Adventure Forums - View Single Post - Will LA Noire make adventures mainstream again, or was it just a failed experiment?

***Jackal*** · 07-04-2011, 07:38 AM

You know, for all the endless arguments over genres that happen in these forums, I don't think I've ever once seen an actual definition of "adventure" that rules out any game we've reviewed. People just like definitively arguing based on their own nebulous, unspecified personal feeling on the matter. We should institute a new rule: if you're going to argue definitions, then state your own first. You'll probably be amazed at how quickly it falls apart.

As for L.A. Noire, I don't think it will have any noticeable impact on the genre. It's already selling well, so by no means is it a failure. But like Heavy Rain, it's doing so for two main reasons: 1) production values that only a staggering budget allows, and 2) the fact that they're different. Because AAA story-driven adventures are so rare, they're embraced as refreshing changes of pace. If they do have any influence, it's in inspiring cheaper clones that fail in both categories. That's not to say that all games that follow will be poor ones, but it does mean they will quickly slide back into the niche markets such games were always popular in.

07-04-2011, 07:38 AM	#36
*Jackal* Hopeful skeptic Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Toronto Posts: 7,743	You know, for all the endless arguments over genres that happen in these forums, I don't think I've ever once seen an actual definition of "adventure" that rules out any game we've reviewed. People just like definitively arguing based on their own nebulous, unspecified personal feeling on the matter. We should institute a new rule: if you're going to argue definitions, then state your own first. You'll probably be amazed at how quickly it falls apart. As for L.A. Noire, I don't think it will have any noticeable impact on the genre. It's already selling well, so by no means is it a failure. But like Heavy Rain, it's doing so for two main reasons: 1) production values that only a staggering budget allows, and 2) the fact that they're different. Because AAA story-driven adventures are so rare, they're embraced as refreshing changes of pace. If they do have any influence, it's in inspiring cheaper clones that fail in both categories. That's not to say that all games that follow will be poor ones, but it does mean they will quickly slide back into the niche markets such games were always popular in.