Please, game devs. No more cash cows!
It has always been widely accepted that if a game developer produces a huge hit, you could bet a second mortgage that it would get a sequel at one time or another. This usually isn’t such a big deal, with franchises such as The Elder Scrolls and, of course, the ever-loved Grand Theft Auto regularly producing games of exceptionally high quality without lapsing.
My problem comes when we see once innovative, and groundbreaking franchises become dull and one-dimensional.
5. Pro Evolution Soccer
We all know who the big boy is in the world of football simulation games, that is of course EA with their franchise FIFA. And while I certainly don’t think that FIFA 15 is anything to shout about, it is clear to see that it is simply leaps and bounds ahead of Konami’s rival title.
The issue has always been first and foremost a matter of licensing with many a player having to stretch their imagination pretty far to transform such names as Von Mistelroum and Farzel Haar into their real world counterparts, Van Nistlerooy, and Van Der Sar. A further matter came when putting the two giants of the genre head to head; graphically the FIFA franchise has always been far superior to PES, with 2015 being no exception.
I think it’s time for the fellas over at Konami to focus on other things and leave EA to improve the game year after year until they reach some form of perfection, a goal that really isn’t on the radar for PES.
4. Call of Duty
I’m sure you all saw this one coming: Call of Duty has to stop! One day there will come a time when a game in this franchise gets terrible sales, and I feel that time is approaching very rapidly.
The excitement and buzz surrounding the games is slowly declining, and they have become the butt of many jokes across the internet for the sheer lack of progress and improvement shown across the board with each successive game. While I must admit, I did buy Advanced Warfare and enjoyed it for quite a while, once it did lose its appeal, that was it. I never returned to the game and eventually passed it on to a friend who eventually did the same thing. It is also worth noting that Advanced Warfare was the first Call of Duty I had played since my 40 minutes of play time on Black Ops and when asking around, I discovered that this seemed to be the same for a lot of other gamers as well.
Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean I want to see the end of mainstream first person shooters. I would like to see one of the many other massive, more innovative franchises take the lead, or perhaps we may even get the excitement of a new IP taking the world of FPS games by storm, only time will tell I’m afraid.
3. The Sims
This one may come as a bit of a surprise as any gamer throughout the world will have many brilliant stories to tell of their time with one of the four games currently released in The Sims franchise. There is, however, one huge game breaking issue: DLC.
I remember when I was a young child, playing the original Sims on a computer that weighed more than me and my sister put together and would take close to 10 minutes to boot up. The game just was that good. My love for the game has lasted until this very day as I very recently purchased The Sims 4 close to 13 years after I played the original. I must say I am enjoying the game, but the feeling that I can take it no further is one that weighs on my mind with every click.
I know that I can’t get sucked into the realm of DLC collecting as I will be enabling the developer to keep on going until the full games reach ridiculous prices, The Sims 3 for example costs close to £350 pounds for all its content, that’s almost $550 USD!
The only way to stop the developer taking advantage of a situation like this is to stop allowing them to treat gamers that way, this is why, with regret, I feel that The Sims franchise must end. It represents a business model that I detest in every possible way.
2. Assassin’s Creed
Back on the beaten track now with another obvious inclusion. The Assassin’s Creed franchise will hold a special place in many people’s hearts but evidently for 99% of them that space is reserved for the original to Assassin’s Creed II.
The original game, in retrospect, didn’t have an incredible story. It didn’t have brilliant fight mechanics and it wasn’t the best looking of games, but it was simply so groundbreaking and new to the industry that it set a precedent for many open world games to come after it. Never before had we seen a massive open world that could be explored along the ground or vertically. There was an interesting story with a badass protagonist, and there was an excellent series high point in Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood and II.
Unfortunately, this is where the series began to come off the rails. Revelations only drove Ezio’s story way too far. Then, with the release of Assassin’s Creed III, we were introduced to Conor, the most undeniably boring character in the whole franchise. It was at this point I began to think that maybe it was over, but they really reeled me back in with Black Flag. Again it began to break new ground with the brilliant naval battles and exploration.
This new-found enthusiasm was well and truly shot down and rubbed into the dirt with the almost embarrassing release of the broken, unstable mess of Unity. Lately, I had heard that the game was fixed and working again, so I went and put in the disk one final time to play what I found to be a dull, one-dimensional step back from Ubisoft. Now unless the developers can pull out another Black Flag and include the seafaring again, I am sad to say I will never be able to bring myself to play an Assassin’s Creed game again. So, please Ubisoft, don’t disrespect the memory of what used to be by releasing another broken mess. Either end the franchise or come back with a spectacular bang.
1. The Last of Us
This one hurts, it does, The Last of Us is without a doubt the best game I have had the pleasure of experiencing. Not once before had I ever experienced an emotional roller coaster such as this in the video game world. It is for this exact reason that I think Naughty Dog would do well to leave it alone. I know that if anyone could do a masterpiece like this justice it would be them, given their success with the Uncharted series, but I just don’t think it’s worth the risk.
The Last of Us was clearly intended to tell a single story, it had a solid ending that resonated with many players, demonstrating the sheer selfishness of human emotion. I wouldn’t be able to resist playing a sequel if one did ever arrive, but I think it would detract from the profundity of the original ending if we simply picked up where we left off. I’m not overly opposed to the idea of a game set in the same world, but just not a direct sequel.
In the words of Virginia Woolf “A masterpiece is something said once and for all, stated, finished, so that it’s there complete in the mind, if only at the back.” This summarizes exactly how I feel; Last of Us should be left to stand alone in its brilliance and serve as a constant reminder of what a good single game should be.
What are your thoughts? Did I miss a franchise that you think needs to be put to rest?
