Make Great Games Again.
Sony studios took massive risks last gen and this gen switching from franchises like Jak & Daxter, Twisted Metal, Ratchet, Killzone and Sly Cooper to stuff like Horizon, Uncharted, TLOU, Infamous, Ghost of Tshushima and of course God of War. I fear MS is still stuck making Halo and Gears games which are way beyond their half life.
That said, i really like the latest gears. Its fun, but ive been stuck on the second chapter for over a month now. They do so much to change things up and i love all the changes but its still gears. the shooting is still meh. the open world chapter is great, but again all you do is shoot. Halo Infnite looks like an even more radical departure but at the end of the day all those animals arent going to matter much when all you do is shoot guns.
I think they need to look at what made them so goddamn great early last gen. Gears, Halo, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Oblivion. You dont have to keep making those same games again, but you do have to realize what made those games so innovate and mind blowing at the time. Lets go back and give the players that sense of awe. Dont just copy paste what you did before. Halo 3 was aweinspiring because of those epic battles. They need to up that scale in halo infinite. i want avengers quality battles next gen. Gears was amazing because it literally redefined third person shooters. Figure out how to do that next gen. Look at Naughty Dog has innovated simply by giving you a dodge button, investing in better animations and more melee options in a shooter. it shouldnt be that hard to give us something like John Wick next gen. dont just give us more gears with prettier graphics.
I really hope they take Fable to the next level next gen. I LOVED Fable 3's finale where you have to make enough gold to get the good ending. loved the economy systems. but that was last gen, expecations are much higher. give me something im not getting from Sony or third party games. let me control my kingdom from scratch. make it so big sony has no chance but to match your scale.
And finally Mass Effect. Why was it such a success? It was huge, epic, with a great story, and memorable characters. it was a sci fi game in an age where no one was making sci fi games about space exploration. surprise me, inspire me. It doesnt have to be Mass Effect 4. It can be its own thing. Gritty, epic, something that rivals hollywood movies.
I havent liked many games from MS this gen. Ryse was a massive disappointment. Loved Titanfall but got bored with it fast. Loved Sunset but i wouldnt put it on my top ten list of this gen. liked Quantum break and disliked Halo 5, Sea of thieves and Gears 4. i look at Horizon, TLG, God of War, Detroit and Spiderman and its obvious why those games left a big impression on me. Story matters, but the gameplay matters more. if you are making single player games, you need to craft them a lot better. you need to sprinkle in those magic moments instead of just rooms of shooting galleries.
I am not confident they will get it right immediately. its an iterative process but i really hope they leave some of these franchises behind. rest assured, i will be there day 1 to support them because after almost half a decade of talking, Phil has put his money where his mouth is and invested in video games. lets hope their ambitions are as high as I want them to be.
