Action games and RPG’s, sittin’ in a tree…

Synonymous with nerd culture seeping into mass media, RPG gameplay is seeping into numerous gaming genres. CoD 6 multiplayer (no I will not refer to it as Modern Warfare 2 because “MW2” doesn’t roll of the tongue like “CoD”), Assassin’s Creed 2 and now Mass Effect 2 all incorporate various RPG mechanics and mostly for the better. AC2 is a parkour/platform/ action game, Cod 6 a FPS and ME2 an action game but the tie that binds is the progression. Another more subtle similarity between the three is that they concentrate on the core mechanic first then overlay the RPG stuff later. Take out the RPG mechanics and all three would still be fantastic due to rock-solid gameplay.

I played ME1 right before ME2 and noticed the opposite. ME1 was an RPG with third-person action elements, but the action seemed tacked on. Then I thought back to Fallout 3 and saw a commonality between these two epic RPGs – the action in both was great when playing them as RPGs but not-so-great when playing as action games. I spent numerous hours playing both and loved every second of the combat but that’s because I was mostly in the scroll wheel in ME1 or VATS in Fallout 3. Take away the RPG core, and you the action gameplay doesn’t stand on its own.

The RPG nerd in me loves how well RPG mechanics are percolating through other genres. But can the road go both ways?