Hey everyone, DK here throwing down with the first EpicBattleAxe.com Member BattleCry for the new week. Now, if you haven’t seen this week’s topic yet you can do so right here, but for those of you ALREADY playing along at home, let’s get on with the discussion about atmosphere and immersion in gaming.
The first MBC of the week comes from Purkinje who, very eloquently, relates exactly why Half-Life 2 is more than just a shooter and how everything from the characters to the camera impact the rich experience delivered by one of Valve’s most memorable titles. So, with that I’ll turn this post over to Purkinje and kick off this week’s Member BattleCries.
Purkinje says:
I think it takes a good mixture of interesting characters, setting, plot, and sound/graphics to create a truly immersive experience. And with this in mind, I would have to say that Half-Life 2 is the best example of a truly immersive game.
The characters/races you meet are so interesting and have their own charm and idiosyncrasies. Your sidekick Alyx Vance, Dog, the “bald with glasses” archetype Dr. Kleiner, the enigmatic G-Man, and the Combine puppet, Dr. Breen, and of course the iconic Gordon Freeman.
This is where I think the characters and setting converge. All of these people fill this dystopian, futuristic Earth with life and hope. The human characters actually act in a familiar way, shown by visible depression when a mate dies, or the visible uplifting of spirits when they see you, Gordon Freeman, arrive to help them fight off the next attack.
Now, for the plot. I don’t want to give anything away for anyone, so I’ll just mention the way in which the story is told in Half-Life 2. All Half-Life games don’t have cutscenes. So, the story is divulged through scripted dialogue, but does not change the first-person perspective during these sequences. In my opinion, this was a genius move by Valve. It just makes you feel so much more involved in what’s going on. Instead of seeing a zoomed-out panoramic view of the action, you’re seeing it all through the eyes of Gordon, thus giving you the perception of actually experiencing events instead of being some omni-present spectator.
Now onto the sound and graphics. This games looks absolutely BEAUTIFUL, with some amazing atmospheric sounds. Even compared to today’s new games, the graphics still hold up. The amount of detail and diversity shown in the environments is simply astounding, and a real pleasure to play and explore. From the headcrabs’ disturbing zombie appearance and their horrifying cries and shrieks, to the Combine Civil Protection’s gas masks and storm-trooper-like voice. Even the weapons have a very nice feel to them, and the various sounds they make when firing is just right – especially on a nice stereo.
Overall, Half-Life 2 is a memorable gaming experience that places right in the middle of human resistance, and never lets go. Anyone who hasn’t played this game, well, what are you waiting for?
END
Very well put and I doubt we’d have too many Axe Heads that disagree, but lemme go ahead and open the floor to gather up your feedback. So, who agrees or disagrees? Let the EBA Community know your thoughts by submitting a comment below and if you have a completely different game or topic you’d like to talk about, visit this week’s Member BattleCry post to SUBMIT A NEW TOPIC:
SUBMIT YOUR MEMBER BATTLECRY IN THE COMMENTS SECTION HERE.
Cool gang, keep your comments and Cries coming by sounding off on this week’s topic and be sure to check back daily to see which MBCs get featured here on EpicBattleAxe.com!
Cheers,
DK
[...] pertaining to this week’s topic: The most immersive or atmospheric games or franchises. After yesterday’s look at Half-Life 2, today we’re going to examine one of the most established franchises in gaming…and a [...]
My Battlecry goes out to the Original Metroid Prime on the Nintendo GameCube. It had amazing atmosphere. Each world had its unique effects on the HUD; Rain drops tapping, steam from pipes causing your visor to fog, sound being muffled when underwater and many more emmersive effects. Even eatch weapon had a cool effect, while most games had a simple weapon switch, Samus’s cannon shot many things and had different animations when changing power and different animation for each weapon fired. Seing Samus’ reflection on the visor because of a blast near your helmet was absolutely amazing for its time, Samus’ Hud felt like it had its own depth and atmosphere at times. The entire games atmosphere was multiplied by the ammount of visors you had, that says a lot.
Who could forget its amazing levels and lonely yet immersive music. It was one of the first FPS games to have native creatures, whether they were harmful or not, unique to every world.
It ran the gammut of level design; Rain, Lava, underwater, ruins, mechanical, snow (Riddly’s shadow was awesome!), Phazon “mines”, and im sure im missing more… The Metroid Prime level had so much atmospheric immersion that it could compete with any game of this generation…. Just remember the Phazon Blast at the final bosss fight… E.P.I.C.!
My battle cry goes out to halo 1/ halo 2. Even after all these years I still get goosebumps when I’m driveling a warthog over a hill on halo or fighting a hunter and the epic music kicks in. Even though I know exactly what going to happen it’s never lost its magic. Also being able to pull this off in a co-op mode makes it the most atmospheric game I have ever played. Halo 1&2 defined the term epic and put FPSs on the map.
My battle cry goes out to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl. It took me a couple hours to really start to feel immersed in ‘the zone’ but once I was in an underground laboratory scavenging for bullets and bandages, hoping that I’d come across some food in a tin, and praying that there was not another blood sucker around the next corner I didn’t want to leave.
To add to the immersion is painfully intelligent AI and unforgivably realistic gun play. A gun fight in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. can feel as intense as an action sequence in a movie. You play as a absolutely normal person who is in no way superior to his enemies. In most of today’s single player experiences you play as some sort of distinctive entity such as a super soldier or a ‘chosen one’ with a specific destiny, and while this can help flesh out a story or add some sort of unique gameplay element, it makes the main character un-relatable and lowers the effect of the player’s imagination and as a result, makes a game less immersive.
While the game may not have been polished upon release and was certainly overlooked by people with twitchier gameplay preferences, if a little bit of time is given to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. it becomes an unforgettable experience. In terms of immersion, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl is second to none.
My battle cry goes out to Silent Hill 2. If you played the first Silent Hill, you could imagine what was coming in the second; a dark, moody survival horror that changed the world around you and pitched you against out and out demons or the monstrous human inhabitants of the town. With better graphics.
How wrong you were! True enough, there were beasties to be found. True enough, the world changed around you and the people you found were broken and sick. But coming from the tried and true ‘evil cult’ plot of the original, how different a tale did 2 provide when you found out exactly what happens to your character’s wife? How much did you feel sorrow or outright hate for him when you played the game differently and witnessed the different endings?
This was supported by one of the most resonant game soundtracks I’ve ever heard by Akira Yamaoka, almost perfectly capturing audio melancholy. The technically improved graphical design helped paint a better picture and what a disturbing and enthralling picture it was, all at once. It will always be a ‘special place’.
Oh and Pyramid Head. That great abuser of mannequins. That’s one creepy guy.
My battlecry goes out to Dead Space. The game’s environment was intense and you were immediatley terrified at what was around each corner as soon as you picked the controller up.The ambiance along with a great attention to the sounds the ship made really increased the horror instilled into you as you played the game. The amount of loneliness you felt while playing the game also hightened the horror factor as you would only encounter a number of human survivors, and the sections of the game where you were in space only made things harder as all noise was muffled and enemies could sneak up to you.
Dead Space had a really great atmosphere and the amount of immersion was overwhelming. This game is a true gem of this generation of consoles