We're usually not in the business of calling people out for shoddy development jobs, but in some cases, an exception must be made. In this article we'll detail some of our most beloved series that have taken a grave turn for the worse, and then tell you how future installments can right the ship. And yes, not even Electronic Arts will be spared this time around.
What are your favorite franchises and what series needs to be put to rest, permanently? Let us know by writing in to the Insider Mailbag.
DOOM - id Software
A note to John Carmack, visuals do not make a game. Gameplay makes a game. The look of a game will be passed by as newer games come down the pipeline, but classic gameplay will always be fun to pick up and play. The original DOOM embodied this sentiment perfectly. Its gameplay was incredibly fun and addictive, and even if its visual look has been long since surpassed by other titles, the gameplay of the original still stands up well today - as is evidenced by the release of the game on Xbox Live Arcade.
Crowds rejoiced when news of DOOM 3 came down the news wire. A sequel to one of the greatest first-person shooters ever released was finally on its way. What new gameplay mechanics would be introduced? What new scares could we expect to creep up on us in the night?
As it turned out, the answer to both of those questions, was none. There were no new gameplay mechanics, and all of the scary moments in DOOM 3 were derived from the same "Watch out, an imp just popped out of a wall that turned into a sliding door!" moments. It was cheap and a little too old-school for most people's taste. At the end of the day it was a lack of original gameplay concepts that killed the DOOM franchise. People want new experiences, and DOOM 3 didn't deliver anything aside from a revamped graphics engine.
Doctor's Orders: The horror element has always been a big part of DOOM, and DOOM 3 actually did continue that trend successfully with some cool sound elements and lighting effects throughout the game's many corridors. Now all id Software needs to do is create new gameplay elements. Maybe introduce squad based commands, or perhaps bring the action outside, and create those same horror elements with huge, expansive vistas. It certainly would be a challenge to create the same horror undertones in larger environments, but why not give it a shot? In my mind the only direction for the series to move is up.
Far Cry - Ubisoft
This is one of the saddest cases on our list. Far Cry began on the PC in 2004 and started a fire under the gaming community with its no-holds-barred AI tactics that made the game both frustrating, and totally rewarding when things actually went your way. After selling over 730,000 copies in a four-month span, the series basically began its downward spiral into oblivion.
The Xbox version of the game, known simply as Far Cry Instincts, was a significant departure from the rough-and-tumble ways of the original. Lending itself more to action intensive, run-and-gun gameplay, than the stealth and wits that the first game required, Instincts wasn't bad by any means, but it began a trend for the series that would ultimately be its downfall.
After Instincts came Far Cry Evolution and Predator, for Xbox and Xbox 360 respectively. Neither of the two games was met with much enthusiasm, as they were simply rehashed versions of the previous game for the most part. The gameplay was stale, the visuals were updates of previous assets, and the overall feel had a "been there, done that" mentality. The dark hour for Far Cry came with Far Cry Vengeance, one of the games in the Wii's launch lineup that no one paid attention to. There was a reason though, the game was atrocious.
Now that Uwe Boll is helming the film adaptation of the game, the Far Cry series truly has fallen.
Doctor's Orders: For the love of all that is good and holy, quit releasing "expansion" (that do no actual expanding on the series) games that are both stale and meaningless. It's obvious that the sales department at Ubisoft saw a fruitful series, then plucked it dry. Please, please just release a true sequel to the original Far Cry. Update the graphics to something that would make Crysis proud, and articulate a well-crafted story to support the awesome action. A foundation was set for the series to really take off from, but that has eroded away to nearly nothing over time. It's now or never to revamp the series and release a bona fide Far Cry 2. Either that, or just let the damn thing die.
Madden - EA Sports
The Madden series is a hot topic every year because fan boys love to point out that the new game doesn't bring anything earth-shattering to the table. "It's only a roster update!" the forums constantly proclaim when a new Madden hits the streets, and most years it seems like they're right. Madden Football has become so formulaic over the years, yet we as gamers need only point the finger at ourselves for the downturn in pigskin quality. It seems like every fall Madden tops the sales charts, no matter how many hardcore fans stand on the soap boxes proclaiming that the game delivers nothing new.
Possibly the biggest element to aid in the slaying of Madden Football was the exclusivity deal that dropped in 2005. Basically it freed EA from having to compete with 2K Sports, thus removing the pressure of developing new features every year. Remember when 2K made an attempt at first-person football? Did it work? Nope. Was it a great thing to at least try? Absolutely. Now EA doesn't need to worry about competing with anyone. They set the bar, no matter how low that bar may be.
Doctor's Orders: EA, you have the ESPN license, here's a thought: put it to use. Slap SportsCenter, ESPN Monday Night Football and Sunday Night Football logos all over the game, toss Stuart Scott and Chris Berman into the sound booth to record some fresh commentary, and all of a sudden you've got the pigskin game that we've all been hoping for. On top of that, why not put the Madden games on a two-year release cycle? Release a roster update during the off-year, and spend the rest of the time developing full-fledged new features and visuals for the game. Relieve some of the pressure that comes with delivering a yearly title, and deliver the definitive game of football with every release.
NBA Live - EA Sports
Does anyone remember how great this series was back in its heyday? Back when the folks at EA first introduced the right analog stick as the proverbial "trick stick." All of a sudden a world of crossover dribbles and spin moves had been unlocked for all to enjoy. Sadly that was the last great innovation to hit the series, though other attempts have been made.
As the series made its way into the next-generation, the developers clearly had a steep hill to climb with the most recent NBA Live game being the worst in recent memory. The ball physics were poor, and almost nothing on the court felt like authentic round ball. It was clear that the series had taken a dive to its lowest point. You would think that with the NBA 2K series delivering such a quality basketball experience year in and year out that NBA Live would pick its game up, but for the past few years it has been getting trounced in pretty much every way possible, with the most recent rendition being the most lopsided yet.
Doctor's Orders: Just retool the entire game. Turn NBA Live 08 into NBA Live 09, take a step back and look at what has worked for the NBA 2K series, slap ESPN personalities and logos all over the game, and for the love of god make it feel like actual basketball again. We're here in the next-generation, it's about time we get an EA basketball game to match.
Sonic - SEGA
Sonic and Mario, the two went hand-in-hand back in the day. Bitter rivals competing for supremacy by seeing which development powerhouse could churn out the better product. At the end of the day both series were great, and gamers benefited heavily because of it. Fast-forward to the here and now, Mario is still churning out undeniably fun and inventive titles, whereas Sonic has plummeted to the nether regions of videogames. The series has all but abandoned the sense of speed and wonder that made the original titles so much fun to play.
Case in point are the two most recent entries, Shadow the Hedgehog on Xbox and Sonic the Hedgehog on Xbox 360 and PS3. Both games felt extremely dissimilar from any of the previous entries with their lack of speed, interesting characters, or any true semblance of Sonic fun.
Doctor's Orders: Bring Sonic back to its roots, return it to the form that we saw in Sonic Adventures on the Dreamcast. Deliver a fully realized 3D world, but still equip Sonic with the same speed-driven abilities that he's known for. Oh, and quit introducing new characters into the Sonic universe, it's crowded enough as it is.
Splinter Cell - Ubisoft
When Sam Fisher first graced the Xbox not too long ago I really thought that Microsoft had found their answer to Metal Gear Solid. Snake was cool and all, but how you can go against any character that has Michael Ironside's voice? The stealth action was oh-so-cool, and those lighting effects were unlike anything I had ever seen before. Nowadays though, people are buying fewer and fewer of Sam Fisher's adventures each time out. With Ubisoft juggling the game between their Montreal and Shanghai studios, it's no wonder that the series has lost any form of continuity. Not so much in the story, but in the actual gameplay mechanics.
Doctor's Orders: Stop releasing Splinter Cell games every year. This should not be on a yearly release cycle; it's too good of a franchise to rush it out the door. While it is true that tossing the game back and forth between two studios gives each more time to work on their game, the feel of the game changes too much between each iteration. It looks as though Ubisoft is trying to revamp the series altogether with Conviction, but chances are that game will get lost in the holiday shuffle. Splinter Cell was a special series at one time, even a system seller, it's time for Ubisoft to treat it like one, before it's too late.
Tomb Raider - Eidos
Playing Tomb Raider as a pre-pubescent male was quite an event when the game launched back in 1996. It was the first game to star a scantily clad female character that was supposed to be taken seriously as both a scholar and a sex symbol. She was an excellently proportioned heroine, with an English accent that could make the hardest of men melt in her hand. Her name is Lara Croft, and she is smokin' hot.
Somewhere along the way Lara's hotness became the only thing people cared about when it came to Tomb Raider. The first game was awesome, and then the series had a serious fall off in terms of quality. The games got dull, the controls got even clunkier than they were in the first, and people got disinterested in all but Lara's curves.
Doctor's Orders: This is one game on our list that seems to be righting the ship fairly well. The recently released Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary took the series back to its roots, while still giving Lara a whole new list of moves that were both fun and easy to use. Other developers take note, this is how to successfully resurrect a loved series and return it to its former glory.
