NationStates Jolt Archive

This discussion idea comes from another thread...and I didn't want the thread to be hijacked. Anyway, I ran into a person who did not like either Rockstar or Maxis, for different (and reasonable) reasons, and believed that Konami and Squaresoft Enix are both better companies...

So, without stating my opinion yet, I want to open the discussion...

What current gaming companies do you like? Why? Who is leading the way to the nex-gen console games? Who is doing what well and who is lacking in what areas, etc?

And...let's not let this fall to an argument about which console is better, and let's try to keep flaming to a minimum...and there ARE more companies than the four already mentioned...

By the way, when you mention a company, please cite a few games produced by that company that really exemplify what you like about that company so much, this way those of us less familiar with a particular company will be able to know what it is you're talking about...

No one wants to have a serious conversation on the pros/cons of various PC/console gaming companies?

Every company has its good stuff and its crap. I dont see anything indicating that one company is innovating more than another.

Every company has its good stuff and its crap. I dont see anything indicating that one company is innovating more than another.
No, but I think some companies do more important innovations than other companies...

It is one thing to simply update graphics and storylines, but I mean, that's kind of "meh," if you ask me...

Hmm... I think Konami has sadly gone downhill since the days of the PS1. However, I do hold it to have been the best Japanese company of the era, specifically because of the Suikoden and Vandal Hearts games; MGS wasn't shabby either.

I don't really have any favorite companies anymore, though. Bioware are strong candidates; Jade Empire is amazing, and their various other RPG offerings have all been of high caliber. Despite this, since the end of Bullfrog (Theme Park, Magic Carpet, Dungeon Keeper, Populous, and Syndicate Wars.) and Psygnosis (Wipeout, Kula World (AKA Rollaway), Destruction Derby, Colony Wars, G-Police, and Krazy Ivan.), I've not really had any specific company to which I attach allegiance. With Westwood's absorption into EA the last of the ones I trusted in ended up gone, although I'm still keeping an eye on Petroglpyh to see what they can produce. Star Wars: Empire At War looks interesting indeed.

Having said that, there are some companies I usually expect high quality from. Capcom, Namco, and Konami are all examples of this, as is Square-Enix. I don't necessarily like everything they make, but they do tend to at least stick robust games together, and all four make at least one series I have interest in (Capcom; Resident Evil, Breath Of Fire. Namco; Katamari Damacy, Ace Combat, Soul Calibur. Konami; Suikoden, Vandal Hearts, MGS. Squeenix; Final Fantasy, Star Ocean, Chrono Cross, Front Mission.)

Oh, listing those, one company did come to mind. Koei. Kessen, Dynasty/Samurai Warriors, and Romance Of The Three Kingdoms all appear to be consistent series of games. Sadly, they tend not to build enough between each iteration.

In general however, I tend to simply remember the games I like rather than the developer and publisher nowadays. Just as Squaresoft sometimes made games I didn't like, so sometimes Ubisoft makes games I do like. I couldn't tell you who makes Project Zero/Fatal Frame games, but I can tell you they are exceptional.

Oh, and Blizzard make awesome RTS games, StarCraft might even surpass Red Alert 2. But even those can't compete with Microprose's X-Com and Civ games (The former of which has been adopted in spirit by Cenega, and the latter taken over by Firaxis. Firaxis are doing a damn fine job, but Cenega have some refinement to do before Aftershock is released.).

Everyone loves Maxis though. Sim City 2000 stole more hours of my youth than I could ever tally.

I saw 2 good games out of THQ recently, Destroy All Humans and Juiced. Pandemic makes good stuff, EA is the #1 sports franchise...There are so many good companies good at different genres. Maxis is a good Sim company (thats fucking obvious). ID is good at shooters, with the Doom series being their highlight. And they produced the first 3-D game, Wolfenstien 3-D. Bungie made all-time greats in Halo and Halo 2. Sega was a pioneer in early gaming, Nintendo is the most recognized game company, Microsoft has the machine with the top graphics and also had a hand in most Xbox games. Midway is pretty bad though, so is 989. Nintendo's new stuff isn't really that great either.

Now that some conservation has started...I'll weigh.

First off, you're right, EA is THE sports gaming company. However, now that they've got exclusive rights to NFL games, I expect the NFL games to improve very minimally...

Before I get too farther... Begark, I don't think you really mentioned any real gaming innovators (except ID for Wolf3d). That's fine that you like those companies, and I like some of the games produced by those companies as well, but this conversation is really more about what companies are doing a good job at innovating.

Also, even though Maxis is owned by EA (and many other producers are owned by larger companies), let's just refer to it as Maxis...like we will refer to Rockstar as Rockstar and not Take-Two.

...that aside, the problem with EA and their sports games is really that they've figured out how to outsell the competition, and so there's not much reason to reinvent the game. After all, why tinker with perfection? They finally started beating 989 (who used to make better pro football games, but that ended sometime around 2001-2003ish)...

Anyway, another place where EA is doing an excellent job (and actual innovation)... Battlefield 2. It's unfortunate that UbiSoft only released Ghost Recon 2 on console, and not PC, because that could've been the real test to see how Battlefield 2 will stand up, but I'll tell you this, as far as realistic military FPS games go, Battlefield 2 is the game that is making gamers go back to the store. And I'm talking about people who've been playing the original Ghost Recon since it came out...and are giving it up just now...

Regardless of what you think of the Grand Theft Auto series, you've got to admit that Rockstar games are LEADING the way in the gaming industry. It was the older GTA games that inspired the more free-form gaming we tend to see being integrated in all sorts of games, and the big buzz about the XBox 360 and the PS2 is that the "game world" will be "rendered in real time." GTA:SA did render in real time. That's why there never was any loading times...the world was drawn as you got to it...unfortunately, the PS2's processor occasionally had problems keeping up with the game.

And I do need to say something good about Maxis. Starting with the original SimCity, Maxis has done a good job of trying to perfect the idea of this "real life" simulator...and they started way before "reality TV" was a big hit.

I prefer to follow people rather than companies... after all, a gaming company is just a compilation of its staff.

I think everyone acknowledges that Will Wright was the gaming genius of the early 90s; however, he's made some questionable moves (in my opinion) lately with The Sims series. That's probably more pressure from EA (Maxis's current owner) than anything else, though.

In all, I'd say that Sid Meier is my favorite game designer. I can't name a single thing he's screwed up, and plenty of games have gone down the tubes after he left (just look at Civilization II's collapse into Civ: Call To Power after Sid left). And he can take credit for creating one of the most subtle, underrated and philosophical games in history, Alpha Centauri.

Brian Reynolds with Big Huge games is up and coming, too... I forget its name, but the sequel to Rise of Nations is due out soon.

Well, a gaming company which I respect greatly is 3DO who are now unfortunately bankrupt. They made the Heroes of Might and Magic series which are damn good games, I spent months on Heroes 4, it has the most amazing graphics and gameplay. Heroes 5 is being made now... hopefully it's good... So yeah, I think 3DO made damn good turn-based strategy games.

Bethesda Softworks. They've achieved what I would consider perfection in freeform RPG.

Anyway, another place where EA is doing an excellent job (and actual innovation)... Battlefield 2. It's unfortunate that UbiSoft only released Ghost Recon 2 on console, and not PC, because that could've been the real test to see how Battlefield 2 will stand up, but I'll tell you this, as far as realistic military FPS games go, Battlefield 2 is the game that is making gamers go back to the store. And I'm talking about people who've been playing the original Ghost Recon since it came out...and are giving it up just now...
Play Operation Flashpoint. It did what Battlefield 2 tries to, four years ago. Maybe not as frenetic action, but in my opinion, it's much better (probably because I am a bit of a military buff).

Oh, Louisvilleoftown, Wolf 3D wasn't the first 3D game - Dungeon Master in 1988 was 3D, I think. Hell, Battlezone in 1981 or so was too. I don't know if Wolf was even the first FPS. First one I know of though. And the first one I played, at the age of six. :D

PC: Strategy First, Bioware, Dreamcatcher, Triumph/Gathering of Developers, Bethesda, Ubisoft, Sierra and Fireaxis. Bankrupt: 3DO and SSI.

Console: Koei and Squaresoft/Enix.

I like Square/Enix for RPG's. They made Chrono Trigger and Terranigma, man.

Before I get too farther... Begark, I don't think you really mentioned any real gaming innovators (except ID for Wolf3d). That's fine that you like those companies, and I like some of the games produced by those companies as well, but this conversation is really more about what companies are doing a good job at innovating.

Also, even though Maxis is owned by EA (and many other producers are owned by larger companies), let's just refer to it as Maxis...like we will refer to Rockstar as Rockstar and not Take-Two.

Mm, I see your point, but I have to say, you didn't specify innovative companies in your OP. Nevermind that. More importantly, some of the games/people/companies I mentioned have been incredibly influential, most notably Bullfrog, who's Populous invented an entire genre and without whom the industry would look markedly different (And, I would suggest, inferior.). I credit Peter Molyneux's work in the 90s as being amongst the most influential in the medium, and it could be argued that his ideas of free-flowing gameplay are actually a precurosor to today's GTA-style desire for open-endedness. And I don't know about the USA, but here in England Psygnosis made the PS1 a desirable, 'cool' item to have in your home almost single-handedly, specifically with Wipeout.

In addition, Capcom took a very smalltime genre (Survival horror only had significant popularity before Resi in the form of Alone In The Dark, and maybe D.) and made it so popular that now it is a significant area of console gaming, and Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and Fatal Frame are all top-tier games.

Civilization II has long stood as one of, if not the, pinnacle of strategy gaming. Really, it was only ever going to be usurped by III (Rivalled solely by Alpha Centauri.), and that in turn probably won't fall to anything before Civ IV comes out. The fact the game has changed hands and remained so good speaks highly of many groups, but also of the original idea.

And finally, although less obviously influential, the work of the Gollop Brothers, with Laser Squad, X-Com (The original X-Com was the best-selling PC game of 1995.), and Rebelstar influencing, truth be told, every turn-based strategy to come since.

...that aside, the problem with EA and their sports games is really that they've figured out how to outsell the competition, and so there's not much reason to reinvent the game. After all, why tinker with perfection? They finally started beating 989 (who used to make better pro football games, but that ended sometime around 2001-2003ish)...

Yeah, I can't really argue with that. To be fair, they have actually done a pretty good job with their sports games, but there are rarely enough innovations to make more than one of every two or three iterations worth having.

Anyway, another place where EA is doing an excellent job (and actual innovation)... Battlefield 2. It's unfortunate that UbiSoft only released Ghost Recon 2 on console, and not PC, because that could've been the real test to see how Battlefield 2 will stand up, but I'll tell you this, as far as realistic military FPS games go, Battlefield 2 is the game that is making gamers go back to the store. And I'm talking about people who've been playing the original Ghost Recon since it came out...and are giving it up just now...

I'd be talking a lot more about how great B2 is if it actually installed. But there's all sorts of problems I'm not going into there, suffice it to say I'd rather they'd spent a bit more time ironing out the bugs. Still, the demo played fine and was a massive amount of fun, so if I can get a working copy I'm sure I will be raving endlessly about it.

And I do need to say something good about Maxis. Starting with the original SimCity, Maxis has done a good job of trying to perfect the idea of this "real life" simulator...and they started way before "reality TV" was a big hit.

Entirely true; Will Wright deserves much of the credit for contributing to the same things which Sid Meier and Peter Molyneux have forwarded.

Nintendo invented free-form gaming pretty much with Zelda. Rockstar made a great use of it on the PC with GTA.

Nintendo are a great company who excel at platform and adventure games Mario and Zelda obviously but also Kid Icarus and Metroid deserve a mention.

Relic are the greatest RTS makers IMO. Not played Starcraft but I have played Warcraft and was unimpressed. Homeworld and Dawn of War on the other hand were damn good games.

Free Radical (formerly Rare's FPS dept) make the best FPS games. Timesplitters and Perfect Dark both great. Bungie did OK with Halo but not brilliant.

Ubisoft make good games all round. Splinter Cell is pretty good but Beyond Good and Evil/Prince of Persia were genius.

Free Radical (formerly Rare's FPS dept) make the best FPS games. Timesplitters and Perfect Dark both great. Bungie did OK with Halo but not brilliant.

Half-Life is better than all three of those, as is Unreal Tournament.

Half-Life is better than all three of those, as is Unreal Tournament.

Half-life had jump puzzles which means automatic dismissal in my book (I died more times on tham than anything else, they were unnecessary and irritating) haven't played UT because it hasn't been available around me (except '04 which my computer can't run).

Half-life had jump puzzles which means automatic dismissal in my book (I died more times on tham than anything else, they were unnecessary and irritating) haven't played UT because it hasn't been available around me (except '04 which my computer can't run).

Half-Life's about multiplayer mods. It's way better online than off.

Ahh the wonderful world of gaming...

PCs- rule for FPS, RTS, non-linear RPGs, and squad based games.

XBOX- Halo 1 and 2. They're both not special to me compared to PC games, but I love them because they're great games to have parties with. What’s better then killing your best friend, and then laughing/taunting/throwing food at him in front of his face?

PS2- linear RPGs and fighting games if you're into them.

Gamecube- ...I have one, but I almost never use it. I hate the standard controller. It's the console of choice if you like Resident Evil.

Overall I'm a big space sim fan, and when it comes to space sims, no one does it better then the British (Particle Systems, Enlight, etc.). Independence War 1 and 2, elite, X 1 and 2, etc. All great games. The US company Volition also makes good space sims (Freespace).

BTW, if you like the non-linear RPGs, and are more into the game then the graphics... and even if you arn't, I highly recommend the Avernum series. You can download a free HUGE demo at http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com/ for every one of their games.

I really like Blizzard. I've liked all their games and appreciate how they take the time and effort to actually iron out the bugs, and to continually improve their games once released.

Bungie were an awesome company before Microsoft bought them over. The Marathon and Myth series rate amongst my favourite games of all time.

Other than that...I can't really think of other games companies that I think are consistently awesome.

Half-Life is better than all three of those, as is Unreal Tournament.

Nope. UT is the best online FPS, no doubt, but Halo, Perfect Dark, and Goldeneye all kick Half-Life in in all ways other than aesthetics, and TimeSplitters doesn't have as good a story but is still much better overall.

"Half-Life's about multiplayer mods. It's way better online than off."

No game which needs mods to be good is classic. Morrowind is added to by mods. So is Civilization. Neither require mods to be truly compelling.

Overall I'm a big space sim fan, and when it comes to space sims, no one does it better then the British (Particle Systems, Enlight, etc.). Independence War 1 and 2, elite, X 1 and 2, etc. All great games. The US company Volition also makes good space sims (Freespace).

I-War was awesome, I played it so much. But I agree with your general analysis; nobody really beat us Brits back in the day for Space games. as you can see up there, one of my fave series is Colony Wars.

Anyone play Treasure Of The Deep? That game was excessively cool. I got into it more than I ought to have. xD

Bethesda - as the previous person said, damn fine freeform RPGs.

Bullfrog - not around anymore, but you gotta love 'em.

Bohemia Interactive - Operation Flashpoint. Best damn game ever made.

Bethesda - as the previous person said, damn fine freeform RPGs.

Seconded.

Also, Bioware for great D&D CRPGs, and Square for pre-PS1 FF, and FF Tactics(PS1, not GBA) and Legend of Mana(PS1). Also, iD for the DooM and Wolfenstien series(haven't played Quake), VALVe for HL1 and 2, and Gearbox for HL Op4 and Brothers in Arms:Road to Hill 30. BLizzard made great RTS (SC and WCII), but they seem to be ignoring RTSs now. Sigh. WIII was okay, but definatly not great, and there are STILL no plans for SCII.

And what's with FPS companies and weird capitalization? iD, DooM, VALVe, etc?

Seconded.

Also, Bioware for great D&D CRPGs, and Square for pre-PS1 FF, and FF Tactics(PS1, not GBA) and Legend of Mana(PS1). Also, iD for the DooM and Wolfenstien series(haven't played Quake), VALVe for HL1 and 2, and Gearbox for HL Op4 and Brothers in Arms:Road to Hill 30. BLizzard made great RTS (SC and WCII), but they seem to be ignoring RTSs now. Sigh. WIII was okay, but definatly not great, and there are STILL no plans for SCII.

And what's with FPS companies and weird capitalization? iD, DooM, VALVe, etc?

I have no idea, but I'm glad to see someone else does actually capitalize them properly. xD

Bohemia Interactive - Operation Flashpoint. Best damn game ever made.
I love you. OpFlash is just so beautiful (apart from graphics-wise...) And the modding community are crazy. So much stuff and innovation going on there.
I can't play FPSs on consoles. I needs me a mouse...

Well, I like Paradox entertainment. they're just a company that listen to their customers.