Supernatural: The Video Game

Today on the Gamedom, we’re gonna debut something a little different.  So every time I watch TV now, I’m always tying different elements together to see if it would make a viable video game.  Now of course I don’t have any delusions of being a game designer, but we’re going to use our IMAGINATION for this one.  So for today’s feature, we’re going to discuss Supernatural: The “imaginary” Video Game and construct our ideal game.  Now with all licensed products it’s always a HUGE chance that the game will suck royally, but with the right party behind it…magic can happen!

Sound off and let me know what TV shows, movies, or books would you make into a video game.

So as far as developer goes, my vote goes to Remedy Entertainment who is best known for Max Payne (1 and 2) and the Alan Wake series.

Sam and Dean Winchester have been two of my favorite TV characters for quite some time now; and with both Sam and Dean being such flawed characters, Remedy would be right at home after dealing with Max Payne and all of his (ongoing) issues.  Not only has Remedy dealt with the extremes of Max Payne, they’ve also scared gamers with their creepy title Alan Wake.  Like I've mentioned before, I don't do horror, but I gave Alan Wake a try...I walked around my house with a flashlight for a week, but I did enjoy my short play time with the game.  Also, if you’ve played Alan Wake you know that it’s set up with an episodic format with each episode ending in a cliffhanger. 

I can see Supernatural working best be as a 3^rd person shooter with drop in/drop out co-op both locally and online.  Just imagine each mission starting out in a seedy hotel room with the boys investigating the suspicious activity going on in the town.  How cool would it be for that investigation to actually help or hurt the upcoming mission?  If you’ve done your research right, you’ll be fully prepared to kick some ass, but if not you may go into battle less than prepared.  With a show so steeped in actual lore, Remedy would have a field day with current monsters already featured in Supernatural’s world.

So with Supernatural approaching season 8 (October 3^rd), it may be in Remedy’s best interest to have its main characters be some one other than the Winchester boys.  Now bare with me here, it would be pretty awesome to play as Sam and/or Dean, but what if thru their travels they come across a duo of younger hunters whom Bobby helped train.  Bringing in new hunters would give Remedy a chance to create their own back-story and that way they wouldn’t have to worry about leaning on the pre-existing dynamics between Sam and Dean i.e. “Demon Blood” Sam, “Soulless Sam, or “Devil Whisperer” Sam. 

The only thing that I require is..."Carry On My Wayward Son!"



Engaging the Fantasy

What I have shown you is reality. What you remember... that is the illusion.
- Sephiroth

It has been almost 15 years since Final Fantasy VII was released and I can still remember almost every detail about my first encounter.  It was a Saturday afternoon in September 1997 when my cousin walked into my house (well my parents house, but whatever I was only 13) holding his new copy of FFVII.  Now my cousin and I were not on the same page when it came to game choices.  He was all about the role playing games, platformers, and puzzlers or as my older brother would call them, “stupid games” (and he still does) and I was playing NFL Madden, NBA Live, and the occasional beat-em-up.  During this time in our lives we were in a steady rotation of staying over each other’s house every weekend and the unwritten rule was that you play what the host is playing (in retrospect it should’ve been the other way around, but whatever its family).  Needless to say, I was pissed at him for bringing a “stupid game” to my house.  After a couple hours of destroying him in Madden 98 and Twisted Metal 2, I finally consented and allowed him to play his single player “stupid game” and that’s when it all changed!  The opening cutscene was unlike anything I’ve ever seen in any game and that was all I needed to see to give this game a chance.

Now in '97, these graphics were stellar, but of course they might not hold a candle to today's visuals.  Needless to say, after about 10 straight hours of gaming (we alternated every few hours) I tried to convince him to let me keep the game until next weekend.  I failed miserably, but I was able to get my mom to take me to Blockbuster to rent the game. Now that I think about it, we never actually beat Final Fantasy VII because we could never breed a gold chocobo, which allowed you to traverse water to attain the Knights of the Round materia.  Yet knowing that I didn’t beat the game doesn’t hinder my admiration for the game, but goes to show how important this game is/was.  Without FFVII, there is a good chance that I would’ve never given games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Lost Odyssey, or The Elder Scrolls a second look.  So with today being the 15th year anniversary of Final Fantasy VII, I say stand up and show your respect!

Strength without determination means nothing, and determination without strength is equally useless. 

Are we looking at two too many sequels?

In the gaming community we’re all used to sequels ranging from Mario to Master Chief, but what happens when the cash cow goes dry.  How much do we have to endure before these sequels of sequels are put to rest?  Now don’t get me wrong I want my Commander Sheppard to live forever, consistently saving the Universe from Reaper attacks but eventually the war has to end and we have to move on.  For every Batman: Arkham City you have multiple Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2, a sub par follow up to a stellar blockbuster.  Unfortunately this is becoming the rule instead of the exception.  Here are a few disappointing sequels and you can judge them for yourselves.  Don't forget to sound off in comment section if you agree, disagree, or think I left something off.

BioShock 2

Although I did enjoy this game, it just didn’t have the same feel as the original.  I wanted to feel more powerful as a Big Daddy, I wanted to give the denizens of Rapture the same feeling of dread I felt the first time I encountered a Big Daddy but it never happened.  Once I decinded back into Rapture, Big Sister was running the yard.  I just wanted to have that same eerie feeling walking around Rapture and get wrapped up in another engrossing story, but instead felt like I was playing an extended DLC pack.  Also upon completion I didn’t have the urge to repeatedly say to my wife,      * SPOILER ALERT *           “Would you kindly…”

Dragon Age 2

So the good…I like the faster pace of battles (whether a mage, rouge, warrior) aaaaannnnddd that’s it!  Dragon Age: Origins felt like an epic adventure while Dragon Age 2 felt like a never ending fetch mission.  All of the characters were forgettable and the plot was nonsensical at best.  I could go on, but I don’t want to remember any more of this abomination.

Prince of Persia

In this instance, I’m referring to the 2008 attempted reboot of the series.  Some of you may not agree with me on this, but I thought this game was redundant and an overall bore.  PoP was a completely different take on the PoP universe (the game didn’t even take place in Persia) moving from the frenetic battles against scores of enemies to 1 v 1 encounters.  Let’s not forget the “never die” aspect of the game as well in which the character never actually dies because Elkia; his female companion, would gladly whisk you away before you could fall to your doom or fall in battle.  But if we’re being honest, none of the PoP games have been able to hold a grain of sand to The Sands of Time.

Fable 2 & 3

Truth be told, I kinda dug the original Fable, it was a quirky game that clearly didn’t take itself seriously and gave us a lot of customization and choice.  At its release, I didn’t know about the lofty ambitions set for the series and once I learned about them I was excited to get my hands on the next installments.  Needless to say, I played them and I don’t remember anything of substance.  I know in particular that I hated Fable 3 the most and I know hold Peter Molyneux in the same regards as M. Knight Shyamalan…and that’s somewhere down in the lower intestine.

Even though there have been some mediocre to terrible sequels, it does go to show that in most cases the original titles that spawned those sequels were at least awesome enough to garner support for a sequel.