I wouldn't go that far. Franklin is IMHO the weakest Rockstar protagonist to date. CJ wasn't a bad character. He was just wildly inconsistent. But I liked him a lot. I played through San Andreas 12 times when it first came out. I was fuckin' obsessed with that game.
Yeah what game has left the biggest impression as doing that kind of thing best.
For me, I would probably say inFamous 1 & 2. The whole setup, of me being trapped in this city, and having the power to help elevate everyone from the tragedy we were all stuck in, and to see those actions having a direct effect. It was a combination of a lot of little things for me. Especially in the first game, but, it was really neat how it was set up. How I could use my powers in each section of the city, to restore power, and thus expand my power reach, but to do so, meant going in to fight in an area that had no electricity, thus putting me at a disadvantage at first. Having my actions of helping the people, slowly changing their opinion of me. Going from them yelling at me in hatred when I first start, and they blame me for the tragedy, to just sort of waving and being like "Hey Cole, what's up?" to eventually taking selfies of me if I happen to be near them on the street, and even calling a friend and fangirling about it right after. Having the sections of the city showing less rubble, and showing lights and electricity again as I restore the power and a sense of normalcy. Random people coming up to me and asking for my help, pointing me to a nearby person in distress that I could heal. Eventually getting to the point where they cheer me as a hero as I zip by on my electro feet, and actively help me fight off the badguys when I ran into fights.
You're listening to
In your opinion. At least Franklin was consistent. Inconsistency is bad character writing. For "da hood' my ass! At least Franklin was about the money and was not afraid to admit it. CJ on the other hand comes off very hypocritical. I did like San Andreas enough when I played it, but after a while I started to dislike it. While I appreciate the shout outs to Boyz in da hood, menace II society, Juice, and New Jersey drive, that game was weak in several areas. I hate it where you have to take care of your characters eating habits, health and diet. I'm not looking for that in a GTA game. nobody give me that cheat code nonsense, it's the principle of the matter. that just proves how much of a problem it was and not fun.
Never played any of the GTA games passed....I think Vice City(?). I dabbled with GTA 5 but lost interest very fast. So I can't comment about having life mechanics in a GTA title, but in theory, I enjoy those mechanics. The problem for me, is that most games don't implement them in a way that feels like anything more than busy work.
Yeah, but we gotta keep in mind how long ago San Andreas was released. I can't be too harsh on that game. I can even forgive that sort of writing in older games. And big story driven open-world games were a relatively new thing back in the early 2000's. It's not like there were a lot of games that did a better job at writing. Regardless of the genre.
I have my forgiving moments as well, but San Andreas does not get much from me. If 15 year old me realizes most of the problems, it tells me that Rockstar went too far and focused on the wrong things. Just because it was something new, does not mean I always be forgiving. Especially if it feels like my time has been wasted.
Games with stories better than San Andreas:
Franklin was still more consistent by comparison, and I plain hate CJ's gut, so that is never going to change. I do not care.
Technically, Kratos already crossed the line in the 2nd game, by attacking cities of the other Gods unprovoked. Kratos had already became no better than Ares. Chain of Olympus for PSP was not out yet, and Ghost of Sparta did not come out until after III. While there certain ideas from the first game (Kratos brother Deimos for example), those were elements in the extra, art gallery, and story elements that did not show up in game proper and were relegated to documentary or bonus features. For the record, a majority of the gods I don't like or find sympathetic either. Both were stupid evil idiots that killed each other out of spite and pettiness. Ya know, like the actual Greek pantheon.
Oh I'm not saying he didn't over react, but I mean, Zeus did try and kill him, just like they did Ares. It was at least somewhat justified. I mean to be mad that the God of WAR is going around, you know, warring on things, is like getting mad at Aphrodite for fucking people. xD
Reminds me of why I never finished SA(Made it San Fierro and quit). Trying to micromanage CJ's health was annoying(I'm hungry, stop for a burger), having to defend and take all of the gangs territory was annoying(All of these bangers but none of them can so much as hold blocks I've already taken without my help), being expected to date half a dozen girls for the perks was annoying, etc.
Yeah, Kratos loses any likability at all in 3. He's burning the world and literally doesn't care because he's MAD!
I would've been more on board with GoW3 if Kratos was at least framed as the villain, but not only are his vile acts depicted as "badass", we also get this BS about Zeus being the REAL corrupted one and how he has to be stopped. No really, HE'S the bad guy, seriously. And then I guess Kratos releases hope into the world.
Ironically, there's an interpretation of the Pandoras Box story that Hope is also an evil, because you can't be disappointed without hope.
If you bothered to play through the entire God of War 4, side quests too, there are plenty moments of levity or the developers clearly having fun. There are funny moments. Not every moment was a gut buster, I am laughing my head off, but they never annoyed me. At the very least, they made me smile. Brok, Sindri, and Mimir especially I found funny. Kratos gets his own funny moments too.
You mean, like the original games? God of War 1, 2, and 3 took themselves deadly serious to an obnoxious degree. Name me one moment from the original trilogy that was light-hearted, campy, or somewhat self-aware of its own silliness. The sex mini-games maybe? Even those became ego stroking come the third game, just like everything regarding Kratos in that time period.
You don't think someone can have a fundamental shift in their world view, and make a concerted effort to change their ways? Because that's the whole point of GoW 4. He doesn't sugar coat his past, he doesn't think he was the hero, he knows he did terrible things, but, I mean he can choose to be different. To try and atone, or at least not fuck up anymore than he already has. I have zero problem with thinking it's the same character, because they end GoW 3 with him making that realization, and killing himself as punishment for his actions. So it's not like it's a new viewpoint really, it's just a continuation of the end point he was at in the end of GoW 3. He's not dead, so he has to do something with himself. He tries to live life like a normal person, and only goes back into the god work when forced to it by outside influences. He regrets what he's done, tries to teach his son to not be like he was, and tries as best he can, to not repeat the mistakes of his past.
It also takes place, like, a hundred and fifty years after the third game, so it would make sense that he's changed atleast somewhat. Even if it was just him faffing about in the woods by himself for a century.
Kratos tore it all down. That’s what literally needed to happen for the ultimate theme of Hope to see fruition. Athena’s comment at the end of 3,
Yes, he destroyed the Greek world. Whether or not that is ultimately a good thing, or needed to happen, doesn't excuse the fact that he killed a LOT of people, many of which didn't deserve it, as Kratos says himself in GoW 4. He basically committed Greek genocide, and we can debate if it was warranted with how the gods behaved, frankly we don't really see the way their society was governed, as they focused on Kratos destroying everything, but it's assumed that things were running relatively smoothly, and that the majority of the greek world wasn't happy with the idea of Kratos burning it all down, with them inside it.
