|
Post by Bytor on Apr 20, 2010 14:09:13 GMT -5
SHMUP: Shoot'em Up Games are actually a sub genre of a traditional shooter game. What makes them different is that there is typically no ammo limit, the vast majority of the time they are set in space and you control a spaceship fighting alien spaceships and success depends mostly on fast reflexes and the ability to recognize the various enemies (typically) set attack patterns. Another aspect is typically limited movement, although the enemies will most often take up the whole screen your attack vehicle is usually limited in movement, either horizontally, vertically or more often both. While MIT created Spacewar! in 1961 the true first SHMUP is considered by most to be Taito's release of Space Invaders (released in Japanese arcades in 1978). Then in 1979 Namco's Galaxian showed the future of the genre by allowing the enemies to have much more complex patterns to learn and making you not only dodge their attacks but having to time your movement and subsequent attacks in a much more difficult manner. 1981 was the climax of the arcade versions of the genre, Defender (released by Williams, and still one of my all time favorite arcade games) introduced almost unlimited movement, Tempest (released by Atari) attempted to create a true 3-D atmosphere and Scramble (released by Konami) forced you to think really fast as the game scrolled from right to left. The next evolution occurred in 1985 with the release of Gradius, which allowed you t
|
|
|
Post by Bytor on Apr 20, 2010 14:33:18 GMT -5
STLHG: Stealth Video Games are pretty much exatly what the name implies, instead of straight up one on one battles the game is designed to insure success by avoiding direct combat and instead relying on sniper gunfire, ambushes and disguises to sneak up on your enemy, although some games did offer the option for all attack attacks, the prominent gameplay was still always based on a more circumspect approach to battle. The (typically) true goal in a STLHG is to avoid, as much as possible, combat all together until you are in a position to make the battle much more in your favor. And typically it is often not only unnecessary to kill the enemy but actually better to simply paralyze them or render them incapable of action. Often the basic idea is to get from point A to point B attracting as little attention as possible. A typical STLHG relies much more on patience and the ability to improvise and make plans based on observations and any intel you may gather. Most consider Castle Wolfenstein (Apple II, developed in 1981) to be the first STLHG, but the first true game is considered by most to be Metal Gear (released in 1987 for the MSX2, and for the NES in 1988). The next development was Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (released in 1990 for the MSX2) which actually used the term "Tactical Espionage Game" which was the true forerunner to the STLHG genre. The Metal Gear franchise continued to carry the genre although some other titles were released beginning in 1998 with the release of Tenchu: Stealth Assassins (the first true 3-D release) and Thief: The Dark Project, this was followed by the Hitman series (beginning in 2000) and Splinter Cell (2002). The next, and most current evolution is the Assassin's Creed series (first released in 2007) which adds social elements to the genre. Currently the genre is, somewhat, melding with Action/Adventure games with the Metal Gear series leading the battle.
|
|
|
Post by Bytor on Apr 20, 2010 14:34:33 GMT -5
SVG: Survival Video Games are technically a sub-genre of Action-Adventure Games based on a horror motif. Typically these games are characterized by the hero having to solve puzzles/mazes and navigate areas all the while (typically) not having many (or even any) strong weapons and/or defenses. Usually it's actually more important to run and hide instead of fighting in a SVG. The important aspect of a SVG is simply that, to survive, lol. The first SVG was probably Haunted House (released by Atari for the 2600 in 1981, although the term was not used much until the release of Resident Evil, released in Japan in 1996) However, the true first SVG is thought by many to be Alone in the Dark (released by Infogames in 1992) which incorporated the aspects of earlier SVG type games while including many aspects seen in the SVG games released today. The next step in the development of SVG's was the true 3D aspect exemplified by Silent Hill (released in 1999) and then the release of resident Evil 4 (2005) which incorporated more use of real time actions. The genre itself is still strong with the release of games such as F.E.A.R, Dead Space and Left 4 Dead.
|
|