Remember when colored lighting was all the rage, or crazy physics, or World War 2 games? Every so often there’s a wave of something new, and this time around, I think I’ve figured out what it is in advance.
I don’t think it’s a fancy new technology, or one particularly popular voice actor that’s going to fill games for the next two years. No, I think we’ll see a lot of one particular weapon that harkens back to the dawn of man. A weapon from a time when men swung swords at each other while shouting wildly, and tall muscular fellows fired wooden sticks into peoples’ necks. I’m talking about the bow and arrow.
I used to be an Adventurer Like You…
No, I’m not going to take a cheap shot at The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. One game does not make a trend, and given the genre… the plethora of bows and arrows just makes sense. No, instead I’m going to talk about the other big games coming out this year and next. Assassin’s Creed 3, Crysis 3, Tomb Raider, Far Cry 3, and Splinter Cell: Blacklist all have one thing in common, and it’s their love of the bow and arrow.
Below you’ll find an example of the bow in each of these games, as well as a few witty comments and perhaps a link to the video showing off said ancient weapon in action.
Assassin’s Creed 3
This is probably the most obvious of the bunch, especially given Connor’s heritage. Considering his only other long range alternative at the time would have been a black powder rifle, well… I don’t blame the guy. His bow is a hell of a lot more accurate than any of the rifles of that time period.
If I’m remembering correctly, the first time Ubisoft showed off this weapon was in the Boston Walkthrough footage earlier this year. Before that we had seen it in the CG trailer, but that’s simply not the same. The gameplay footage confirmed for us that the arrows are indeed sharp, and are perfectly suited to skewering people.
Crysis 3
Now here is where things start to get hilarious. We’ve got a highly trained soldier, wearing an incredibly powerful body enhancing nano-suit, and he’s using a bow and arrow to take down enemies that have extremely accurate high-tech firearms? Seems perfectly reasonable to me. Perhaps he can start throwing rocks while he’s at it?
You can see Prophet bounding around a very overgrown New York with his trusty bow in this video. Not even armor plating can withstand his shafts.
Tomb Raider
Bows and arrows… the ultimate rapist repellent. Lara Croft may be stuck on a shitty island with constant abuse being hurled her way, but at least she’s got her trusty bow to take out these thugs armed with guns. Perhaps not the best scenario, but it beats falling down waterfalls, holes, and cliffs any day of the week.
Far Cry 3
You know, the bow really does fit the island theme… honestly, it does. I can perfectly imagine a person using a bow on a tiny island like this. What I can’t imagine, is this guy surviving very well when he’s up against people with explosives, guns, and flamethrowers. We’ve seen all of these other weapons featured prominently in the trailers, and I guarantee all of them would be a lot more deadly than the bow.
Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Lastly we have Splinter Cell: Blacklist and Sam Fisher’s shiny new crossbow. While not a long-bow like all the others, I’m throwing it in anyway. The real magic here is that not only does it fire arrows (or bolts, rather), but these very same projectiles are electrified! Waiting for enemies to step into puddles of water so that one can fire an electrified crossbow bolt and shock them to death is clearly good strategy. I see absolutely nothing wrong with this plan at all.
Bows be Trending
Now, I hope that didn’t sound too ranty, as honestly… I quite like bows. I wouldn’t say they’re an original idea by any stretch of the imagination, but hey, why not? I mostly wrote this article to highlight the herd mentality of game developers. One person brings something “new” to the table, and then suddenly everyone else is doing the exact same thing.
It’s also worth mentioning that every single one of the games I’ve mentioned is either a sequel or a prequel. Not a single original franchise to be found, and perhaps that’s the reason they’re using bows; as a way to spice up stale, played out game franchises. In any case, that’s a whole other topic for another day.
If I’ve missed any bow laden games, feel free to point them out in the comments below.
