Games that would be awesome in first-person

Most of our UK users will remember the first-person Nike advert that put you into the eyes of an upcoming Premiership player. Now think how atmospheric a PES - or FIFA - game through that view would be. Jostling for the ball with Rooney, getting floored by a twinkle-toed Ronaldo dribble, slapping Ronaldinho’s hand before a match; being inside the boots of a virtual player would make you feel like a real footballer, rather than a gamer who’s actually a school kid/bored office worker/bus driver.

Playing in this perspective would perhaps be best in PES’ Be a Legend Mode - where you control just a single player – as constantly cutting between 11 men in first-person could be quite disorientating and motion sickness might set in. With a single player, though, the sense of connection to your footballer would be overwhelming, as you'd see every stitch on his boots when you went studs up for a crunching tackle or see the ball arch towards the top corner after you’d volleyed it. It would be innovative, it would be immersive and we’d love to see Konami have a crack at it.

How do you expand on the scale, sense of awe and the disquieting solitude of exploring one of gaming’s most emotive environments? You put the camera into the haunted and obsessed eyes of the Wanderer. A first-person SOTC would retain all of these qualities and would subsequently better them. Picture entering that first cliff-top valley and looking up in first-person at something that looks like the product of a skyscraper having sexy time with a bear. The sense of dwarfing scale, and the vulnerability that would bring to your character, would be mesmerising.



Scaling one of the Colossi from inside the Wanderer’s head would be particularly immersive too, as the screen shook while you desperately tried to see through the jungles of grass-like fur on each beast. It would make the puzzles of how to slay each gentle giant even more taxing. And the journey to each creature would also be more evocative in first-person. Seeing Argo’s mane billow in the wind in front of your face or lonely mountains and chasms dominating your intimate view; it would make an already unforgettable experience even more remarkable.


Nov 24, 2008

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David Meikleham
Google AMP Stories Editor

David has worked for Future under many guises, including for GamesRadar+ and the Official Xbox Magazine. He is currently the Google Stories Editor for GamesRadar and PC Gamer, which sees him making daily video Stories content for both websites. David also regularly writes features, guides, and reviews for both brands too.