Unnecessary sequels become unimaginative
By the time that this post is up, millions of die-hard fans of the “Halo” series will be enjoying Bungie’s latest title, “Halo: Reach.” But I just cannot stand idly by and not say a few things about the latest iteration in the series. What I have to say might surprise some readers, if not a majority of “Halo” fans. Bungie needs to stop making “Halo” games.
I don’t know if anyone has noticed, but recently, some of the most popular games that have been released in the past year have been sequels. If you don’t believe me, let me drop some titles for you: “Assassin’s Creed 2,” “Grand Theft Auto IV,” “Uncharted 2,” and the big one, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.” It’s almost like game sequels have become the rainbow that leads to the huge pot of gold. And game developers are just reaching in that pot for our money while praising the success of sequels. In some cases, there might be a sequel for the sequel already in concept even before the first sequel has been released, which creates a double sequel.
I'm a gamer who plays a game for its story. Everything else is tied for second place in my priorities. But even I know when a story in a game series is done, and I don’t think Bungie knows when to stop. I believe that the Halo story should have been done after “Halo 3.” Unfortunately, we cannot always get what we want. Instead, “Halo 3: ODST” and “Halo: Reach” were released to carry the torch that is the Halo legacy. For those of you who believe that Bungie planned the Halo story to be carried out within a series of games exceeding more than three titles, you are in for a shocker.
My guess is that the story for “Halo: Reach” wasn't created when the series was first introduced. Most of you who read this have probably had it with this post, but before you throw it away, let me offer some advice to developers that I think you, fellow reader, would agree with.
To game developers: I understand the time and effort you put into each project and I applaud you for it, but isn’t it time you moved on to something else? Use your noodle. Be creative. I think that developers don’t want to move on to other projects simply because they are afraid that they will lose their fans. Let me tell you something, game developers. If you put the same amount of creativity and effort into making a new project that you had when creating the blockbuster hit and its many sequels, you will have an even larger audience to marvel at the fruits of your labor.
