The FPS and the RPG: A Comparison
I have noticed here on The Escapist that there is a lot of fighting between the FPS and RPG communities, with arguments such as "All RPGs are about angsty emo effeminate teens" or "FPSs are only made for the hardcore-tard super jocks", and any discussion about either just ends up becoming an endless flame/troll war between the two. I somewhat see myself at middleground between RPGs and FPSs, so what I want to point out in this article/explanation is the pros and cons of each, and prove how they are both great genres no matter where you stand.
Firstly, we will start of with...
The FPS a.k.a. the First-Person Shooter
The FPS is somewhat of a figurehead in this generation, being some of the most well-received and most played of all of the genres. With hits such as Halo 3, Gears of War 1 & 2, and other such titles, each keep pushing the capabilities of what genre can do and increase the amounts of multiplayer interaction and fun one can experience.Pros:
Action - FPSs are always a fun way to spend your time after a stressful day at school or work, and relax by shooting off some alien heads or fragging some fellow online gamers.
Multiplayer - still to this day, has some, if not, the best amount of online gameplay than any other genre, filling different peoples ways of having fun such as with CTF or Deathmatches.
Variety - FPSs provide many types of ways to "blow $%@# up", with many places and rules to do it as well.
Cons:
Repetition - most FPSs do end up getting repetitive after a while, and most storylines can be summed up with the following: "You (and your squad if there is one) are a bunch of ______[soldiers/armored veterans/big buff guys] and will fight _____[aliens/zombies/nazis] to ______[save the world/defend freedom/survive]."
Online Gamers - as being the main figurehead in online gaming, it will pick up a lot of people, both the good and....the not so good(angry pre-teens, dickheads, griefers, etc.) which will ruin a perfectly fun gameplay experience.
Lag and Detection - again, being online, lag is a major problem(which most of the time cannot be fixed) and will ruin a good match by either slowing everyone down, or causing frustration. Also, buggy detection is also a con in FPSs that isn't really found in many other games, damage is often misread by the game, cause a foot shot to kill someone while a headshot does not.
And next, we have the...
The RPG a.k.a. the Role-Playing Game
The RPG is one of the longest running game genres having been around since the NES and probably even before that. Somewhat being overlooked with this generation, most title are now found on the DS, but there are some console RPG gems shining through on the consoles such as Persona 4, Oblivion, and the "Tales" series, giving everyone the fun of character customization and monster battles.
Pros:
Story - the crowning achievement of RPGs will always be their stories, full of exciting characters, plot-twists, and tragedy, always giving you a feeling to want to push on and learn more.
The Feeling of Achievement - the RPG pulls this off very well, after working for hours or days trying to obtain that ultimate weapon, magic, or secret character, you feel rewarded after finally completing your goal and spend the next moments decimating your enemies with your Meteor spell.
Customization - being able to create a fantasy version of yourself, other people, or just toying around with weapon and magic skills for your characters is always a great inclusion in RPGs.
Cons:
Effeminates - sadly to say, sometimes people are right, and there are many effeminate characters appearing in RPGs, and sometimes, it will ruin a game when you can't take some of the main characters seriously.
Grinding - another form of repetition, though only found in the RPG and MMORPG, sometimes you will encounter obstacles that cannot be overcome without heavy leveling, and after killing the same group of bats and slime, it gets really, really tedious.
Super Powered Bosses and their Cutscenes - sometimes, even with the gratuitous leveling, some of the enemies you face will only be beaten through sheer luck and perseverance, and made all the more frustrating if there happens to be a 10 minutes unskippable cutscene before said enemy.
Though, yes, there are some bad parts that are easily picked out by the opposing group of each, there are also many similarities between the FPS and the RPG, more so than there are differences. But I'm pretty sure that both sides can agree on that, FPSs and RPGs have been some of the greatest games that we have seen over the past few gaming generations, being the 2 crowning genres, and that neither are "just" about big buff soldiers or angsty effeminate teens.
Thank you all for reading my little article here, and feel free to insert your own opinions about the pros and cons of each, or even add more, since I just put in the major ones from my POV. I hope this might lead to less hostilities between the 2 groups.
