207: The Glory of the Last Stand

[Lee Petrie]

The Glory of the Last Stand

Sometimes, the only thing better than a flawless victory is an agonizing defeat. Lee Petrie examines the allure of the Last Stand in both videogames and the culture at large.

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[BlindTom]

Really enjoyed that. Short and snappy and one of the few articles that i consciously enjoyed without feeling (just a little) bogged down or tutored. Interesting, nice one.

 

[Chaos Marine]

Last Stand. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3jmef6sffA]

 

[Lvl 64 Klutz]

This article explains perfectly why I loved the final boss of Persona 4. I had no idea the chain of instant death spells were a scripted event. There we were, two of my party members already dead, I knew it wasn't going to stop there. Then all of a sudden a "Grand Finale"-esque remix of the game's battle theme starts playing, and I took that as a cue... just one more hit, I'd tell myself. And took it.

I completely agree... that was one of the most memorable moments in my gaming experiences.

 

[Baldry]

MY GOD ive never realised how much I love last stands, but reading this rekindled that small hope, thank you!
DAMN is it me ir does that sound fairly soppy.

 

[Neotericity]

It all makes sense now, the most enjoyable game of starcraft I ever played was when all my friends were dead and I was facing impossible odds, instead of restarting my friends cheered me on from the sidelines it was quite the spectactle and finally I was able to mount an offensive and well the rest is history. Thanks for bringing up some interesting points

 

[Agent Larkin]

I love having those last stand moments in games. My best example would be in COD:WAW in Verrukt the weapons chest had respawned on the other side of the building and I had just gotten to it when Zombies started pouring in from all directions. I grabbed the gun the chest gave me and by luck it was an MG42 so I was standing there in the middle of the room trying to hold them off so my friends could help me. I got killed but I have never been so happy to die in a game.

 

[LordCraigus]

Ahhh the Last Stand. Only the other day was I looking up last stand scenes from movies on Youtube. For me it's one of the most interesting things to read about from WWII and military history in general; Dunkirk, El Alamein, the Battle of Sevastopol, Battle of Berlin... pretty much every battle in the Pacific island-hopping campaign became a last stand for the Japanese defenders.
Then of course it's been used extensively in films and other fiction creating some of the most memorable scenes, whether it's against humans, aliens or zombies etc.
Now in videogames we can get as close as possible (without actually being there) to living out these sorts of heroic scenarios. If there's a level in a game that culminates in a last stand, you can bet I'll replay that level eventually, with the difficulty turned up a notch if possible.

I dunno what the psychology is behind what makes this sort of thing so appealing. I guess it's just the resourcefulness and spirit to carry on in the face of defeat which makes it such a romantic and, to me, genuinely interesting scenario.

 

[bioVOLTAGE]

I can't stand the Last Stand. No hope of winning is really depressing. If I can't win, then what's the point? Sure, there's the challenge of trying a game on hard, but if you can't beat it, you'll never get the whole experince of the game.

Also, there's something to be said for being the unstopable superhuman on the easier difficulties. Just to unwind, and not haveing to think or be frustrated.

 

[Saboonatic]

Nice article I agree totally games with last stand set pieces like Resident Evil 4 and even horde mode in Gears 2 are brilliant!

 

[lousyshot55]

I enjoy playing games like that. I can think of two right now that I have always loved that fulfill that need. First, Medial II Total War. I love playing against a massive army with only a hardened core of my best men led by a great general and slaughtering many and than dying gloriously or prevailing against all odds. The second would have to be Left 4 Dead with the best scenes being when the helicopter/boat/APC comes and everyone is hauling ass to it but one teammate gets left behind to be beat/smashed to death. I turn my back to freedom and wade in with the shotgun sometimes freeing him and we both survive but many times I free him and turns out that I am now trapped and left to die. Warhammer 40k games are also a great example of this too.

 

[n00bie51]

One of my favorite moments in gameplay for RTS games is when you have to secure and defend a specific area for a set amount of time until reinforcements come or something; when hordes of enemy units come swarming through your base in the last twenty seconds in a struggle to last that much longer, many notable missions of which can be found in many RTS series like WarCraft, StarCraft, Command and Conquer, Red Alert, Company of Heroes, etc. This sort of gameplay can also be found in many first-person-shooters, too.

I'm also in agreement regarding Gears of War's difficulty; Casual is an absurdity and I enjoy mocking my friends if I ever see them playing on it. I also try to beat games on their hardest difficulties; what reward is there if the challenge is too insignificant? You might as well be using cheat codes, to an extent.

 

[ReverseEngineered]

I agree that the last stand and the underdog are both romantic visions that we enjoy, but I don't agree that it has anything to do with a selfish desire for martyrdom.

Games are about challenge and the personal reward of overcoming that challenge. What could be more challenging than being matched against impossible odds? Winning against the impossible is its own reward -- knowing that you did what few others could do. There's also the recognition from others that you managed it. And lastly, there's the enjoyment of seeing something out of the ordinary, different, unexpected. We love to see the impossible happen.

As for why we make our last stand, I think it has a lot to do with hope and pride. Hope that, as impossible as it seems, you might still have a chance (because sometimes all we have left is hope), and the pride to not want to fail, to not turn down a challenge.

I've been there before. I've played many a game of Counter-strike against a team whose record in the tournament was better than my team, but that didn't stop us from persevering. We wanted to win, and we knew that the only way to do that was to try. It didn't matter that the odds were against us and that we were likely outmatched -- we had hope that we could pull it together, or that they would make a mistake, or that some way we would be able to win. I remember a few rounds where it was me alone with a pistol vs. 4 guys with SMGs. Was I screwed? Hell yes, but I wasn't about to give up and give them an easy kill -- I still wanted to win. Part of it was just wanting to win, part of it was knowing that my friends were watching and hoping that I could do it. I knew there was the expectation that I at least try my best. I also knew that there would be great recognition if I managed to win. There were so many more reasons than just wanting to be remembered as a martyr, especially since I knew that my martyrdom wouldn't be remembered by anyone when the next round started.

Most of the time, I died, and I felt no failure for doing so. But every now and then, I won against all odds, and it was a truly satisfying victory.

We stand up against impossible odds because we have hope that the impossible can happen.

 

[Smokescreen]

My experiences in this come mostly in Left 4 Dead, but I like the strategy element. Winning is defined by the clock, because there is no other measurement of success.

But I do enjoy it.

Only in gaming though. Real life no-win situations tend to be far less satisfying.

 

[Jenx]

I feel sometimes people really have forgotten how to still enjoy themselves even when they lose. While not a first person shooter, most games if Dwarf Fortress for example are usually just one constant Last Stand - the enemies NEVER stop. When you defeat the first wave of goblin scouts they send an army. When you beat the army they send a bigger one. And a bigger one. Than an epic mythical creature attacks you. If you even survive that even more and bigger armies keep coming at you. DF is a game you can not WIN but all of the great stories from the game come from the amazing ways people have lost and have the entire population of their fortress slaughtered.
So in conclusion to this nonsensical rant - Learn to enjoy defeat people!

 

[runedeadthA]

Amen. I still remeber that the most epic moment of my RTS career being when my huddling Terran base was holding out against a far more skilled Protoss player. Waves of dragoons, carriers and archons were fended off by my marines and a few hastily assembled battle tanks. And then when he called in nukes on my defenses (due to a stolen SCV ), I pushed with the ragged remnants of my army, right into his base before being blown to pieces...

That was the best GG ever .

 

[cardinalwiggles]

One of the more enveloping reads I find as I an relate in terms of a scenic gamer, i use the roles of Total War Games like, Medieval and Rome. These games allow me to set up my base and cities where I feel safe for them, my instance is Venice city the city is only accessible by a single bridge this makes it strategically difficult to assault and feel an underdog but from multiple attacks to reach the region it gives you a chance to become accustom to the landscape even though your forces are depleting, making the eventual assault becoming the underdog through a bridge towards huge walls.


breathtaking.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Last Stands always seem heroic. Especially when glamoured by Hollywood and gaming companys. The Alamo,Pearl Harbor,Battle of London My faviorite has to be the battle of Fort Mchenery which in turn inspired the Star Spangled Banner by Franics Scott Key.