The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Let's explore the world of...KNOCKOFFS.
Sorenson
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Er, not quite.
That's more like it.
As anybody who watches the market knows, once a big hit comes around you've got plenty of impersonators who try and muscle in on the profits, doing their damndest to copy the original with as little work and cost while keeping just beyond the reach of the law. Games, of course, are no exception: a developer hits on a big idea, and from the woodwork you'll have any number of others falling right in line and right in the original's shadow. From turning animal cruelty into a sport of kings and countries to the realism of brown and bloom, the games industry has seen its fair share of immitators and knockoffs, some better, some worse, all with brand new packaging but a taste that kinda resembles that one great taste once you get past the grade-B ingredients.
Of course, out of all these [strike]blatant ripoffs[/strike]attempts at flattery, you're bound to remember a few of them that stood out in particular, so let's go on a little trip. Hold tight your wallets and steady your nerves, for we're about to enter the dark, seedy underbelly of the games industry, a world where quality and ingenuity are as alien as real women are to nude mod developers and where your mind will be irreversibly filled with the question of "who buys this shit?"
Remember 1998? What a year that was: Europe was getting ready for conversion to the Euro, Bill Clinton was being put in the hotseat for the Lewinski scandel, El Nino was hammering the east coast, and the Sega Dreamcast ushered in the next generation of caming consoles in Japan - oh, and that little issue about Pokemon finally being released in the United States. While they'd been available in Japan for a good two years before that point, the introduction of Pokemon into the U.S. gaming populace turned what was already a fairly-succussful product into a franchise juggernaut that would cover a few dozen games on several consoles, a long-running television show, more merchandise than you can shake a fistfull of concentrated capitalism at, and even japanese air travel.
And then, of course, there were the other monster games. Some developed their own interesting systems to distinguish themselves in the eyes of gamers (and the law), while others adapted the monster game concept to their own long-running designs.
And then, there was Robopon.
As might be gleamed from the title, Robopon "borrows" quite heavily from the games that gave them their inspiration, the key difference being the player's minions: rather than monsters caught out in the wild, players instead captured robots...that were out in the wild. No faggot-tastic turtles and mice in these games, no sir - we've got robots!
Sure, they might look like cheap, uninspired pieces of shit, but better than some yellow rat, unless you're a fag.
Of course, no game is complete without a story, and Robopon certainely comes packin'. Your old grandfather, recognising that he's completily fucked up the family Robopon business, decides to turn to you to revitalize it and bring it back to its former glory - and what better way to bolster your business than to prove yourself the best in the world? But in your way stands the [strike]Pokemon League[/strike]Legendary 7, the best of all Robopon fighters in the land, plus who knows how many other aspiring [strike]League Champions[/strike]Robopon collectors, like the slightly-sober-midget-in-neon-shorts-who's-fondling-himself!
*Also available: Fat middle-aged businessman, fatter middle-aged wife of fat middle-aged businessman
And along the way, you'll visit such such unique locals as "Podunk indistinguishable shithole in the middle of nowhere", each accentuated by Robopon's unique art style!
Yes, truly this was a game of kings. Pokemon? Bah! We've got robots!
Sorenson on
0
Posts
Never heard of it
As for blatant knockoffs, does anyone remember Battle of Olympus? It was a side-scrolling adventure game in the vein of... ahem... that was basically just a re-skin of Zelda 2. It actually was a fun game though. I remember trying desperately with my friend to beat Medusa when we were about 7 years old, thinking that we were doing something horribly wrong. Turns out we were. We were sucking.
Fuck that game in it's snaking pattern'd intestines.
I mean, I adore the first one(and I've had the second one sitting on my VC for quite some time begging to be played)... but I would call it a re-skinned Mario game of old. Nothin' wrong with that!
Anyone else feel it's a clone?
Here's a link to a description of one, from engadget.
Classy.
Featuring such classics as the Vii.
I'm sure I've seen plenty of knock-offs before, but haven't really committed many to memory. I definitely remember, around the time Doom came out on the PC, it was soon followed by an Amiga reimagining - Gloom. And there was probably a Loom (and countless others) around somewhere, too.
C&C, likewise, seemed to spawn a legion of similar RTS games, each with one or two extra gimmicks but without the polish.
The most recent knock-off I've played would probably be Puzzle Quest, although I much prefer it to regular Bejeweled. And even that was originally based on a Japanese game, I think.
If that's a real knockoff, I'd like to hear more about it.
They even have a website!
The PolyStation 3!
You sir, are a king among men.
As for The Stix... man... You mean I can turn my PC into A GAME CONSOLE?!?! Even their "demo" game in the margin looks like StarFox. I know what they're thinking, but jeez... what were they thinking?
I dont know who this man is but I enjoy him immensely.
Throw it in the river of the same name.
AVGN covered this in his Bible game episode.
Then you have my sword sir.
Fuck blue turtle shells, we've got hedgehogs!