As Hobbes' young companion once noted, mothers are the necessity of invention.  And in the gaming industry (and by industry I of course mean business), innovation means something fresh for the gamer and risk for the publisher.  We gamers are known to clamor for something new, different, interesting, and creative.  Ours is a tech-driven hobby, so naturally we want the newest, shiniest, most feature-packed thingee that's plowing ahead, breaking new ground, and showing us something we've never quite seen before.  Right?

And it's all those suit-and-ties in board meetings that are stifling and ruining our business (and by business, I of course mean industry.)  Their money-grubbing, tight-fisted pea-brains keep them from seeing the vision of artists, and instead they play it safe with brown-colored shooter release #57.  So, we just keep getting rehashes and sequels, with the occasional off-chance (often from our here-to-save-the-industry/business from itself indie sector) of shaking things up and giving us a much needed breakthrough in a Minecraft or Angry Birds.

That's our reality, yes?




This probably would be the perception of the industry if one only read forums or social media.  As with most things, reality isn't quite that clear cut, and thankfully, not nearly so dire.  True, ever since Wolfenstein 3D and its forefathers gave us a new pixel-perspective, publishers have polished and reiterated the FPS into an annual tradition.  Sports games are notorious for yearly updates on who's playing for where, and little else and video games in general often see little in the way of new genres or ideas for long stretches of time.

And yet, while I personally defend video games as one of if not the most interesting storytelling devices, an unparalleled tool for social engagement, and a media with near limitless potential, there is another use for them that is in no way less valuable.

Comfort.

I'm one who is unabashedly happy about a new Halo, Gears of War, and Rock Band.  Sequels genuinely excite me as much, if not more, than something new.  Looking at my reserves/games-I-am-excited-for list reads like mega-publisher's annual report.  Am I 'part of the problem' that keeps our industry stagnate?  Well, yes and no.  If enjoying our hobby is a problem, I'd suggest we have some pretty great problems!  And I'm all for new IPs; my reserve on Adr1ft shows I forgive Mr. Orth's snarky comments, a Persona dancing game on Vita is hardly derivative, and Super Mario Maker isn't exactly a sequel.


The vast majority of what I'm planning to play into next year has a number after the title, and the reason for the former is often the latter.  I certainly don't consider myself a mindless drone that just picks up what's popular, and perhaps I'm easier to please than many a gamer, but I'm very much looking forward to so many sequels over the next year precisely because I enjoyed their predecessors so much.  In that way, they're "safe;" they are comfort food.

I love me some Skittles.  I can't (read: shouldn't) buy and gorge on a party-sized bag every weekend like I did when I was younger, but should I find myself buying candy, it's always in the top three.  Now I'll buy plenty of other sugary toxins, say some Gobstoppers or even Fruit Runts should they pop up for sale on a rare occasion.  And, important to the point, I'll try something new in a heartbeat, even if it doesn't look particularly appetizing to me (read: any candy from Mexico) even if I see my favorites alongside it.  But my go-to, my "I know I like and am comfortable with" candy is, and has been for years, Skittles. 

As consumers, we all have those comfortable favorites, it's just natural.  It is extremely important as individuals to be willing to break out of our routine, shake things up, and try something different, even if the results *may* end up less satisfactory compared to the familiar.  But picking our favorites most of the time is simply common sense, as we find what we like and tend to stick with it for the most part.  Nothing bad about that.  Most folks I chat with tend to agree...unless we're talking about video games. 

There is an elitist cabal of people in gaming, represented in creators, critics, and especially players, that seem to loathe and even outright resent sequels, roll real and virtual eyes at franchises, and bemoan how releasing more games in a series is wasting developer money, numbing gamers into complacency, and just bad, bad, bad all around.  We hear it about Madden,  Call of Duty, and Halo, as we heard about it many hardware generations ago in Mario, Sonic, and, er.....Madden. 

Of course there is some truth to this.  Few argue that Guitar Hero started with a good thing and then became so oversaturated with titles that the new genre choked itself out for a few years.  The same can be said about Tony Hawk.  I for one would argue that there have been too many games in the Magus series.  There are consequences to having so many Final Fantasy games of varying quality; after playing enough like Type-0 HD, the name doesn't mean to me what it did when I saved up for a PlayStation to buy VII. 

And yet, personally I find that I tend to enjoy video game sequels often enough that I stick with a franchise and greatly look forward to new releases.  If I enjoy the mechanics and gameplay of a title, chances are I'll enjoy the next one.  Sometimes I don't have as much fun with a game as I did with it's predecessor, such as Gears of War: Judgment and Gears of War 3, or Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City.  (Although I am loving Arkham Knight, as somehow the coolness of the Batmobile is making up for my disinterest in open-world.). But most of the time, if I like the first game in a series, I get easily excited for the next.  Maybe I play such a variety of games (and rarely to 100% completion) that I just don't tire of them as easily, but I still get pumped at the idea of returning to a game world and continuing where I left off.

So, here's a partial list of the 'comfort food' sequels coming around that I'll be happy to dive into;

Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight
This series is in so many ways the modern return of Wizardry dungeon crawling, and I own and have enjoyed every game in the series thus far, even the spinoffs such as Persona Q and Mystery Dungeon. This one is a complete remake/reboot of the second one in the series, with a greatly expanded story and more mechanics.  I am excited.

Rare Replay
I put this on here because although it is not a sequel, it's a chance to go back and play so many of the games I enjoyed in my younger years, as well as the ability to play some older games never released in the U.S.  So I think it kinda counts.  Wonder if they'll finally fix that glitch in the NES Battletoads so it can be completed with two players.  Because, you know, I could never actually do that.

Mighty Number 9/Shovel Knight
Yes, yes, again, not technically sequels, but they are spiritual successors to Mega Man and similar platformers, so it counts in my mind.  C'mon, the Snake Man theme is playing in my head as I type this, so it counts!


Speaking of music and games...

Rock Band 4/Guitar Hero Live
Oh, how I'm thrilled to have more Rock Band, as we never stopped playing the first three, we just slowed down and toured less.  As for Guitar Hero Live, I'm amused that the ol' Sega CD Make My Video got a proper sequel.....seriously.  The new Guitar Hero  just plays looped FMV of a "concert" in the background that changes video tracks as you do well or mess up, and you can't "lose."  Never thought that FMV gaming would return with such a neat peripheral.  I'm not really being sarcastic here.  I also reserved it.

Halo 5: Guardians 
Not as excited about this due to the inability to LAN play, which is why the franchise has been such a big deal at our place.  Still, my beloved and I are heavily invested in the lore (books, comics, movies, etc.) and I've enjoyed the campaigns in each game enough to play through several times.  Plus, the larger-scale multiplayer online does look exciting.  I think it'll be a lot of fun.

Star Wars: Battlefront
Big fan of the first two, I enjoy Battlefield games in general, and the gameplay footage pushed me over to greatly anticipating this.

Plants Versus Zombies: Garden Warfare 2
The first Garden Warfare shouldn't have worked, but it not only worked, it completely charmed me with excellent controls, balance, humor, and outright fun.  The only non-LAN multiplayer game I bought several copies of just to co-op, and it was worth it, especially after the steady flow of free content with new characters, maps, and game modes.  Still a lot of fun, and the new one looks even better.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain 
Kojima-san's (and possibly Konami's) swan song, I want to get it not just because I've enjoyed the crazy, convoluted series thus far, but also because it looks like a great, fun game even apart from its high pedigree.  Also, if it sells well, perhaps the other Konami franchises will have enough value to sell to a publisher willing to make great games again.  :/

There's also Disgaea 5, a third Zero Escape, Uncharted 4, and two more Gears of War games coming out, and many more with a number after the title. 

Will some of these disappoint?  Probably at least a few, but I personally find that average to be about the same as any completely new title.  Overall, I have to say my next year or two of gaming looks to be exciting, but also comforting, in that I have some idea of what I'm getting, because I've enjoyed it before.  Just about any of these games look like they will be fun for me, in part because I know what to expect, combined with a few tweaks to make it a little new or fresh.

I plan on picking up a few bags of Skittles, some friends who enjoy the same, and having a great time.  What sequels on the horizon are you looking forward to?

 

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