Is continuity a good thing?

[Delorean88]

I was talking about this with a buddy of mine recently and wanted to know your opinions, basically what the title is is the continuity of game series better than a finale for the franchise or is it better for it to end before it goes bad? This convo spawned because my buddy and I were arguing about whether Halo 4 is a good thing, he said yes because it's more Halo and I said no because Halo Reach was a perfect note to finish off the series in my opinion. Nothing in the world of entertainment ends when it should, movies spawn thousands of unneeded sequels (example Transformers), sport and music stars never retire (ex: Brett Favre and when Jay-Z said he would retire except Jay-Z is still great) and TV shows run on until it's a sad depressing cancellation.

Now for most instances people including myself think "as long as it continues and it's good I'm fine" but with some series the love you have for it won't allow a single bad addition. In a interview about Halo CE HD a guy from 343 said it's "to celebrate 10 years of Halo and hopefully another 10 years". I love Halo and honestly won't mind more as long as they are great games but Reach was a great end because it being a prequel it was kinda like a full circle type thing. Nothing ends anymore they just keep going till they so bad it's hated by everyone. But what would you guys said continue if good or stop while you're ahead (this doesn't pertain to just Halo but to gaming in general)?

 

[JunkyArd]

My gut reaction would be no, continuing games is a bad idea. But the more I think of it, I don't think thats the case. At first I thought, okay look at Indiana Jones, the Trilogy was awesome...and then the new movie comes out and sucks...same with The Mummy (and the horrible scorpion king crap). And look at Duke Nukem Forever, Jaws, so many examples out there. But you know what, it's easy to go and look and say, oh here this is why you don't try milking everything out of something...because it fails miserably.

BUT.

Now hear me out, Let's look at Halo for example: I loved all the halo's. and back in the day a lot of people thought Halo 3 was the last halo game. It wasn't, but if they decided to call it quits right there, they would have had a successful franchise that everyone loved and would be talked about in video game history. But was that the last? No. It wasn't. ODST came out which was meh, but then Reach came out and it was amazing. If they quit when they were ahead, they would never of made reach, so my mindset is that, Yes, video games should continue. Because you never know if they can manage to get one more good game out. Yes, you might get a crappy game, but if that happens the series is prolly over, yeah it ends on a crappy note, but honestly who cares..the game before it that didnt suck is already outdated and no one plays it.

So, not just on a money standpoint, but on a quality standpoint, I say keep making games, as long as you really put effort into them and dont rush them (*cough cough* Dragon Age II) keep making them till your game sucks. Yeah it sucks for everyone who buys it (if its really bad) but people just gotta be ready for that to happen.

 

[Longo_2_guns]

I thought this was going to be more about the Lore type of continuity. Feh.

Regardless, I hope Spyro and Crash just die. That's all I have to say about this. That's all that needs to be said about this.

 

[danielrbischoff]

^i had the same thought about continuity.

Halo 3 sucked.... But then Reach was pretty good... But Halo 4 will probably suck too. They should have left it but there's no way Microsoft could let a massive franchise like that die.

I suppose gaming franchises should end, just like crash ended (technically) when naughty dog moved on to Jak and Daxter with the PS2 and Uncharted with the PS3. Closure is a good thing.

 

[TheJx4]

Franchises should die, then reboot 5-10 years later.
I'd be okay with that.

I'm completely ignoring Halo from now on. I don't even care if its good, it's not Bungie.

and Daniel....you think Halo 3 sucked but Reach was good?
To each his own, I suppose.

 

[TheDiesel]

In terms of continuity, I honestly don't believe any game should run past 3 games if it has a singular plot attached to the stretch of games. Games like Burnout, SSX, and NFL Blitz may have multiple titles down the road: but they were a new experience and a new setting per se for each different title. Titles like Gears of War and Halo ran a trilogy through their plot, but seeing as how Halo is reaching its 4th title [Not counting Reach, as it was a prequel] and Gears is unknown whether it will continue after 3 [Because lets face it, if there's money and time Microsoft will get someone to do it: look at Call of Duty.]

But I understand if a fan base is wanting a yearly/bi-yearly installment, and if the money will be there: then a company will make it.

 

[Green_Lantern]

The best ending for the halo series would have been combat evolved....

I guess im generally more of a fan of new IPs rather than sequels...not saying sequels ate always bad, i just like new shit ya know.

 

[cyberjim2000]

Aren't they making a new trilogy (4, 5, and 6) for Halo not just 4? At least that's what I've heard.

I think it depends on the story if they should make another game or not. But as long as a game doesn't end in a cliffhanger then I'll be happy.

 

[Diabolus]

But to this day, there is no Psi-ops 2. There's your fucking answer.

 

[cyberjim2000]

But to this day, there is no Psi-ops 2. There's your fucking answer.

Probably helps if the development studio is still in business.

 

[MattAY]

I'm sure Halo 4 will be great and all. But I think I agree with you here, Reach was a fine end. I prefer to see a series end gloriously than to see it sapped completely of all possible products it can be remotely capable of.

Sonic is a fine example...they should've ended it at Sonic Adventure 2 (even though Sonic Generations looks awesome, and cant wait to buy it!)

 

[danielrbischoff]

Sonic is a fine example...they should've ended it at Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Fix'd.

 

[Diabolus]

But to this day, there is no Psi-ops 2. There's your fucking answer.

Probably helps if the development studio is still in business.

But we got another Mortal Kombat.

 

[TheJx4]

Aren't they making a new trilogy (4, 5, and 6) for Halo not just 4? At least that's what I've heard.

I think it depends on the story if they should make another game or not. But as long as a game doesn't end in a cliffhanger then I'll be happy.

That's what makes it even worse, they announced it as a new trilogy.
Makes me sick to my stomach.

 

[NickKmet]

The biggest problem I see with endless sequals is that eventually they tend to either become repetitive, bloated, suffer from a lack of quality (usually in the story), or some combination of all 3. Some franchises can last for more than 3 games and continue to be good, but most can't.

It really comes down to whether or not the story is capable of keeping the player interested, and whether or not the sequels continue to change the gameplay for the better. The Halo games really don't do that for me, and as such, I don't look forward to the continuation of the franchise. I can't imagine it being much better than it already is at this point, and that's not good enough to justify buying more copies of the game.

What I think hurts games like Halo the most is that they just don't have the universe that other franchises do. It's hard to continue putting out fresh, new games every year or two when your game really comes down to "find enemy, shoot enemy" without providing much else in terms of content or lore. I understand Halo has a developed universe through its book series (or so my Halo obsessed friends tell me), but if that's not in the game, why should I care?

For me, its franchises like The Elder Scrolls or Fallout that really have the staying power, because they have an expansive universe that allows for extremely diverse interactions within the game world as well as different, unique, and dramatic storytelling.

The only other series that I've played that I see approaching that standard currently are Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed. With Mass Effect, I feel that the current storyline probably should end with number 3. The difference between Mass Effect and a game like Halo is that I feel like Mass Effect's universe has much more to offer in terms of other stories. In other words, I can see another Mass Effect trilogy being completed, but using new characters in different settings. The Mass Effect universe just has that potential.

Assassin's Creed is similar, but sits on a thinner sheet of ice, if you ask me. So far, there have been 3 full games, and each one has improved on the previous in numerous ways, including the story. There really isn't a game franchise that I've played in a while that has drawn me in like Assassin's Creed has. I just can't get enough of the story. The franchise though has an interesting ability to rotate characters while keeping a central connection (Desmond), but doesn't have much potential if they ever get around to beating the Templars and Abstergo (basically, the universe ends itself with that event, whereas mass effect could have other stories to tell even with the defeat of the reapers). I worry that the franchise could eventually flounder and become stale, but so far the developer has shown an ability to keep things fresh and interesting. As long as that continues, I'll support having more games.

Anyways, that's my 2 cents.

TL;DR: I have mixed feelings about franchises.

 

[cyberjim2000]

But to this day, there is no Psi-ops 2. There's your fucking answer.

Probably helps if the development studio is still in business.

But we got another Mortal Kombat.

Ha! Can't argue with that.

 

[TheDiesel]

Aren't they making a new trilogy (4, 5, and 6) for Halo not just 4? At least that's what I've heard.

I think it depends on the story if they should make another game or not. But as long as a game doesn't end in a cliffhanger then I'll be happy.

That's what makes it even worse, they announced it as a new trilogy.
Makes me sick to my stomach.

Seconded. I guess money will always speak louder than the community.

 

[TheJx4]

Aren't they making a new trilogy (4, 5, and 6) for Halo not just 4? At least that's what I've heard.

I think it depends on the story if they should make another game or not. But as long as a game doesn't end in a cliffhanger then I'll be happy.

That's what makes it even worse, they announced it as a new trilogy.
Makes me sick to my stomach.

Seconded. I guess money will always speak louder than the community.

This has been true ever since the launch of Xbox Live.
In other words, its when consoles saw a spike and popularity.

Which down the road, turned the game industry into the movie industry. We all get stuff no one asked for.