10 Hugely Influential Video Games (That Made Everything Worse)

The problem with being an innovator of something new is that everyone immediately wants in on it.

At first, it's flattering. After about... ooh, the ninth imitation of it, the gimmick wears thin.

The examples on this list are not necessarily pioneers of their respective genres. It's just that, at some point in development, some fresh new mechanic or play-style was incorporated into the mix. On release, it blew gamers and critics alike away, breathing life into stale franchises or same-old tropes.

Massive in-game ride-along scenes, revolutionised combat systems, Quick Time Events and, dare I say it, microtransactions.

But of course, when something strikes oil, everyone immediately rushes to that same spot to bleed it dry. What was once an exciting new way to play a game descends into the same formulaic copycats for the next few.

Now, there are some that take the new mechanic and do it better. Which is inherently a good thing. It's just for every massively influential game we get a myriad of knockoffs, exploited gimmicks and ripped-off ideas.

So, with that in mind, let's have a look at the highly influential games that gave us new ways to play... and the subsequent strife these new gimmicks caused.

Combat Evolved by name, combat evolved by nature, the first Halo took an age-old concept in first-person shooters and adapted it to be somewhat realistic.

By that, I mean they realised that carrying an entire military arsenal on your back was impractical, thus limiting it to your two favourites instead.

And from a realistic perspective, it does make sense. The idea that you can run out of ammo, grab another gun off the floor on the fly and continue blasting does work in some scenarios.

But when you've got a few shots left in your sniper rifle that you want to keep, yet you know that rocket launcher will be useful in the upcoming, open environment, it creates a tough call.

Bioshock Infinite, Max Payne 3, even Bulletstorm, a game designed for weaponised fun, made you pick and choose at intervals. Where's the harm in just keeping all of your guns at once? I get that it raises stakes in tricky situations, and it worked for Halo, but still...

Thankfully, recent games like Doom and Wolfenstein have brought back the old school methods of "carry as much as you like".