Extra Credits

Returning to WWII - Four New Approaches to War Games (2015x31)

: 12, 2015

World War 2 games like Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, and Battlefield flooded the market during the 1990's and continued to dominate the first person shooter genre for years to come. Players grew fatigued with the sheer number of them, however, especially since it seemed that many replayed the same battles over and over again in new game engines. But in their rush to recreate the most famous moments of WW2 for the Western World, they left huge, important, and very game-worthy parts of the war unexplored. It was called a World War for a reason, yet many fronts of WW2 in Africa or Asia have never been covered in a game. Developers could also focus on a specific battle rather than trying to cover the entire experience, allowing players to experience the highs and lows of a single, fierce struggle. They could also change the gameplay from traditional run 'n gun shooter to styles that have worked for games like Far Cry or Red Dead Redemption, focusing on raiding parties or freedom fighters. And finally, they can make the world outside the battle feel more real by engaging with real themes of the war - far too many WW2 games have simply ignored the Holocaust and acted as though the war took place in a cultural vacuum.