So after BF2, Modern Warfare 1 and 2, and now BC2 all having unlock systems, is anyone else yearning for an older style shooter?
I personally miss CoD2. No unlocks or perks or other messy things. There's 4 weapon selection menus, which depend upon your team, and the 3 Allied weapon choices are more geared towards offense, whereas the Axis weapons are geared towards defense, which is great if you play Search and Destroy, as Axis always defend (On offical maps). If you play Team/Deathmatch or CTF you have to prepare yourself to fight against a fair selection of weapons which can be used in different styles.
In Modern Warfare 2, you have to prepare to fight against approximately 400,000 different combinations ,Although admittedly, the guns are all pretty much the same when it comes down to it; point it at someone and hold the trigger and they're dead, so it's actually about 10 different kits, but hey. Saying this, I could also argue that the unlock system is merely window dressing for grinders and doesn't add anything to the game.
With Bad Company 2, the unlocks are, for the most part, substantially better than the default kits, with players even having to unlock basic kit accessories like defib, repair tool, ammo box and motion sensor. This puts new players at a horrible disadvantage, saturates the field with overpowered weapons and is obviously just another attempt at potential box art promotion OMG WEAPON UNLOCKS. If all weapons were available, it would be fairer and probably reduce the scale of effectiveness between low level weapons (AEK, M249 and the M416/M16/AN94 and M60 respectively).
The only game where unlockables have been implemented effectively in my view is Team Fortress 2, where the weapons have been balanced as wel as possible to make them sidegrades and not flat upgrades to the old weapons. They change play style and use without massively favouring one over the other.
And what happened to even older style shooters like Quake and UT, where collecting good weapons was part of the game, and where all the weapons were useful in different situations?
I feel too much effort in the development of new FPSs is focusing on toys and other things that players can use as 'bragging rights' or to keep them playing inordinate amounts of time (As all these unlocks can be achieved simply through playtime), and less on actually making any of these unlocks worthwhile.
I personally miss CoD2. No unlocks or perks or other messy things. There's 4 weapon selection menus, which depend upon your team, and the 3 Allied weapon choices are more geared towards offense, whereas the Axis weapons are geared towards defense, which is great if you play Search and Destroy, as Axis always defend (On offical maps). If you play Team/Deathmatch or CTF you have to prepare yourself to fight against a fair selection of weapons which can be used in different styles.
In Modern Warfare 2, you have to prepare to fight against approximately 400,000 different combinations ,Although admittedly, the guns are all pretty much the same when it comes down to it; point it at someone and hold the trigger and they're dead, so it's actually about 10 different kits, but hey. Saying this, I could also argue that the unlock system is merely window dressing for grinders and doesn't add anything to the game.
With Bad Company 2, the unlocks are, for the most part, substantially better than the default kits, with players even having to unlock basic kit accessories like defib, repair tool, ammo box and motion sensor. This puts new players at a horrible disadvantage, saturates the field with overpowered weapons and is obviously just another attempt at potential box art promotion OMG WEAPON UNLOCKS. If all weapons were available, it would be fairer and probably reduce the scale of effectiveness between low level weapons (AEK, M249 and the M416/M16/AN94 and M60 respectively).
The only game where unlockables have been implemented effectively in my view is Team Fortress 2, where the weapons have been balanced as wel as possible to make them sidegrades and not flat upgrades to the old weapons. They change play style and use without massively favouring one over the other.
And what happened to even older style shooters like Quake and UT, where collecting good weapons was part of the game, and where all the weapons were useful in different situations?
I feel too much effort in the development of new FPSs is focusing on toys and other things that players can use as 'bragging rights' or to keep them playing inordinate amounts of time (As all these unlocks can be achieved simply through playtime), and less on actually making any of these unlocks worthwhile.
Really not a fan of regenerating health..
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