There is going to be further delay on the Character Spree due to holiday and work related happenings. Most likely it will be finished in January by the number of delays that seem to be popping up.  In the meantime, here is a little sidetrack into the digital world.  I am an avid FPS and RPG player.  But it seems the companies are trying to merge the two to make Role Playing Shooters (RPS)…where did all my Realistic FPS  games go?

With the most recent series of FPS and TPS (third person) games, there seems to be a trend towards making them RPG like.  Some more full blown into a merger like Borderlands and Mass Effect are actual RPS games.  Using an RP system of health, damage, talents/levels and Guns in a first person game world.  The most cause of this is the advancement of computers, now being able to handle the calculations for both RP and Shooter aspects.  While fun, they seem to be slowly taking over the market.

All the way back to the start, there has always been the ‘upgrades’ portion of the game.  Getting that bigger better weapon (the BFG).  This element though has been taken to the extremes lately though, coming closer to the border of RPGs.  Not only do you get weapons unlocked, but also weapon/armor/grenade upgrades and special abilities.  The best examples are the Modern Warfare (MW) series and the new Wolfenstien.  The progression between MW1 and MW2 has shown the stretch toward the RP system instead of Realism in games.

What can we really expect next from the gaming industry?

Author’s Note:  Sorry for the sidetrack.  While the move toward RPG isn’t a bad thing, I am still hoping someone makes a new-gen Realistic FPS.