Putting it out to pasture - What series do you want to end?

[Caligulove]

Final Fantasy.

XIII Didnt interest me cos it seemed like it had all of the elements that drove me away from the franchise IN SPADES, and I never played XIV, but I've read about the horrid launch, among other problems. A lot of the mechanics and gameplay has just gotten stale, and seems resistant to substantial change. It's had a brilliant run, but I think it's best to end this with some dignity.

Square Enix can still make some good games, but I think trying to maintain a franchise as huge as this is just never going to live up to expectations, unless they really revamp their direction.

 

[ZiggyE]

To all the people saying Final Fantasy: At least Final Fantasy is evolving and showing innovation. Unlike CoD. Or Halo.

^^ That also applies to Half Life.

I think the FF VII Anthology should be put to death. Fortunately it seems it has. Not all the games were bad (Crisis Core<3) but it is time for that story to be left alone now.

 

[Jaime_Wolf]

Much as I hate to say it, The Elder Scrolls.

I'll hold off true judgment until I see Skyrim, but Oblivion was such a mess compared to Morrowind that it really left a sour taste in my mouth. Yes it was pretty, yes it was big, but it was a big pretty expanse of NOTHINGNESS. The story was bland and repetitive at best, the characters were flat, the settings were uninteresting, the background was more stereotypical fantasy, and the mechanics were largely just a pared-down, slightly polished copy of Morrowind mechanics. And that's to say nothing of the enemy-levelling system, which I personally detested (I know some people didn't mind it or liked it).

Morrowind was ugly by today's standards and extremely small (though it felt HUGE thanks to those mountains and twisty paths), but it was a very unique setting with interesting characters, an interesting story (convince people you're the messiah!), a sprawling and original background (the books alone were awesome), and more mechanical options than you could shake a stick at (Want to make a scroll instead of buying one? Enchant paper.). Sure it had problems, though there are mods to fix virtually anything you dislike, but it was so compelling that I find myself reinstalling it and replaying it on a roughly annual basis. Setting the difficulty to 100 makes for a refreshingly challenging RPG with a wonderful difficulty curve.

Addendum: I actually disagree about Halo and CoD. Both tend to maintain the same gameplay, but it's GOOD gameplay and I've typically liked the stories in all of them (especially the more recent additions in both series). I think both could do with a bit of a break though - good thing Halo's getting one. Still, they better not end it. I'll be really fucking disappointed if I never get to see what happens to MC and what's up with the big metal planet. I agree with the people who said Half-Life though. HL1 and 2 are both wonderful games, but the episodes (intended to be HL3 in essence) just feel like more HL2. They don't, by and large, seem to add anything to the games in any way like HL2 added to HL1.

 

[Canid117]

Dynasty Warriors never ends though I have only bought one of their titles. I still want it to die.

 

[Souplex]

To all the people saying Final Fantasy: At least Final Fantasy is evolving and showing innovation. Unlike CoD. Or Halo.

^^ That also applies to Half Life.

*Sigh* You'll notice that over the course of 6 years there has not been a single addition or alteration to the Half Life formula. It's just more levels to trudge through while dealing with the worst sidekick in gaming history.
It's okay to like a game, but to ignore it's blatant flaws by simply convincing yourself they don't exist is not doing anyone a service.

 

[Jaime_Wolf]

Halo.

The first and second games were good, the third was great. ODST was quite dire, just unnecessary and dull. Would have worked far better as Halo 3 DLC. Reach was underwhelming and, to be honest, I found it really boring in parts. Only played the demo for Halo: Wars so I can't really comment, but from what I played I wasn't keen.

Halo 3 had a good, ambiguous, open ending that allowed for Master Chief's story to continue, but that doesn't mean we should see what happens next. And I really don't think the Halo 'world' is interesting enough to base more 'spin-off' games (such as Reach or Halo: Wars) on, anyway. The main Halo series (that is, Master Chief's story) has had a good run, and should be allowed to end gracefully.

Maybe you found ODST dull, but I found the story to be the best told by the games, by far. It was more personal and human. And the design of the city was awesome, if a little "fake sandbox".

Though I agree on the fact that Reach was sub par and didn't deliver on what they kept saying it was going to have, story/campaign wise. Love the multiplayer though. And as for Wars, the only reason I loved it is because I'm, admittedly, a Halo story fanboy I've read all the books and everything, so I welcome most additions to the story overall (though Legends was 80% crap). Not to mention they represented the Flood damn near perfectly. Strength in numbers, not in... well... strength. Hadn't seen Flood done that well since the original.

Also:

Uh... Reach ended the series. You know that, right?

No it didn't. It was the last game that Bungie has its benevolent hands in (for the foreseeable future). 343 Studios, Microsoft's in-house Halo production company (the guys that helped with Legends and run Waypoint) is continuing the series, and is currently working on the next entry (rumor is that it's a remake of the original with Reach's engine, for the sake of practice/cash ins). Let's just hope that they have the skill to make some good games. Games that feel more like 1/2/3/ODST, not Reach. Reach lost the charm of the other ones.

More on topic, it's rare that I feel a series should just die. To comment on those most asked to die in the thread:

Final Fantasy: No. The only FF's I've liked are Tactics Advanced and IV, but even I'll admit they have their audience, and it's a HUGE one. Just because most of us on here think it's dull and bland, doesn't mean it'll stop making money.

Call of Duty: Again, no, but they need to slow down a bit, and stop hyping up every one of their games like it's the next coming of Christ. I mean, come on, Christ can only come so many times. (Insert crude ejaculation joke here).

Halo: This is totally fanboy fueled, but HELL no. The Halo's extended universe has tons of potential for tons of types of games and stories. I'd love to see a tactical game based in the Halo universe, or a game like Splinter Cell. Or a good RTS.

Guitar Hero/Rock Band/Etc: ... Maybe it's time for it to phase out for now. It does seem to have overstayed it's welcome. Or maybe just release one last one with every song from the other ones, and then whenever the people ask for more songs, they release them as DLC.

Zelda: No. Fuck anyone who says otherwise. I'll sit through a mediocre release like Phantom Hourglass for the potential release of an amazing gem like Spirit Tracks. And NO VOICE ACTING. Tradition, people.

Metroid: No. There hasn't been a single Metroid game that's been bad. What? Other M? IT DOESN'T EXIST! IT DOESN'T EXIST! Happy place... happy place... o_o

There are others I don't feel I need to get into, like Half Life, but I've said my two cents here.

Jesus Christ, I think I agree with you on every single point.

 

[Appleseeds]

Need 4 Speed, Burnout, and most driving games in general. every year they update the cars with slightly newer models and repackage the same game.

 

[ZiggyE]

To all the people saying Final Fantasy: At least Final Fantasy is evolving and showing innovation. Unlike CoD. Or Halo.

^^ That also applies to Half Life.

*Sigh* You'll notice that over the course of 6 years there has not been a single addition or alteration to the Half Life formula. It's just more levels to trudge through while dealing with the worst sidekick in gaming history.
It's okay to like a game, but to ignore it's blatant flaws by simply convincing yourself they don't exist is not doing anyone a service.

I, actually, am not a fan of the half life series. I think the games are OK, but I don't think they're great, and I am well aware of it's flaws.

But you can't deny the progress it has made. Ignoring the obvious graphical improvements, episode one brought Alyx in as a side kick for the majority of the game which hadn't been seen in Half Life, and episode two brought large map and scale battles (well battle).

Regardless of your thoughts, it has definitely evolved.

 

[FalloutJack]

I think that Pokemon should finally end (instead of stringing its players on and on and on forever) and I believe Halo should end too. Why? Because they're both done too much as it is and I'm still not tempted to go after either one.

 

[Istanbul]

Also, although this will probably get the fanboys screaming, Mario Kart. As much as it can be fun, the endless cavalcade of "kick the leading guy in the nuts!" is just too much. This is a fine example of a game that punishes skill in the name of "equalizing".

 

[jaketaz]

Sonic needs to die.

 

[Istanbul]

Sonic needs to die.

What? Now, when it's starting to get good again? Bah. They just need to do some re-branding.

 

[Spencer Petersen]

Kill Zelda.

Nintendo have lost their touch.

That, or at least give it fucking voice acting for once.

NO! you don't want a repeat of Other M!

 

[Merkavar]

any thing that has been around for 2-3+ years that hasnt added anything new like pokemon, maybe the simpsons,

 

[Manji187]

We've pretty much all got one...a series we want to stop. It's run its course, it's given us the entertainment we crave, but it's time to give it a respectful burial and move on with our lives rather than dragging out the corpse every time its producer needs to make a few more bucks.

What series would you like to see end?

For me, I'm going to have to say Final Fantasy. Not only have the games steadily been going downhill after FF 10 (and yes, I liked that game), but the name has become horrendously polluted by the substandard quality of the recent offerings. If Square-Enix is going to pick itself up off the ground and survive, they need to focus on developing a NEW brand, not trying to save the old damaged one.

Though I cannot deny that the FF franchise has been in decline after X, I do not agree with you that it therefore has to be euthanized. Past results are not a guarantee for the future, both in a positive and a negative sense. Basically: things can change. For SE to pick itself up off the ground they first need to realize they are on the ground. If they take a good look at the reception of FF XIII and XIV they should realize it. Then they need to put in some effort: try really new things...which will be hard considering SE's attachment to "tradition".

According to you, how exactly is FF as a franchise "damaged" and why do you think it is damaged beyond repair, necessitating a new "brand" (franchise?)?

 

[mcg20k]

Much as I hate to say it, The Elder Scrolls.

I'll hold off true judgment until I see Skyrim, but Oblivion was such a mess compared to Morrowind that it really left a sour taste in my mouth. Yes it was pretty, yes it was big, but it was a big pretty expanse of NOTHINGNESS. The story was bland and repetitive at best, the characters were flat, the settings were uninteresting, the background was more stereotypical fantasy, and the mechanics were largely just a pared-down, slightly polished copy of Morrowind mechanics. And that's to say nothing of the enemy-levelling system, which I personally detested (I know some people didn't mind it or liked it).

Morrowind was ugly by today's standards and extremely small (though it felt HUGE thanks to those mountains and twisty paths), but it was a very unique setting with interesting characters, an interesting story (convince people you're the messiah!), a sprawling and original background (the books alone were awesome), and more mechanical options than you could shake a stick at (Want to make a scroll instead of buying one? Enchant paper.). Sure it had problems, though there are mods to fix virtually anything you dislike, but it was so compelling that I find myself reinstalling it and replaying it on a roughly annual basis. Setting the difficulty to 100 makes for a refreshingly challenging RPG with a wonderful difficulty curve.

So you what them to kill the series for one game that didn't surpass it's predecessor? (I never saw it happening in the first place, Morrowind is my favorite game of all time)One underwhelming game shouldn't mean the death of the series. If Skyrim is good them I;m happy with it, if its bad then Ill give it one more shot to be good then kill it if they cant get it right then.

OT: CoD, GH, Rock Band(obvious reasons)
Sonic:it's a butchered shell of what it used to be
Silent Hill: The 2nd one was amazing, now the last few have been terrible...
Final Fantasy: I loved VI, VII, VIII, IX and X. But there hasn't been an acceptable game since ten came out.

 

[Istanbul]

People keep saying "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero". I have to disagree with this! There are still a lot of really good songs that haven't had their turn up to bat. The problem isn't that the series needs to end, the problem is that better songs - and a mixture of classics and modern hits - need to be chosen. There's nothing wrong with the series that better selections wouldn't fix, as the core gameplay has nothing wrong with it.