![]() ![]() The problem with Call of Duty 4 is that it tells a completely fictional story of a completely fictional war against completely fictional terrorists. Zakhaev dies, and the player’s ability to escape the pattern of necessitated-death cut scenes makes Zakhaev’s defeat that much more satisfying. When Captain Price slides Soap a pistol, however, the player gets the chance to regain the control he had lost in the previous scenes once the gun is in the player’s hands, the player becomes empowered to avenge his own deaths in the earlier scenes, and immediately does so with great relish. When a Russian chopper blows away your cover and you’re forced to helplessly watch Imran Zakhaev execute each and every one of your teammates, the player is meant to draw a mental parallel between the previous interactive death scenes, and the situation he currently finds himself in: this is exactly how the other scenes worked, and I died at the ends of those scenes, so it’s entirely possible that I might die here despite all my hard work. It is this fear which makes the game’s final moments so incredibly powerful and satisfying. I had never before experienced this feeling in a videogame. After Jackson died, I played through Soap’s campaign frequently petrified that he - that we - could be killed by the narrative at any time. The scene, in and of itself, has no real effect on the story outside of visually rewarding the player for a job well done.Īdditionally, the player becomes terrified that any character he controls, at any point, could potentially be killed by powers beyond his control. After the player fights through the City 17 underground and finally makes it to the surface, he is rewarded with a breathtakingly epic view of the decaying Combine Citadel and the ruined city surrounding it. Even Valve refers to their visual setpieces (or “Vistas”) as a tangible treat to the player for surviving. ![]() When most games show you something visually interesting but irrelevant to gameplay through the eyes of a quasi-controllable character (here, “quasi-controllable” meaning the player has the ability to at least move the character’s head around to get a look at his surroundings), there are a few things you can take for granted: firstly, that when you see these impressive things, they’re through the eyes of a character whom you have been, or will be, controlling for a very long time, through combat and puzzle solving and adventure (a la Gordon Freeman) secondly, that the pretty but gameplay-irrelevant thing you’re watching is serving as a sort of reward for fighting through hordes of monsters or soldiers. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |