PainAmplifier wrote:kengou wrote:Epic: The Unreal Tournaments,
Agree x Infinity on Epic totally screwing over their original fanbase.
Id may have gradually slid into gameplay mediocrity over the years, but Epic went and committed gameplay suicide without even getting emo about it first. Ut2003 did a whole slew of spit-takes, that totally screwed the franchise.
Most blatantly they went from Blade Runner type dystopian imagery...to WWE day-glo hokiness. (Voice over announcer included.) Then they took their signature weapons and watered them down in the name of 'balance' and at the same time changed the physics, looks and models to the point it was blatantly obvious that they were jealous of the 'pro' reputation Quake 3 had and wanted in on that pie.
It would be remiss not to mention the wholesale change from the UWindows interface to the consolified abominations that came afterwards. (UT3's dropping any pretenses at being anything but console trash.) And to add insult on top of that, the addition of 'adrenaline' complete with key sequenced combo's tipped Epics hand towards their future full blown consolitis disease.
Not that anyone had long to wait for that. The console spawn Unreal Championship saw that happening at warp speed. Although the stated attention of Epic to 'copy' the whole EA-Sports yearly release complete with year naming conventions was more than enough to send up big warning signs to anyone who wasn't decieved by the platitudes coming out of Epic's PR people.
And despite all the lies, despite all the evidence that the 'core' players didn't like way things were headed, what did we get? UT2004, UT3 and then Gears of War.
Modern games don't get made overnight folks, it's obvious to anyone with hindsight, that Epic went console even while they kept telling their original players otherwise. In short, they sold out and like most crappy businesses, they denied everything all the while chasing the cheapest buck.
If Gears hadn't done so well among the pre-teen & console commando crowd, Epic would be hurting. Sure the Unreal 2 engine brought them in a lot of cash, but the Unreal 3 engine doesn't have the same polish or acceptance it's predecessor had, and the Unreal 2 engine is getting old. On top of that, Epic has squandered away just about every last bit of good will the still playing PC community ever had for them.
Sure, lots of other game studios, companies and teams have crashed and burned over the years and Epic hasn't imploded quite yet, but the complete loss of any quality or integrity they once may have had is undeniably gone.