To clarify, I don't only mean graphics here. For example, Saints Row 3 and 4 have relatively good graphics, but beating people up with a giant dildo might not be the most realistic thing in the world. Or maybe it is. If you're into that stuff. But that doesn't mean that I'm not going to completely disregard them. It's hard for a game to seem like real life if it looks like Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust. Or if it has anything to do with that game. I tried it once, and it was just bad. It was bad. Did I mention it was bad. Because I don't think it's coming across. The game was bad.
It was the worst 10 minutes of my life. It was a £3.50 I will never get back. It was just bad.
But anyway, I digress. I don't think a game must be realistic to be good, which is pretty obvious if you've read any of my other articles, in which I've professed my love for Borderlands 2, Playstation All-stars Battle Royale and Team Fortress 2, and non of those are particularly realistic. But it can be an important factor. I haven't bought Battlefield 4, or ever fought in a war, so I really can't say how realistic it is, but I can say that it's predecessor was very realistic. Or at least it was the image that Hollywood has impressed in my brain.
Some games go for realism and fail, sometimes pretty epically. For example, the second worst game on steam according to metacritic, (and another "it can't be that bad" purchase from me) is Gettysburg armored warfare. I can't talk with much detail about the game, because, like Leisure Suit Larry, I endured only about 10 minutes. The game is some weird futuristic American civil war game, and the animations were bad. Obviously the game wasn't trying to recapture the Civil war accurately, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't be realistic.
This type of "Hypothetical Realism" is greatly represented in the fallout series. I've only played Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, but they have great story lines, and a lot of background information. Things like using bottle caps as currency and the Pip-Boy are details with which the series really goes above and beyond.
Whilst not quite as high profile as Fallout, Metro 2033 and it's sequel, Last light, which I am yet to play, represent Post Apocalyptic Moscow as I imagine it. With scavenged weapons, radiation poisoning, and military bullets as currency, it is also very in depth. So in my opinion, a game doesn't have to emulate real life exactly to be realistic. And quite frankly, I don't think a completely realistic game would be a good one. Would I like to play a racing game with perfect graphics, but if I crashed my car once I would have to pay £100,000 for another one, or if the police arrest me I get to spend a fun 3 years of in-game time in jail. Probably not. Would I like to play a First Person Shooter where the game breaks when you die? Yes. Wait, no.
That gun was a right bastard to use.
So realism, yay or nay? Like many good things, video game realism should be enjoyed in moderation. If a game is nothing like the real world and totally ridiculous, it can be unrelatable and childish, unless that is what it is going for (eg. a game like Deadpool, which was probably a bit too silly). If a game is too realistic, it defeats the purpose. If I wanted real life, I would go outside! Just kidding. Could you imagine?
Would you really want that on your skin?
So, I've survived my first week of these. Hopefully if this one gets a few views I'll get 750 this week. Noice. I think since I've got a few ideas for Wednesday's article I'll leave a poll so you, the viewers can decide what I talk about. Oh, and I got twitter, @KaC__Official . Couldn't believe that I needed two underscores. So many people on twitter. There's a link up top if you're lazy.