It’s hard to compare the video game industry today with the video game industry of ten or twenty years ago, But being the stubborn individual I am, I feel the need to. Current generation consoles, with their online connectivity and impressive graphics power are leaps and bounds more advanced than the Sega Channel or Mario Paint, but what about certain genres that never quite made the jump to next generation?
More specifically, beat em’ ups and brawler games – you know, the arcade style side scrolling button mashers? Side scrolling games have had a small renaissance of sorts lately – the Metroid games for Gameboy Advance, Viewtiful Joe, Contra 4, the New Super Mario Bros games, and the more recent Shadow Complex – these games have demonstrated that the two-dimensional side scrolling genre can still provide excellent gameplay without having to rely on extended graphics power to deliver. Regardless, the beat em’ up genre seems to be largely ignored – classic titles like Streets of Rage, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, X-Men, Golden Axe, and Double Dragon still provide excellent gameplay, even if the technology behind these games is quite dated.
Perhaps the genre is just too antiquated in this day and age to really make sense for a developer to pursue commercially, but I really think that a solid, well developed beat em’ up could end up being a surprise hit, especially for indie developers. Give the genre the same treatment Braid, Trine, or the aforementioned Shadow Complex did – 3D or stylized graphics on a two-dimensional viewing plane and add some new mechanics to the standard gameplay. If anything it would stand to revive a classic co-op genre that hasn’t really been touched in years, and maybe re-introduce gamers unfamiliar with the genre to a classic type of game.
Or maybe I’m completely wrong. I certainly still enjoy Streets of Rage II, but maybe beat em’ up gameplay is far too simplistic for modern gamers to enjoy fully.
i’ve been saying this for years. I keep thinking back to Squaresoft’s “The Bouncer” and get a few nightmares.
If i heard an announcement that a streets of rage game was being made for next-gen.. i would probably shit myself.
The Streets of Rage games were my favorite of all time. Mostly because my mom didn’t want me playing games that let you punch women in the face. I was all “But MOMMmmmm!!! They are BAD GUYS!” , and she was all “I don’t care, you don’t punch ladies, or hit them with lead-pipes!”
What’s great is this commercial for SoR –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVPno1eYbVM
That shit would never fly these days!
Yeah, the Bouncer was pretty much the five-finger death punch to Beat-em Up’s…
I actually like the bouncer and still have it. If your looking for a great modern day beat’em up then try Castle Crashers. That game is huge and nothing but fun!
Yeah Dustin actually told me about that right after I posted this. I don’t own an Xbox, but I will certainly check it out sometime.