Replay Value - Other Factors

Other Factors

Games where the map and starting position is different every time you play it, in for example strategy games with a random map generator, also tend to have long-lasting appeal. The community-developed mods for many games also contribute to increased replayability and long life for many games. Due to the limits of AI behavior and the appeal and challenge in playing against friends, multiplayer is also often considered to increase the lifespan of a game. For example, Worms Armageddon, a comparable simple and old (1999) game, is still popular online.

It should be noted, however, that variety in game play is not essential to replayability. Many arcade games, especially from the golden age of arcade games, are completely linear, yet people continue to play these games, even those that have been around for decades. A clear example can be seen in Tetris. The game play is extremely simple compared to more modern games; yet it is arguably one of the most addictive video games ever made.

Also there is the option to literally replay a segment of the game. Some notable games, most frequently shooters, permit this. They include History Civil War: Secret Missions, Battlefield and the Call of Duty series. These games generally have only a short singleplayer campaign and focus on multiplayer gameplay. Both the inability to replay missions and a lack of multiplayer activities proved damaging to Mafia II, a game with high expectations. The critics, most notably IGN, praised the game for its graphics and gameplay, but it fell down because of the lack of side missions and inability to replay missions.

In contrast, some games encourage replaying missions by adding Time Trial and Time Attack modes. Other games, such as the Assassin's Creed series have a secondary objective that may be difficult to complete, but necessary for additional elements to be unlocked. For instance, a mission may revolve around killing a specific NPC. The secondary objective may be to kill him in a specific way or to avoid detection. If the player fails to complete the secondary objective on the first attempt, they can revisit the mission later.

Many Japanese RPGs include a New Game+ mode which lets players replay the entire game using select items or abilities from their first play through. This is enabled after the game is finished.

Finally, some games have achievements or trophies that can be unlocked by playing a specific number of hours, or playing long enough to reach a specific milestone. Gran Turismo 5 has a PS3 Trophy for driving the entire length of the German Autobahn, which takes most players well over 100 hours.