So what do you guys think will happen to Halo now that Microsoft will own Call of Duty? Like, do you think people will stop playing Halo and move over to CoD instead since it's more popular? And do you think Microsoft will invest more resources into CoD instead of Halo?
@LtSarge Halo and CoD target different audiences so I don't think much will change. And if you also want to talk FPS games they also have Overwatch too.
RetiredPush Square Moderator and all around retro gamer.
@Tasuki I personally see Halo and CoD to have similar audiences compared to say Halo and DOOM, which are both FPS but they target vastly different audiences. It's going to be interesting to see if this will affect Halo in any way. Maybe the CoD developers can help 343 improve Halo!
@Tasuki I think it's fixed now. @LtSarge Halo is a sci-fi iconic series with cinematic music. Call of Duty is the FIFA of shooters, they appeal to a bigger crowd. Since Halo Infinite is successful we'll see more Halo. Call of Duty already has a lot of developers behind. Halo Infinite Multiplayer is quite popular but somehow there are lots of successful online shooters out there anyway. I don't know about helping 343 Industries, they needed extra support for Halo Infinite after years and the biggest budget so probably something's wrong about them and the organisation needs to be restructured.
Call of Duty: Zeta Halo? Kidding of course. Maybe the backing of MS will free up 2 of the 3 talented studios to work on something other than CoD. Maybe even VV will get released from Blizzard. Who knows. I'd love to see further returns to Crash, CTR, Spyro, Tony Hawk's. Hell, I'd even take a classic style guitar hero to be honest!!
@Banjo- The reason why I brought up the last point is because Activision has a few support studios, like High Moon. So it would be interesting to see if they would share resources with 343. These support studios could also help other Xbox Game Studios that are on the verge of delaying their games, such as Arkane with Redfall. That would stabilise releases on Game Pass so we wouldn't have to worry about potential droughts due to delays.
@LtSarge Yes, more studios to assist, that's fine. Still, I'm a bit concerned about 343 Industries, they got the biggest budget and still needed extra time and staff to polish the game and ex-Bungie workers to fix the story. The final result was great (Halo Infinite) but I think that 343 Industries needs to be revised. I also think that Rare's relatively new boss (Craig Duncan) is not good. I would fix those two.
@Banjo- all those studios have an incredibly healthy history, reception wise. VV has been knocking it out of the park since the GBA and DS eras (probably earlier!) and have made some excellent, ahem, vicarious visions 😃 (ports of console games to handheld and even taking over franchises from other developers)
Beenox have been standout. Spider-Man Shattered dimensions is excellent, as is CTR which is one of my favourite games of the PS4 era (I probably have a list of just under ten games from that generation that I think are truly excellent, possibly 15)
I never really got into Skylanders but the Trilogy port of Spyro was excellent too. I've yet to delve into Crash 4 but the critical reception implies that T4B knocked it out of the park completely and I am looking forward to finding some time to sit down and play it (probably in the next couple of years at this rate!)
@ralphdibny I have Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled which I last played yesterday. I really love it but I wish it gets FPS Boost now. I also have Crash Bandicoot N.sane Trilogy, I did 100% including the extra level in 1 and 2 and 3 is waiting. I got the Spyro Reignited Trilogy as well but haven't played it yet and I want Crash Bandicoot 4 and Tony Hawk's 1+2, too! These three studios are an amazing addition. Yep, people are discussing Call of Duty because it's as popular as GTA or Minecraft but these three studios is exactly the kind of thing Xbox didn't have except for, perhaps, Rare and Double Fine. I think it's about time we get Banjo-Kazooie and Viva Piñata.
@LtSarge haha yeah, maybe it'll line up with when I actually intend to play it. I've only played the first Crash game on the trilogy @Banjo- and I didn't 100% it. The difficulty I had with one of the bridge levels (absolutely loved it though as I love platforming segments like that) made me feel woefully under qualified for a 100% run. I've been planning to revisit and possibly even complete/replay Crash 1 and the rest of the trilogy before playing 4. I just never had the time to go back as my attention was pulled toward making the most out of my Plus and Game Pass subscriptions. I did play 3: Warped back on PS1 though and have 105%ed (or whatever the percentage was) it a couple of times. I recently bought Crash 4 on Xbox actually as well as the 8bitdo wired pad to play it (for the D-Pad!). I think Crash 1 remastered has ended up being my favourite 2D platformer, I know the crash games are technically 3D but I still consider them 2D platformers because of how linear they are. It's like they are just 2D platformers but from an over the shoulder perspective.
I played through the Spyro Trilogy which was relatively easy in comparison and also the Tony Hawk's remaster (one of the rare games I bought brand new because I love the old games so much) during the pandemic year(s). All excellent games!
Ive never been huge on CoD to be honest. I'll play through the campaign's when they come to PS Plus but I'm not a big multiplayer gamer at all so they don't appeal to me beyond the initial 6-10 hours of the campaigns
@ralphdibny I haven't played the original Crash or Spyro games. I enjoyed Crash Bandicoot 1 and 2 in the N.sane trilogy. When I beat 1 100%, I played it again casually on the same save file, not looking for 100% twice but just enjoying the levels again and being able to breathe while playing. Then I moved to 2 and 3 will be next. They're difficult, a bit frustrating because of the physics and a few levels are too demanding, For instance, the extra level of 1, I swear I had no reaction time for some jumps because of the slight input lag so I just memorised the timing. Gameplay is good, I like finding and destroying all the boxes, it's rewarding and it also helps that the games are gorgeous. I've only played Tony Hawk's on Nintendo DS so the remastered games will be a surprise and Spyro will be totally new.
@Banjo- memorising the timing is a completely valid platformer technique! I've done that many times when playing platformers (it's one of my favourite genres, both 2D, 3D and even First Person platformers). It's weird how different platformers approach it differently. I quite like the rhythm-y ones like Donkey Kong Country Returns on the Wii. It was almost like you could play along to the music in that game, hitting the jump button along with the beat.
Was that American Sk8land on the DS? Awesome game. I loved how it translated the classic Tony Hawk's games onto handheld with very little lost in translation. Especially when the console games were beginning to go off in very different directions at that point!
@ralphdibny Downhill Jam, it was! Platform is also one of my favourite video game genres (both 2D and 3D)! Have you played Rayman Legends? It's the best rhythm platformer I've ever played. I'm not a huge fan of DKC Returns and Tropical Freeze, I prefer the original Donkey Kong Country trilogy that has tighter controls and more interesting level design. Super Mario World is a masterpiece but it's also the first game I owned so you can imagine how I feel about it, my favourite Nintendo platformer. In 3D, Banjo-Kazooie is the best, of course, but I also love Rayman 2 (Nintendo 3DS) and Super Mario Sunshine (my favourite Mario 3D game). Super Lucky's Tale and its second version were a nice surprise. Conker's Bad Fur Day is awesome but it's as much adventure as platformer, it's a treat. I think that I'm forgetting something...
EDIT: Sonic! I'm a Sonic fan. Somehow. Just of some games. Sonic Generations👌. I'm very excited about Sonic Origins.
@Banjo- some solid choices there for sure! Mario World is one of my favourite 2D platformers too and also one of my first played and first completed. I played a lot of DKC as a kid but never finished it or moved on to the sequels. I'm planning to do them all one day when I get the time and impulse to do so. Which is probably why DKCR is another favourite of mine because I actually 205%ed (or whatever the percentage is) and i think it is actually my favourite Wii game full stop.
Sonic 3 & Knuckles is probably the pinnacle of Sonic for me. Just an amazing full fat game when playing the extended version. On the level with Mario World for me but with that amazing Sonic gameplay.
I don't play a huge amount of Indies but VVVVVV was a surprise hit when I played it from PS Plus a little while back. Incredibly addictive with a great sound track. The soundtracks of some of these other games I mentioned are a massive draw for me too.
On the Xbox side, Ori and the Blind Forest is easily one of their best titles. Haven't got around to Will of the Wisps yet but will do soonish. I am planning a playthrough of all the Rayman games in the not too distant future (I plan to do a lot 😂). I recently bought physical copies of Origins (360) and Legends (Wii U) to do that too. I have the first 3 across PS3 and Xbox One.
On the 3D side, Mario 64 and it's DS remake are great, Galaxy too. I didn't have an N64 at the time so lots of the Rare ones passed me by but they are on my to play list. As is Lucky's Tale.
I thought Mario 3D Land was OK but I really couldn't get into 3D World for some reason. Just seemed a bit bland and also I felt like I was missing out by not playing it with 3 other people. I need to go back and give that a proper go at some point!
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