Ben-DutkaThe story is becoming less and less important in the shooter world these days.
Those who get into Battlefield and Call of Duty do so because of the multiplayer; many of those individuals don't even bother with the single-player campaign. You can tell them the campaign sucks or it's too short or whatever…they really don't care. They just don't.
At the same time, everyone is expecting the narrative in Guerrilla's Killzone: Shadow Fall to be a cut above, at least in comparison to other games in that genre. After playing Battlefield 4 (and considering my low expectations for the story in Call of Duty: Ghosts ), I'd say I'm expecting the same thing. After all, the plots in KZ2 and KZ3 weren't exactly stellar, but I thought they were better than most shooter narratives. There was actually some thought involved.
But look at it this way- Games like Battlefield and Call of Duty will be given a pass if the single-player isn't fulfilling but the multiplayer rules. They care most about the latter. And because Shadow Fall falls into that same category, can we say that the same fans won't give the game a pass if the multiplayer falls short…? I think that's fair. The problem is that the campaign could end up featuring the single best story in the history of shooters, but if the multiplayer is found lacking, the game will be panned by many. Whether you think that's right or wrong is irrelevant; it's true.
But here's the other scary part- what if the story doesn't really impress, either, and all the game has going for it are those impressive visuals? If that's the case, look out for lower than expected review scores and disappointing sales. I hope that doesn't happen, though.
Related Game(s): Killzone: Shadow Fall