Which other publisher would dare take on the offensive, lewd sandbox game like Saint's Row, each sequel just a little more over the top than the last?
In a market full of repetitive sequels, played out plotlines, and annual cash-cows, I'm hoping Koch Media do Volition and Saint's Row 4 justice!
Sadly, the worst part is not that an adventuresome publisher is no longer with us. The worst part is that all the other publishers will now be that much more afraid of being adventuresome.
Saints row 1 was largely forgettable, 2 became interesting, and 3 is a sandbox classic, out shining in many ways even GTA IV. The combination of novel ideas and willingness to improve and change is such a crucial combination when developing a product.
So even given that, to me the main thing THQ's name brings to mind is the endless stream of games they churned out under licensing agreements with various TV and movie franchises. If I were going to pick a game company to be the poster child for unoriginal cash cows, the maker of all those SpongeBob, Kung Fu Panda and WWF games would absolutely be a top candidate.
EA just is not what it used to be and all my favorite classic franchises (Command and Conquer, C&C Red Alert, Sim City, Syndicate, etc) are just a shadow of what they once were.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.U.L.E.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archon:_The_Light_and_the_Dark
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail_Order_Monsters
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Cities_of_Gold_(video...
The games you quoted were not FROM EA per se, they were mostly from studios acquired by EA which were dissolved soon after they released something worthy of publishing. Sim City was from Maxix, SYndicate from Bullfrog, CC from Westwood. Do not assume developer=publisher.
later on, they revealed it was $500,000
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/01/23/fin-thq-sells-off...
Darksiders are done which is sad.
http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/news/a453020/south-park-stu...
But from all of their recent years - they ran Heroes into the ground, from the fabled AC franchise only the ACII is really good, and whatever they ship they manage to make unplayable with the uplay crap.
Metro 2033 is adapted from a russian '05 novel of the same name, while S.T.A.L.K.E.R is from both the '72 novel Stalker and its '79 movie.
They bear no lineage.
Those didn't seem to be a franchise that got sold off, so maybe is abandonware?
That is, if it's not already deep in development, which I think I remember hearing that it is.
The ability to get additional toys per round is a huge mechanic IMO in replayability.
I also look forward to the improved graphics that Crytek will bring. My only fear is that Crysis from what I have seen feels pretty cold at times so hopefully that does not bleed over.
EDIT: I also don't get why Homefront was so panned by critics. The graphics obviously pale when compared to something like Crysis but like I said, I think they got many aspects of multiplayer very right.
Where they have to improve upon actually is the story and gameplay, Crysis 2 was a little disapointing there, I think. Crysis Warhead on th other hand was way better.
I hope SEGA will make good use of my favorite games.
