Role-playing Rants: Another 5 video games, which should become RPGs
I know, I know - same thing? Really? Yes, because there are a few more titles, which I would really like to see on a tabletop. And if I won't write about them now, they'll surely slip from my mind.
You know the drill guys. We'll start from the last one, and gradually make our way to the very top. Here are another 5 vidya titles, fit for a role-playing table. In my opinion, of course.
5. "Killzone"
Despite losing the battle with Microsoft's "Halo", "Killzone" series remains a fairly popular one and with a good reason. I always preffered it to its rival, since it portrayed military conflict in a much more realistic and gritty way. Tomas Sevchenko was a much more grounded character, than the god-like Master Chief. I also liked the fact that neither Vektans nor Helghasts could be considered purely good or evil. Both factions presented with themselves different shades of grey, and neither one of them were 100% right in their actions. "Killzone" asked player some rather uncomfortable questions, especially in the latter installments, while "Halo" was simply a well done shooter, where the bad guys were aliens.
I'm envisioning a RPG which relies heavily on military themes, with various options for players. Thos who preffer covert-style gameplay could become Shadow Marshalls, others might like to grab their heavy weapons and go all Rico Velasquez on their enemies. A base management option would also be available for those, with a nack for RTS-style gameplay. In essence it would probably be rather similar to FFG's "Only War", which is a great game itself. "Killzone" RPG would certainly be a interesting title, especially for fans of down-to-earth and boots on the ground-style role-playing.
4. "Heroes of Might & Magic"
Simply because I love this series, especially part 3. Early "HoMM" games constitute for a lot of my childhood memories, and "Heroes V" is definetly my favorite of the newer iterations of these games. I've spent countless hours in Erathia, usually with friends, and it was glorious. Hotseat for the win! The fantastic world of "Heroes of Might & Magic" is a glorious example of a high fantasy setting done right, which presents endless posibilities for both Gamemasters and players alike. Classic dungeon crawls, treasure hunts, social and political-type adventures and, of course, military campaigns - "HoMM" offers all of this and more. As for player characters, the variety of races is so huge in these games, that everyone would find something for themselves. Aside from the classic trio of humans, dwarfs and elves, there are also kobolds, genies, gnolls, goblins, various undead and many, many more. I'd love to run a game set during the Succession Wars. What a blast that would be!
3. "Silent Hill"
Oh yeah, now we're talking horror! "Silent Hill" games (well, at least the early ones) are masterpieces of psychological terror and dread. No shitty jump scares here, nor cheap, scary gimmicks - "Silent Hill" 1 to 3 are all about the darkness and evil within one's soul and mind. I personally think that this would probably the hardest transition from the video game format to tabletop, simply because it would require a lot of cooperation from the players, for it to work properly. Imagine "Call of Cthulhu" pen and paper, but with even bigger emphasis on doom and gloom, not to mention despair and a sense of lost cause. I'd certainly love to see it raise some serious questions and demand a certain mindset and emotional reactions, both from players and the narrator of their adventures, set in the city of Silent Hill.
2. "Resident Evil"
On the other end of the horror spectrum we have "Resident Evil", one of my favorite game series of all time. Now I know that "RE" games are neither written well, nor do they have a particulary chilly atmosphere. Even the first titles were action games with horror elements, while the latter editions could not be called "horror titles", even in the loosest, possible sense. However that's why they're so riddiculously funny and entertaining. You boot them up, turn off your brain and enjoy a Jill sandwich. They're not meant to be scary, nor deep. They are simple pleasures, meant to provide cheap, yet effective fun to the people who are playing them. That's why I love them so much, because they're not pretending to be something else, something which they're not. I envision the "Residet Evil" RPG to be fast, deadly, combat-oriented fun, offering gameplay during the various events of the games. From the fall of Raccoon City to Ethan Winters' search for his missing wife, all of the main plots of "RE" games would be present and available to both GM's and players to use, in their fight against the Umbrella Corporation and its deadly B.O.W's. For a light-tonned, tabletop experience, I honestly think that this venerable Capcom series would work really well.
Oh and fuck the movies, seriously. They suck so bad.
1. "Deus Ex"
It's not my favorite video game of all time (that title belong to "Heroes of Might & Magic 3"), but I honestly think that first "Deus Ex" is the best game of all time. Its plot complexity, dialogues, the way that it allows the player to immerse himself in its world, various philosophical and ethical questions that it rises, the fantastic OST - it's a bloody masterpiece. Anyone who says that video games can't be considered art, should play the first of these cyberpunk pieces of art. Yes, I even consider "Invisible War" to be a very good game, altough the weakest of all in the series. I'd love to see a mature, conspiracy-themed role-playing game, set in the "Deus Ex" universe, with players being thrown in the middle of the shadow war, waged between the Illuminati and those, who wish to free humanity from their influence. Oh and Majestic 12, let's not forget about these evil buggers. Warren Spector's magnum opus is just too good a game, to NOT become a unique, fascinating and one-of-a-kind role-playing experience. I imagine the rulebook being about the first "Deus Ex", with various expansions allowing players to take part in the events, presented in "Human revolution", "Mankind divided" and even "Invisible War". If it'd ever see the light of day, I honestly think that the "Deus Ex" RPG would probably become my favorite role-playing game of all time, dethroning even "WFRP" and various cWoD games, that I love so much. A man can dream...
So that's it for this top 5, and next time I'll be writing about a very specific issue with RPG's - playing with your closest friends.
Until next time!
Xathrodox86
Simply because I love this series, especially part 3. Early "HoMM" games constitute for a lot of my childhood memories, and "Heroes V" is definetly my favorite of the newer iterations of these games. I've spent countless hours in Erathia, usually with friends, and it was glorious. Hotseat for the win! The fantastic world of "Heroes of Might & Magic" is a glorious example of a high fantasy setting done right, which presents endless posibilities for both Gamemasters and players alike. Classic dungeon crawls, treasure hunts, social and political-type adventures and, of course, military campaigns - "HoMM" offers all of this and more. As for player characters, the variety of races is so huge in these games, that everyone would find something for themselves. Aside from the classic trio of humans, dwarfs and elves, there are also kobolds, genies, gnolls, goblins, various undead and many, many more. I'd love to run a game set during the Succession Wars. What a blast that would be!
3. "Silent Hill"
Oh yeah, now we're talking horror! "Silent Hill" games (well, at least the early ones) are masterpieces of psychological terror and dread. No shitty jump scares here, nor cheap, scary gimmicks - "Silent Hill" 1 to 3 are all about the darkness and evil within one's soul and mind. I personally think that this would probably the hardest transition from the video game format to tabletop, simply because it would require a lot of cooperation from the players, for it to work properly. Imagine "Call of Cthulhu" pen and paper, but with even bigger emphasis on doom and gloom, not to mention despair and a sense of lost cause. I'd certainly love to see it raise some serious questions and demand a certain mindset and emotional reactions, both from players and the narrator of their adventures, set in the city of Silent Hill.
2. "Resident Evil"
On the other end of the horror spectrum we have "Resident Evil", one of my favorite game series of all time. Now I know that "RE" games are neither written well, nor do they have a particulary chilly atmosphere. Even the first titles were action games with horror elements, while the latter editions could not be called "horror titles", even in the loosest, possible sense. However that's why they're so riddiculously funny and entertaining. You boot them up, turn off your brain and enjoy a Jill sandwich. They're not meant to be scary, nor deep. They are simple pleasures, meant to provide cheap, yet effective fun to the people who are playing them. That's why I love them so much, because they're not pretending to be something else, something which they're not. I envision the "Residet Evil" RPG to be fast, deadly, combat-oriented fun, offering gameplay during the various events of the games. From the fall of Raccoon City to Ethan Winters' search for his missing wife, all of the main plots of "RE" games would be present and available to both GM's and players to use, in their fight against the Umbrella Corporation and its deadly B.O.W's. For a light-tonned, tabletop experience, I honestly think that this venerable Capcom series would work really well.
Oh and fuck the movies, seriously. They suck so bad.
1. "Deus Ex"
It's not my favorite video game of all time (that title belong to "Heroes of Might & Magic 3"), but I honestly think that first "Deus Ex" is the best game of all time. Its plot complexity, dialogues, the way that it allows the player to immerse himself in its world, various philosophical and ethical questions that it rises, the fantastic OST - it's a bloody masterpiece. Anyone who says that video games can't be considered art, should play the first of these cyberpunk pieces of art. Yes, I even consider "Invisible War" to be a very good game, altough the weakest of all in the series. I'd love to see a mature, conspiracy-themed role-playing game, set in the "Deus Ex" universe, with players being thrown in the middle of the shadow war, waged between the Illuminati and those, who wish to free humanity from their influence. Oh and Majestic 12, let's not forget about these evil buggers. Warren Spector's magnum opus is just too good a game, to NOT become a unique, fascinating and one-of-a-kind role-playing experience. I imagine the rulebook being about the first "Deus Ex", with various expansions allowing players to take part in the events, presented in "Human revolution", "Mankind divided" and even "Invisible War". If it'd ever see the light of day, I honestly think that the "Deus Ex" RPG would probably become my favorite role-playing game of all time, dethroning even "WFRP" and various cWoD games, that I love so much. A man can dream...
So that's it for this top 5, and next time I'll be writing about a very specific issue with RPG's - playing with your closest friends.
Until next time!
Xathrodox86
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