If Modern Warfare Is “The Same Game,” So Is Skyward Sword

The controversy of Modern Warfare has died down a bit, but here’s a quick refresher for those of you who don’t remember: Modern Warfare got high scores as it always does, but there was a huge backlash for those scores because, according to some people, the game “is the same/just an update from the last one.” Personally, I’m not sure I agree with that, but let me ask you, if it’s true for Modern Warfare 3, why isn’t it true for Skyward Sword, or Mario Kart 7? You cannot say that one type of game like Zelda, should never change, but then blame Modern Warfare for “not changing enough.”

[disturbing_flame]

It's true.
Mario Kart 7 is the same too, so will be the next episode on Wii U.

[-Alpha]

There's a difference between releasing a sequel that is a quality product with enough changes to warrant it as a sequel every once in a while, and releasing an annual game with minimalistic changes that somehow manages to take steps back from its predecessor.

I expect any sequel to retain the same core formula. But at a reasonable rate, and with overall improvements.

CoD is not "the same" game every year, there are clearly changes. We can use that criticism vaguely for many games, but the number of changes in relation to the rate at which it is released AND the fact that the game continues to degrade SOMEHOW is why people hate CoD.

"CoD is the same" obviously is not meant to be taken literally, and comparing it to Skyward Sword doesn't help the article's cause.

[RememberThe357]

Thanks for saying what I was gonna say better than I was gonna say it.

[yesmynameissumo]

I don't know. With MW3, I have no idea what's going to take place (outside the obvious shooting the shit out of people). With Zelda (and I haven't played Skyward Sword yet), I'm guessing:

You start out as a regular village dude.
Some evil get introduced.
You're told you need to take the task on of defeating the evil.
You get the "Link" outfit.
There's bombs, boomerangs, the sword & shield, slingshots and probably some new tool/weapon/utility like most of the games.

The predictability alone is worthy the "same game" label.

EDIT: @Alpha (Dexter kicks all types of ass BTW)
With God of War, true, you lose all your powers and hack and slash (it IS a hack n slash game), but 3 felt NOTHING like the other 2. I didn't come away feeling like I played the game before. Zelda, while still a great series, also suffers from valid problems people have with it too. Again, looking at just the SP component, Zelda is as much of the same game to other Zelda's as CoD's MP is to other CoDs.

[-Alpha]

@issumo

All of those are core mechanics you expect to find in the game. I'll agree that changing that would be refreshing though, but many games have that familiar setup. Your point about Zelda is actually fair, but there is a radical difference between Zelda's releases and CoD's.

It's like God of War-- start every game with no powers, individually gain the same powers, with different names, and use the same hack and slash gameplay you are familiar with.

All this is the core of the games. The difference being that games like GoW and Zelda release at a far enough rate and add on to the overall game.

The rate of releasing a CoD game every year coupled with the fact that the game takes serious steps back (the hit detection/lag compensation compared to CoD4 is ridiculously worse) is why people dislike CoD.

I don't like the "CoD is the same" nonsense either, but there are definitely valid problems people have with CoD that are amplified from what you find in other sequels.

[MRMagoo123]

@yesmyname

Thats a really stupid point you make, you dont know whats going to happen in COD lol ill put it the same way as you tho i dont play zelda games at all and wont either so im no nintendo fanboy, also remembering cod is all about the pvp aspect and no the single player.

you start the game with limited guns, you then kill ppl get some xp buy some new guns rinse and repeat

for single player you start you play as some guy in the old game kill some bad guys stuff blows up then you save someone, then you play someone else kill some more badguys save someone else then another explosion and so on till you take out the main objective.

[yesmynameissumo]

Shit just whooshed over your head huh Magoo?

[Iroquois_Pliskin]

but does LoZ come out every year?

[Tonester925]

@yesmynameissumo

If people played the First Legend of Zelda until Skyward Sword.. EVERY ONE.. Then they would realize what you are saying is true.

[Foliage]

When I saw this title, I immediately knew Nintendolts would be angry from the truth.

Face it, the main Nintendo games have been the same ol' thing for many years now; down to the same story line.

[crxss]

MW3 not only plays identical to other MW games but it borrows actual resources from MW1 and MW2, just re-textured. that's where the "same game" argument comes form.

Skyward Sword only borrows elements from previous games in the series. almost everything is built from the ground up. so no SS is not the same game as OOT or TP. dumb article title.

[Berserk]

Zelda sucks a$$. You would think this horrible franchise would have died by now...

;)

[Muffins1223]

Not really,the game as alot f new ideas and new art style compared to twilight princes....

[theonlylolking]

MW3 changes from MW2
1.Strike package
2.split screen online
3.new spec ops
4.Continuing the modern warfare story
5.Gun leveling
6.new multiplayer maps
7.new guns
8.new gun camos
9.New game modes
10.Call of duty elite(which is free)
11:Change in art style per map

Yeah, every nintendo game has less changes than that. The last big change in a nintendo game was super mario galaxy. It was so refreshing but then super mario galaxy 2 was the exact same thing except with yoshi-san.

[Shackdaddy836]

Doubt you even played a Nintendo game lately...

[jthamind]

@theonlylolking

every single thing you named outside of the campaign (which is honestly the least important part of CoD nowadays) could have been released as DLC or an expansion for CoD4 or MW2. Skyward Sword is an entirely new game that just keeps a similar formula and mechanics.

there's a big difference between the two.

[user858621]

Everything you just said could have easily been DLC or even an update for Black Ops... just saying

[kaveti6616]

hahaha at listing "new multiplayer maps."

That's usually a requirement.

[scrambles]

sounds like they change everything except the gameplay WHAT A SHOCKER

[Foliage]

Actually most of those things could not pass as DLC. You can't change the main functionality of a game that needs to remain running off a disc, by optional content that is installed on the hard drive. It would have to have been planned with the release of the last one.

Not to mention how Microsoft has strict limitations to DLC that limit how many core files can be changed, and how big your content can be.

Changes to that scale could not be DLC, I've had lesser content fail to get approved due to their scale.

[ASTAROTH]

I love SS but for me TP is a better game... specially graphically and the control of WOLF link... That was an EPIC game.

[AKA]

the problem is not that the game is the same or not!
the fans want more of the same! with small changes..
but COD teach is outdated cheap and comes out every year with not technical improvements.
it still has the old cheap sound teach, old cheap animations, old cheap special effects, old cheap graphics, old cheap colors, old cheap connections that cod4 had.

i mean just think how well they could made the next cod using a lot more money (they have a lot since the game sales very well)
on a new top of the line engine!

but they even say they could use this old cheap teach for years and still sale their games like fresh bread and that's what they are doing, spend low in your product market it right and big time and it will sale since cod4 got the right fun factor formula and their game got popular.
and now they lost their best "devs" "respawn" those guys are really good! so cod is just death and it will never be great again and we will have to wait until next gen to see cod goes down..

[Pikajew]

No. If this guy bothered to play a Zelda game he would know they are all different. This guy is just a Nintendo hater.

OoT you travel threw time and was the first 3D zelda game and stared trageting stuff in games.
MM you had masks and each on had a special power and had a 3 day time period
WW you got to travel the ocean be a pirate and had a unique art style
TP you were able to turn into a wolf and featured a place where a twilight places where you stay the wolf
SS I didn't play it yet :(

[Titanz]

I don't remember a Zelda title relying totally on motion controls. And COD games are released annually, wtf?

[GraveLord]

If you bothered to play Modern Warfare 3 you would see the game is completely different from Black Ops.

[MRMagoo123]

IS it? besides the year its set and the available guns since the year has changed what is different?

[adamant715]

Its even worse..

[SnotyTheRocket]

Yeah, ok. You keep thinking that.

[browngamer41]

This guy obviously has not played Skyward Sword(or any other Zelda for that matter) this game is different from every other Zelda out there-from pacing,structure,story ,controls to cut scenes and visuals and music-this is the NEW standard for Zelda games ...played MW3 the other day at a friends house -could not really see the difference except for some minor little tweaks like weapons-it even seems to be using the same engine as MW2..lame.

[Megaton]

Clearly the same. So sick of these yearly Zelda titles.

[TopDudeMan]

But call of duty comes out every year. It wouldn't be as much of an issue if we had to wait a while for the next one, because it'd be all fresh and new to you again after 2 years. But I've been playing call of duty since CoD4 and I do feel that 1 game per year is a bit too much to handle without getting bored.

They're over-saturating their own market. Make us wait twice as long, and we'll love it twice as much. Just make sure the online experience is flawless from day one. Some polish would be nice.

[thespaz]

It has been 2 years since modern warfare 2. It's your fault you bought black ops.

[FinaLXiii]

holy...

[motoko82]

Why are we still discussing this, every body knows zelda IS the superior experience, COD is just a cheap drug, kids need their fix every year, the stories are absolutely stupid and infantile, yet they present them as serious military campaigns, only a 12 yo can take that seriously or a retard.

Zelda was born from the heart of miyamoto, his own experience as a child, nintendo works hard to make every zelda game a new adventure which manage to preserve its identity with characters and a magical world.

Sorry COD addicts, the comparison is an insult to zelda

[oldfriend86]

Quality vs. Money. Skyward Sword's gameplay has been much improved in "how you play" with the motion plus. I'm not really feeling the story, but I've never had so much fun with the gameplay, compared to other Zelda games.

MW3 on the other hand, just offers the same shooter crap. They know the sheep will come herding in, cause you're not cool or a man unless you get a Call of Duty game. I'd rather get a quality game like Zelda, than pay $60 for another rehash.

[Hawkhunter12]

Legend of Zelda series > Call of Duty series.

[Majin-vegeta]

Any series>cod series(Cod 2&4 are only worthy to be called cod).

[Shnazzyone]

Main difference:

-MW3 is using the same engine with the same controls to tell a 6 hour story. In addition they change the online conponent which is the same thing over and over again ad nauseum. It has as much depth as a puddle. MW3 was thrown togeather in 1-2 years.

-Skyward sword has an engine completely rebuilt from the ground up with new visuals and 50 or so hours of story. The basic mechanics and flow are the groundwork of what makes a zelda game. These are unchanged. Meanwhile everything else is brand new. Graphics, check. Controls, awsomely updated. Story, incredibly deep and theatrical containing as much content as a sizable novel. Refer to the strategy guide for proof.

In short, the title ofthis article should rightfully be, "If skyward sword is the same game, then so is every other game that came out this year."

[Shok]

Spot-on, exactly. Don't see how anyone can disagree with this.

Skyward Sword is the biggest deviation from the Zelda formula ever. Of course, these haters wouldn't know that since they DONT PLAY THE GAMES THEY BASH.

[Shnazzyone]

You know, let em'. If they want to miss out on a modern game that demonstrates games as art better than damned near every game this year. Let em'. 5% years from now you'll ask them about it and they'll probably say how much they loved it back in the day.

[MRMagoo123]

6 hour story i wish it has taken me 4 hours max to beat it and it wasnt even that good a story i think you give COD too much credit

[_LarZen_]

Zelda is for nerds that cant let go of their childhood.

Let go and be a man! Play COD kill some bad guys not run around with a toy sword hiting flowers and shit.

Play COD get laid, no more nights where your mother comes sneaking in at night raping you. Find a real womman with tits that aint hanging down on her knees.

COD for men!

[Zechs34]

You.Suck.

[_LarZen_]

Oh damn....didnt know you read this news articles at N4G. I would never had shared your story if I knew...

Im realy realy sorry Zechs34! Hope we can still be friends.....

Oh...say hi to your mother for me.

EDIT: Hehe, you guys...you should know when someone is fucking with you try to LAUGH at it. Dont go 9 years old "dont you talk bad about my favorite game of all time" buuu huu...

So what are you gonna do? Play with flowers or guns? :P

[Gamer-Z]

Hahahaha thats the stupidest shit i ever heard man. COD, Zelda, Halo, whatever there all video games. You want to meet a girl i suggest you stop playing COD with the other 10 year old's and go outside into the real world.

[mike1up]

Who would disagree with that statement?

[Sgt_Slaughter]

Then why are you on a site for Gamers? Shouldn't you be outside like how you told everyone else to?

[Gamer-Z]

@RoBoT666

Umm So are you implying that you would have to be a virgin to be on N4G? lol I think you just pwned yourself with your own comment.

[Hawkhunter12]

From what I last recall, I don't remember ANYONE posting a comment saying "dont you talk bad about my favorite game of all time" buu huu...
Looks like you're the one who takes comments seriously rather than laughing it off. Now then, go buu huu somewhere else little girl.

[mike1up]

Lol @ play COD get laid. There is a 90% probability that that comment means you are a virgin... and will most likely remain one... forever (Skyward Sword humor).

[Instigator]

I'm sorry to say this, but teabagging does not equal getting laid.

[Lord_Sloth]

Pull your brain out of the closet, dust it off, start at least TRYING to apply some logic to your comments, and stop playing CoD. It doesn't get you laid! Charisma does that and NO GAME will ever give you that. You either have it or you don't.

You, sir, do not posses such!

On another note, my gal has a Zelda tattoo so...yeah. Zelda WILL get me laid.

[bergoo]

lol you posted this on a friday night.
SO, since your stuck at home and no friends to go out with, your on the internet trolling video game sites!

[schlanz]

Nintendo haters ought to be ashamed for their awful opinions.

[Bathyj]

I bought a Wii at launch just to play Twilight Princess. After I was done with it and no good games came out for quite a while, I eventually traded it in when my Xbox died for a new one.

I'm wondering now if its worth buying a Wii again for Skyward Sword (as well as a couple other Wii games that have come out since.) Skyrim is keeping me busy and its kind of like Zelda for adults in a way, but theres no denying that Zelda magic.

Besides, Robin Williams insists I get it.

[ronin4life]

Skyrim isn't "Zelda for adults". They are two very different games.
And yes, seeing as how you are on the fence, you should buy a wii. Xenoblade comes out in april, and the back catalouge is incredible.

[stragomccloud]

I think people just like to believe that the Wii has no good games besides 1st party offerings... It's like everyone's making a choice to live under a rock, in a cave, on mars, with their eyes shut, and their hands covering their ears.

[mamotte]

Theres a big difference between making a sequel, and copy-paste a game.

[Megaman_nerd]

you people are just battling an opinion with an opinion while giving free hits to the obviously flamebait article. This is an incredible waste of time if you ask me.

[Jagsrock]

Looks likes someones bitter.

[El_Barto]

You could make a case for that with any game. Technically Uncharted is just the same thing over and over again, same with Zelda, Gears and a host of other games.

I think people just like to bash on Call Of Duty because it's so successful and people like to bring down things that are a success.

[ronin4life]

The difference is that while each sequel is more or less "more of the same", CoD changes even less to the point that the whole game could have simply been dlc or an expansion pack.
I can't speak foe the latest installment, but I do know that MW1 and 2 were not so different that 2 could have simply been a half priced Expansion pack.

[El_Barto]

Actually, didn't MW3 change more then Uncharted as far as Multiplayer goes? The Strike Packages are new, new weapons, perks, killstreaks, a ton of new game modes, improved Spec Ops modes.

I think people complain that it's the same thing without actually playing it.

They aren't going to totally change how a COD game plays to appease a couple of hundred idiots that keep saying it's the same thing, especially when there are 20+ million who like it how it is.

[Hicken]

Uncharted 3's multiplayer is vastly different from UC2's. If you think they're the same, then you haven't played them.

And it's not that 20 million people LIKE the game how it is; it's that 20 million people DON'T CARE.

[tarbis]

el_barto
And Uncharted isn't gonna change just for a single idiot either.

[tiffac008]

Never fix what ain't broken, especially if its making tons of money.

Its better to keep the fanbase happy then to try to cater to the loud minority.

[fr00ty-wizenhymer]

Even if Zelda follows the same formula as other LoZ games, it's because it's a good formula. Why should it change drastically if it's already so great? Call of Duty is following the same broken, lazy formula. It needs to change because it's not working. In other words: LoZ = Great. CoD = Shit.

[Shok]

Not true.

I can play CoD4, then Modern Warfare 3, and not have to adjust at all. The games play virtually the same.

The GameCube and N64 did not have 1:1 motion controllers, therfor, how could Skyward Sword possibly be the same? It plays unlike any other game before it.

[Ninjamonkey82]

The minute true Quality games such as Zelda and Mario get brought into a MW3 coversation you know some people have truly fallen off there rocking chairs.

These same people that set this comparsion on one hand would dismiss nintendo on the other hand as even a competion to there consoles haha.

End of the day we are taking about Shigeru Miyamoto here. The whole cod development team could only Dream of lending what this man has put into the industry and still does to this day.

Some the stuff that gets submited on this site is a complete joke.

[Skynetone]

i bought the game knowing it would be a the half azzed rehash, and boy was i right
but ill still get more then my 40 euros worth out of it

the problem is theres no worth while alternative, yes theres bf3 but thats about it, its just like theres no worth while alternative to halo, for me nothing comes remotely close to the greatness of halo

when developers start delivering the goods, people will happly move on to bigger and better

[ronin4life]

But that's just it, there is an alternative: any of its sequels.
The only reason this series is succesful is because Activision knows everyone will buy it in fear of being left behind in the old game lobbies.

[Instigator]

The biggest issue I have with CoD is some its fans. I say 'some' because, while those I know personally are a clever bunch with a lot of smart things to say and criticism toward the franchise, when I go online I'm often met with a raging horde ignoramuses. You all know the kind; Those people who go on message boards and act like little kids, trying to get their point across by spouting ignorant comments with the not-so-subliminal message that if you play CoD, then you're a grown up.

There's also the fact that a new entry in the series comes out every year, and likewise every year these rabid fans screaming til they're hoarse in true "N64 Kid" fashion that it's the greatest game ever.

Regarding the SS bit; I'm a long time Zelda fan and the game changed so much that even I didn't enjoy it as much as the games from the ALttP-WW era. That's not to say it's a bad game. It just could have benefited from the exploration/content/openness from those games mentioned while keeping the revamped interface.

[scrambles]

The amount of nerd baiting/rage in here is tangible. The war between 2 companies who continually rehash their games and the fans who are far too blind to see it except the fans of the other game! bahahahahahahaha

[LettingGo]

Um...

Skyward Sword took old mechanics from other franchises and everyone is calling it "innovative". Give me a break!

[Friendly_fiend]

wouldn't pokemon fall in that category

[Game3s]

Pokemon more innovative than COD XD

[Majin-vegeta]

Not exactly they're taking Pokemon and trying something new i guess you haven't seen the new Pokemon game??
http://youtu.be/u34bzH5Eo04

[Truerandom]

That's a spinoff not made by Gamefreak (Main Developer). There's going to be an announcement for something in January, another Pokemon game.

[Bimkoblerutso]

Skyward Sword experimented with a lot of new gameplay mechanics, presented a new story with new characters, incorporated a completely new art style and even tampered with the formula of the franchise. You can't ask for more from an entry into an established franchise.

And Mario Kart 7 HAS been receiving lower scores because of it's similarities to past entries.

This article makes no sense.

[duckypwns]

No, this isn't true at all. Let me use one of my favorite examples. Imagine a game series called "Red".

Red 1: A game where you are a red character named Red, and you fight varying enemies through a series of levels.
Red 2: The sequel to Red 1. There are entirely new attacks, whole new levels, whole new enemies. The game retains all of the quality of the old game, AND adds much much more.

How normal, down to earth people view this: "Red 2 is a vast improvement over Red 1 and they are two completely different games."
How silly, weak minded, insecure people view this: "WHAT?! RED 2 IS A COMPLETE REHASH OF RED 1, ALL BECAUSE IT HAS THE SAME CHARACTER!"

Now here is another scenario:

Red 1: A game where you are a red character named Red, and you fight varying enemies through a series of levels.
Blue 1: The game is a blatant ripoff of Red 1. All they did was replace the main character, Red, with a character named "Blue" and he is colored blue instead of red.

How normal, down to earth people view this: "It's a rehash."
How silly, weak minded, insecure people view this: "Wow! An exciting new breath of fresh air!"

The lesson here? When people throw the word "rehash" around a lot, they have no idea what they're talking about.

There are plenty of better games that the article could have chosen to say this about than Skyward Sword. How about Skyrim? That game is incredibly redundant. Or at least SOME game that actually IS a rehash. I've been playing Zelda since the beginning of the series, and Skyward Sword is the second best 3D Zelda in the entire series. It has enough definitive Zelda elements that if they were replaced, someone would probably wind up saying the game is comparable to Zelda. However, it also adds a lot of new elements, and it does have all of the things that make Zelda games different, such as new dungeons, new enemies, new mechanics, new weapons / equipment, etc.

It's pretty obvious this article was created by someone who never played Skyward Sword, and only wanted to "troll" weak minded people by comparing it to Call of Duty. Most people don't even know why they don't like Call of Duty. They just blindly hate it because the rest of the gaming community tells them to.

So you've failed. You didn't offend anyone worth offending.

[Squadron40Dive]

Another shit article by someone wanting to start a fire war, you are not a journalist go fuck yourself!

[Friendly_fiend]

so are the power rangers but it won't stop me from singing "GO GREEN RANGER GO!!!!!!"

[Donlongdong666]

yep theyre rehashes. money printers.

[gamerben]

Zelda doesn't change in gameplay formula very much, but it totally changes it's theme from game to game.

Look at wind waker and then twilight princess, one is a totally bright game with a unique art style while the other is a darker, more realistic game.

The realism of the call of duty series limits the creativity in it, it's also kind of like the john madden series, they are released annually and the only changes is the title of the game and a few gameplay tweaks.

It's also important to bring up that call of duty is one of MANY FPS War games, while zelda manages to be unique with in a plethora of them.