GTA: London 1969 (1999)

This was a fun expansion of the OG Grand Theft Auto. This was top-down GTA with a late-1960s London setting. Yes, the red double buses, bobbies, and phone booths were there.

Also there were enjoyable missions with dialogue fitting these gangs and firms. Yeah, the missions in GTA and GTA 2 weren’t the most involved—things were still 2D—but there’s just something about 2D open world and that lack of fluid motion.

This early Grand Theft Auto approach will appear again in this list.

GTA: Liberty City Stories (2005)

Originally a PSP release, Liberty City Stories is prequel to Grand Theft Auto III, which was released roughly four years earlier. This story focused on low-rank Leone Family mobster Toni Ciprani. Toni has returned to Liberty City after four years in hiding following a situation where he killed a made man. At time, Ciprani wasn’t a made man and the killing wasn’t cleared—meaning he broke one of the tenets and had to go.

Sure, he could’ve faced his fate but fleeing to Sicily and letting things die down worked as well.

While the game played a lot like Vice City, the story was better than GTA III. This is in part because the protagonist speaks and seems more involved with the world than Claude Speed from III and later San Andreas. Another thing it had going for it is just the approach of playing through a previous time in the Grand Theft Auto 3D universe and seeing how things came to be in present day—the 2000s.

I will admit that the game is pretty skippable but for lore fans, if you can find it on PSP or PS2…maybe give it a play. It’s fun but I wouldn’t say essential.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006)

Another PSP and PS2 release by the studio duo of Rockstar Leeds and Rockstar North, GTA: Vice City Stories is the stronger of the two Stories games. However, with the 3D universe, that was just the case with games released after GTA III. Each game was an improvement over previous titles because Rockstar utilized mechanics from other games in the franchise.

Vice City Stories is centered around Vic Vance, an army corporal who was dishonorably discharged in a double cross for trafficking drugs. Since the game isn’t available to play now, if you’ve played Vice City, Vic is Lance Vance’s brother who was killed at the beginning of the game.

VCS takes place in 1984, two years before Tommy Vercetti’s arrival in the city and allows the player to experience the rise of the short-lived Vance Crime Family.

Again, this plays like an early-2000s 3D universe Grand Theft Auto title but it had a little something extra that really made this a fun time investment. San Andreas featured a couple of features that allowed the player to experience San Andreas through CJ: clothing stores, dates, cheeks, bars, lowriders, clubs, businesses, and gang wars with claimable territory that weakened the opps’ influence in the city.

While GTA: Vice City featured businesses, it was a simple affair of raiding a gang’s front, taking it over and investing money into it. San Andreas typically had more of a story involved in taking over businesses. In Vice City Stories, we have turf wars in the form of a more involved business system. Not only did players take a front over, they also invested in the upkeep and growth of the business both by dropping money into it and doing related missions. Not only that, these businesses had to be defended from opposing gangs.

This mechanic was something I wished returned in future GTA games and is my favorite part of the game. Aside from that, VCS also featured improved combat, with the hand-to-hand stuff taking heavily from San Andreas’ improved combat.

GTA: Chinatown Wars (2009)

This game launched on the popular Nintendo 3DS console. It’s the only game on this list that Rockstar has available for download via app stores. Chinatown Wars uses the GTA and GTA II top-down approach but mixes in some features that weren’t seen in either the 2D or 3D titles.

First, let’s getting a bit into the story. Huang Lee is the nephew of a triad boss living in Liberty City. He is visiting from Hong Kong to hand him a ceremonial sword that belonged to his father. While en route, he is ambushed and the sword stolen.

This results in a lengthy story with some interesting twists and turns along the way. Can’t have a GTA story without some kind of betrayal by perceived allies and/or FIB having the main character by the balls. Maybe Grand Theft Auto VI will break that trope.

Tasked with various jobs to make up for the dishonor of being ambushed, Huang experiences crime the American way. This brings me to a few mechanics I really enjoyed with one being something I wish would return in future titles.

In GTA V, it’s possible to get the cops off of you by making them crash in a chase. Chinatown Wars featured this and while it should’ve been easier because it was top-down, the streets got congested often in this game and could ruin a fun chase. However, the featured did its job well—when players had room to groove.

Another shared feature between the two is hotwiring cars. Being that it was the 3DS and using that stylus was just something developers or Nintendo insisted on, hotwiring in Chinatown Wars could be more involved before players rode off in their in their criminally captured cars.

The featured that impressed me the most and was a feature I loved in GTA-clone Scarface: The World is Yours was the drug trafficking. This was basically Rockstar Games Presents Dope Wars and it was great! Drug prices changed, CCTVs were a problem, suppliers taxed, rivals were salty, drug trucks could be hit—this was the most entertaining part of the game hands down. It was GTA criminal shenanigans and hustling but it was something unique to this game.

Which of the games have you played in the past? Where would you rank them? Are there any gameplay mechanics or characters you’d like to see return?

Let us know in the comments!

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

Gaming gives us that and simulation games apply that to occupation and business simulators to great effect. It’s essential to gameplay and keeping players hooked. But this isn’t about status screen UIs or human improvement, we’re looking at three simulators worth diving into right now.

All games but the second are available on PC and console.

Drug Dealer Simulator (Byterunners)

Currently, this has been my primary jam. It’s also my weekend stream starter before getting into some Cyberpunk 2077 shenanigans. Drug Dealer Simulator puts you in the role of a dealer, smuggler, street pharmacist, trafficker, and businessman all in one.

The player is dropped into a city under heavy lockdown with a hard stance against drugs. Eddie, the player’s mentor and plug trains the young trapper on how to do business, get drugs, launder money, and keeps him abreast of story-advancing developments. The narrator fills the player in on more granular aspects while giving an abrasive and humorous take of the trapper’s rise.

While a major aspect is giving out samples and making enough for sales and to hand off to your dealers, I find that the most enjoyable part is actually growing and cooking. Then again, I love crafting in games.

Byterunners have released Drug Dealer Simulator 2 and it looks great but for those who can’t play the sequel, the OG DDS is still a time-eating blast to dive into.

American Truck Simulator (SCS Software)

Honestly, either American Truck Simulator or European Truck Simulator 2 are a great pick for your simulation game session. It exists in this realm of having time limits on deliveries, fines for traffic infractions, and needing to gas up but also being extremely chill.

The most stressful parts tend to come from falling a bit behind on a delivery. Even worse when is cutting it close, being at the destination but being unable to get the truck and trailer in the loading area exactly.

Beyond that, the player mainly  manages their trucking career, handles their skill points, purchase trucks and upgrades. As the game advances and the player makes more cash from deliveries, they can invest in their own trucking company and hire drivers NPC to do deliveries.

There’s also an online mode where players join other truckers for convoys. It’s not a mode I’ve explored heavily but it was fun doing deliveries through Nevada and hearing my fellow trucker lamenting about traffic up ahead.

Of the games in this list, I’d say American/Euro Truck Simulator has the best music. It uses streaming radio in-game and it works perfectly as traveling music with a lot of variety. This is also the game with the most longevity. The games are all addictive and the player might have fun in restarting or advancing their businesses further but the Truck Simulator titles are different in that it’s as close to a perfect balance of chill and challenge.

That goes a long way for simulation games and replay value.

Gas Station Simulator (DRAGO Entertainment)

Now this is a game that increases the stress of cops chasing the player in DDS while also having a chill approach like the Truck Simulator games. Sure, placing and stocking shelves is easy (as someone who has done it, it depends) but keeping the store clean and seeing that tour bus pull up to the gas station is another story.

Most of the week, it’s basic dead end gas station in the desert business. Yeah, there’s an element of shadiness going on as far as cash flow but business is steady and manageable. However, the weirdest things go down in the gas station once the bus rolls in but the player is going to make a wad or two with the bump in business.

Managing inventory, store cleanliness and tending to the service at the pump are the player’s initial duties but eventually workers can be hired to manage that. There is stronger storyline here than in the other two entries and exploration plays a part in that. There are also a few other activities to get into outside of pure business.

What are some of your favorite simulation games and are there any you’re currently playing? Share in the comments!

Staff Writer; James “Metal” Swift Jr.

Gaming since 1989 and headbanging since 1999, James is a talented writer, podcast host, and lifelong comic book fan who loves all things old-school and retro. His passions include RPGs, wrestling, and classic gaming culture. You can also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

Meanwhile, a gamer could feel strongly about a title and want it modernized or to at least get a sequel—yes, decades after the previous release. Obviously, I’m not a game designer or associated with a developer, so you can guess which group I fall in with this list.

We’re going to look at five titles that could do with a comeback season whether it’s a sequel or a reboot.

Sleeping Dogs (2012, United Front/Square Enix)

Sleeping Dogs is considered the spiritual successor to the True Crime series, a PS2 GTA-clone where the police detective element was the focus. The True Crime series was supposed to have a third entry based again in New York—that later became Hong Kong with United Front’s work on the then unnamed title. However, that was axed by Activision. Mind you, the True Crime: New York City did have some big-name TV and film actors doing voice work for a game that…it flopped, folks.

We’re talking less than 80,000 units sold in its first two weeks. That lets you know that this wasn’t going to meet the budget put into the game at all.

Then United Front came along with what would become Sleeping Dogs after Activision passed on publishing it. The rest is history: it was received very well and presented enough that a sequel wasn’t out of the question. Performance-wise, it sold enough units to warrant exploring a sequel—yet here we are.

The game was supposed to see a sequel which followed the future cases and adventures of Shen and was to feature a mobile gaming aspect that impacted Sleeping Dogs 2’s gameplay. While there is no sequel on the horizon, the license was picked up and is being turned into a film.

Kengo (2000, Genki/Crave)

Let’s get into even older franchises that have seen no recent developments—such as Bushido Blade. Well, let’s go with the spiritual successor: Kengo. While Bushido Blade added a realistic element to the 3D fighting game genre with wounds and bleed outs resulting in victory or defeat, I enjoyed Kengo’s approach of putting the player in the shoes of a traveling swordsman.

This wasn’t going through different parts of a village and slaughtering the opps and their heavies. No, you went from established dojo to established dojo to practice, learn techniques, and apply those techniques in duels. Then you fought the masters of the dojos and eventually participated in the imperial tournament. Outside of the absence of some slice-of-life stuff, this was basically a swordsman simulator.

Now, the third entry was a bit of a bust because it was a garden variety fighting game with swords and we already had Bushido Blade 2 as well as Soulcalibur and Battle Arena Toshiden by that time.

Rival Schools (1997, Capcom)

On the one hand, it’s like—there are enough fighting games out there, do we really need to bring back one from almost 30 years ago? Especially if nothing new is done, it’s just a return of this game’s roster. Capcom even did something new with Street Fighter 6, so a Rival Schools return would have to be something fresh instead of an expensive investment in nostalgia.

I say add aged Rival Schools characters to the Street Fighter roster because Capcom had some great characters from the R.S and Street Fighter EX titles. Batsu? Skullomania? Yes, add them to the roster.

Inindo: Way of the Ninja (1991, Koei)

I can’t say enough good things about this Super Nintendo title. It was like playing as an officer in Romance of the Three Kingdoms in turn-based JRPG. For a game released in 1991, it had features that would make many RPGs worth playing multiple times. The main feature is the recruiting of allies actively forming a rapport with them.

However, some potential allies or teammates might not agree with your motivations, or they might believe that serving Nobunaga is the ultimate job—when you’re trying to take him out for razing your village.

The other major element is that each month, the landscape/map is updated with the battles that went down. The player can work for a daimyo and by doing mission for them successfully, they can participate in battles. Meaning, they can impact the power dynamic in feudal Japan and probably weaken Nobunaga’s influence.

With the advancements in development and writing over 30-plus years, I’d say Koei could make the ultimate ninja game if they decided to revisit this title.

Alpha Protocol (2010, Obsidian Entertainment/Sega)

Listen, Alpha Protocol wasn’t perfect at all and at times it could drag at points, but the game was one of the best espionage games made. The only franchises or games I would put over it are Metal Gear Solid and Deus Ex (under Square Enix). Having to travel to different locations around the world for missions, decisions that impacted future missions, a decent combat system that could’ve been more polished in a sequel—Alpha Protocol had the makings for a good, regular series for Sega.

It was a spy game that was purely about spycraft. This wasn’t a shooter based around a spy or spy fighting game, no—stealth was necessary here, folks. Negotiation was necessary as well. You could tell that Obsidian Entertainment had plans for the gameplay mechanics in place and that more could’ve been done with those mechanics.

My two gripes with AP are that the game felt a little short for what was going down—it’s the same feeling I had for Deus Ex: Human Revolution—and it ended on a something of a cliffhanger. The combat, camera, and all that didn’t bother me as much as it bothered others, but a cliffhanger will always burn my biscuit.

What are your five games that you’d love to see get a reboot or sequel? Let us know in the comments!

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

It should be noted that the studio had another big project in that decade with the highly acclaimed Red Dead Redemption II. So, Rockstar hasn’t been idly twiddling their thumbs while Online printed money. Work was being done in that time and on the Grand Theft Auto front, a lot has been done.

There Was Another Trailer on GTA VI Day

Although, Rockstar was giving a lot of time to GTA Online—especially during the COVID-era boom for GTA V with FiveM and player servers keeping the game active. It’s just that there were players not on Online doing things they’d like to do in Online. Yes, GTA roleplay.

The GTA VI trailer gave us a cinematic look at the iconic Vice City from the 2002 titular game—40 years into the future. Rockstar has a real talent for capturing American mainstream culture in specific periods of time. The present day seems to be easiest but I recommend a quick jaunt to 1984 Vice City and 1992 Los Santos.

That aside, this trailer was a great drop on a day where the only trailer that I was aware of is the new expansion for Destiny 2. Actually, my brother was considering getting back into Destiny 2–as was I for the summer—when he sent me a text that the GTA VI trailer had dropped…the same day as the trailer for “The Edge of Fate” trailer.

This is Grand Theft Auto VI we’re talking about. There’s going to be about 13 years between the two main series titles. It’s smarter to just move your trailer release date if you want to snap up some more casual players or those not familiar with your game or series. Then again, it was a well-received surprise drop.

Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate Trailer

With that said, Destiny 2’s trailer was also great. Bungie tends to really deliver with their trailers with one important inclusion: combat gameplay. When looking games on the PlayStation Network, you’ll find a lot of trailers are cinematic in nature. That’s fine, that’s a developer choice but if it’s anything but a business or trading sim—show the combat in the first trailer!

Yes, we’re in a time where the writing is more layered and gives more lore but we’re also in a time where developers really want you to see these mini-movies. Not only the reveal trailer but also the follow-up. You can be three or four trailers in before the devs actually focus on gameplay and combat—if available.

Not Bungie. Oh no, they mix cinematic cutscenes and story cues with in-game combat. Oh and they show off the new guns and abilities. The studio knows what we mainly show up for and they whet your whistle for it because to be honest: at a certain point in the season, you can dip out and play something else. It’ll be a bit before the next chapter in the story is released and if you feel you’ve done enough that season, why not?

The main thing about the trailer for “The Edge of Fate” and Destiny 2 in general is it’s a title very much for the hardcores. If you’re a fan of Destiny or maybe even Bungie’s work, the trailer is geared towards you. You’ve likely followed the story actively, you might live in PvP, your sole goal in the game might be to hunt down the best rolls on weapons you enjoy using—but you know your sh** about Destiny. Myself, I exist between casual and hardcore for the series. I’m in it mainly for the gunplay, loot in PvE, and slamming in PvP—the trailer did its job.

From what I see from the two releases, the GTA VI trailer hit harder because of the amount of time between the two games and the release date reveal. That combination will always do it for an acclaimed series. With Destiny 2, it would probably take announcement of Destiny 3 to get a similar—but not exact buzz.

That and Rockstar not announcing a new Bully or Manhunt.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’s Hyrule Was Pretty Bare

I first played Ocarina of Time in 1998, it was my Christmas game that year. The hype around in GamePro, Game Informer, and Nintendo Power was immense. Most of the gaming magazines at the time were into this game. The commercial for OoT sold me since I was heavily into fantasy stuff like Xena and Hercules at the time.

Now, for the power limitations at the time and this being Nintendo’s first attempt at something more involved—Link had an inventory and an armory all on his person—Hyrule Field was bare. Honestly, it should’ve been very safe to travel Hyrule Field.

Then again, when you see how spaced the major towns are, how they’re all set up on the border of the overworld map, and how dangerous it is just to get to Zora’s Domain, Goron City, and Kakariko Village…

Well, Kakariko Village isn’t a particularly dangerous trek but Goron City is within proximity of Death Mountain. Enough said. Considering that: who would bother leaving their towns? It’s just a trek from anywhere you’re coming from in Hyrule. There should be no issues traveling during the day. Decades later and I’m thinking “It would’ve been nice to have some bandits or orcs during the daytime.”

Link had a sword, Link had a shield: let Link slam! You could definitely slam if you headed into the different area maps en route to another town—day or night. Hyrule’s different chiefs/leaders didn’t have the best security in mind for their domains. I mean, I guess knights patrolled Hyrule Field but you never saw them.

Nintendo Has Done an Amazing Job with Hyrule Now

Nintendo would work on this over the decades to make Hyrule a world worth venturing through. In each Zelda title, you could see there was a goal to make the land of Hyrule more alive. Link should’ve had memorable interactions with the locals given he’s working to save the world.

The first step was in Ocarina of Time just by having a day-night cycle. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, you’d see more game exploring this mechanic. When paired with Zelda or Pokémon, it adds a sense of a passage of time for your adventure. This isn’t the longest day as it was in Pokémon Red or Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

The Wind Waker and The Skyward Sword opened the world up some more, there were more inhabitants of the world. Then we get to the Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom—the closest to the realization of a living Hyrule. I say “closest” because developers can always push an element of gameplay.

Just look at the open world in Fallout 3 compared to Fallout 4 where there are fewer settlements or towns that need a transition screen. There are more places that you merely walk into or open a door. Something as simple as that is big for a complete or perfect open world setting.

While it wasn’t a perfect open world and a lot of things that were promised just didn’t get done, Fable is a game where the open world managed to do some simplistic elements you’d expect. Such as: walking right into someone’s home without a brief loading or transition—a 2004 accomplishment.

On the note of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom: the addition of the player using any weapon they can get and those weapons having durability? Amazing combat mechanic, compliments to the chef.

This Is the Way

It’s not unusual for developers to “Bring the game back to its roots” but I say keep going forward with The Legend of Zelda. Go back to the roots for an action-puzzle project but for these titles with cinematic cutscenes, improved mechanics, dialogue, and lore pushing stories—make the quest an adventure. Keep it open world and let Link and the player to explore the world.

Why not? Link either constantly misses whole swathes of time because they’re in mystical eternal rest or has been reincarnated and lives in the boonies. Let Link experience the world. Don’t just shotgun one of Nintendo and gaming’s greatest heroes through towns they’re never revisiting and puzzle-riddled dungeon after puzzle-riddled dungeon.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

The first time I played the franchise was Borderlands 3 a few years ago. Like Destiny 2, my brother tried to explain the storyline and lore leading up to be BL3. While I’m interested in different franchises’ lore, sometimes there’s so much to get into in one sitting or during gameplay—a lot to explain as well.

I mean, I’m not even a big fan of lore dumping in games with lengthy dialogue. I use the “Skip Scene” button frequently because a character has over extended their dialogue.

In-Game Dialogue is a Strong Point in Borderlands

Then you get to Borderlands. While there is story to explain, characters tend to take the time necessary based on the immediate severity of the situation. Dialogue could be rushed and urgent or more relaxed when there will be something of breather in the story.

Sure, there will be plenty of combat but the pacing of BL is such that you’re not rushed along from one story act to the next. The side missions and multi-part acts encourages players to explore. It helps that the dialogue isn’t trying to hold you so that voice actors can get their sh** off.

Of course, it’s simply how characters are written but some characters in say Destiny 2 speak as if the situation isn’t as serious as they tried to impress upon you. Honestly, wrap it up, we’ve got to protect the Traveler.

Improvements Over Time

So there’s a contrast between the space western and the sci-fi epic. Both do have great gameplay as far as combat is concerned. The gunplay in Borderlands improved with each game starting from a pretty good spot in the first one where the guns were decent depending on what you preferred and how you played.

What also hindered this but I kind of enjoyed was that certain guns were better suited for certain classes in the first game. In the second game that was improved along with explosives being more useful and effective.

The Pre-Sequel introduced new motion mechanics with moon gravity and needing to get oxygen. It added this sliver of survival that wouldn’t dominate the game’s main approach and make it something different.

On that note, a survival game in the BL universe either single player, multiplayer or MMORPG? That could be interesting. After playing games like Destiny 2, Diablo IV, and Ghost Recon, I’d say Borderlands is a game that could do the live service, game lobby approach. The game lends itself to that scale of online play.

Then we get a game like Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, a fun, fantasy spin-off. I always like when a studio realizes it has a formula and just applies it to a different setting or genre. Sometimes it’s that simple.

By BL3, everything had been improved, weapons felt unique by manufacturer and firing mode—Dahl and Jakobs guns can be monsters in this game. Also, movement got the biggest improvement in the series thanks to the simple inclusion of mantling or climbing.

It might seem minor but remember that Borderlands was released when mantling and automatic climbing had become standard in first person games. So, this was pretty damn big for the series.

With Borderlands 4 coming out in 2025, what are some features or directions you’re anticipating? What are some of the features or characters you enjoy from the series—I’m a Zer0 fan.

Share your thoughts below!

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

The Lack of People Made Me Wonder in Super Mario Games

The Mario games had that even on stages that had no actual backgrounds like the haunted houses in Super Mario World or castles and forts in the OG Super Mario Bros. There was something exciting happening on the screen.

Then you get older and a little critical. You’ve been exposed to better worlds, elaborate game design, and story—so much story that one of the most revolutionary features in gaming is the “Skip Scene” button.

So, the worlds of the Mario games seem super odd. Like sure, it’s a world of fantasy but even worlds of fantasy have some order, right? In SMB, I basically used imagination to figure out where all of the people were. I came to the conclusion that each stage in SMB, SMB3, and SMW are basically battlegrounds to face Bowser and his Koopa Troopas.

There’s no way I, as a villain, would kidnap a princess or the magic scepters of a bunch of kings ruling over barren lands. They would basically be bandit chiefs with ties to the Crown. No, these battles took place away from civilization with Mario and Luigi having to win each time.

I mean, it would at least make it seem like the Mushroom Kingdom and the other kingdoms are fighting back, right? There’s no way any of those castles would be standing in Super Mario Bros. 3 if there was no resisting army. Bowser’s Koopalings all had Flying Fortresses. Those things shots normal-sized and large Bullet Bills. They dropped bombs. If there was no military Mario and Luigi would’ve been running through parking lots.

The Mario RPGs Explained Things Much Better

As always, leave it up to RPGs and the social aspect to breathe life into these worlds. Even in Super Mario 64—a massive step into the late 90s and early 2000s for Nintendo—that world was sparse. It was just Mario, Peach, Bowser, and a bunch of enemies. Toad and someone else might have been there but it wasn’t a populated world.

It would also explain how the warp pipes dropped Mario and Luigi off just where they needed to go. The RPGs games—like the Megaman action RPGs on Game Boy Advance—featured towns and villages with inhabitants, shops, and side quests.

Mario and his party actually seemed like part of the Mushroom Kingdom and not an isekai savior. Because why would you summon a plumber with an unknown background to your world to save you? Mario could’ve had a violent criminal record or been a bloodthirsty maniac. The Mushroom Council or the Stars lucked up and got a kind-hearted, heroic plumber and his brother of questionable courage. Then again, they got a plumber of all people. Two! They got a buy-one-get-one-free on New York plumbers. What rotten RNG.

Of course, there are retellings of how Mario and Luigi were born in that world but even that begs questions. Apparently, there are or were humans wherever they are. What happened to them? All of the kings in SMB3 are human, Peach, Mario, Luigi, Daisy, Wario and so on. What’s up with the humans?

There are plenty of toadstools. We were even introduced to friendly koopas in Paper Mario and peaceful communities of Yoshis in Super Mario World. That question among others I’ve had over the years about one of my favorite franchises calls for an anime and perhaps a manga with continuity.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

Like Destiny 2, WF is very much a live service game meaning it’s meant to stay active via constant seasonal content and updates as well as regular expansions. These games make their bread either by selling the expansion while the game itself is free, having stuff that can be purchased in the premium shop, seasonal passes—or all three. Oftentimes, all three are utilized since the seasonal pass and seasonal content keeps things alive.

Live Service is a Hard Road to Travel

Most of the time when a game is developed it’s either meant as a one-off story, a potential series-starter, or a sequel but it’s often a contained story that might get DLC before the studio moves on. They’re rarely meant to be live like the multiplayer modes of Call of Duty. Live service is more the realm of MOBAs and MMORPGs which come in as massively online experiences as soon as they’re installed.

As it would go, live services exist within MMO’s metropolitan area without having a residence in the city proper. But the studio has to be able to support it consistently. That means regular seasons every two to six months that have a theme and keep players involved and engage in the game world followed by an expansion.

The expansion serves as a mini-sequel or soft sequel without being a full-on sequel with a number and subtitle. Mind you, Bungie sells expansions for the price of a full game but those come around every year or two but they have the fanbase and the players tend to be enthusiastic even if there are elements they don’t care for much.

That’s ultimately what a developer takes this road wants: a dedicated fanbase for the title. You only get that with rewarding missions and gameplay and an engaging, constantly evolving story. The mix of this concoction varies from game to game and developer to developer but those who apparently hit that perfect mix for them tend to stick around for a long time. Sprinkle in free-to-play and boom!

Much like Warframe.

Warframe is Hanging in There

Again, released in 2013, WF is a sci-fi third-person shooter where you as a recently unfrozen Tenno—humanoid warriors who are one with their bio battle suits—to combat a variety of alien lifeforms. Tennos utilize different kinds of weaponry as they take on galaxy-spanning missions to deal damage and defeat these hostile lifeforms.

Typical sci-fi stuff, really. Like other live service games, a premium store where things and currency can purchased that can be used with any particular in-game mechanic. There’s always a special currency with these types of games—such as platinum in Diablo IV.

The story is just enough that a developer can keep going with the game while throwing in storyline stuff and pushing the main story along every few years. What keeps players engaging with WF is some fun gameplay, decent gameplay, cosmetics and better gear to snag, and a leveling system players can work on.

The goal is to make it challenging and rewarding for the dedicated players and accessible enough for new and returning players. It’s a real tightrope act because if you make things too easy, your diehards are going to be annoyed since their effort for years prior might come off as pointless. However, if things are too difficult or convoluted, that’s a good way to not see return players or retain them.

You simply end up with your diehards who—while loyal—you can never truly satisfy. There will be something they didn’t enjoy and those players are regulars and might be familiar to the team. The loudest and rowdiest tend to have a voice in the core community.

Of course, that all only matters if you’re really involved with the community. If you’re not in the official Discord or on their forums, it doesn’t matter. You’re here to play the game. With that said, Warframe has a dedicated community that keeps the game alive and keeps the devs busy.

There are a few games that should be watched to see how this is done. While WF doesn’t have the live population of Diablo IV or Destiny 2, it has stayed alive for over a decade with a population often in the lower five figures.

Do you play Warframe, Diablo IV, or Destiny 2? What keeps you playing and what would make you take a break from the grind and the loop? As always let us know!

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

Honestly, the stories should be at this level given the time and resources that go into development. If the story didn’t match the investment and you got a cinematic Pac-Man with no storyline or anything, that’s pretty much a lost investment unless it becomes a blockbuster. Just by 2020s standards, players expect a little more. Of course, there was a time when this approach worked. Mind you, it was roughly forty or more years ago.

There Were Old Games Where We Could Figure It Out

When Asteroid, Space Invader, and Defender came out we have some idea as to what’s going on. They’re sci-fi games and by the late 1970s-early 1980s, there had been enough alien invasions in pop culture that we didn’t need an extreme amount of imagination. I mean, now these games would need a lot more backstory.

Bowser—or King Koopa—didn’t come off as a dragon looking at Super Mario Bros but he was dragon-like. With Super Mario running from fortress to castle over and over, we quickly gathered it was one of those rescue-the-princess deals after the first castle. The instruction manual to The Legend of Zelda didn’t explain a ton about the overall story but there was enough there and a world to transverse that there was enough there to work with for players.

As the 80s and 90s went on, the storytelling got better as the hardware improved. Sure, there were stories that made no sense or just started off with the character ready to venture out but as the game goes on, we actually got more of the story. However, there were games that told you nothing.

Then There’s Pac-Man

Pac-Man is one or gaming’s known heroes and one of the distinctive heroes. In his base form, Pac-Man is merely a yellow circle that can open his mouth. Promotionally, he has eyes, a nose, limbs, gloves, and boots. While playing the game, you don’t gather any of that. That goodness for the iconic cabinet artwork! The other characters of note—the Ghosts—were more defined in game but less in the artwork. I mean, they actually had a shape to them.

More defined was the maze where all of this took place. Which is like—what was this? This is where our imaginations go into overdrive. See, PM was constantly moving from maze to maze, eating pellets and power pellets while eating the Ghosts. The end goal was to clear all of the pellets in a level, that’s it. Maybe in 1980, that was enough.

In 1980, Pac-Man was pretty ahead visually while being deceptively simple enough to draw massive numbers of players in. Still, as someone who likes story and lore, the first game just didn’t explain anything. Why was Pac-Man even in the maze? Who built it so endlessly? These Ghosts: why are they in the maze and why are they after PM? What did Pac-Man do to them?

It helps to have some sliver of story there but the other arcade bangers didn’t have much story-wise either. As said before, those bangers also had blatant context about what’s going down. You knew what the enemies were, what they were probably doing, and what you had to do. In Pac-Man, you were just dropped in the mix and given the objective of survive and escape.

But your only means of survival was evading the Ghosts until you got a power pellet. In a way, PM was a proto-horror game that became a bit of a fantasy adventure once you could fight back. The game spawned a franchise which didn’t see any actual story until 1994’s Pac-Man 2 and 1995’s Pac-in-Time which had to get away from the maze and puzzle approach so that a story could be explored.

Perhaps that’s what it was the whole time: the original approach to PM simply didn’t lend itself to storylines and adventures.

Were you a big Pac-Man fan or were the games always a skip for you? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

However, there’s something a little different about Ubisoft compared to those two that I really love and make that studio’s games something I’ll just sink time into endlessly. Not only that, I’ll notice several hours have passed and I was busy in the world Ubisoft created for this project.

Ubisoft Brings Near Flawless World Design

Big open worlds to explore has been big in gaming for almost two decades now on console. With each generation, the worlds get bigger and livelier. It went from just having a large map to NPCs having actual schedules throughout an in-game day. Like, there’s even times when NPCs pack it in and go to bed! Who would’ve imagined that while playing Castlevania II in 1987?

It was something I longed for after playing Final Fantasy VII on PSX. Shoutout to advances in hardware and programming for that. However, the world itself in these games allow you to really explore as every developer likes for players to do. I’ve always maintained that true exploration in a game only comes from both an open world and a non-linear experience.

You can’t move a player along for the story while having this world modeled after NYC or LA. You have to let the player do as they do. Give them enough side quests, roaming enemies, activies and mechanics to keep them in the game and keep them playing longer.

It took a while—because of hardware restrictions at different times—but Ubisoft understands this. While the early Assassin’s Creed games were somewhat linear in that they didn’t offer enough to do outside of the main mission and those uninteresting side quests, the exploration was enough to sate me until ACIII came out—and your boy had a blast running around the late 18^th century New England colonies.

Later games would expand upon these and new mechanics would be introduced and used in some form in other titles. That works just fine for me, especially when the mechanics were fun to play with. Sometimes, they’re better than they were in the original game it came from!

Mastery of Mechanics

Bethesda has some mechanics that they’ve mastered and will introduce a new one with each new major entry. Ubisoft does the same but in greater volume—there’s a reason for that and it will be our next one! The developer will introduce something in The Division and you might see it in another Watch Dogs or Ghost Recon game. The prime mechanic has always been crafting which differs from title to title but is always reworked for the follow-up. On occasion, it might be scrapped entirely.

A prime example is crafting in AC Valhalla being the best in the franchise. Crafting between ACIII/Black Flag didn’t experience a massive jump by Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla but the addition of improved skills and levels to skills saw a significant jump with Orgins and Odyssey.

However, Valhalla really took the cake in the franchise with this skill tree. Its fabulous and reminds me of a more flexible Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It makes the play think more strategically about crafting because these resources and gold aren’t necessarily flowing into Eivor’s pockets!

I’ll say the same is true about Far Cry 5 and 6, the absence of a skill tree in favor of an armor-linked bonus makes crafting and reconfiguring your weaponry and Amigo more tactical. Really loving my stealth-focused build in FC6 and that’s all thanks to the union between crafting, the armor sets, and  fairly challenging combat AI.

Consistency Between Games

Consistency manifests in different ways. Nintendo has a certain level of quality you can expect. Bethesda tends to stick with themes and world lore perfectly. Ubisoft is the iron horse. The studio has multiple active franchises and manages to drop a new game in that franchise with pretty good regularity.

You’re not going to wait six or ten years between AC games and if there is a lengthy development period, Ubisoft has a few other long-running franchises to dive into if you need to scratch that open-world itch. It’s very rare that you’ll go “Ubisoft doesn’t have anything else to play?” when the catalogs are as deep and plentiful.

Now, some games might come off as dated if you played the recent ones but most hold up on the gameplay and storyline front bar for the story in Ghost Recon. Far Cry has gotten better with story and you can tell Ubisoft really utilizes their cultural team to make sure even the fictional location is authentic its real-world inspiration during a specific period.

It’s just what Ubisoft does. But let us know: do you have a favorite—or more than one—franchise from Ubisoft? What’s your favorite and least favorites in the franchise?

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.