TSA’s Top 100 of 2011 – #46 Bodycount

The spiritual successor, a term ingrained in gaming’s parlance, is a curious animal. A sequel in all but name, the practice of calling a follow-up something other than “Older Game 2: New Stuff”  is often the product of legal wranglings over intellectual property rights. Either that or a studio’s cheeky intention of tapping into the potential sales pool of those who liked a past game without actually alienating future customers who perhaps did not. I’ll have that cake and eat it, thank you. I also want to stick it in your face.

It’s smart business, and a maneouvre obviously only reserved for games stemming from a precursor that suffered a mixed critical or commercial reaction. You want to go again, to (hopefully) correct most of your first attempt’s shortcomings, building on a strong concept that maybe faltered in execution. You just don’t want to be lumbered with the stigmata of a lacklustre title.

Codemasters’ Bodycount is a spiritual successor to Criterion’s Black. As Black was a solid if – for whatever reason – less than stellar hit commercially, a game with its own installed fan-base eager for a follow-up, it must be that first reason – the legal stuff – that explains why designer Stuart Black’s Bodycount is not Black 2.

You could also argue that Criterion just weren’t interested in competing in the cutthroat FPS market, choosing instead to focus on cutting other developers’ throats by creating one of gaming’s greatest racing franchises ever in Burnout. Whatever. Black (the person), however, did want to return to the destructible environment set super-score chaining world of his namesake FPS. Hence, he moved to Codemasters and started talking about those aforementioned spirits. In a final twist, Black opted to part ways with Codemasters last month. After his design work on the game was completed, of course. Yeah, this one’s a little … messy.

Details about Bodycount itself are limited. Think Black 2 and you won’t go far wrong. Practically everything can be destroyed, bullets are en vogue and linking combos and kills together allows the player to invoke spectacular perks like air-strikes. You play a military person named Jackson who is recruited by a shadowy group known as The Network. There are other shadowy groups that your shadowy group want eliminated. Makes (shadowy) sense.

Maybe it’s nostalgia. Maybe we’re just excited to play a shooter that is less grounded in faux reality and firmly entrenched in self-aware lunacy. Regardless, Bodycount is looking like a no holds barred, high-octane action explosion. We do have a thing for explosions.

Expect Bodycount early next year on PS3 and Xbox 360.

10 Comments

  1. I just want to shoot stuff in Bodycount.

  2. Am I the only one old enough to get the tag joke.

    • Bodycount … Bodycount …
      Bodycount … Bodycount …
      Bodycount … Bodycount …
      Bodycount … MOTHERF. ..

      • Bodycount in the House, damn I may go and listen to some now.

    • No, I got it too.. Although I preferred him as a high roller myself..

      • I’m more of a Lipton man myself…

  3. I’m a bit disappointed of what I’ve seen of this game so far. I really enjoyed Black on the PS2, and at this point, Bodycount is looking poor in comparison. Atleast in my opinion.

  4. Is ‘gamer’ a euphamism? :D

  5. I really hate the term ‘spiritual successor’ it’s just like a more artsy way of saying we either couldn’t think of a way to finish the story in that game so here’s another with the same core elements or here’s something similar but not as good! Grrr

  6. Loved Black, This looks like more of the same and then some. Next year is going to flatten my wallet that’s for sure…. great ;)

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