Last week at EGX I had a lot of fun with a game I didn’t think would catch me attention in the least. I’m talking about DmC: Devil May Cry, a title that seems rather redundant if I’m honest. Essentially a reboot of the Devil May Cry franchise, the game’s set in an alternate reality, a move that ensures the history from earlier Devil May Cry games isn’t erased should Capcom want to go back.
It’s not the game specifically that I want to talk about today, I’ll have a preview of that coming your way very soon. Instead I want to talk about something DmC represents, a series. You see I’ve never paid any attention to the Devil May Cry games before now, they just haven’t really done anything that grabbed my attention.
With DmC being a reboot it seems like a good time to join the series, hopefully there’ll be little that needs explaining in the way of backstory. Fortunately there’s an HD collection of the first three Devil May Cry games, something I’ve picked up just in case it comes in handy with the new game.
[drop2]The collection is a real blessing, but it got me wondering about just how you jump into the middle of a series. Take Assassin’s Creed as an example. Assassin’s Creed 3 will be the fifth game in the series,f you hadn’t played any of the Assassin’s Creed titles up until now would you be willing to just jump into the new game feet first? Games are expensive, and I’m not sure I’d always be willing to pick up a game whose narrative might well leave me puzzled.HD collections obviously solve this problem to some extent; one neat, cost effective package that lets you play a good chunk of a series in one go. No waiting between games, no remembering what happened a year or two ago, just one package that gives you everything you need. Some may bemoan these titles as quick money grabs, but the core concept is actually very useful and pretty sound.
I’ve never felt like I’ve had this issue with movies, perhaps simply because films always seem like a lower risk proposition, and there’s less to pick up when you go into the new film. Of course there’s story you might be missing but with games it can be a lot more story, and gameplay mechanics that you might be missing out on too.
Sure, a good game will re-introduce these to you at the start of every game, and probably add some new ones in, I don’t think the flow will necessarily be as natural as it would be if you’d been playing since the beginning of the series. Experience will always win out over someone new to a series.
With series and franchises now dominating the gaming landscape, it’s obvious that publishers and developers are trying to appeal to people who are already fans but what about attracting new people to the game? I suppose my question is how willing would you be to jump into something new, where you could easily feel lost or confused? Have you ever dropped into a series halfway through, or have you avoided it?
Personally I think I’ve avoided it for the most part, I like to play things from the beginning or not at all. However, I’d be interested to hear if you’re happy to take that chance.
Alex C
I’ve never played any Assassin’s Creed. They’d need to really change the formula to make me jump in.
cc_star
I didn’t love, but I did enjoy AC1 at the time, there seemed to be hardly anything out on PS3 at the time, with Microsoft seemingly getting everything.
However by the time AC2 landed I thought it was dreadful, I can’t honestly tell you how I feel about it properly without launching into a foul mouthed tirade unsuitable for a site that minors may be reading… and don’t get me started in its two sequels.
And as such I’ll avoid AC3
LTG Davey
Same, have never played an AC game (aside from a couple of minutes of the first one in my local GameStation). Can’t see the appeal to be honest. Visuals are good mind.
CR8ZYH0RSE
Final fantasy is a series for me that i’ve not jumped in,maybe it’s time I took another look.
KeRaSh
FF is another story, though. Every major release is a complete stand alone experience (excluding direct sequels) so it’s easier to jump in at any point.
I personally don’t jump into a franchise without having played or watched the prequels unless the prequel comes out after the original material. I also wouldn’t skip a game or movie. That’s why I haven’t played the latest AC games, yet. I can’t get myself interested in Brotherhood. I might skip it by watching a Let’s Play on Youtube but that way I would at least know what happened in that game before moving on.
Sympozium
I never bought or played a main Final Fantasy title until I got myself Dissida: Final Fantasy… in a way that kind of got me interested in the games where the characters I would’ve been played like Cloud, Tidus Squall or Zidane so ended up buying few of the games whenever they were available on the PS store, FF IX was rather exciting, decided to get that on launch for some reason normally I wouldn’t. Easily my favourite
teflon
I enjoyed AC1, loved AC2, but when AC:B came along a year later it felt tired, stodgy and bloated. I just couldn’t get into it.
I wish I could, but not being able to play it and see the plot twists for myself put me off getting Revelations and now also 3.
Similarly, even though there’s that comic at the start of ME2 on PS3, I don’t want to play it without first going through ME1 on PC. I’d lose so much of the nuance of the world.
It’s quite rare for me that I don’t start at the beginning of a large plot arc. I think the last time was with MGS4 and Killzone 2, simply because I was new to it all and had no way of playing the previous ones. There’s something to be said for new IPs coming along with a new generation, and that’s that it gives people like me a good way of getting something new which I can enjoy from the beginning.
xdarkmagician
I feel the same way. I’m trying to play Revelations for the first time now simply to see how the story unfolds, but after feeling the fatigue of the franchise and the importance of the DLC on the story I simply no longer care enough to finish Revelations or invest myself in AC3.
cc_star
I’ve never given loads of franchises a shot.
Most FPS for a start, just something that’s never appealed and I don’t know what any could do to make me want to jump in.
However I have played a few over the past couple of years & my experience of Infinity Ward, DICE & Treyarch’s output will ensure I’ll never bother with FPS again except for Treyarch’s stuff as I’ve really enjoyed World At War, Quantum Of Solace & BlOps.
But Halo 4 certainly isn’t doing anything to make me want to jump in with Halo, same goes for pretty looking, but generic-ly stale MoH.
Final Fantasy has never done anything to make me even want to watch a trailer of it.
Conversely I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan but I’ve enjoyed a few of the Resident Evil games, but with RE6 they’ve changed the formula to try & make it more relevant to the ‘masses’ and pretty much ruined what it stands for.
Making changes to enable new people to jump in, is a bit of a fine art.
Severn2j
Dishonoured seems to be making a good attempt at revitalising the genre. But in general, I do agree with you, it is a very stale area, especially the military ones…
xdarkmagician
I find it interesting that today alot of games have movies, books, or comics that try to bridge the gap between game releases. Oddly enough I play games because I like them more then movies, books, or comics so I never take any interest in them. I always felt they were merely marketing schemes to cash in on the fanboy crowd, but lately I’ve been wondering if I should start to pay more attention to these things as the quality and importance in the story has improved drastically. So I find myself in an similar situation, but different in the fact I only want to play the video game for the complete storyline, not have to read the book then play the game, read the comic and watch the movie, then start over again to get the full story.
Roynaldo
Possibly a generation aspect could be added to this too. eg Never played Killzone 1 but dove into Killzone 2 because of its superior gritty gameplay and graphics, ended up loving it more than im willing to admit.
Final Fantasy was different from PS1 to PS2 and again to PS3/Xbox… though not necessarily sequels but certainly branded to make people think whether future ones (or indeed past ones) are worth your time and money.
Devil May Cry and Ratchet and Clank have seemingly taken different routes onto the current gen consoles from the past and imo may suffer from it. Mortal Kombat? Dont get me started.
A good question would be “Would you dive into Resistance 4 or Final Fantasy 15 or Assassins Creed 4 on your new shiny PS4?”
Sympozium
AC4 could be intriguing, odd if the Desmond Era is continued still I’m sure it’ll be better to start anew I guess.
teflon
Yes, if it pushes the series and genre forwards. If it’s just the same game but next gen graphics, then I don’t think that will be enough anymore.
On the plus side, several big publishers have said that they’re basically waiting the generation out before bringing new IPs and franchises and ideas to new hardware.
Bring it on.
Sympozium
I don’t like the idea of games being part of a trilogy… Like Mass Effect. I’d rather start at the beginning however way too much time has to to spent on each game something I can’t quite do. I wonder if I had got into that on PC, maybe I’d have been more interested to play Mass Effect 2 more earlier on?
Anyway something like uncharted is nice since all 3 aren’t really direct continuations of the story just adventures for lost treasure (with scary monsters rawr) really which is cool, basically don’t have to play them in order if you’d never tried the series before.
bowie
I have jumped in part way through a series and the results have been mixed. Like Roynaldo I jumped into the Killzone series partway through (I started with Liberation) and have enjoyed it immensely. I plan to grab the collection and play through Killzone to complete my experience.
I also jumped in a Mass Effect 2 but the result was profound disappointment. I had no attachment to Shephard so when they killed him off at the start (only to resurrect him a minute later) I didn’t care. Then there was the perverse decision of Bioware to make the comic that retells the first game something you have to download – I just never bothered with it. As a result I never got invested in the game. Of course it didn’t help that the story and characters of ME2 were complete dreck.
PoolieMike
I was more than happy to go see The Avengers without any prior knowledge of the previous movies for £4 than I would be to play an existing franchise for ten times that amount.
freezebug2
I think that it depends on the actual game rather than the series. Imagine diving into Uncharted 3 without any prior experience of the franchise, it could be a little bewildering, considering it’s hype. On the other hand Uncharted 2 would have the opposite effect and could easily be seen as a fantastic game in it’s own right that touches all bases without having to be a sequel.