Well Insomniac has had their 20th anniversary mark achieved recently and celebrated with a humorous music video about how it all started in the glorious 90's. I just have to do an article on them, they have a sort of special meaning to me compared to just any other old company in gaming, but weirdly enough they aren't quite a company I can always get behind either. As I was thinking of how to head off this article... I began thinking of just how appropriate that moon logo might be along with their age. 20 years isn't exactly old age wise to us, however to a corporation it probably marks a good time and that they're here to stay for a while longer. Its a good reason to celebrate, and shows that they really have a good history, catalog, and some good experience. So its a bit old-ish in those terms. Then there's that moon.... the moon is kind of an old thing that happens daily, and while many may not enjoy the dark night as much as a bright or visible day, we all can kind of enjoy the moon's brilliant light and beauty when it shows up. Getting back to how this is relevant to Insomniac... well it just feels like those two separate things fit. Old and a colorful moon. Like the moon I don't really find myself anticipating it much anymore, and my enthusiasm is dry about their games despite the truth that I'll enjoy it when it gets here. I just sort of accepted Into the Nexus as a thing, until I played it like 3 weeks past launch and adored it. Fuse is still sitting in my backlog, and the entire resistance series was a fun batch of shooters I just got around to late but enjoyed thoroughly as they got here. Meanwhile.... the company feels kind of old in both a good and bad kind of way. They have some great history, a reason to celebrate, and have a nostalgic sort of presence and that feeling of taking care of their fans. Yet they also have that feeling of being clumsy, and crazy. Sometimes its because they say or do something that feels like they're trying too hard to be cool when they clearly aren't doing it right. Like when they try to talk about how games have to be a social thing now, despite their larger successes being in the single player route. Then we get messes like Resistance 2, All 4 One, and with what happened to Fuse. Oh and has anyone heard about overnaughts? Yeah didn't think so.
Now let me make it clear that those fumbled games aren't "bad". I had fun playing the Fuse demo, and I replayed Resistance 2 a lot and liked a lot of things despite its obvious COD clone direction. All 4 One also probably wasn't bad as a co-op game, its just that the fact is it was one of those gimmicky co-op games that furthered a franchise I like to enjoy solo. Insomniac even when bad is still good. Again... its just like an old guy kind of fumbling, you don't hate him or compare them to garbage, you just sort of feel some sort of sad sympathy for them knowing they're capable of better sometime or another. This was the Ratchet and Clank fanbase for a while, this was how people looked on at over-strike before it became fuse, and why Resistance 2 was by far overshadowed by 3 and even lasting fame from the 1st release. They weren't a bad company by any stretch, nor were their games bad, it just was there and the less said the better while people waited for the company to recover. Recovery is exactly what they did in Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus, and that brought tears of joy to fans and critics alike as they played it and were pulled into Insomniac's brilliant light yet again. That's just what they do... I've heard it from other fans and myself as well as the joy that IGN seemed to put into writing their history. When they show up with the right games they sort of bring out this strange sense of fun and smiles that feels a bit unique to them. Its especially easy to see this when quite a good number of their fans are fans because Insomniac served as a strong part of their childhood gaming.
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| Nostalgic start screen sequence, activate! |
Spyro followed by another Spyro followed by another Spyro lead me from one world to the next enjoying the building cast, enchantment, and 3D platforming I loved so much in this series. I loved collecting treasure, I loved those weird abstract looking enemies that added something new to each level out of the many available, and I enjoyed seeing new abilities and mini-games taking place before me in each new installment. Each new game brought along more ways to goof around, become immersed, or gave me a brand new
However Spyro wasn't just a starting point in the hobby, its still to this day what I would refer to as one of the better games I've ever played.They all had good length, decent story motives and fun characters, impressive visuals that still feel good to look at today (especially those sky boxes), fun level design and good collectibles that kept you looking without making it stressing, and the difficulty felt tuned just right with maybe a couple too easy or too hard (screw the Agent 9 rail shooter missions!). Oh and lets not forget the soundtrack, being one of the better soundtracks I've heard and its even good outside of the game's context. Very unique work as well, odd mixture of organ, strings, drums, and strange ambiance keeps it under some weird rock/jazz/funk influenced fusion of music. The games have withstood the greatest test of time as well, keeping me returning every year towards some game often beating it all over again in that run and enjoying every minute of it. Each new file wipes a clean slate and re-decorates one of three amazing games in tons of loot making it feel new and fun all over again even though I've ran it dry doing absolutely everything multiple times. The games are probably among one of the most replayable adventures out there full of all around high quality sound, visuals, and gameplay back by a good does of nostalgia, joy, and some fairyland fantasy novelty giving it an all around unquestionable rating of being my go to pick for any platformer ever. The only game I think I've ever come to rivaling it in pure emotion, fun, and wonder has been Dark Souls and I am working on a topic for that note similarly... but even then I'm finding myself comparing such a game to the fun I had in Spyro because Spyro was good enough to take an everlasting toll on me that makes me really remember it, even in such foreign soil as an action heavy tensely difficult RPG.
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| Spyro-ish skybox ahoy! |
I later loved their future titles a lot as well, with Ratchet and Clank probably making a pretty solid spot on my favorite games of all time list (I'll make one eventually). That makes two of the best games ever from one company... a record I can't think anyone else has in my book, which is again why it was worth doing a special article on these guys during a recently big anniversary mark. Anyways what was so special about R&C? Well arguably its even better than spyro, because while spyro was an awesome 3D platformer with mini-games it wasn't honestly too unique considering the 90's became full of that sort of awesome genre. Plus many people found it too easy with occasional rock hard walls. Meanwhile Ratchet and Clank is something that still to this day is pretty much one of those games that exists as a genre in itself. You have Metroidvania influenced adventure patterns and a metroid health system in addition to a game that is otherwise riding heavy on a combat platformer where weapons ran on raw insanity and light RPG elements rules over emphasis on serious gunplay (heck your not even really aiming the guns), and platforming is done by more of intense strafing and precision jumps rather than traditional timing and on screen obstacles. It surprisingly all flows together, and tosses in a new game + and superb colorful cast and world to go along with it just to score in all that awesome stuff that was already at the heart of the game. Oh, and another reason its technically above spyro would certainly be the story and extras within it. You'll find in the end over 20 cut-scenes, skins, and modifiers to play with in the end way above Spyro's standard extras and simple premise.
To be honest though it didn't look all that great in the first R&C game, which actually feels more like a clumsy 3D platformer that shoe horned guns into it and left it at that. No strafing, leveling, and far more generic and uninspired level designs mixed with a weird feeling that the voice actors were kind of bored. However what the series is known for today is more along the lines of the games that fixed it all up and added to it so much better and you can debate all day which is truly the best. In the end the series has become an amazing underdog staple to the PlayStation brand name, and the majority that are into it are REALLY into it. Personally I can't really explain why I love it so much myself, its just so good and so refreshing each time you pick it up and play. I get sucked into the adventure, the story is surprisingly deep as much as it is funny and charming, and the gameplay is just so satisfying in its fast paced constantly upgrading insane nature. Its so fun that I end up going through several new game +'s on all games starting from Up Your Arsenal, with deadlocked being my most replayed linear game ever at over 20 new game + modes not counting other files I had made before starting a clean slate. I really love these games, and Insomniac clearly does to by being more happy to make sequel after sequel while they got sick of Spyro in the middle of the 3rd one. Their latest release was even a Ratchet and Clank game, although a short one. However it was not the last IP done...
Their next series was supposed to be more darker for the more mature consoles. Entering is the new series Resistance which aimed to be a first person corridor shooter with aliens. Yeah... you've seen its kind before. It was pretty generic at the time with just a psudo-WW2 spin on things to help it look different. Though honestly right now this sort of FPS is exactly what we needed, but back then it was just applauded as the most solid PS3 game because it had nothing else back then. It also had possibly the most horribly inaccurate hipfire I've ever seen, even beating out Modern Warfare's style. The cone of fire was actually outside of the gun barrel, and you could see bullets spread outside of where the barrel or even the gun lined up with. This is why Killzone and wolfenstein fans like their hipfire, it looks like this sort of crap when you go for the useless approach. It was followed up by a sequel that oddly and awkwardly remained generic but with the COD times and was a total copy cat in every direction except its stories and enemies. It even had sub-par graphics, which was incredibly weird to see out of a PS3 exclusive, especially considering the other PS shooters released at that time (Killzone 2 and Uncharted 2) were the height of the matter. I've got to admit it still was a lot of fun, and having creative and fun enemy types was a major advantage over its competition even if it was one of the only ones. Still it was a bad move in retrospect, and thankfully Insomniac admitted that they listened to the wrong people in making it... even if some gamers today still try to defend it over something as trivial as the story. As for the next one.... they did more than just redeem themselves, they made what I would arguably call the best 7th gen old school corridor shooter out there with Resistance 3. It returned to its roots, this time with actual character development, absolutely no health regeneration, and the guns could be upgraded just like an R&C game. The enemy AI, what little of the friendly AI, and the story and gunplay aspects were all amped up to be far more than what the original or the copy cat 2nd offered. For the first time in the series the graphics also matched up to decent standards, being really good without any real flaws or gripes (unless your still whining about "gritty" colors). It also gave in some nice set of extras to work based on your trophy completion. While 3 is probably the best for its slight tweaks and extra refinement, I think It might actually be a bit to do with the 2nd's mediocrity. The original hit when it was just there.... people go back and just see it as normal for its time, and it feels cemented in a generic presence. 2 released and appalled fans of the first while being dull and uninspired to anyone else. After people pointed at 2 as an example among countless of shooters that just feel cut and paste, or how tiring the same formula is, I think we were all waiting for a game above that COD formula. With Resistance 1 and 2 being both uninspired by the book shooters mocking each trend, and then R3 suddenly strays from everything in a masterful manner of an uncommon shooter formula I think it sends a message on how diversity is needed. Maybe I'm just looking too far into that
After Resistance their new IPs have been just fumbling, and even some with existing considering the weird R&C spin-offs. People are also already preparing for Sunset Overdrive to flop. Like I said at the beginning though, I can't really see it as bad as some make it though, and to some form I see it as hypocritical. They want new IPs, but then they mock it before real gameplay is even shown. Anyways Fuse was from the looks of it a solid 3rd person shooter with some decent ideas but overall execution that left it looking more like a middle tier shooter just padding out the genre. That's not exactly a pad thing, heck I wish that were happening with FPS corridor shooters so we could get some more R3-like games, but its not exactly something people were looking for and its not Insomniac's place either. For such a hyped event as their first 3rd party deal, it really was a terrible start. I'm really hoping they do better with Sunset overdrive, but honestly its questionable. It was stylish and silly in some ways, but in a way that somehow also feels uninspired and more by the book if that makes any sense. Some clues say it might be fun and arcadey taking cues from Resistance or R&C in good ways, but it might end up like Fuse.... which also looked more colorful at one time. If I remember right though it was going to be an MMO or heavily online dependent.... good luck with that. In the end though I want Insomniac to prove what they did recently with R&C fans with Into the Nexus... they still have golden potential.
Insomniac is a company that has proven time and time again to remember fun. Simple, pure, and raw FUN, and they can mix it well with violence and dark bits that the rest of the industry takes too seriously or movie-like now. They brought me into gaming through enchanted worlds and the promise of endless inspiration and adventure in a safe fun environment. Then they took me to levels of high fast paced action followed through with charm and endless originality. Finally they brought me to a territory that seemed a little too familiar at first, only to then compare and contrast to why familiar isn't bad and was in fact what I was looking for when I needed it. I suppose sometime maybe I should see what awaits me with Fused, but I guess when they give out "meh" I give it back. However for the most part, I can't think of them much in that light. They've messed up, sometimes horribly by my standards (screw you co-op gimmicks!) and sometimes other standards (Overstrike's makeover into fuse). However for the most part I feel like I owe them a lot of thanks, and that they seriously stand out to be a unique bunch of geniuses that stumble up frequently after some great starts. They're still geniuses though, and ones that effected me above the usual type of team I'm fond of. I can't exactly say I respect them the same way I usually respect a studio... like Bethesda for the many type of amazing games it publishers contrary to usual publisher standards, or Arkane for just.... being so..... them! Then there's Guerrilla that reliably makes a shooter franchise I can always depend on to be fun. With Insomniac... its just different. Its hard to agree with what few vocal principles they come out with, even when you were getting the grip on the idea that all they wanted was fun they go out and lash at nintendo in a totally nonsensical and uncalled for way. Then their games are of inconsistent quality and genres or structures (even within a single IP) to know they'll put out golden material that always suits you, yet they always seem to come through somehow to make me smile. At the end of the day though I know I do have genuine respect of some form for them... they can and do somehow get the meaning of fun through, and that backed by nostalgia of even better days is good enough to me.
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| Keeping gliding on |
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