Summary
There were quite a few prequel games announced during the Summer Game Fest series of presentations. At the Sony event, they showcasedDynasty Warriors Originswhich was wild. During the Xbox show, they announced a newGears of Wargame,Gears of War: E-Day, which saw the return of Marcus and Dom fighting the Locusts.
It was a CG trailer but fans can rest easy knowing that the full game will probably be in third-person.Gears of Waris a well-celebrated shooter franchise, but it begs the question. Are there any good first-person prequels on Xbox systems and other consoles? There definitely is, so let’s take a look back. There will be spoilers.
Resident Evil: The Darkside Chroniclesis one of the two light gun games for the series that were released for the Wii originally before getting PS3 ports.Resident Evil: The Darkside Chroniclesmostly covered events that happened inResident Evil 2andResident Evil - Code: Veronicabut in an on-rails fashion. However, there are also prequel elements to this game that shine lighton Leon’s past.
For fans, Leon went from a rookie cop inResident Evil 2to a badass Secret Service agent inResident Evil 4.Resident Evil: The Darkside Chroniclesshows what Leon was doing four years afterResident Evil 2when he was partnered with Krauser. It’s not a huge part of the experience but it does provide another look into Leon’s life and sets upResident Evil 4and how Krauser fell to the dark side.
Wolfenstein: The Old Bloodis a prequel toWolfenstein: The New Orderand follows B.J. Blazkowicz on a mission to storm Castle Wolfenstein. It feels like a classic remake of an idea so many entries oftheWolfensteinserieshave covered before. The big difference is that stealth plays a big role.
B.J., for example, will begin his mission with a pipe he can use to bash people with, execute people stealthily, or solve puzzles. It feels like a nod to Half-Life’s love affair with the crowbar. Eventually, players will unlock heavy artillery too so that they can go hog wild on Nazis from machine guns to shotguns.Wolfenstein: The Old Bloodisn’t as character-driven as its main counterpart, but it does provide players with another look at how this reboot version of B.J. can handle himself in a fight.
Metacritic Score: 78
Call of Juarez: Bound in Bloodis the second game in the series and it is a prequel taking place 17 years before the original. It stars the McCall brothers, Ray and Thomas, and chronicles their rise through the ranks of beingWild West gangstersin the 1860s. In every level, players could choose which brother to inhabit.
If players want to go stealthy, they should pick Thomas and if they want to go loud and proud, they should pick Ray. It reviewed better than the original as the levels were better arranged, it felt better to shoot, and there was some personality behind these antiheroes. Some may say it is the best game in the series.
Killzone: Mercenarytook place between the second and thirdmainlineKillzonegames. It had run-ins with familiar characters but the idea was more broad. Players assumed the role of a mercenary and the novel idea that the developers had was to put players in the mindset of a mercenary meaning that they fought for money and not ideals. Players may have gravitated toward working with the ISA as they were the “good guys” in the trilogy.
However, players could also fight alongside the Helghast for the first time in the series. It was an exciting concept for players who wanted to see that side of the war. Granted, the story didn’t amount to much in the long run leading to some sort of alternate reality but it was still a good idea even if there weren’t many key choices. Also, for a first-person shooter on the PS Vita, it controlled well and used the touch screen in smart ways like for melee attacks.
Perfect Dark Zerowas an early Xbox 360 first-person shooter and one of thebigger Rare gamesthey developed after being acquired by Microsoft. It is a prequel to the N64 game but it still stars Joanna Dark. It’s the beginning of her career so she is still wet behind the ears but still very capable of crushing foes beneath her feet and an endless supply of bullets.
There is stealth in the game but it felt more like a balls to the wall shooter in the same vein as theHaloseries. The cool thing about progression was that Joanna got new gear after levels and levels could then be replayed with new equipment unlocked. This could then lead to extra secrets players had missed before. For such a linear shooter, it was a rare feature at the time.
Halo: The Fall of Reachwas one of the biggest books the extended universe ofHaloever received. It cataloged the events of how Reach, the planet, fell to The Covenant as did the Spartan program. That’s whyMaster Chief was the only Spartanfor so long as he was not a central part of that story.
Halo: Reachwas the game prequel that explored this event in greater detail. Players got to be one of the original Spartans and test out new/old tech-like enhancements on armor. It had a bittersweet ending that kicked off the events for the firstHaloand it is one of the most important game prequels of all time. It can still produce a few tears from longtime fans.
