While thinking about my love for old side scrolling beat 'em up's, I realized that these days ninety percent of the games released for consoles are shooters. I honestly can't think of one game that I am playing/looking forward to playing that doesn't in some was fall into the shooter genre. While I love gears, Left 4 Dead and Call of Duty, it's unfortunate that no developer (that I can think of) has developed anything resembling a beat 'em up.
Think about the all the games we played as kids that fall into this genre, Turtles in Time, Streets of Rage, Altered Beast, Golden Axe, the Simpson's arcade game, the X-Men game! Nothing was more fun, to me at least, than hunkering down with your best-friend and beating one of those games, spending the whole day and all your continues. I guess that's why a game mode like horde has gotten so popular.
It's probably evolution in a sense, but I still would love to see a game that utilized street fighter 4's aesthetic, character models, and control, with maybe a smattering of Left 4 Dead for the villain generation and the level design.
I'd play that game.
Anyway, I was looking up Streets of Rage on Wikipedia and I thought it's back story was humorous. Here's an excerpt.
"Adam Hunter, Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding decided to forgo their careers in legal law enforcement and put their lives on the line. They are without weapons, but each possesses great hand-to-hand combat abilities. Take them into the heart of the city and battle the most dangerous wave of bad dudes and chicks ever assembled. Make the city a place where people no longer have to walk the Streets of Rage!"
I think I may invest more time in old games... After seeing what I have seen in horde, I don't know that I could ever look down the barrel of a gun ever again...
-Awahh Shell-Shocked!!!
P.S. The plot for the next big Beat 'em Up Video-Game:
T.J. Viceroy, Mack McHoneycutt and Duke McDadass took an oath to protect their city from the scum that plagued it. These three detectives were the best cops Broodul City had ever seen, UNTIL a time-traveling despot set them up, and sullied their good names. NOW, T.J., Mack and Duke must chase the evil Villain throughout time to capture him. From the present, to the wastelands of a post apocalyptic future, back to Victorian England, NOTHING will stop these cops from getting their man.
Ok video game developers call me up, that's your story for the next great Beat 'Em Up game!
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Streets of Rage 2 is great. One of the best.
ReplyDeleteBut the Beat em' Up genre isn't dead. Although, its not really very celebrated these days either.
God Hand, Mad World, Viewtiful Joe (kind of), are some great beat em ups. God Hand is so much of a faithful translation from 2d to 3d that it was really bashed on for not having the asthetic (but had a really deep combat system) that gamers/reviewers commonly look for.
There are some other decent ones out there that I can't quite remember either The Red Star (based on the comic) and Castle Crashers are some good ones too.
Like you said, the gaming market is flooded with shooters because they are what sell the best, so less and less companies are making games such as beat em ups, because of lack of profits. It's unfortunte, but at least there are some still floating around out there.
Beat em' ups are one of my favorite genres. Any current game with some kind of roots within the genre I love.
I <3 beat em ups.
Ah... but would you play my beat em up?
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