2 had better gameplay, but if that’s their issue then they’re not making that very clear.
I could easily argue that either Uncharted 2 or Ocarina of Time, or the upcoming God of War, which will likely be hailed as ‘the greatest action game of all time,’ is far less innovative than Darksiders. The simple act of taking two gameplay mechanics and combining them is a greater move forward than something like God of War 3 which will be a model of refinement.
Master sword? Check. Water Temple? Check. Triforce? Check. Innovation, Zelda is thy name!
Nothing is ever new
People don’t want new things; they want fun things. The recent film Avatar was criticized for having a derivative storyline, but that didn’t stop it from becoming the most successful film in a decade. Think of some of the ‘best game of all time’: Goldeneye, Super Metroid, Chrono Trigger (taken from IGN’s 2008 list as they gave Darksiders the lowest score of the major websites).
Did these games really do anything new? Or did they take a tried and true formula and add a few features that improved the experience, pushing it from good to great? Anyone whose gaming experience extends prior to 1994 will know that these games were evolutions, not revolutions. Many of the real innovations in gaming come in minor games that are largely ignored but are played by developers who do their research. It’s no coincidence that Randy Pitchford has one of the highest gamerscores of any developer.
Much like the recent studies that showed that marketing has far more to do with the sales of a game than the metacritic score, it is clear many reviewers are predisposed to certain review score ranges. That’s why there is huge outrage when Twilight Princess receives 8.8 out of 10, when for many games that’s a huge success (adding to the hilarity is that Jeff Gerstmann is the personification of ethical reviewing and going against cheap payoff tactics by websites; tell that to the Zelda fanatics I suppose).
I’ve made my stance clear: innovation is overrated. None of my favorite games create a new genre, or do something that doesn’t at least have its roots in another game. Entirely new elements, while interesting, frequently have issues to be ironed out with their implementation and later games utilize them most effectively.
I have not finished Darksiders, but it is a blast and reducing it to ‘a cheap ripoff of Zelda and God of War’ sells it short in an egregious way. Borderlands and Henry Hatsworth were two of my favorite games of last year, and I can only hope that Darksiders is equally successful so we can see more of these forays into combining genres. First-person theme park simulator, anyone? Turn based first person shooter?
