Why do I keep hearing this about GW2?

[icechambers]

I keep hearing, in various reviews of the game, that "GW2 doesn't revolutionize the MMO genre, rather; it refines it well" or criticisms along those lines.

Here's my problem with that, game genres aren't defined along the same lines as films and books, which are characterized by their themes, styles and subject matter. Game genres are defined by their mechanics, if dragon age and fallout 3 were movies they'd be completely different genres but as games; they're both RPGs, defined as such by their character development, player agency and dialogue interaction among other things.

So, why is it such a common complaint that GW2 and every other new MMO that gets reviewed are still recognizably MMOs? If they didn't have those familiar mechanics we've all come to know and love since the days BEFORE WoW (no, it wasn't the first by a very long stretch), then they'd be an entirely new genre to us, and that seems to be something we only expect from MMOs. I've never heard a complaint about a new shooter consisting mostly of shooting guns. If it didn't; it wouldn't be a shooter.

This isn't me throwing a tantrum about people having criticism to make about a game I enjoy, I can admit when things I love have problems, I just don't think it's a problem that new MMOs are MMOs. Just something I've been mulling over lately. Please don't turn this into a discussion about whether GW2 is good or not.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

It's a problem becuase many people who play an MMO burn out on the whole genre. The idea of starting a new one from scratch is a major turn off. It's better in many ways now to make an MMO that they can cash in on with shallow skinner box gameplay and microtransations/monthly fee but trick people who think they have seen through those tricks into thinking that this time it will be different.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well if you find nothing wrong with the MMORPG genre then obviously those complaints have no value to you.
However this genre comes with some massive constraints on the basis of it's functionality, far more so then any other genre I can think of, but if you choose to not talk about them then that is your prerogative.

 

[icechambers]

I'm not suggesting that I can think of no complaints about MMOs that are caused by the constricted mechanics, the pricing models, the lack of narrative and constant grind to name only a handful of things. I'm simply asking why reviewers seem to say things like "It's not a revolution in MMOs, it simply improves on the existing mechanics" when that's what all games should be doing for their genres.

Is it just a shortcut to saying "It's got the same problems as other MMOs but it's incrementally better" or are they just saying that they're bloody sick of MMOs. Can't say I blame them if the latter is the case, must be a real slog to review every new MMO that comes out. The former doesn't really make sense to me either, as the same could be said for any game of any definable genre, yet this particular comment only seems to be made of MMOs.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I'm not suggesting that I can think of no complaints about MMOs that are caused by the constricted mechanics, the pricing models, the lack of narrative and constant grind to name only a handful of things. I'm simply asking why reviewers seem to say things like "It's not a revolution in MMOs, it simply improves on the existing mechanics" when that's what all games should be doing for their genres.

Arena Net marketed GW2 as a revolution in the MMO genre, and much of the community hype leading up to its release presented it as such, so naturally this is the #1 elephant in the room when it comes time to discuss the game post release. Did it live up to its billing, yes/no. The answer in this case is "sort of".

 

[More Fun To Compute]

I think that game reviewers as a whole tend to have some biases when things average out.

They tend to prefer short games because they are being paid for the review not for how many hours they play.

They tend to prefer games that focus on stories because it is easier to for them to write something that isn't cookie cutter and boring for the reader like, "this game has good gameplay and sound." Many of them have english language qualifications and would rather write something like a book or movie review.

They tend to prefer games that are easy to get through, with an easy mode that let's them see everything the game has to offer without them hitting roadblocks.

They prefer games that don't have open betas and change based on community activity and patches because they are testing before release and want exclusivity.

Going by that, it doesn't sound like their ideal game is an MMO.