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The Week Ending January 18, 2000

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Sega Rally II
So, have you bought a Dreamcast yet?   Despite the fact there was little Dreamcast software released worth mentioning between Thanksgiving and Christmas, one great game that arrived in December was Sega's Rally 2. The Saturn had Daytona USA at launch to help propel sales, but the Dreamcast had been without a triple-A quality racer until the release of Rally 2. All told, Rally 2 has exactly what a racing game needs for a home console: Lots of adjustable cars, and over 16 different tracks, a far cry from old Playstation racers where you'd have to settle for 3 tracks (read: Ridge Racer). Although Rally 2 does not include modem support – Sega had originally planned to hold the game until their online support was ready – it's the best racing game yet for the Dreamcast. Now I just hope Sega can get the Internet gaming stuff up to snuff before Sony starts to flex its muscles about the Playstation 2.
Where's the Variety?
As I look at lists of the games due for release in 2000, there's one thing I hope they are all going to provide: variety in gameplay styles. This year we have games coming out like Anachronox, a title which promises everything from RPG combat like Final Fantasy to a racing action sequence similar to Descent.   I see games which start to blend genres as a positive step, and as Westwood's Louis Castle mentioned in Millennium Gaming, hopefully we will get to a point soon where games will be classified by theme and not gameplay style.
Just think about it: As stories improve in games, the next logical step is to start to tell those stories in a variety of ways. Sure, first person shooter elements are a lot of fun, but what about driving vehicles or working with teammates to create a strategic plan? Sure, a few games here and there have added vehicles or teamplay components, but there hasn't been enough variety in the gameplay we come to expect from a $50 game. There's nothing like the feeling of getting 80% through a game and then being rewarded with a new game mechanic to experience for the first time. As much as Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine disappointed me, the designers were on the right track by building in a mine car racing sequence into a latter stage of the game.

Unfortunately, most games today don't ever switch up the gameplay, and thus, each level plays just like the next one with new artwork and a few new puzzles. I firmly believe that if developers want players to keep with their games through the end, they need to provide variety in the gameplay style – And that doesn't mean just creating a bunch of new art to make the player feel like they are in a new setting.   Sure, some games can succeed solely based on a really polished style of gameplay, but I think it will be a requirement within the next few years that games give us a little variety – A bit of racing action here, an adventure game puzzle there, and maybe even a mini strategy game on top our regular twitch action gaming.

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